The rumors finally come to fruition; Bank of America has announced they would be exiting the Correspondent Lending business. I couldn't be more disgusted with Bank of America in how they handled this whole situation. The whole announcement was completely fucked from the minute the lower level employees found out about the Bank's decision.
I got a text message from a co worker late last night, my buddy had read a short article in the Wall Street Journal that stated, simply, "According to high placed sources, Bank of America is planning to sell or exit their Correspondent Lending Division." I couldn't find that article last night (in my defense, I was really tired).
When my buddy and I arrived in the office this morning, we found an e mail blast from the President of the Home Loans Division in our e mail boxes (time stamped 1 AM) that stated (again, very simply) Bank of America has made plans to sell or wind down (put out of business) the Correspondent Division. "We do this to further align the to the Bank's core business interests. Furthermore, despite this decision, we will continue to deliver for our customers." Bullshit.
The office just took on an immediate atmosphere of gallows humor. No one was working, business as usual was not the order of the day. My frustration was further ignited when we had an 'All Hands Call' with our Division Chief who said something like the following:
"We didn't want to announce the wind down like we did today, our hand was forced by the Media. Please don't believe what the Media stirs up." Fuck him. Like, the Wall Street Journal was rumor mongering when some high executive in Bank of America told them that they would be shutting down Correspondent. Here's my problem on how this announcement was handled
#1: The Announcement Itself. It says this:
We intend to sell the correspondent mortgage lending division or, if a suitable deal is not identified, we will consider other options, including winding down the correspondent lending business in an orderly manner. At this time, our correspondent lending operations continue business as usual.
The Bank just telegraphed their absolute desire to fire sell Correspondent or they would wind down the business. This frightens the shit out of their employees, everyone I know is updating their resumes. Worse yet, the suddenness of this announcement has given no one time to prepare for unemployment.
#2: The Lies. Our Chief said the Media forced his hand. If the Media didn't report this 1,800 people would find themselves out of jobs when the Bank decided to close the division. What the Bank should have done is told it's employee as soon as an offer was put out to sell corespondent that they were doing so, just so people can prepare for job loss.
They needed to do this for several reasons. Their responsibility to their employees. I know two Account Executives with young families, Tom's wife is pregnant with their first child. Chris has two young kids. Both will find themselves out of jobs after January 1st (the date when the Bank will stop buying loans). They should have been given time to prepare for the job loss. The Bank has a responsibility to their clients who rely on the Warehouse Bank's line of funding to do loans. This division is under Correspondent and will also find themselves out of a funding line, and for several of our clients, our Warehouse is their major source of funding. If they don't find another line soon, they could find themselves out of business.
#3: Killing the Golden Goose. Correspondent is responsible for 50% of the Home Loan's division's net revenue. It was a huge money maker in the old Countrywide days. This unit had multiple Clients who were paying the Bank for losses on legacy loans they sold to the former Countrywide. I work in the department that analyzes and collects these losses, how the fuck are we now supposed to collect on Clients who now have no business relationship with the Bank. What leverage do we have to collect on these losses now? Did they not THINK about that when they decided to wind down our Division?
My frustration and disgust with the Bank has reached a new high. I should mention that my department is safe for the time being, we are (effective immediately) being moved under Legacy Assets and we will continue to collect until, well, they Bankrupt the Countrywide Trust and end all Legacy Asset servicing. That would open a whole new can of worms. My job is safe for now, everyone else is screwed.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Revenge is a Bad Yelp Review
This week is the most important week of my professional life. We had a major Client come to the office for a visit today, we proposed a huge (and very creative) settlement. Without explaining too many details, we are structuring the agreement in such a way that the Client will not have to disclose a huge loss to their balance sheet (GAAP rules state that you must declare a reduction in your Net Worth when you have a 'realized' loss). If the Client had to realize that loss as they normally should then they would be out of business tomorrow.
On top of that, I have a big interview with a local (up and coming) Mortgage Company. They want to discuss 'Career Opportunities' with me; I take this as a very good sign, I've never had a company ask me to interview for available opportunities. This could be a game changer.
