J. Markinson's (curthilty) Blog

So last week I volunteered to get put in "jail" for MDA (see previous post - and help! The website will remian open for three more weeks!) and then on Saturday about 20 of us helped gut a friends house so that she can get the entire interior of the home refinished. And what I realized is that by ...

In 2008 I had a plan that I would post and author something every week. That worked for a week. But in 2009 I'm going to make it a part of my BUSINESS plan. What's the difference? Simple. We plan to go to Space Mountain and to hike up to the top of Pike's Peak. We plan on getting the laundry done...

So one of my favorite hobbies is watching all of the people who don't really know or understand what the problem is or if there even is one. Just a moment ago I read a headline on Inman that seemed to suggest that mortgage brokers need to find a new way to be compensated; Time to change how loan ...

I've written in the past here and elsewhere that one potential answer to a large foreclosure issue is decreasing the availability of sub-prime loans by making borrowers qualify at a higher rate than the teaser. One way to do that?  Inman news reported that another sub-prime based lender closed up...

Just reading through the comments on the Redfin blog I notice that you just can't be on the fence on some issues. Seems that if you have an opinion about real estate agency issues, you have a strong opinion one way or the other.I was informed of Redfin's bill of rights through a eNewsletter and t...

So as I glance through the headlines today, I notice this one;Top FDIC official calls for national anti-predatory-lending standardFed, OTS say regulations, market forces are workingThis was posted on the Inman News site. Now, after reading this article, all I can say is...........it's about time....

After many real estate related topics, articles and deals; after updating an Ethics course and ......and after numerous ideas for a new post on this blog, I've finally settled on posting about the topic I enjoyed looking at the most over the past week, and it is not at all real estate related.Exc...

Senate Bill 203, Mortgage Broker licensing, is making its way around the Colorado state Capital.  This bill, which carries a list of prohibited activities, licensing requirements for mortgage brokers and some education (wow, educate those who educate the consumers..............novel) remains a bi...

Vail Resorts Inc. is reporting net income for the first 6 months of the 2007 fiscal year are $17.2 Million; which is up from $8.7 Million just a year ago. VRI operates resorts in California, Nevada and Wyoming (I've never been to a resort in Wyoming, though I have been to Yellowstone National Par...

So way back in 2002 was the first time I started to get a sense that subprime lending might have some challenges ahead. First I had a client who was forced to go subprime, and then a report was written by a non-profit consumer advocacy group, the Center for Community Change, starting me on my pat...