It is the small day-to-day decisions that determine who we are, and set the direction of our lives. We all have challenges and difficulties in life. We can attack them with a positive attitude, and use them to help make us stronger, or we can dread and complain about them as we go, and let them make us weaker. It is our decision to make.

When we are required to give up something (like a whole weekend), I have found that it is helpful to accept it and try to understand that, with the right attitude, we might gain something even better.

Since none of the “stuff” that we would be moving back and forth really matters, but the people and our relationships do, my goal for the weekend was to really see and connect with my friends and family that would be helping us – letting them know how much I appreciate and love them. I would infect them with a positive attitude and help them to have a good time too. I would do my best to brighten their day with honest compliments and kindness. Besides, it wouldn’t take much of my mental focus to move heavy objects around, so I might as well do something constructive and interesting with my mind. I knew that this should be easy, as long as I remained aware of this objective, since there are a lot more ways to be kind then there are to be grumpy. Awareness would be the key, as it is with so much in life.

Getting started was tricky. Accepting the day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks, takes courage. Avoiding any negative or pessimistic thoughts was a key in remaining aware of my goal and maintaining my concentration during the move. As soon as I would start to allow myself to think about how much more there still was to do, or how tired or hungry I was, my focus on the goal would start to fade and I would have to snap myself out of it and get back to the real work – the more difficult charge of building others.

When I felt tired, sore and exhausted, I would try to direct my thoughts away from myself and think about how I might help those who came to help me, as well as my own family. Attempting to teach my 11 year-old son the value of hard work and help him identify within himself, the feeling of satisfaction that comes with it, was not easy – but it was very rewarding.

Throughout the process, the pain in my back lost its sting and the loads seemed lighter. I grew to understand and appreciate my friends and family more deeply. Bonds were strengthened, and one friendship was even renewed. My zest for life was invigorated.

By looking people in the eye, focusing on what was really important, and getting myself out of the way, I was reminded what this “life” thing is all about, and what matters most again – even while I was making other plans.

David Mayne

The folks back in Washington D.C. could learn a little from this WWII veteran. He built his home as he could afford to pay cash for supplies. I’m amazed at what he was able to do with hard work over the years, but as he approaches ninety, he simply can’t keep up the yard anymore. The work party invitation email requested that all extended family in the area meet at Grandpa’s home on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. and work till 5:00 with a Dutch Oven dinner to begin at 5:30. I remember turning to my wife and saying something like “that’s SEVEN hours! Our kids are NOT going to be happy spending all Saturday WORKING in Grandpa’s yard! How are we going to do this?” Truth be told, I wasn’t all that excited at the idea of spending the day working in someone else’s yard either. I had more than seven hours of work in my own yard, and it was a holiday weekend to boot. There were a hundred other things I would have rather been doing that day, but I felt an obligation to help, and wanted my kids to be involved as well.

I called a family meeting and laid out the weekend holiday plan. I have five kids that range from 8-16, and to my surprise, only one of them expressed a desire to do something else instead. Although my wife and I wanted to have the whole family together that day, I didn’t want any “attitude.” So, I invited them again and expressed my desire that everyone come and help out. I told them about the many sacrifices Grandpa had made that had resulted in a better life for us. I concluded by telling them how nice it would be to show our appreciation and love for him by helping out, but made it clear that each person was free to make their own choice. I wasn’t going to force anyone to come. The numbers didn’t change, still only four of the five were willing to go.

Over the next few days the one who didn’t want to go agreed to help with the service portion, but wanted to leave early to be home for other activities. Sadly, this one ended up with an injury from boating that put them in bed recovering the whole weekend.  The six able-bodied members of the Brown family arrived at Grandpa’s a little late, (surprise, surprise) and the work was in full swing. There were fifteen extended family members already working on various projects. All four doors of the Suburban flew open and we all headed in different directions. I suspect I’m not the only parent who feels that getting my kids to pitch in and really work, is like trying to “herd cats.”  Most of the time, it can be difficult and frustrating, but for some reason, this time things were different. It wasn’t until the end of the day when a few adults commented on how hard my kids were working that I really noticed the difference. Not only were they working, they were doing it willingly and with a smile! What had an even greater impact on me, was the realization that I hadn’t been doing my usual job of “herding the cats.” They all noticed what needed to be done and just did it. It was one of those moments when I was truly proud to be my kids Dad. As we drove home amidst the holiday traffic of boats, campers and recreation toys in tow, there was a pleasant feeling of happiness and a great sense of satisfaction in how we had spent the day. I’ve known for a long time that having the right attitude, while helping others in need, somehow brings lasting happiness into my heart, but to have my kids experience this for themselves was even better. I think the key to helping them experience the joy that comes from putting others needs above their own wants, was allowing them to make the choice to help on their own. My wife and I are excited and are looking for ways to do this a little more often.

