Philip Tirone of The Mortgage Equity Group #76

Bruce Norris is joined this week by president of 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score, The Mortgage Equity Group, and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Philip X. Tirone. Bruce and Philip discuss his term mortgage lifestyle dilemma, the consumer and disposable income, people trying to get out of loans, the percentage of people now able to get financing, the speed of the credit dry up, issues funding even with a large down payment, risk level exaggerations, the current state of home equity lines of credit, credit cards becoming the next line of liquidity, credit limits being reduced if a consumer’s credit score is not good, credit card companies looking into a consumer’s industry where they work, certain industries falling out of favor with credit issues, the Universal Default Clause and the interest rate associated with this clause, the different types of lenders, wholesale brokers, how the collateralized debt was put together, the main liquidity in the market, the price difference between a fixed and unfixed home, how lenders feel about unfixed homes, the national and local bills being discussed to help, who people are blaming for this mess, non-owner occupied financing, solutions being aimed at the wrong crowd, how lenders are dealing consumers looking to walk away even though they are current, ISurvived2008.com

Philip's commitment to educating homebuyers prompted the “7 Steps Licensing Program,” which allows mortgage brokers nationwide to become licensed in the 7 Steps and in turn help improve their clients' credit scores. He is also developing the 7 Steps Foundation, a charitable foundation that will allocate funds to help low-income and underserved Americans increase their credit scores and buy homes.

Philip has been featured in articles on credit and mortgage trends in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times.com, Wall Street Journal, Newsday, Woman's World Magazine, San Jose Mercury News, Bottom Line Magazine, Bankrate.com, and several others.

Philip created the Complete Financial Navigator™, a tool to analyze his borrowers' needs and financial picture, thereby helping borrowers overcome barriers to achieving their real estate goals. As a frequent guest lecturer at the University of California Los Angeles, Philip has authored and delivered numerous speeches regarding the “Mortgage Lifestyle Dilemma,” a phrase he coined to describe an emotional buying decision that results in overextension and a life that revolves around high mortgage payments. By analyzing industry-specific buying trends, he has devised a series of questions to help borrowers avoid this dilemma.

Philip was named Arizona State University's Man of the Year upon graduating with a real estate degree in 1994. Since then, he has continued to receive acclaim, most recently in the New York Times best-seller, Secrets of the Young & Successful.

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Rick Sharga with RealtyTrac #75

Bruce Norris is joined by Vice President of Marketing for RealtyTrac and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Rick Sharga. Bruce and Rick discuss preventive measures currently in the works to help the current real estate downturn, how these solutions are structured, market psychology, lenders being risk averse, social trends contributing to problems, lenders and the dance with Wall Street, the consumer and lenders as the true speculators, the definition of market value being skewed, RealtyTrac keeping up with the sheer numbers of foreclosures, military foreclosures and issues because of volume and people falling through the crack, fraud in the marketplace, how RealtyTrac counts foreclosures, conversation rate for notices of default, alt-A loans and what’s coming next, equity positions and behavior of different consumers, percentage of consumers buying with the intent to walk away from another home, the unintended consequence of adjusting principle on loans, percentage of US housing units facing foreclosure, REOs dictating prices in a market when they are the majority of listings, looking at the rest of 2008 and 2009, other areas not in the same position as California, other states that are doing well, California adjusting to allow for massive migration, why California could be extremely attractive in the coming years, underestimating the impact real estate had on jobs, auction attendance, the Internet and auctions in the coming years, bid4assets and RealtyTrac, shill bidding and the Internet auctions, realtytrac.com, isurvived2008.com

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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Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics #74

Bruce Norris is joined by Principle at Beacon Economics and panelist for I Survived Real Estate 2008, Christopher Thornberg. Bruce and Christopher discuss how Christopher got started in the prediction business, letting the data speak to you and street smarts, how this journey caught so many off guard, the duration of bubbles, how the downturn is worse then expected, looking at past real estate bubbles and how they compare, the chance that people who can afford home payments walk away because their neighbor owes half what they do, looking at what caused most of the damage, subprime being the fuel for the fire, the main problem being people paid too much, how falling prices will eventually allow people to get back in the market, home prices and consumer spending, unemployment and what that can mean for migration, when it might turn, if downturns hit coastal regions, the price decline and how it works its way out to coastal regions, returning to more reasonable ownership levels, following the foreclosure lists and realizing that investors weren’t the problem, how lenders are tightening financing, how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are exposed in volatile markets, the large amount of leverage within banks, equity position of banks, the story behind pent up demand, commercial real estate in the coming years, the land price bubble, false wealth and consumer spending, how to notice a commercial bubble is popping, the Federal Reserve and how they’re dealing with the market, dealing with inflation compared to past cycles, and what policy Christopher would change in the current market.