The Loft is coming along, I completely failed to find new hanging pendants for my track lighting. I went to a place in Thousand Oaks called Thousand Oaks Fans and Lighting. Well, in order to not type this out twice here is my Yelp review:
----
I came in with a pendant from a track lighting that I have in my condo. All I wanted was to check with a professional if they had anything that could fit my track. The woman behind the counter, Kim was her name, was extraordinarily unhelpful and dismissive (I was practically begging for a sales pitch, I mentioned how much I hated my track lighting, and still, Kim dismissed my concerns) . I left the pendant at the store the weekend so their professional can check the wiring.
It turns out they don't carry the type of track I have (which is fine) however when I picked the pendant back up this afternoon I found that it was missing a little glass container over the light. I asked Kim to check for it, she basically told me to my face that I must be mistaken, because they didn't lose anything. I hate being lied to to my face, that is the reason for this shit review.
-----
Revenge is bad Yelp review.
In other news, the book case is nearing completion. Take a gander:
On top of that, I have a big interview with a local (up and coming) Mortgage Company. They want to discuss 'Career Opportunities' with me; I take this as a very good sign, I've never had a company ask me to interview for available opportunities. This could be a game changer.
The Loft is coming along, I completely failed to find new hanging pendants for my track lighting. I went to a place in Thousand Oaks called Thousand Oaks Fans and Lighting. Well, in order to not type this out twice here is my Yelp review:
----
I came in with a pendant from a track lighting that I have in my condo. All I wanted was to check with a professional if they had anything that could fit my track. The woman behind the counter, Kim was her name, was extraordinarily unhelpful and dismissive (I was practically begging for a sales pitch, I mentioned how much I hated my track lighting, and still, Kim dismissed my concerns) . I left the pendant at the store the weekend so their professional can check the wiring.
It turns out they don't carry the type of track I have (which is fine) however when I picked the pendant back up this afternoon I found that it was missing a little glass container over the light. I asked Kim to check for it, she basically told me to my face that I must be mistaken, because they didn't lose anything. I hate being lied to to my face, that is the reason for this shit review.
-----
Revenge is bad Yelp review.
In other news, the book case is nearing completion. Take a gander:
We just need to stain the wood and bolt it into place. It should be ready to go in 3 weeks or so.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
White People Love Macaroni and Cheese
I hung out with my buddies Ed Martinez and Eric Wostenberg last night. The last time Eric and I hung out in downtown Pancho was with us, after a night of drinking we walked past a Macaroni and Cheese restaurant. It was either due to the fact that both of us were pretty drunk or that we are white males, but once we saw it, both of us take off in a dead run to get in and order some food. Pancho took a picture of the scene and commented 'Jesus, you white people sure love macaroni and cheese.' Sure enough last night, after a couple of beers, Eric waxed poetically on how much he loved that macaroni and cheese. Fact: White People Love Macaroni and Cheese.
I spent the majority of the day working on the unit, I've finally finished painting the red wall. I put a gallon and a half of egg shell paint on that damn wall and it looked streaky as hell. A co worker said I should switch to flat for better coverage. I've now purchased 3 gallons of the same color paint, I've put on 5 coats of paint. It looks much better, although it's still streaky. I think this will be the absolute last coat I put on it for a while.
I hate my track lighting above the counter, I want it to die a painful death. To that end I spent a couple of hours at Home Depot to try and find a replacement lamp for track lighting. At the current moment the light looks like this:
It's gross. I figure for the short term I could buy some $20 replacement lamps, I was hopeful Home Depot would have a wide selection, specifically, I wanted something that looks like this:
If you can make out those lamps, you'll notice how they look like saucers. I think those have a better midcentury modern look than the IKEA crap the developer installed. At any rate, 2 hours of Home Depot shopping did not yield the track light lamp I was looking forward to installing. I'll have to shop for this on line.
But, I did buy a new faucet for my bath room. I didn't like the one that the developer installed. It had a single pivot handle for hot and cold water, it's not really my style.
I found a faucet that had a cleaner more modern look.
I have a ton of experience install bathroom faucets, it's one of the many things my mom made me do when ever she wanted to change the style of her bath rooms.
I also got a new couch, behold:
I'm a drunk and most of my friends are drunks as well, thus it was critical to get a couch that can convert into a bed (I'm against drinking and driving, but I'm for drinking). This one converts into a full sized bed for anyone, or a couple, that needs to sleep off a night of boozing.