Some may know this natural law regarding helping others as Karma, while others know it as “casting your bread upon the waters” or even as the Golden Rule. Whatever you call it, the principle is the same and it’s something that makes those who live it distinctly different. At Box Home Loans, we hope our clients notice our efforts to deliver an experience that is distinctly different.

Aaron Brown

Click on the link above to see a short video of Aaron Brown describing the amazing customer service he experienced on Kingfisher Airlines while traveling in India. We do our best to emulate and impress our customers in the same manner!

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have not been easy and the growing pains have been difficult but it is a great problem to have and we feel very lucky.  Here a few thoughts that have helped us get to this point that can be applied to any young business.

Business Model- There is no substitute for a good business model.    When we started Box, our goal was to be very different from traditional Loan Officer driven mortgage originators’.   Instead of trying to feel out our clients to see how much money we could make on a deal we wanted to quote the best rate upfront.  We also wanted to encourage the savvy consumer of today to shop around and see if they could get a quote as good and quick as what we offer online.  Leveraging our online pricing technology we are able to determine if the borrower ”fits in the box” and give them a price in seconds with no personal information.   We do not want the clients information until they are ready to do a loan.  The following bullets have driven our business model:

• Focus on a very precise niche in the market and do it better than anyone else.
• Leverage technology to streamline process.
• Transparency drives accountability and that brings me to my next bullet.
• Customer Service - turning one customer into three.   NPS is everything!

Customer Service – As a relatively young company (5 years) we did not have the benefit of gobbling up companies with our deep pockets to spur growth.   Growing organically through our clients referral network has been the engine to our growth.   Everybody knows a referral is better than a lead.  Consumers are smart and highly connected today. As social referral networks grow online companies need to take a hard look at themselves and what is being said about them.  Communication is paramount, no company is perfect and problems will arise.  Keeping communicate lines open with the client enables us to resolve 99% of any problem.   There is nothing worse than being ignored.   Confront issues head on and clients will appreciate the effort.

Scalable System -  Jeff Reeves and Aaron Brown (as seen above) developed Box Home Loan around a scalable internet driven model that could easily extended to a National platform.   Starting in Utah we serviced the local mortgage community but always envisioned a time where we could add states (currently in 7 states with 8 more coming soon).   Traditional loan officers are tied to a smaller segment of the market.  Location based like a real estate agent.   Having worked the traditional model for a number of years they realized a highly systemized niche approach to origination was the only way to truly grow.   Our target market has become bigger as mortgage guidelines get stricter because more loans being done “fit inside our box”.   As the mortgage market has crumbled around us our technology, system and streamlined approach to a niche market have kept Box afloat and growing.

We feel very lucky to be successfully navigating the mortgage industry at this historic time.    Who knows what the future will bring but we feel a customer driven, transparent, scalable, niche business model is the future of business.   Consumers today are smart, informed and they deserve respect.   Give them your best offer with a smile, let them shop around and they will return if the price can be quantified and the service perceived.

Sellers in any real estate market are looking to get the best possible price. If you are looking to sell in the next year, today’s price may well be the best price. Home values stabilized somewhat in 2010. Many hoped that was a sign that values had bottomed out and we would see price appreciation in 2011. Studies released this week have painted a different picture…

If we look at CoreLogic’s January Home Price Index (HPI), we see that prices are again beginning to decline:

National home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 5.7 percent in January 2011 compared to January 2010…

Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic, said, “A number of factors continue to dampen any recovery in the housing market. Negative equity, which limits the mobility of homeowners, weak demand and the overhang of shadow inventory all continue to exert downward pressure on housing prices. We are looking out for renewed demand in the coming months as the spring buying season gets underway to hopefully reduce the downward pressure.”

They are not talking about the spring market increasing or even stabilizing prices. They hope it will “reduce” the pressure to drive prices lower.

Radar Logic’s RPX Composite Price comes to virtually the same conclusion:

Radar Logic believes the RPX Composite price will continue to exhibit year-on-year declines throughout 2011 due to a growing supply of homes for sale and in the inventories of financial institutions, and weakening demand due to the reduction of government incentives for home buyers. Moreover, banks are facing uncertainty over whether they will be forced by regulators to expand mortgage modifications, and may reduce lending and tighten standards as a result.

“No matter what you call it, a ‘double dip’ or the continuation of a long process of deterioration, the current trend in home prices is evidence that housing markets are continuing to languish,” said Quinn Eddins, Director of Research at Radar Logic. “We expect the negative trend to continue under a severe supply overhang that includes a large and growing ‘shadow inventory’ of homes in default or foreclosure.”

Bottom Line

It seems that prices have again begun to fall nationally. With the overhang of existing and shadow inventory, prices will probably continue to decline throughout most of 2011. If you’re thinking of selling, now might be the best time. Check with a local real estate professional to see how this might impact your area.

does this have to do with mortgage lending? Everything. Mortgage processing is the antithesis of Ford’s assembly line. Imagine if Ford had wanted to capture more of  America’s pocket book by sending a vast array of products down the same assembly line: first down the line was a Model T, then a toaster, then another Model T, then a washing machine, another Model T, and then a radio. You get the picture. It’s absurd. Yet that kind of random assembly line epitomizes the mortgage industry.