Christopher Thornberg is a founding partner of Beacon Economics. Dr. Thornberg is an expert in the study of regional economies, real estate dynamics, labor markets and business forecasting. He has been involved in a number of special studies measuring the impact of important events on the economy, including the NAFTA treaty, the California power crisis, port security, California water transfer programs and the September 11th terrorist attacks. Prior to launching Beacon he worked with the UCLA Anderson Forecast where he regularly authored the outlooks for California, Los Angeles and the East Bay as well as performing a number of specialized forecasts for regions and industries. Dr. Thornberg lectures on a regular basis at a variety of public and private events, has appeared on CNN, Fox News and CNBC and is widely quoted in the press. He received his Ph.D in Business Economics from The Anderson School and his B.S. in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He specializes in International and Labor Economics. Dr. Thornberg continues to teach in the MBA program at UCLA and previously held a faculty position in the economics department at Clemson University.

Christopher Thornberg will join our panel of experts on August 23, 2008 at the fundraiser, "I Survived Real Estate 2008." Proceeds will go to the Orange County Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. See iSurvived2008.com for more information.

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Marsha Norris #73

Bruce Norris launches this week a very special event for a very special cause. On August 23rd, 2008, The Norris Group along with support from generous partners and panelists will host an event entitled, “I Survived Real Estate 2008.”

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Orange County Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The event seeks to bring together the real estate community including Realtors, auctioneers, investors, mortgage professionals, economists, service providers, and builders to discuss how we got here, how the respective industries are changing, and how we move forward and prosper together in 2008 and 2009. This is about solutions and synergy, not bad news.

The TNG radio interviews for the next several weeks leading to the event will seek to introduce the audience to the panelists that are participating in the live event. Many have been guests on the radio show before and we appreciate their willingness to help us with such a worthy cause.

The week, Bruce Norris is joined by wife of 38 years, Marsha Norris. Marsha is a cancer survivor and has been fighting for 13 years. Her cancer battle started with breast cancer and she is now fighting bone cancer. Marsha and Bruce discuss how they found out, the initial reaction to finding out, the journey they've taken trying to find a doctor who would listen, protocols, the important of self education when it comes to illness, surrounding yourself with people who believe you'll survive, how the real estate community has been a HUGE support system, spirituality and getting through the tough times, believing in a cure, pursing health versus buying time, the Susan G. Komen website and the resources that help, treatments she's tried along the way, and how believing in your treatment is important.

Marsha Norris has four children, seven grandchildren, and has been married to Bruce Norris for 38 years. Marsha is a trained massage therapist and loves reading on holistic medicine, different massage techniques, and numerous other topics. She enjoys traveling and looks forward to seeing Egypt for the first time this coming Fall.

Official site launch of www.ISurvived2008.com and tickets for the live event will launch early July. Thank you for your patience and we’ll keep you posted on the radio show and TNG website. There will be numerous ways for you to get involved so we look forward to sharing them with you soon.

Special thanks to the following partners who are helping make this event possible: the San Diego Creative Investment Association and Bill Tan (sdcia.com), the Investors Workshop in Orange County and Shawn Watkins (investorsworkshops.com), Frye Wiles, the results-oriented web design, Internet marketing, branding and creative design firm helping us with the web (fryewiles.com), MVT Productions who always does an amazing job with our audio/visual needs (mvtproductions.tv), Proxibid who has graciously offered to air this event nationwide live via the Internet (Proxibid.com), White House Catering (whcatering.com), and finally, the Nixon Library for allowing us to use their wonderful White House Replica of the East Room to hold the live, black tie event (nixonlibraryfoundation.org).

