Be Grateful and Celebrate!

4^th of July, which celebrates the United States’ Independence Day, is a joyful day with barbecues, fireworks and summer sales.

The holiday falls on Thursday this year, so many will use this opportunity to take a longer vacation. But do we remember (or know) why we celebrate Independence Day?

I decided to check online to learn more about who were the people who in 1776 laid down the foundation to build the greatest country in the world, for which I am grateful to be its citizen. Initially, there were twelve Founding Fathers with Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.

The process of separating from England was not easy for the thirteen colonies, that later became states, and there were disagreements among the 56 men whose signature appeared on the historic document.

And as in our time, over the following 248 years, different people had their own opinions and feelings of what is right and what is not, which even resulted in the Civil War. During these joyful days, let’s focus on what unites us and express our gratitude.

Enjoy the three images of the fireworks!

HAPPY 4^TH!

Slow down, take a look around.
You’ll feel better.

The article under this title written by Robert Manning, appeared in the Insight section of the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, June 2, 2024. As the title eludes, it is about walking in nature. Lately, I have been watching many videos on YouTube on the subject “How to die young at old age”. Most of the authors recommend walking as the best form of exercise, after age 65.

One of the experts is Sanjay Gupta, MD, who among other things is an author of “Keep Sharp. Build a Better Brain at Any Age.” Somehow, I was not surprised, but one of his pieces of advice of how to keep our brain young was walking. The article points out that “Walking also helps slow the pace of time.” One of the ways to create a habit of walking is to have a dog.

It is evening and we just came back from a walk in Golden Gate Park, which we try to do every day as long as there is light outside. In the morning, I take Max for a walk in our neighborhood. So, I am getting my share of walking.

If you decide to get a dog as your walking companion, I strongly recommend my book “42 Encounters with Dog Lovers”. In addition to the whimsical images, you will find lots of advice on how to help yourself enjoy having an obedient dog.

Meanwhile, please enjoy these three images from the book…

…and share this story with a Friend!

 

How to See the Beauty and Appreciate It

I decided to write this essay after photographing beautiful dry grass, which in a previous life was a weed in my garden. We are surrounded by beauty, but do we notice it? Sure, according to the saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, but then why some people do not see or appreciate beauty?

 

A well-known photographer Ernst Haas once said, “A picture is the expression of an impression. If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it?”

We are surrounded by the beautiful nature, beautiful people and beautiful human creations. What some people do not realize is that our eyes serve only as the lens of the camera. The actual camera is in our brain. To see the beauty, you just need to change the picture of how you think and see the world around you, and then your eyes will see it as beautiful.

Meanwhile, enjoy the three images of the beautiful weeds and share with a friend!

 

 

 

HOW SELF EMPLOYED BORROWERS
CAN QUALIFY FOR A MORTGAGE

Most of the home buyers these days are familiar with the conventional way to qualify for the mortgage. You need to show the source of the money for the down payment, have sufficient income to qualify from the reliable sources like employment, and to have decent credit score and a minimum amount of debts. However, what if you are self employed and do not report your income conventional way?

To accomplish this type of the borrowers, lenders come up with alternative programs, where income is calculated from the alternative sources, like 12- or 24-month bank statement, or only P&L (Profit and Loss) for one year, or only Form 1099. All of these options are offered by the variety of mortgage banks where each has their own nuances for the underwriting.

We recently had a presentation at our office delivered by one of the banks. Their representative didn’t want to be recorded, so I will share with you some of the details by myself on my YouTube channel.

Manny Kagan,
President,
Pacific Bay Financial Corporation

(415) 225-7920; || [email protected]

NMLS #205637
DRE #00824602

I AM GRATEFUL…

I like to write things down. As a result, I’ve saved many notebooks with different writings through the years. Yesterday, I was browsing through some of them and came across one with affirmations I used to write down daily. I will share a short one with you, that I wrote eleven years ago, on 7/10/13:

I am grateful that I can originate loans and generate income.

I am grateful for love I have for Elfa (my wife).

I am grateful that I have the capacity to think and to enjoy life.

After reading these, I decided to resume the practice again, and to write down what I am grateful for on this day, every evening before going to sleep.

The next morning, I went for a walk with Max. During these walks I listen to various podcasts on YouTube. And as the universe was listening to my thoughts, I was presented with “You don’t need a doctor if you do this for 3 days” from Louise Hay, where she talked about gratitude. I was introduced to her years ago, through reading her books. The key message in them was, “If we are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed”. On YouTube, I found many of her segments, including “Start your day with self-love and gratitude.”

