Month: September 2015

How to Protect Yourself

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How to Protect Yourself

 “By building walls, you separate yourself from the world”

 

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If you’ve been following the Presidential pre-election campaign, you have probably heard (or read) about Donald Trump’s immigration solution: to build a wall to separate Mexico from the United States. In his first town hall meeting, he mentioned that the famous Great Wall of China took 500 years to build. (There is evidence that it was actually built during the Ming dynasty over a period of around 200 years.) Now it only serves as a tourist attraction. Then there was the Berlin Wall, which was erected in 1961 and demolished 28 years later, whose purpose was to protect Socialism from Capitalism or the reverse. Hungary is trying to build a fence to protect itself and the rest of Western Europe from the insurgents from the Middle East and Africa. When Israel started to build a wall to protect itself from bombs and terrorists, many people from the Western World were opposed. Meanwhile, we do not hear about protests against the fence in Hungary. The question is: “How can we be protected?” I’m actually thinking about this while sitting at an educational seminar. In addition to needing a real estate license, which requires renewal every four years, mortgage professionals need to have NMLS (Nationwide Mortgage and Licensing System) endorsements, which need to be renewed every year. This year, the subject is the newly Integrated Disclosure called “TRID”, which is due to be implemented on Saturday, October 3rd. It is the brainchild of the CFPB (The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau).

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The purpose of the new disclosure is to offer consumers better protection. The question is from whom and if consumers need more protection than they already have? In my very humble opinion, they do not. For sure, as well as anyone involved in the mortgage industry, they definitely do not need more headaches trying to go through a confusing 50 page brochure, which tells them to shop for a loan, when there are only 21 days to the close of the purchase transaction. The CFPB was created as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. At the beginning, the agency had an unlimited Federal Budget. Now they primarily exist from the millions of dollars they collect by suing banks for the violation of the CFPB set rules. More complex rules (like new disclosures) will lead to more violations, and more revenue for CFPB.

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During the last presidential election campaign, Mitt Romney was promising to get rid of the Dodd-Frank Act. This did not happen 3 years ago. Let’s see what will happen in 2016.

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I don’t know anything about why there would be a need for a wall to separate USA from Mexico, but I know something about mortgages and I care about everyone’s well being and protecting borrowers. Sooner or later, walls come down or become obsolete. How soon will the CFPB disappear? I do not know. For the benefits of my clients, I hope soon. Please read the article in the SF Chronicle – “New mortgage rules streamline paperwork but may cause snags in SF“

P.S. Walls can serve other purposes as well. When the Berlin Wall came down, one section of it, in the middle of the city, was preserved, and today it serves as a canvas for the graffiti artists to express themselves. We have enough of our own walls on which graffiti artists and muralists create their own masterpieces.

 

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Cheers,

Manny<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Signature

What is 5776?

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What is 5776?

 “A New Year represents new hopes, dreams and aspirations. Make them a reality.”

 

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In 1915, Jews all over the world celebrated the beginning of the New Year 5776 – Rosh Hashanah, beginning Sunday evening, September 13th through the evening of Tuesday, September 15th. (In Israel Rosh Hashanah is traditionally celebrated for only one day). According to the story in the Torah the number 5776 is also the age of the first human, Adam. He was created on the sixth day. “And Hashem God formed the man of dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Those who consider the scientific calculation that our planet is 4.5 billion years old, have difficulty accepting the story of the creation of our world in 6 days. The Torah uses 6 days to demonstrate that the world was created in stages, where each day is considered lasting for many million years, and that we, humans, were part of the process and that we actually the last who were created. It also showed us that life has cycles, and after working hard for six days, “By the seventh day God completed his work which He had done, and he abstained on the seventh day from all his work which He had done” (Genesis 2:2). While writing this story on Sunday, I received a phone call from my friend Shlomo Zarchi, Rabbi of the Chevra Thilim synagogue, inquiring if he will see me that night for the evening prayer. Rabbi Zarchi told me that 5776 has yet another meaning. According to Gematria – Jewish Numerological System, where each letter has numerical value, it represents a word “teshua” which in English means “Redemption”. This year 5776 is going to be time of redemption. The question we are going to ask ourselves – “From what are we going to be redeemed?” and “What do we need to do for this to happen?” Ten days after Rosh Hashanah comes Yom Kippur – The Day of Atonement, during which those who attend services in synagogues pray and ask for forgiveness and beg God for good things in the new 5776 circle, in other words, for redemption.

 

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If you are not among those few, and you are not Jewish, I think there is at least one more solution. When God was creating the world at the end of each day “And God saw that it was good” (Genesis1:12).

 

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If you just see yourself and your world as good, I think you are well on the way to redemption.

 

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P.S. One of the food traditions for Rosh Hashanah is to dip apple slices into honey, with the wish to have “A Good Sweet Year”. From the ancient times apples were known to have healthy properties. But I think there is yet another reason for apples. They are round and symbolize the circle, which doesn’t have a beginning or end, unless we make a mark, where the beginning and the end become one. Apples also grow abundantly and appear in different sizes and colors, like those I was fortunate to photograph.