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Nancy West of HUD #72

Bruce Norris is joined once again by marketing and outreach specialist for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Nancy West. Bruce and Nancy discuss home owner month and the outreach FHA is involved in for the event and throughout the year, foreclosure prevention workshops, who the buyer is now entering the market, FHA rehabilitation loans to consumers willing to rehab homes, rehabilitation loan program 230k, streamline rehabilitation loans, how no special inspection is necessary if under $15,000 in repairs, which loan is appropriate depending on the amount of work needed, how the consumer can receive up to 110% of after approved value, the way the Realtor would structure the transaction if these loans are used, if an investor can take over an FHA loan, how FHA was replaced by other loan products, the seasoning period for FHA loans and why it exists, tweaks to the property flipping rule in 2003, if FHA loans are assumable between two owner occupants, the 1980s and the simple assumption and the elimination of the program in 1989, why the program was eliminated, if HUD was satisfied working with investors in the last cycle, why the last downturn was different and why we could be hurt because the financing can’t move forward, if bankruptcy prevents consumers from getting an FHA loans, how FHA requires at least two years to laps but less time granted if consumer had extenuating circumstances, how the consumer typically waits two years for bankruptcy and three years for foreclosure to receive an FHA loan, talk of FHA buying defaulted loans by Barney Frank with the Banking Committee, how it will take an act of Congress and Senate and President approval, daily proposals trying to create solutions, how FHA is not really talking about these solutions until something looks real, if an election year will matter, other states that are still appreciating, the states with the most problems, how states and local areas differ, how FHA focuses on the positive things when dealing with consumers, rent approximating rent for first time in some areas, how the interest rate might become more important than the price, how the consumer needs to be educated, if FHA will be hiring, and FHA.gov.

Nancy West has been in mortgage lending industry since 1977, and has worked in a variety of positions within the industry from branch manager, small business owner, account executive, and mortgage loan underwriter. Nancy underwrote mortgage loans for major U.S. lenders; both government insured and non-government backed. Nancy holds two degrees; Real Estate, and in Education. Nancy is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker.

Nancy joined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2004 in the Processing and Underwriting Division. In 2006, Nancy accepted one of four nationwide Marketing and Outreach Specialist’s Positions for the Department. Nancy currently works out of the Santa Ana Homeownership Center, which services the eight western United States. Nancy travels throughout the Santa Ana Homeownership Center’s jurisdiction, providing presentations and information on FHA and FHA programs to consumer groups, industry partners, external agencies, as well as providing internal staff with up-to-date information on industry changes and practices.

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Nancy West of HUD #71

Bruce Norris is joined by marketing and outreach specialist for HUD, Nancy West. Bruce and Nancy discuss when HUD was created, the FHA program and its primary goals, how home ownership levels and foreclosure levels are related, hud.gov compared to fha.gov, the FHA Secure program that allows borrows who have fallen delinquent to come into an FHA program if the delinquency was caused by reset, what happens if the consumer owes more than the house is worth, when FHA secure is due to expire, the three option for delinquent consumers, renegotiations and modifications, loan forgiveness, how well the program is going, where money comes from when an FHA loan is funded, loan correspondents when working with FHA, how FHA differs from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, how FHA differs from PMI, the enacted Stimulus Act, FHA and manual underwriting, how FHA views a consumer’s willingness to pay obligations, FHA as a more common sense approach to lending, FHA requirements and standards for property, the process to become an approved FHA appraiser, gift programs for down payment allowable for FHA, single family for FHA includes up to four units and manufactured loans, loan limits in FHA, how often loan amounts are revisited, current loan limits and the Stimulus Act, how limits will go back to original limits on December 31, 2008, loan limits set by Congress, Section 8 rental program, foreclosing on FHA loans and when FHA steps in to protect a lender’s loss, if there’s a situation when the lender would be forced to take a loss, if fraud has been a problem with FHA, where the money come from when a claim is made, if FHA is expecting a huge number of foreclosures, the issue of the consumer being a victim in the mortgage mess, how long the FHA Secure process takes, loans available through FHA including fixed rate, adjustable, energy efficient, rehabilitation program (203K), and the streamlined rehabilitation program, why the 203K loan is not available to investors, why the program was available to investors in the 90s, how can investors get involved to get that reversed, do most buyers obtain fixed rate loans, and fha.gov.

