Doug Jones's (dougj) Blog

As a mortgage lender I use math all the time for debt ratios, down payment percentage, daily interest, tax computations, insurance cost, PMI, APR, rent vs own, Future Value, Bi-weekly payments, tax deductions, and amortization schedules. I am using math when I analyze taxes, pay stubs, and financ...

San Jose is showing no relief from residential home pricing. This, from the National Association of Realtors is interesting.About 23 percent of all loan purchase originations for single-family homes in the third quarter involved co-borrowers, considered to be multiple unmarried borrowers listed o...

When the financial melt down happened it seemed impossible to talk to a customer service person at any bank about  mortgage related questions. From my experience during that time, no one had experience, no one could understand what was being asked (what the issue was) and no one had authority to ...

Every person in sales has heard the adage “Work Smarter not Harder.”I think that phrase has been the downfall of many sales people. Every endeavor that is worth pursuing requires hard work. In every sales endeavor you are going to come up against competition. You may never see your competitor but...

Here is the first email our agent received from the "title Company"Hi,I don't have the final figure yet, can He wire $60,000 and we will cut him a check if there is need for us to balance him at closing, but it it's more than that, he will cut us a check at closing. I don't want to delay the clos...

The bank sent a loan update statement saying that my customers new rate will be 10.875. The customer called me and I pulled a copy of the deed of trust and the promissory note and determined that this was an error; the loan is an adjustable rate loan and the new rate at the change date should be ...

I did it on purpose or better I did it with intention but am not sure what the heck the purpose is.I am a magician and a mortgage lender and a Realtor. For all these years I never mentioned to my real estate and loan clients that I am a magician. And I never mentioned to my magic contacts (those ...

Just saw Kathy Steib's request to keep the Thankful comments coming. I really am thankful for the Salvation Army. My first memory of Christmas is when I must have been 1 or 2 and we lived above a chicken store. I remember the Salvation Army Officer in his uniform bringing toys and a Christmas Tre...

 I just 'stumbled' onto the stats section for my Active Rain Blogs. I guess I did not realize that every blog I have written is still posted and the section shows how many people clicked on the blog and how many comments were made. I am so glad that there is not a 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' but...

  People stress about moving. So do people’s pets. Dogs and cats are especially prone to pressure caused by unexpected activities, such as moving trucks in the driveway and a new pile of boxes in the hall. Unfortunately, there is no one solution that will ensure a smooth transition for all animal...