Friday, October 26, 2007

Mike Cantu #39

Bruce is joined by one of California’s most savvy and experienced real estate investors, Mike Cantu. Bruce and Mike talk about how Mike got started, how Mike survived the last downturn, how he learned the business, how tough times can show you what you’re really made of, how this downturn is different, what common problems he sees investors dealing with, what makes him go into un-own mode, where deals will come from in this market, and if holding has ultimately been more profitable in the long-term.

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Friday, October 19, 2007

Rick Sharga with RealtyTrac 10-20-07 #38

Bruce is joined by Rick Sharga for a follow up interview after having spoken in March about the current market situation. Rick discusses how RealtyTrac counts foreclosures, how rapidly foreclosures are growing, upcoming auctions, the liquidity crunch, foreclosures and their impact on prices, how the White House is trying to help with the new IRS bill, and which states are seeing the worst of it all.

Rick joined RealtyTrac in 2004 as the Vice President of Marketing. He is responsible for building and maintaining the RealtyTrac brand, corporate positioning and messaging, public and investor relations, and marketing communications activities. As a spokesman for the company, Rick has been quoted extensively in the press on foreclosure, mortgage and real estate trends, and appeared on NBC Nightly News, CNN, CBS, ABC World News and NPR.

Prior to joining the company, Rick spent more than 20 years developing corporate and product branding strategies for technology start-up companies and international corporations such as DuPont, Fujitsu, Hitachi and Toshiba. Rick created and executed successful sales and marketing programs in B2B, technology, consumer electronics and retail for companies like JD Edwards, Philips, Cox Communications and Honeywell.

Rick began his career with one of the world’s largest ad agencies, Foote, Cone and Belding, and also had successful engagements with Ketchum Communications and McGraw-Hill. He founded his own consulting firm, CJ Patrick Company, in 2002 to help companies develop business and brand strategies that clearly communicate a unique value proposition, create a position of competitive advantage, and leverage the strength of their brands in the marketplace.

A nationally-recognized speaker on Branding, Rick spends his spare time taking Tae Kwon Do classes with his 10-year-old son, and trying to keep up with his increasingly-mobile 4-year-old daughter. He also continues in his lifelong quest to find the perfect wine to compliment his BBQ'd baby back ribs.

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Friday, October 12, 2007

Aaron Krowne #37

Bruce Norris is joined once again by Aaron Krowne who is the webmaster behind The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter. Bruce and Aaron discuss the overall economic health of the United States, what real estate could do to unemployment, recession, who has the power to fix the problems, and if stagflation is possible.

Aaron Krowne is a computer scientist and economics enthusiast who has been blogging and writing freelance on economics and finance topics for the past few years. He founded The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter at the beginning of 2007 to draw attention to the problems in the housing finance sector and economy at large.

Krowne also founded PlanetMath.org back in 2001, which continues as a wiki-like mathematics-centric online community. Krowne has recently left his job in research at Emory University's Woodruff Library to work on web information projects full time.

Krowne lives in Atlanta, GA, and thus is no stranger to the effects of the bursting housing bubble. He blogs and posts articles at autoDogmatic.com, iTulip.com, WallStreetExaminer.com, and maintains a Furl.net link archive (under the handle "akrowne").

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Saturday, October 6, 2007

Aaron Krowne #36

Bruce Norris is joined by Aaron Krowne who is the webmaster behind The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter. Bruce and Aaron discuss Aaron's background, how he got interested in the mortgage industry problems, and why approximately 160 lenders have seen their doors close or are no longer operate on their own. You might be surprised to find out that only 30% of the lenders on his list are subprime. While employment numbers have been historically good, find out what industries will ultimately be effected.

Aaron Krowne is a computer scientist and economics enthusiast who has been blogging and writing freelance on economics and finance topics for the past few years. He founded The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter at the beginning of 2007 to draw attention to the problems in the housing finance sector and economy at large.

Krowne also founded PlanetMath.org back in 2001, which continues as a wiki-like mathematics-centric online community. Krowne has recently left his job in research at Emory University's Woodruff Library to work on web information projects full time.

Krowne lives in Atlanta, GA, and thus is no stranger to the effects of the bursting housing bubble. He blogs and posts articles at autoDogmatic.com, iTulip.com, WallStreetExaminer.com, and maintains a Furl.net link archive (under the handle "akrowne").

Listen to show