I need to eat dinner, I think I'll go get some macaroni and cheese.
I spent the majority of the day working on the unit, I've finally finished painting the red wall. I put a gallon and a half of egg shell paint on that damn wall and it looked streaky as hell. A co worker said I should switch to flat for better coverage. I've now purchased 3 gallons of the same color paint, I've put on 5 coats of paint. It looks much better, although it's still streaky. I think this will be the absolute last coat I put on it for a while.
I hate my track lighting above the counter, I want it to die a painful death. To that end I spent a couple of hours at Home Depot to try and find a replacement lamp for track lighting. At the current moment the light looks like this:
If you can make out those lamps, you'll notice how they look like saucers. I think those have a better midcentury modern look than the IKEA crap the developer installed. At any rate, 2 hours of Home Depot shopping did not yield the track light lamp I was looking forward to installing. I'll have to shop for this on line.
But, I did buy a new faucet for my bath room. I didn't like the one that the developer installed. It had a single pivot handle for hot and cold water, it's not really my style.
I found a faucet that had a cleaner more modern look.
I have a ton of experience install bathroom faucets, it's one of the many things my mom made me do when ever she wanted to change the style of her bath rooms.
I also got a new couch, behold:
I'm a drunk and most of my friends are drunks as well, thus it was critical to get a couch that can convert into a bed (I'm against drinking and driving, but I'm for drinking). This one converts into a full sized bed for anyone, or a couple, that needs to sleep off a night of boozing.
I need to eat dinner, I think I'll go get some macaroni and cheese.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Westboro Baptist Church and The Continuing Evolution of the Loft
I recently watched a documentary about the Westboro Baptist 'church', in case you don't know, the Westboro Baptist 'church' is a hate group that became famous for protesting the funerals of American Service Members who had died in the Wars. They believe everyone is America is going to hell because they support homosexuality. The Church is largely composed of the members of the same family. Ultimately, the documentary highlighted the response of society to this extreme intolerance and how regular people can come together to reject the hateful message.
One thing did catch my attention, the documentary interviewed members of the 'church' and they made the point (confirmed by a civil rights attorney later in the film) that ion the early years they only protested funerals of gay activists and they found that they got no attention for their views, because, no one in society at large cared. Society only cared once the 'church' started protesting military funerals. To out eternal shame we, society at large, allowed the Westboro Church to exist unmolested until they started protesting the military. We should rededicate ourselves and not allow hate to exist in America unchecked.
On to the fun stuff, the work continues on the loft. I finally finished painting the red wall. It still looks a bit streaky, I've put on 4 coats of paint, I refuse to do another coat.
I asked Arnaud Pacaut to design and create a book case for my loft. He obliged and the initial design is here:
The book case will be a 'built-in' attached directly to the wall. I'm planning on staining the wood to a very dark color so it fits in with the cabinetry in the kitchen. I believe the book case will be about 2 weeks away from being completed.
I took measurements of tiny closet, I'm sick of having the cat box sitting in the middle of my bathroom. I'm planning on creating a wood cat box which can fit in the closet. That way the cat box will be out of the way and easily reachable for cleaning. I just need to buy the wood and build the box, which is easier said than done.
One thing did catch my attention, the documentary interviewed members of the 'church' and they made the point (confirmed by a civil rights attorney later in the film) that ion the early years they only protested funerals of gay activists and they found that they got no attention for their views, because, no one in society at large cared. Society only cared once the 'church' started protesting military funerals. To out eternal shame we, society at large, allowed the Westboro Church to exist unmolested until they started protesting the military. We should rededicate ourselves and not allow hate to exist in America unchecked.
On to the fun stuff, the work continues on the loft. I finally finished painting the red wall. It still looks a bit streaky, I've put on 4 coats of paint, I refuse to do another coat.
I asked Arnaud Pacaut to design and create a book case for my loft. He obliged and the initial design is here:
I took measurements of tiny closet, I'm sick of having the cat box sitting in the middle of my bathroom. I'm planning on creating a wood cat box which can fit in the closet. That way the cat box will be out of the way and easily reachable for cleaning. I just need to buy the wood and build the box, which is easier said than done.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Decline and Fall
Unless you've been living in a cave you should be aware of the current political battle over the debt ceiling. Personally, I see this as nothing more than political theater by the Republican Party, but what is truly worrisome is that some of the Tea Bagger freshman Republicans are more willing to allow this Country to default than to vote to raise the debt ceiling.