As mortgage companies face an increasingly shrinking market, they continue to expand their product line to appeal to a broader group of borrowers.  Such randomness is analogous to an assembly-line mixed with toasters and automobiles and ultimately ends in a bad loan experience for most borrowers.  In contrast, Box Home Loans has copied Ford’s highly specialized assembly line. We do one kind of loan for one kind of borrower, and we do it again, and again.  We opted to shrink our product line to better serve the population that wants a basic, straight up mortgage.

And like Ford, who introduced a very affordable Model T in 1908 for $850 only to sell it for a third of that price five years later, Box Home Loans is fanatically driven to continually reduce the price of getting a mortgage.

www.boxhomeloans.com

There are two kinds of people that you don’t want to be: the one who leaves the closing table with the nagging feeling that you’ve just paid too much for your loan; or the ignorant person who leaves the closing table having no idea that you’ve just overpaid. With the help of the web and by following three simple rules, you can make sure that you can secure the best price on your mortgage…

Rule #1 Compare the Same Day

If you take one thing away from this page, it should be this: you must compare mortgage quotes from different lenders on the same day. Otherwise you won’t be comparing apples-to-apples.

Rule #2 Compare the Same Rate

Here’s a bit of insider information: every lender can offer the same rate. Yes, no one–including Box Home Loans–has a corner on the market for low rates. The difference between lenders lies purely in the closing costs. The only way to truly compare apples to apples is to compare closing costs between different lenders who offer the same rate.

Box Home Loans makes it terribly easy to compare the same rate. We display our rates in a user-friendly matrix, where you can see up to nine different interest rate and closing costs combinations per loan program. No matter what rate the competition quotes, you can find that same rate on our matrix and quickly compare our closing costs with theirs.

Rule #3 Compare the Right Fees

Read carefully. This is where most shoppers get taken. There are three types of fees in a mortgage quote–lender fees, third-party fees, and prepaid/escrow items–and only some of these should affect your comparison. We will summarize each and tell you how you should compare them.

Lender Fees

Lender fees consist of two things:  points/origination fees and “junk” fees.  You must take both into consideration.  I repeat:  you must add them together.  Some lenders brag about charging “no points” only to charge you an “admin” fee of $1,995.  Or others might advertise, “no junk fees” only to charge you twice the points of another lender.  You also must know the following about the two different kinds of lender fees:

Points and/or Origination Fees

There are subtle differences to points and origination fees, but for the sake of comparison, they should be viewed as the same thing.  The most important thing to know about points and origination fees is that their amounts go up or down as the interest rate goes up and down. Generally speaking, the lower your rate, the more you pay in points or origination fees. The higher the rate, the less you pay in points.

Lender “Junk” Fees

Underwriting Fees, Admin Fees, Tax Service Fees, Flood Certification Fees, Pay-For-My-Trip-To-Hawaii Fees, yada yada yada.  The list goes on and on.  It is somewhat amusing to see what kind of fees lenders make up.  Basically, these are any fees not charged by the third parties below. And if a broker tries to pass off his partnering lender’s underwriting fee as a third-party expense, don’t believe it.  Essentially, all fees not charged by the appraiser, credit agency, title company, or attorney, are all considered lender fees.

Third-Party Fees

Third-party fees don’t matter as much to your comparison because those fees are essentially the same no matter where you get your loan. In fact, it is illegal for a mortgage company to pad these third-party fees.  These costs include the appraisal, credit report, title company fees, and government fees (recording, transfer taxes, tax stamps, etc).  Third-party fees do vary somewhat from provider to provider.  Not all title companies charge the exact same fees, for example. But the differences are minimal and typically not subject to change.  Therefore, don’t waste too much time haggling over these. Haggle over the stuff that matters—lender fees!

Prepaid/Escrow Items

Prepaid/escrows items should have ZERO bearing on your comparison between two lenders.  They represent the amount collected either to pre-pay (or escrow) your taxes, insurance, and interest.  The amount a lender can collect for these items is highly regulated by the federal government, and does not fluctuate significantly from lender to lender.  Yes, it is critical to understand the amount required for these items, but worry about this after you have chosen your lender.

To compare one lender with another, simply add up the points, origination fees, and lender “junk” fees for each lender.

What separates Box Home Loans from the rest is our lack of fees. It is stunning, actually. The only fees you will see from us are the points or lender credit associated with your rate and a processing fee of $149 for conventional loans and $199 for FHA loans.

Finally, whether you choose Box Home Loans for your next mortgage, these three comparison rules—Same Day, Same Rate, Right Fees—will prove invaluable as you shop for your next mortgage.  Never again will you have to ask yourself, “Did I just pay too much?”