Author Archive

I have just uploaded a new conference call with the kind folks over at MBS Rate Watch!

Listen to it now for incredible market advice and learn how you can get Mortgage Backed Securities tracking for a lot less than the competition! Dont miss your opportunity to be part of a new breed of loan officer.

Click here for more details or listen in!

I will be out today and tomorrow in Scottsdale, AZ for the Mortgage Girlfriends Conference.

I will be out all day on the 12th to celebrate my birthday with family and friends. I wish you all could be there!

Daniel’s Personal Firefox Add-ons

I decided to let you in on my browsing add-ons as a way to introduce you to some of Firefox’s Add-on capabilities. So, without further delay, let us begin.
Delicious Bookmarks - I love my delicious bookmarking add-on! I use delicious to tag certain sites and posts so I can find them again. For example: I might bookmark a post I read about Slideshare with the tag “tools.” Now, when I want to research helpful tools sometime in the future I will open up my delicious account, click the “tools” tag, and be taken directly to every post and/or site I tagged as “tools.” This is a huge productivity booster because of its seamless integration into Firefox 3.

Forecastfox - I live in Colorado. Our weather is notoriously fickle. My wife and I were enjoying a summer drive in the mountains not too long ago when a freak snow storm came and dumped 3 inches on the ground in the middle of July! While Firefox may not be able to tell me when I will encounter rogue weather that somehow defies the very laws of nature, it can tell me, in real time, the weather for my area including severe weather warnings.

Fireshot - Why pay for Snagit or some other screenshot tool when I can not only get it for free but, integrate it into my online experience.  I do all of my screenshots with Fireshot. It really comes in handy when blogging and trying to capture that perfect image for your post.

Clipmarks - This is less screenshot and more pair of scissors. I use this alot when I want to print only very specific peices of websites such as: pictures, coupons (yes, I use coupons, shut up), and articles. Another really neat feature is “your clips are saved on clipmarks.com and can easily be syndicated to FriendFeed, Twitter, Facebook or other sites.” They are also available from any mobile device via your clipmarks account!

Google Gears - Leave it up to Google to give me more than what I need! Google Gears speeds up accessibility on my Wordpress back-end and other sites. Probably the coolest feature of Google Gears is: I can take my Google Reader offline! I use this for flights and long drives. Simply “sync” your Reader using Google Gears and you’re off.

Better GMail - I run everything through Gmail. Now, I can use the increased functionality of Better Gmail to upgrade my current Gmail experience. If you use Gmail, then this is a must.

GTDInbox - If you are a fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology then you have to try this plug-in! I have to admit, I am not nearly as organized as I’d like and this plugin assists me in getting things done more efficiently as far as my email and daily tasks are concerned.

DIGG - If you are like me then you enjoy sharing worthwhile news and information with friends. I use the DIGG toolbar extensions exclusively to do this. It also features a nifty pop-up window that lets me know all the stories that a being “Dugg” and moving up in importance.

TwitterFox - *Twitter Users Beware* I like this so much more than Twhirl or other deskyop applications because it uses much less memory and places Twitter in the bottom of my browser for easy access.

Now I Need Yours!

That’s it for me right now. What about you? What are your favorite extensions! Place your favorite add-ons and extensions below and I will compile them into a single post!

When I told my wife I was enlisting in the Firefox Army she tilted her head and shrugged. I know what she was thinking: “what a geek.”

Most consumers don’t know that there is an online war being waged between Internet Explorer and Firefox with Safari and Opera hanging on by a thread. I am an avid Firefox evangelist and I am taking this opportunity to try and convert you. Why? Because the following matters to me and should matter to you as well:

• Working Efficiently
• Skipping Useless Steps
• All-in-One Integration
• Coolness – It must be “cool”

I have compiled some of my favorite Firefox data in this 4 part blogging series. Join me as we learn about the best browser ever and why it is SO much more than surfing the internet.

What is Firefox?

Firefox is a Web Browser built by some incredible men and women over at Mozilla.

Who is Mozilla? Thanks for asking, I’ll tell you…

Mozilla is an Open Source group of developers dedicated to spreading/sharing knowledge and information. They believe “that openness, innovation, and opportunity are key to the continued health of the Internet.” I could go on but, if you want to know more you can read the Mozilla Manifesto. It is sure to provide warm fuzzies.

Why is Firefox so great?

I will break it down into four categories:

• Performance
• Security
• Productivity
• Customization

Performance – This entire category can be summed up in another word: Speed. They are able to do this through better memory management and faster Javascript. Most of you do not understand or care about the last sentence so I will put it this way. Firefox is fast; end of discussion.

Security – With the ever increasing concern of phishing, scams, and viruses, I was excited to see the upgrades made to Firefox 3. With the addition of “Instant Web I.D.”, password manager, pop-up blocker, anti-phishing, and much more, security online became less of a concern.

Productivity – You can read about all of the productivity upgrades here but, I want to talk about to very specific upgrades that have saved my bacon. First, I love spell check. Firefox has integrated spell check directly into the browser for live spell checking as I type! Since I use online platforms to blog such as Wordpress, Blogger, and a couple of others, this is huge! Instead of copying and pasting my entire text into MS Word and spell checking there, I can rely on the in browser check to do all the work in real time! So far, so good.

The second productivity upgrade I love is: session restore. Have you ever had your browser crash on you in the middle of something important? What if you could get it back immediately? Firefox built in a “previous session restore.” Now, whether my browser crashes, or I close the wrong window, I can get back to blogging or browsing faster than you can say “holy URL Batman”

Customization – This is the section that we will focus on the most over the next few posts. I pulled a qote directly from their site because I felt like it says all that need be said:

Everybody uses the Web differently, so why should your browser be exactly like the next guy’s? Whether you’re into chatting, cooking or coding, Firefox has more than 5,000 add-ons to help you customize it to fit your exact needs.