I am grateful that you are reading my stories. I am grateful for the blooming flowers in my garden, which you can see in the three images above.

Enjoy and Share!

 

 

 

 

 

LESSONS FROM LAG BA OMER

Every religious tradition is based on a story. In Judaism, many of the stories come from the Torah. For instance, it is written that from the second day after the Passover holiday, which celebrates the Jews’ Exodus from Egypt, and their fight for freedom, the Jews count seven weeks, called Omer.

This culminates with the next holiday called Shavuot. During the time of the Temple, it was customary to come to Jerusalem and to bring the crops from the early summer grain (the word “Omer” means “sheaf of barley”). The Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, however the tradition of counting Omer continued. And then in 132 AD, during the rebellion of Israelis led by Bar Kohba against the Romans, many Jews were killed. This occurred during the counting of Omer time. Therefore, the 7 weeks of Omer became a time of mourning. In spite of this, rabbis decided to introduce a new tradition. It was announced that on the 33rd day of Omer, there would be a break in the mourning. Instead, it would be a day of joy with barbecues and bonfires to celebrate the Jewish unity and pride. It is the day to have weddings and for children to get their first haircut.

For me, this minor holiday is a good reminder that in our lives there are many events which can cause feelings like mourning. What rabbis taught us is that life goes on, but we do not need to forget others. This is one of the reasons why during a Jewish wedding ceremony it is customary to break a glass. This symbolizes the memory of the destruction of the Holy Temple.

Lighting a bonfire has its own tradition. I do not have photo images of bonfires, instead I am sharing with you these three beautiful images of the fire from a gas burner. Look carefully at the game of fire, I am sure you will find many interesting images there.

 

Enjoy and Share!

CREATIVE WAY TO CALCULATE INCOME

One of the most important concepts of the mortgage loan underwriting is called “paid as agreed”. In other words, lenders need to be convinced that borrowers’ source of income will ensure that. And this can be tricky. It seems that the best guarantee is employees who receive a salary. But what happens if they lose their jobs, as it happened to hundreds who were let go by the large public companies? As a result, lenders constantly seek for the alternative ways to how to calculate clients’ ability to pay on time. These programs are called Non-QM (i.e. non-qualified mortgages, which do not require government scrutiny, and therefore have higher price (interest rate).

One of these options was introduced to us by Debra Kidder-Steere from Newfi Wholesale during our regular staff meeting. Income is calculated based on the funds invested into the retirement account. Thus, if the borrower has $360,000 in IRA or 401K retirement program, this can be translated into$10,000 a month as an income. Follow this link to watch a video recorded during our conversation with Debra.

There are many other ways we can use to qualify borrowers, especially borrowers who have limited (reported) income, like these who are self-employed clients.

Feel free to contact me on the phone or by email provided below.

I promise to help!

Manny Kagan,
President,
Pacific Bay Financial Corporation

(415) 225-7920;
[email protected]

NMLS #205637
DRE #00824602

I AM VERY GRATEFUL

In 1969 we lived in Riga, Latvia. At that time, my wife Elfa and I were twenty-two, and we had a one-year young daughter. Latvia was part of the Soviet Union. Socialism and antisemitism were a part of our life. It is impossible to go back in time and to understand why we decided to immigrate to Israel. At that time, it was unfeasible even to think about it. Nevertheless, the next step of our life journey began. Our request to immigrate to Israel was refused. For the next three years, we became refuseniks, with many challenges connected with this status.

Elfa took it upon herself to fight with the state. She demonstrated with other refuseniks and was arrested twice, while I worked at a garage to feed our family. We were refused again and again, until January 1972, when our family finally received permission to emigrate to Israel. What we did not know at the time the extent to which the American Jewish Community demonstrated in support of the Soviet Jews with the slogan, “Let My People Go”, which made our liberation possible. After moving to San Francisco in 1980 and settling down, I joined “The Bay Area Council for Soviet Jews”, an organization which continued to help Jews, who still were trapped in the USSR and met the people who helped us.

I decided to write about this experience after attending a fundraiser for the “Soviet Jewry Movement Archives Project”. This event brought back memories from over fifty years ago. Our life in San Francisco has been very rewarding. We learned, we grew, we created a business and helped many people. Despite the fact that we lived and worked in different countries before, over the last forty-four years, we became Americans. And I am very grateful to be part of the best country in the world.

The three images are of the American flag that I have encountered in various places.

Enjoy and Share with a Friend!