Nancy West has been in mortgage lending industry since 1977, and has worked in a variety of positions within the industry from branch manager, small business owner, account executive, and mortgage loan underwriter. Nancy underwrote mortgage loans for major U.S. lenders; both government insured and non-government backed. Nancy holds two degrees; Real Estate, and in Education. Nancy is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker.

Nancy joined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2004 in the Processing and Underwriting Division. In 2006, Nancy accepted one of four nationwide Marketing and Outreach Specialist’s Positions for the Department. Nancy currently works out of the Santa Ana Homeownership Center, which services the eight western United States. Nancy travels throughout the Santa Ana Homeownership Center’s jurisdiction, providing presentations and information on FHA and FHA programs to consumer groups, industry partners, external agencies, as well as providing internal staff with up-to-date information on industry changes and practices.

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Philip Tirone of The Mortgage Equity Group #70

Bruce Norris is joined once again by president of 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score and The Mortgage Equity Group, Philip X. Tirone. Bruce and Philip discuss how detrimental it is to be surrounded by comps dominated by short sales or foreclosures, how using recent sales in the current market hurts prices, FHA loan seasoning and the difficulty investors face selling in the current California market, how each half percent of interest rate gives the loan more borrowing power, the Case Shiller and how the index does not reflect foreclosure numbers, how foreclosures won’t always dictate price, as is inventory versus clean inventory, appraisal rules coming up in January 2009, how banks will want to use their own valuation system which could cause more problems, automated valuation systems, how being labeled a declining state changes conventional financing, new labeling categories in hard hit areas that require 40% down, the attitudes lenders have towards inventory in rough shape, appraisal reviews becoming the norm, the time change for transactions, income levels of potential clients, examples of lenders undervaluing properties and dictating price lower than current offers, proposed fixes in the mortgage mess and if any will help, more questions coming in about what will happen if people walk away from their property, the time frame it takes to become a buyer again after a foreclosure, illegal aliens and home ownership, how lenders are being more careful in their due diligence on anyone trying to obtain a loan, new Fannie Mae limitations on investor loans, and 7stepsto720.com.

An expert in residential home financing, Philip X. Tirone is a powerhouse mortgage broker who contributes heavily to his firm’s billions of dollars in loan sales. Philip has a unique background in difficult-to-obtain loans, having spent years working with borrowers with subprime credit scores. Philip is masterful in finding loans for borrowers with bad credit, no credit, bankruptcy, and no stated income, but his specialty is in helping increase his clients’ credit scores so they qualify for the optimal loan programs that minimize their interest payments. In addition to authoring 7 Steps To a 720 Credit Score™, Philip’s workbook, Applying the 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score, is one of Nightingale-Conant’s top sellers.

Philip’s commitment to educating homebuyers prompted the “7 Steps Licensing Program,” which allows mortgage brokers nationwide to become licensed in the 7 Steps and in turn help improve their clients’ credit scores. He is also developing the 7 Steps Foundation, a charitable foundation that will allocate funds to help low-income and underserved Americans increase their credit scores and buy homes.

Philip has been featured in articles on credit and mortgage trends in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times.com, Wall Street Journal, Newsday, Woman’s World Magazine, San Jose Mercury News, Bottom Line Magazine, Bankrate.com, and several others.

Philip created the Complete Financial Navigator™, a tool to analyze his borrowers’ needs and financial picture, thereby helping borrowers overcome barriers to achieving their real estate goals. As a frequent guest lecturer at the University of California Los Angeles, Philip has authored and delivered numerous speeches regarding the “Mortgage Lifestyle Dilemma,” a phrase he coined to describe an emotional buying decision that results in overextension and a life that revolves around high mortgage payments. By analyzing industry-specific buying trends, he has devised a series of questions to help borrowers avoid this dilemma.

Philip was named Arizona State University’s Man of the Year upon graduating with a real estate degree in 1994. Since then, he has continued to receive acclaim, most recently in the New York Times best-seller, Secrets of the Young & Successful.