If we default, the United States would lose it's primary position as the World's reserve currency. In our current position as the World's reserve currency we have an ability to borrower at astoundingly low interest rates which bleeds into our mortgage rates, credit card rates, car loans, basically any thing that requires borrowed money. It's frustrating that the Tea Bagging Republicans want to sacrifice this amazing gift for political theater. Fucking Ideologues, I can't stand them.
I feel like this is the beginning of the end of the American Century. It was fun while it lasted.
In other related news; I tend to read a lot of Urban Development articles,cities are near and dear to my heart. Recently, I came across an article about Los Angeles on the 'New Geography' website.
New Geography Article
New Geography has a conservative slant on development, they tend to high density and mixed use development as anathema to a development of a city. Ultimately, the thesis of this article is that the mayor's pet projects of the Downtown Stadium, the Subway to the sea are giant wastes of money. New Geography seems to think that the blue print for bringing prosperity back to Los Angeles is by implementing the political policy of the Chamber of Commerce. This article summarizes what was wrong with the development of the city for the last 50 years, what Los Angeles doesn't need is another 50 years of low rise development, we need the subway and additional development downtown for the city to really grow again.
With the expansion of the Panama Canal, the Port of Los Angeles will the ultimate driver of growth. How the port goes as will go the city.
If we default, the United States would lose it's primary position as the World's reserve currency. In our current position as the World's reserve currency we have an ability to borrower at astoundingly low interest rates which bleeds into our mortgage rates, credit card rates, car loans, basically any thing that requires borrowed money. It's frustrating that the Tea Bagging Republicans want to sacrifice this amazing gift for political theater. Fucking Ideologues, I can't stand them.
I feel like this is the beginning of the end of the American Century. It was fun while it lasted.
In other related news; I tend to read a lot of Urban Development articles,cities are near and dear to my heart. Recently, I came across an article about Los Angeles on the 'New Geography' website.
New Geography Article
New Geography has a conservative slant on development, they tend to high density and mixed use development as anathema to a development of a city. Ultimately, the thesis of this article is that the mayor's pet projects of the Downtown Stadium, the Subway to the sea are giant wastes of money. New Geography seems to think that the blue print for bringing prosperity back to Los Angeles is by implementing the political policy of the Chamber of Commerce. This article summarizes what was wrong with the development of the city for the last 50 years, what Los Angeles doesn't need is another 50 years of low rise development, we need the subway and additional development downtown for the city to really grow again.
With the expansion of the Panama Canal, the Port of Los Angeles will the ultimate driver of growth. How the port goes as will go the city.
Monday, July 25, 2011
The wheels are starting to come off the bus..
I'm really not a negative guy, I tend to see the silver lining even when bad shit starts to happen. But there have been some Macro Economic bad news and some person (financial) bad developments that have been concerning me recently. Let's start with some Macro Economics
The god damn debt ceiling needs to be raised. Period. The Democrats and the Republicans need to come to a compromise and raise the debt ceiling. I can not express in words how terrible a National Default would be, some of the awful shit would be 1. the United States losing it's reserve currency status 2. an increase in interest rates that the government would have to borrow at 3. the loss or temporary suspension of payments of Social Security would be crippling to a lot of Seniors. The cost associated with a default would be astronomical, it would be passed on for generations. Both parties need to compromise and work a long term solution, my great fear is that the Republican party would rather default than compromise.
I bought a rental house in Saint Louis last year, my tenant has failed to make his last 3 monthly rent payments. My management company was going to move to an eviction when the tenant told us he would be out by July 6th. Well, my management company went to the house last week and it was occupied by SQUATTERS who threatened them. Instead of calling the police, the management company fled the area.
I took it upon myself to protect my property. It's obvious that the management company is not being proactive. I called the St. Louis Sheriff's department, they did 2 area checks of the property today and found that the property is vacant, but there were blankets in the basement. Tomorrow, first thing I'm calling the management company for them to immediately change the locks. By leaving the property the tenant has forfeited his leasehold estate, I will take every action legally possible to protect my property.