Happy and Sweet New Year!

 

 

 Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
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Cheers,

Manny<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Signature

The Practice of the Theory of Relativity

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The Practice of the Theory of Relativity

 “If everything is relative, so is the theory of relativity”

 

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In 1915, Albert Einstein formulated E=MC2 the Theory of relativity. It took the scientific community 6 years to recognize him for it, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921.

 

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I read a fascinating account of his life in the biography written by Walter Isaacson, who also wrote the biography of Steve Jobs. We recently vacationed in Kauai where I had an opportunity to experience the theory of relativity for myself. My wife Elfa got timeshare through RCI to The Cliffs at Princeville. It is a nice condo-like resort located on the cliff, overlooking the ocean in the northern part of the island. The day after our arrival, we were invited to a customary orientation. The concierge introduced different vendors, who offered various local attractions for modest fees starting at $100.00. One of them presented a day-long trip, which included a water voyage, during which travelers could drink unlimited Mai-Tai cocktails. Another attraction was a boat tour to see a property from the water, which was recently purchased for $100 million (which I thought sounded like a significant amount of money) by Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. The following day, a local friend told me that she visited the property before it was sold. It has 1,000 acres and a beautiful beachfront. In Hawaii, beaches are public, but you need to have access to them, which can be private.

 

 

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The next day we drove by a property with a For Sale sign. There was a box attached to the sale post with a flyer, describing the property as 2.5 acres of land with a view of the mountains (and no house or water access), listed for $3.5 million. When we went to the beach, located in the Hanalei Bay, there was a nice custom-built house next to the public parking, with a For Sale sign. Later on I saw the picture of this property on the cover of “Homes and Land Magazine”. The asking price of the 4BR/3.5BA residence, with living 3.125sf, and 15.224sf land, plus a 1BR/2BA 1.051sf guest-house, was offered for just $11 million. As Mr. Einstein pointed to us 100 years ago, everything is relative. To be fair, the magazine also listed lots of properties for less than $400,000. But “you get what you pay for”. The real estate market in Kauai is hot and pricey. The vendor at the Hanalei Shopping Village told me that the most popular occupation among locals is selling real estate or massage therapy. Sometimes they are combined.

 

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P.S. We had fantastic time here. We enjoyed the lush nature, beautiful beaches, and pleasant water. We were also showered by torrential rain and bitten by mosquitoes. We visited a Hindu temple, rested, read, wrote and of course photographed. Every morning I would go out to the cliff to greet the sunrise and see different birds come here for their breakfast. There is a reason why Kauai is called The Garden Island.

 

 

 Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,

Manny<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Signature

Does Age Matter?

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Does Age Matter?

 “We cannot change our age, but we can change how much to enjoy it.”

 

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Our oldest daughter was visiting us recently from Paris, where she lives, to join us on a vacation to Kauai. Before departing San Francisco, we had lunch at our favorite restaurant Zuni, with a dear friend who is 82 years young. Over lunch, Alona showed photos of newborns from three of her girlfriends, who all gave birth in their late 40 to early 50’s. They tried unsuccessfully for many years, and were finally able to conceive after reading “The Fertility Wisdom”, written by my good friend (and my personal healer), Dr. Angela Wu. Thankfully, with the advantage of modern medicine, far fewer women die during childbirth. And if Sara in the Torah was able to give birth at the age of 90 to her son Isaac, and then lived to the age of 127, which the Bible deems as a miracle, it is no surprise to me that miracles can be repeated again with the help of a 5000 year old Chinese healing knowledge, and modern implementation. After all, one hundred years ago, the average lifespan of women was 53 and 50 for men, and now it is 80 and 75 respectfully.

 

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You may have seen the movie I think that one of the reasons people live longer today, is that in the time of the information age, we are bombarded with a lot of information, which takes longer to absorb. As a result of education years and building carrier, children come in life later. In the past the relationship with children started earlier and lasted in average 30 to 40 years. Now it is basically the same – people have children later in life, and subsequently live longer.

 

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The result of living longer may for some, create economic hardship. The retirement age starts at the age of 66. But what if a person lives another 20 to 30 years? For those who own property, like our 82 years young friend, a possible solution is a reverse mortgage. In her case, the balance of her mortgage is $394,000.00. She has an adjustable loan, and recently she called me, concerned that the interest rate on her mortgage might go up. I’ve refinanced her mortgage numerous times over the years, but now because of the lack of steady income, she is not qualified. For her, a reverse mortgage is a great solution (and she is qualified to get one). She can stay in her home as long as she can, because there is no mortgage payment to drain her cash flow. Yes, age matters. Here are the benefits for being advanced in age; and having children later and no mortgage payments.

 

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If you have questions how to benefit from those programs, come to our seminar.

P.S. One of the ways to live a long life is to have joy every day. Is not this why we want to have children regardless of our age? Another way is to work hard and to have often vacations. We enjoyed one week in Kauai, which brought back out vitality. Hope you’ll enjoy the images of children and parents I photographed at the beaches in Kauai.

 

 Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
Smile And Please SHARE It With A Friend!

Cheers,

Manny<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Signature