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Philip Tirone of The Mortgage Equity Group #69

Bruce Norris is joined this week by president of 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score and The Mortgage Equity Group, Philip Tirone. Bruce and Philip discuss when Philip first got in the lending business, what was required of borrowers in the late 90s, what types of loans were available, how 2004-2006 changed, the consumer and how they became investors, banks and their willingness to renegotiate, how debt was sold and collateralized, how subprime has spilled over to prime borrowers, how drastically the lending business changes in such a short time in today’s market, how the bankers and economists seem to be out of touch with the local market, how the market has changed for investors, the pillars of financing, how important provable income is to obtain loans, what ratio of income to loan amount is now acceptable, qualifying people on net income, how credit scores have become so important, how banks now want to see money in the bank, the percentage of people now being able to qualify for loans, stated income loans in the current market, portfolio loans in the current market, how different consumers are treated differently even with FHA, how popular FHA has become, types of inventory or projects lenders shy away from, condos and rules that might make it difficult to get a loan, the products banks are trying to push, the reality of price declines, the losses not finished for lenders, 7stepsto720.com.


An expert in residential home financing, Philip X. Tirone is a powerhouse mortgage broker who contributes heavily to his firm’s billions of dollars in loan sales. Philip has a unique background in difficult-to-obtain loans, having spent years working with borrowers with subprime credit scores. Philip is masterful in finding loans for borrowers with bad credit, no credit, bankruptcy, and no stated income, but his specialty is in helping increase his clients’ credit scores so they qualify for the optimal loan programs that minimize their interest payments. In addition to authoring 7 Steps To a 720 Credit Score™, Philip’s workbook, Applying the 7 Steps to a 720 Credit Score, is one of Nightingale-Conant’s top sellers.

Philip’s commitment to educating homebuyers prompted the “7 Steps Licensing Program,” which allows mortgage brokers nationwide to become licensed in the 7 Steps and in turn help improve their clients’ credit scores. He is also developing the 7 Steps Foundation, a charitable foundation that will allocate funds to help low-income and underserved Americans increase their credit scores and buy homes.

Philip has been featured in articles on credit and mortgage trends in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times.com, Wall Street Journal, Newsday, Woman’s World Magazine, San Jose Mercury News, Bottom Line Magazine, Bankrate.com, and several others.

Philip created the Complete Financial Navigator™, a tool to analyze his borrowers’ needs and financial picture, thereby helping borrowers overcome barriers to achieving their real estate goals. As a frequent guest lecturer at the University of California Los Angeles, Philip has authored and delivered numerous speeches regarding the “Mortgage Lifestyle Dilemma,” a phrase he coined to describe an emotional buying decision that results in overextension and a life that revolves around high mortgage payments. By analyzing industry-specific buying trends, he has devised a series of questions to help borrowers avoid this dilemma.

Philip was named Arizona State University’s Man of the Year upon graduating with a real estate degree in 1994. Since then, he has continued to receive acclaim, most recently in the New York Times best-seller, Secrets of the Young & Successful.

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Bill Gatten of North America Realty Services #68

Bruce Norris is once again joined by investor, creative real practitioner and educator, and author, Bill Gatten. Bruce and Bill discuss investors who are new to a downturn and how they are currently reacting, what Bruce thinks the market might look like in 2010-2011, non-inclusive options, difference between an Illinois land trust and the Pac Land Trust, options of selling in non-traditional fashions, creative financing and different issues, due on sale clause, how the Pac Trust avoids the due on sale clause, Garn- St Germain act and the rules, percentage the beneficiary needs to retain for tax and insurance reasons, insurance in the land trust transaction, what is negotiated in the land trust transaction, what sellers typically want when they call off an ad, taxes with a land trust, running “I buy houses” ad in the current market, who are the people who make up those phone calls, profit centers when using the land trust, Bill Gatten working with builders in the current market, helping builders that have no other options, lenders that don’t understand the Pac Trust, how Bill deals with lenders that tries to implement the due on sale clause, and finally, landtrust.net .

Bill Gatten is a one of the few true "in-the-trenches" creative financing teachers who actually practice what they preach. A highly successful real estate investor and much sought-after national speaker, Bill's most recent book (of many on the subject) is the very comprehensive, humorous and irreverent: "Making it BIG in Creative Real Estate and Keeping it...This Time," a 500 page compendium of all aspects of seller-carry, no-down, no-credit-needed, no-payment creative real estate financing, featuring the dynamic "Equity Holding Land Trust(tm) System" -- the PACTrust (tm) and NEHTrust(tm).