Why indeed?

Over the next few posts I will reveal some of my “Top Ten” lists of Firefox add-ons.

What are you waiting for? Download it today and be part of the internet elite!

*all screenshots are taken using Fireshot.

The Thoughts and Prayers of all of us at Mad Mortgage World go out to everyone being affected by Hurricane Gustav.

Photo Courtesy of www.wunderground.com

Interview with Jeff Corbett “The X-Broker”

After realizing that the mortgage industry was broken and realizing no one was stepping up to fix it, Jeff started his now infamous blog “the x broker.” When the blog was first formed Jeff kept his identity a secret and began fighting the battles that an anonymous mortgage super hero must fight. After having his experience, skill, and knowledge questioned Jeff revealed his identity to squash the camp of naysayers claiming he didn’t know what he was doing.

For more on Jeff Corbett check out his personal blog at thexbroker.com.

Subscribe in ITunes!
Download the MP3 Here! (Right-click and choose save target as…)

Show Notes: Running Time: 38:26

Please send in questions, comments, suggestions, snide remarks, kudos to iammad@madmortgageworld.com

As always you can connect with your Host Daniel Martin:

• Connect via Twitter
• Connect via Linkedin
• Connect via Facebook
• Connect via Email

Connect with Jeff Corbett

• Connect via Twitter
• Connect via Linkedin
• Connect at his blog!

I am pleased to introduce you to our latest Mentor here on Mad Mortgage World, Bryan McNee of MBS Rate Watch. I have been very excited about this for sometime and am looking forward to the value that he and his expertise will bring to this community. Here’s a bit about Bryan in his own words.

I am excited to be working with you on a common mission to become a better loan officer.  I am currently the Senior MBS Analyst with MBSRateWatch.com.  I have trained thousands of Realtors and Loan Officers for Continuing Education which is very important because I know what Realtors look for in a loan officer and how to market to them. I have also averaged over 300 originations each year for the past 10 years, 99.99% come from referrals and past clients.  I know what you are going through right now, and I will do my best to help in some small way.  I think it is very important to give back to the mortgage community.  Over the years this community has given so much to me and my family.  That is why I serve as the current President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of the Bluegrass and I am happy to now serve you on Mad Mortgage World.

He has also coined the phrase “MADdies”

Maddies: Mortgage-bonics for mortgage professionals that become part of the robust on-line community at www.madmortgageworld.com and as a result regain their sanity and become much more successful.

Now, with out further delay I present you to Bryan McNee and our 1st MBS Report!

Hello fellow MADdies!

I am pleased to prepare my analysis for you each Monday.  My goal is to give clean, easy to understand information without any egotistical self-promotion or shameless sales promotions.  I am happy to answer any of your questions about the economy, housing industry, mortgage backed securities, or anything that tickles your fancy.  I think that this is an awesome community and I proud to be a fellow “maddie”.

1. What happened last week?
On Thursday we saw our best 30 year fixed rates since July 16^th. But we gave back half of those gains by Friday.

Check out the chart to the left.  Mortgage prices improved each day Monday through Thursday. Even though some of the economic reports that were released were inflationary, the market was benefiting from weakness in the financial stocks and speculation that a meeting between the Treasury Secretary and Fannie and Freddie was going to lead to a bail out.  As prices were pushed upward on Thursday we ran right into a very nasty ceiling of resistance called the 100 day moving average.  The last time that we tested the 100 day moving average (July 15th) the same thing happened….we lost 114 BPS over the next two business days.  So far, we have lost 59BPS over only one business day.  But we have a very strong floor of support just below where we closed on Friday at the 25 day moving average.  We will see if this floor of support holds up on Monday.  If it does, then it could signal a very narrow trading range in the short term.

2. What is on the agenda this week?

This is a jam-packed week for economic data. Some of these reports can have a huge effect on MBS pricing.  The first report, Existing Home Sales will be released today at 10.  This could be an extremely volatile week so keep monitoring our Market Data page for any change in trend direction.  Besides the normal volatility that is inherent when you have different traders trying to digest data from all of these reports, you also have the added fear factor.  International investors could trade wildly based upon continued concern over the viability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  One little comment from our Treasury Secretary can have much more effect on our pricing than any of the economic releases this week.  Our markets hate uncertainty and will continue to trade on rumor and fear until Paulson announces exactly what kind of support the government will be providing to the GSEs.

Status Pre Market: Floating as we continue to trade in a range below the 100 day moving avg. and above the 25 day moving average.

Status Long Term: Floating.

Best regards,

Bryan McNee

Sr. MBS Analyst MBSRateWatch.com

Mad Mortgage World V1.5 is now open for business! You will notice a couple of changes, here they are in random order:

• Complete new look
• New Media Section to house all of our media
• New menu navigation
• New Blog look - same old AWESOME info
• New Educational Sections - coming soon!

Spend some time here on the site. Listen to a few interviews. Tell a few friends. Whatever you do, let us know what you think in the comments below!

Photo Courtesy of rtoann

As Mad Mortgage World continues in its quest for global domination (we’d settle for Ohio though) we are constantly on the look out for new material. So as Mortgage 2.0 (the podcast being released soon) gears up we want to know: What do you want to know about?

What is your burning question?

Do you want to know how to get an agent to subscribe to your blog? Tell us.

Do you want to know how to build referral partners with Cheetos and Coffee? We can show you.

Do you want to know more about RSS, Blogs, Podcasts, Facebook, Friendfeed, etc and their integration into a loan origination business? Your wish is our command.

So, I guess what I am tryinbg to say is: I need to know what you want to know!

Leave a comment below and let the games begin!