Finally, Sunday in Downtown was beautiful. The weather was perfect so I opened my big loft windows to let in the warm air. I've been keeping them shut in order to avoid the wrath of the downtown mosquitoes. I figured I hadn't been bite by an insect in 3 weeks so the bugs had left the area. I even shut the windows once I went to sleep (thinking I could avoid the bugs that way). Well, I woke up with over 20 mosquito bites on my upper arms. I've turned myself into a mosquito buffet.
The god damn debt ceiling needs to be raised. Period. The Democrats and the Republicans need to come to a compromise and raise the debt ceiling. I can not express in words how terrible a National Default would be, some of the awful shit would be 1. the United States losing it's reserve currency status 2. an increase in interest rates that the government would have to borrow at 3. the loss or temporary suspension of payments of Social Security would be crippling to a lot of Seniors. The cost associated with a default would be astronomical, it would be passed on for generations. Both parties need to compromise and work a long term solution, my great fear is that the Republican party would rather default than compromise.
I bought a rental house in Saint Louis last year, my tenant has failed to make his last 3 monthly rent payments. My management company was going to move to an eviction when the tenant told us he would be out by July 6th. Well, my management company went to the house last week and it was occupied by SQUATTERS who threatened them. Instead of calling the police, the management company fled the area.
I took it upon myself to protect my property. It's obvious that the management company is not being proactive. I called the St. Louis Sheriff's department, they did 2 area checks of the property today and found that the property is vacant, but there were blankets in the basement. Tomorrow, first thing I'm calling the management company for them to immediately change the locks. By leaving the property the tenant has forfeited his leasehold estate, I will take every action legally possible to protect my property.
Finally, Sunday in Downtown was beautiful. The weather was perfect so I opened my big loft windows to let in the warm air. I've been keeping them shut in order to avoid the wrath of the downtown mosquitoes. I figured I hadn't been bite by an insect in 3 weeks so the bugs had left the area. I even shut the windows once I went to sleep (thinking I could avoid the bugs that way). Well, I woke up with over 20 mosquito bites on my upper arms. I've turned myself into a mosquito buffet.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Rededication
I've found that whenever I dedicate myself to do something I must make an extra effort to keep up with it. I've been in the loft for 5 weeks, and I've not completed several of the projects I wanted to get done in the first few weeks. I blame my social life for this failure. People have come over, I had a reunion, I had to go out of town, I had drinking to do! At any rate, I've rededicated myself to continue with the loft project until it's completed.
That means I have to re paint the red wall. Which I will do starting Monday. The problem is that I used a full gallon of paint and the wall came off streaky and splotchy. I never thought painting was that complicated, after all, kids without High School diplomas are part of painting crews. What did I do that was so wrong? In order to fix this situation I will speak with the dudes at the painting desk at Home Depot. I think they would be able to help me fix the wall.
I'm in initial conversations to build a 'built in' book case against the window wall. Once the book case is put in it should look pretty damned good. This thought brings me to a thought I've been having recently: Resale Value.
Built ins are phenomenal for re sale value. Built in furniture which complements the layout of your unit can add a lot of value to the building. In the long run I have a '5 year' plan that I want to execute for this unit. I want to live here for 5 years, build it out over the time I'm here and then rent it out to some young, up and coming hipster. Or, if the market has completely rebounded, I could sell it.
These are the goals, let's see if I can pull it off.
That means I have to re paint the red wall. Which I will do starting Monday. The problem is that I used a full gallon of paint and the wall came off streaky and splotchy. I never thought painting was that complicated, after all, kids without High School diplomas are part of painting crews. What did I do that was so wrong? In order to fix this situation I will speak with the dudes at the painting desk at Home Depot. I think they would be able to help me fix the wall.
I'm in initial conversations to build a 'built in' book case against the window wall. Once the book case is put in it should look pretty damned good. This thought brings me to a thought I've been having recently: Resale Value.
Built ins are phenomenal for re sale value. Built in furniture which complements the layout of your unit can add a lot of value to the building. In the long run I have a '5 year' plan that I want to execute for this unit. I want to live here for 5 years, build it out over the time I'm here and then rent it out to some young, up and coming hipster. Or, if the market has completely rebounded, I could sell it.
These are the goals, let's see if I can pull it off.
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