Educated at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Bill's 45 years of work experience are in sales training, real estate investing and institutional banking (former co-owner and founder, Westlake Bancorp; and the former president and CEO of Gatten Financial Services, Inc. and Markay Equipment Leasing, Inc., Thousand Oaks, Ca.).

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Bill Gatten of North America Realty Services #67

Bruce Norris is joined this week by investor, creative real practitioner and educator, and author, Bill Gatten. Bruce and Bill discuss how long the concept of holding title in a trust been around, why it was created, the mid-70s and interest rates and problems with lenders, why we didn’t have huge price changes in 80s, creative financing, Garn- St Germain Depository Institutions Act in 1982, how it limited lenders on foreclosing, the living revocable trust, due on sale violations, the inter vivos trust, fee simple bundle of rights, the phase of acceptance for new ideas and where the living trust currently resides, how a living trust is structured, asset protection under the trust concept, the percentage of lawyers who understand the trust concept and how even fewer understand the land trust, the different Realtor groups that have made great use of the land trust in Southern California, creating options for the seller, if changing interest rates changes the strategy, problems with using a lease option, problems with contract for deeds, the steps in a transaction where using a land trust is appropriate, why it’s best for the seller not to remain in the property when using this transaction, the players in a trust transaction and who holds the power, the trustee, the settlor, the beneficiary, why a corporate trustee is important, and finally, landtrust.net.

Bill Gatten is a one of the few true "in-the-trenches" creative financing teachers who actually practice what they preach. A highly successful real estate investor and much sought-after national speaker, Bill's most recent book (of many on the subject) is the very comprehensive, humorous and irreverent: "Making it BIG in Creative Real Estate and Keeping it...This Time," a 500 page compendium of all aspects of seller-carry, no-down, no-credit-needed, no-payment creative real estate financing, featuring the dynamic "Equity Holding Land Trust(tm) System" -- the PACTrust (tm) and NEHTrust(tm).

Educated at the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Bill's 45 years of work experience are in sales training, real estate investing and institutional banking (former co-owner and founder, Westlake Bancorp; and the former president and CEO of Gatten Financial Services, Inc. and Markay Equipment Leasing, Inc., Thousand Oaks, Ca.).

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Pete Pannes of PMI Mortgage Insurance #66

Bruce Norris is joined this week by Senior Vice President, Field Sales and National Accounts of PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., Pete Pannes. Bruce and Pete discuss the basic business of PMI, when a borrower in a transaction pays for PMI, the range in cost, when PMI is required on a loan, if sellers can pay for the cost of PMI, competitors in mortgage insurance, what would happen if a mortgage insurer went out of business and its effect on the lenders, current stresses on mortgage insurers, how the industry is structured to handle issues in the market, how insurance changes the amount a consumer can borrow, if PMI is only for first trust deeds, if PMI has gotten more popular in recent years, if property value increases reduce insurance costs, at what point PMI is cancelled, what happens if prices go backwards, can PMI be reinstated if loan to value shifts, what price range of loans PMI covers, variances in PMI by state, if PMI can be used for purchases and refinances, how the market got away from paying PMI with 80% first and 20% second, if more traditional underwriting is taking place and if it includes PMI, how PMI was ignored because of run up of appreciation in previous years, reemergence of FHA and how it compares to PMI, how the consumer benefits from PMI, how lenders benefit from PMI, if PMI makes loan more liquid on Wall Street, how PMI assists bank if foreclosure takes place, what is covered in the policy and for how much, the borrower in foreclosure and recourse against borrowers in default, how do consumers prove they are in a 20% equity position, if late payments or rapid market declines can cause the bank to change its policies, do mortgage seconds or home equity line of credit change the PMI situation going forward, will PMI be required for longer amounts of time, pmigroup.com.

Pete Pannes is Senior Vice President, Field Sales and National Accounts, for PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., responsible for ensuring operational excellence with PMI customers nationwide.

Pannes has more than 18 years combined experience in the mortgage and mortgage insurance industry. He joined PMI in 1990 as an Account Representative and was promoted to Account Executive in 1992. He was a key part of the PMI management team that in 1994 formed CMG Mortgage Insurance Company (CMG MI), PMI's joint venture with CUNA Mutual serving the growing credit union market. Pannes held several positions at CMG MI from 1994 to 2001, when he joined CUNA Mutual as Senior Vice President and General Manager of CMG MI. In 2004 he rejoined PMI as Vice President of National Sales-Division Manager, responsible for the management of all field sales and select national accounts for the Eastern U.S.

Pannes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University.

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Ben Gay III #65

Bruce Norris is joined by one of the Nation’s best salesmen and sales trainers, Ben Gay III. Bruce and Ben discuss how Ben’s life changed when he answered an ad from Bill Dempsey, how Ben got his start in the sale business, working for one of the first multi-level companies called Holiday Magic, rubbing shoulders with some of America’s best known salesmen including J. Douglas Edwards, Zig Ziglar, Earl Nightingale, Napoleon Hill, and Fred Herman, the concept of no graduation day for a professional sales person, Closers 2 and the sales infiltrator concept, the normal sales setup and how the sales infiltrator changes the dynamics, thinking on the behalf of the client and how that wins loyal customers, bfg3.com.

Ben Gay III has been called a living legend in the sales world. Now in his 42nd year of professional selling, he has been the #1 salesperson in every organization in which he has worked.

At age 27 he was president of what was then the world’s largest direct sales company, having been personally trained by fellow sales legends J. Douglas Edwards, Dr. Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale, and other sales giants.

One of the most famous, popular and powerful sales trainers in the world, Ben now writes/publishes/produces “The Closers” series of books/audios/videos/newsletters/teletrainings/and live seminars . . . a series that is considered to be “The Foundation of Professional Selling.”

Ben was the founder and is the current Executive Director of The National Association of Professional Salespeople! Ben and his lovely wife Gigi live near Lake Tahoe in the little town of Placerville, California

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Robert Friedman of Auction.com #64

Bruce Norris is joined once again by Co-founder and Chairman of National Recreational Properties, Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC), LandAuction.com, and author of Auction Revolution and soon to be released How to Make a Fortune at Real Estate Auctions, Robert Friedman. Bruce and Robert talk about the process lenders currently use to exit properties, coping with unrealistic sellers, why the real estate auction method makes talking to unrealistic sellers easier, what percentage of properties close, not working will sellers that are truly unrealistic, how real estate auctions work with lenders, how long it takes to go from contact from a lender to live auctions, after the auction process, how many auctions can take place in an area per year, reserving the right to bid on behalf of the seller, shill bidding and why its currently a common practice, ethics and shill bidding, if REDC sees investors as playing a larger part in the future, if prices are going to correct further, dealing with lenders now compared to the 1990s, dealing with Wall Street versus lenders in the last cycle, having decisions makers in the audience to accept or reject offers, REDC’s clients, REDC’s lender of choice, how that relationship helps during the auction, if the buyout of Countrywide is going to affect the business, the inventory in this cycle compared to the last downturn, if auctions need more structure and regulation, the perception of real estate auctions in the public and if those perceptions are changing, broker participation, Robert’s upcoming book and when it will be released, the different types of auctions REDC does, Robert’s involvement in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program, ushomeauction.com – REDC’s live real estate auctions, landauction.com – live land auctions, landauctionbid.com – online land auction, auctiontoday.com – real estate developer closeout auctions.

Real estate visionary Rob Friedman is the co-founder and Chairman of National Recreational Properties, Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC) and LandAuction.com. Together these three companies comprise one of the largest real estate and auction businesses in the world. His real estate firms have sold tens of thousands of properties grossing billions of dollars, the majority through real estate auctions.

Since the age of 24, Rob has been investing in all types of real estate including land, residential and commercial. While his first love is land and land development, Mr. Friedman has multiple shopping centers in development and owns strip centers, automotive dealership locations, fast-food locations and numerous other types of properties across the country.

Mr. Friedman is the co-author of “Auction Revolution” and the soon to be published “How to Make a Fortune at Real Estate Auctions.”

In addition to his extraordinary success in Real Estate, Mr. Friedman was among the first to recognize the potential of the internet. He has numerous online ventures including Football.com and Basketball.com, two leading online sports entertainment and e-commerce websites. He also sits on the board of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Orange County.

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Robert Friedman of Auction.com #63

Bruce Norris is joined by Co-founder and Chairman of National Recreational Properties, Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC), LandAuction.com, and author of Auction Revolution and soon to be released How to Make a Fortune at Real Estate Auctions, Robert Friedman. Bruce and Robert discuss how long Robert has been involved in auctions, how he got started, land auctions, the evolution of auctions in cycles past, terms for land auctions, land auctions in the coming years, if REDC can handle more volume, how the volume so far and the magnitude of the downturn was unexpected, how his company goes about buying land, underwriting title, current clients of REDC auctions, the different kinds of auctions, the type of auction REDC uses and why, why banks lean to a certain type of auction, introduction of buyers’ premium at auctions, where the profit center is now for auction companies, advantages of absolute auction if any, licensing for becoming an auctioneer, Robert’s new book, the amount of people it takes to pull off a great auction, how marketing has changed for auction companies, the Internet and real estate marketing, working with builders, early lessons in the industry, ballroom auctions versus other types and why Robert chooses ballroom, most active areas, benefits to having an established brand at auction, why auctions have never been accepted in booming markets, and the stigma with auctions in a down market.

Real estate visionary Rob Friedman is the co-founder and Chairman of National Recreational Properties, Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC) and LandAuction.com. Together these three companies comprise one of the largest real estate and auction businesses in the world. His real estate firms have sold tens of thousands of properties grossing billions of dollars, the majority through real estate auctions.

Since the age of 24, Rob has been investing in all types of real estate including land, residential and commercial. While his first love is land and land development, Mr. Friedman has multiple shopping centers in development and owns strip centers, automotive dealership locations, fast-food locations and numerous other types of properties across the country.

Mr. Friedman is the co-author of “Auction Revolution” and the soon to be published “How to Make a Fortune at Real Estate Auctions.”

In addition to his extraordinary success in Real Estate, Mr. Friedman was among the first to recognize the potential of the internet. He has numerous online ventures including Football.com and Basketball.com, two leading online sports entertainment and e-commerce websites. He also sits on the board of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Orange County.

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Tommy Williams with the National Auctioneers Association 4-4-08 #62

Bruce Norris is joined once again by auction legend, co-founder of Williams and Williams Auctions, and current president of the National Auctioneers Association, Tommy Williams. Bruce and Tommy discuss what the duties are as the president of the National Auctioneer Association, foreign countries and the auction process, the lessons to be learned from foreign countries, the leading foreign auction country, auction cycles and the psychology of acceptance, Tommy’s dream for the auction process, the biggest impediments for the auction method to gain wider acceptance, the possible synergy with Realtors, what the National Auctioneer Association is doing to reach out with the National Association of Realtors, the number one auction category in the United States, what rules or regulations could be put in place to help the auction process, Tommy’s wish to see foreclosure process change, the perception of auctions and how its changed over the years, what the public thinks about auctions and how Ebay has played an important role, shill bidding on Ebay, the benefits to joining the National Auctioneers Association (NAA), the national auction publications, the education process of an auctioneer, how the auction industry self regulates against those that abuse the system, how word of mouth weeds out the bad seeds, rookie mistakes of auctioneers, the importance of understanding value, how the business has changed since the Internet, marketing being the most important ingredient for the auction process, the future for the Williams and Williams auction company. Williamsauction.com

Thomas L. Williams is a graduate of Penn State University (B.S. Animal Science) and the Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI). Representing the third generation of Williams family auctioneers dating back to the mid-1800s, Williams is also a graduate of the historic Reppert School of Auctioneering. He has over 40 years experience in real estate auctions, land development and real estate investment. He currently serves as President of the National Auctioneers Association.

A founding partner of Williams & Williams, Williams served as president from 1986-2000, and became board chairman in 2001. He also co-founded and served as managing partner of Lowderman & Williams Auctioneers from 1965-85. He has conducted over 10,000 auctions in all 48 of the contiguous United States and Canada, and is an advisor to auctions conducted throughout Western Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

An avid cattleman, Williams also owned and operated Bradmar Angus Farms from 1965-85, after which he continued to serve as a herd and genetics consultant for many of the nation's premier Angus cattle breeders.

Williams is a licensed auctioneer and real estate broker in over 20 states, and an active member of the National Association of Realtors.

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