ActiveRain is a networking site where members of the Real Estate community -Realtors, Loan Officers, Home Stagers, Notaries etc. - can network with their peers and discuss industry related topics. Most of the content (except posts designated Members Only) is also open to the public offering consumers an unique perspective on what‘s happening in the Real Estate Industry, from an insider's point of view. Unfortunately, ActiveRain is also a bit of a popularity contest, with members competing to be the most read, have the most associates, and earn the most points. As a result, there are rarely any members who try to "rock the boat" and challenge the status quo, and those who do often suffer repercussions. That's a shame, because ActiveRain's guiding principles actually encourage "constructive dialogue", "spirited discourse", and "dissenting or contrarian points of view" but instead the community often feels like High School, with everyone striving to be part of the "in crowd" and shying from expressing any individual points of view.
A few days ago, I dared to write a post in which I happened to disagree with another member on the subject of whether someone should or should not qualify for a loan based on his particular credit, income, and personal situation. In my post I never even mentioned the other member's name, although I did link back to his post along with other articles and posts supporting my position. My intention was never to attack this particular person, but rather to offer an opposing (read less popular) point of view. However, my post angered some members who accused me of attacking their associate and attacking mortgage brokers in general. This is absurd since I am a mortgage broker and the particular statement against mortgage brokers which angered everyone was taken out of context. The sad part is that although some people were secure enough to publicly post comments agreeing with me, others contacted privately via email to offer their support. It was rather like the star player of the high school basketball team, who secretly has a passion for singing, and agrees to audition for the High School Musical, as long as the jocks and other popular kids do not find out.
Alas, I am not the only person who seems to have encountered the unwritten ActiveRain rule that having a dissenting opinion is frowned on in the community, and will not only make you unpopular it may also get you deleted. Consider this post by Tim Maitski, who dared to opine that Real Estate (despite popular opinion) is not always such a great investment. He gets a whopping two comments on his post (one of them mine) and also mentions that he originally posted his thought in someone else's blog only to have it deleted. Then there is Dave Daniels who offers sensible business and marketing advice like the importance of spelling correctly on your presentation materials or investing in professional marketing materials in order to attract new business. He too, manages to anger some and get deleted by others. I should also mention the popular featured post about a female Realtor with um, "large assets" in which not only were the comments made by some offended members deleted, but a subsequent post was written calling those who were offended "crybabies" under the reasoning that if you don't agree with someone's blog, don't bother to comment at all.
Another tactic employed on ActiveRain in order to deal with those who dare to disagree seems to be to simply ignore their comments and pretend they don't exist. Not many people read through all of the comment section anyway, so why bother to draw attention to opposing opinions, right? I noticed that on one popular featured post, which generated hundreds of comments, that those who brought up valid points disagreeing with the author were ignored and those who agreed with the author were acknowledged and thanked. On the other hand, in a different post written by a different author, offering a counter opinion where the blogger dared to call the other author "wrong", dissenting opinions were both welcomed and acknowledged. That's how things should work on ActiveRain, as the true test of the strength of an argument is how it stands up to critics.
For the record, I may as well get some of my other "unpopular" opinions off of my chest, lest they get deleted somewhere else:
1) I don't believe that now is necessarily the best time to buy, despite what Donald Trump says. The Donald may know real estate but he's also sitting on a few real estate developments and doesn't want to be stuck with any leftover inventory. What do you expect him to say, "Hold off on that purchase for a year, and come back and buy a condo when we're literally giving them away"? In fact if you Google "Trump time to buy" you will find that he made that same statement in January of this year and also October of last and probably on numerous other occasions as well.
2) I don't believe that this is just a "mortgage mess" caused by a meltdown in the subprime mortgage industry. That is certainly part of the problem but it ignores the fact that the problem affects the real estate industry as a whole, caused in part by real estate agents who helped drive up the price of homes because they thought that prices would continue to skyrocket forever, leading to a bubble that eventually burst.
3) I'm not in favor of Down Payment Assistance programs, and see no reason why someone shouldn't simply wait to buy a home and save for their own down payment. In fact I would argue that some people who used DPA's in the last couple years may have been better off had they waited to buy, despite the grant.
4) I don't see what the big deal is about mortgage brokers disclosing the Yield Spread. Banks aren't required to do so and neither does anyone else. Think there is no yield spread in other industries? I dare say you are wrong. Yield spread is simply the difference between the wholesale price (what the lender charges) and the retail price (what the broker charges). Would you ask the grocer who charges $2.49 for a loaf of bread what his wholesale cost is in order to determine if you got a fair price? (Ok, I will admit that some loan officers abuse this concept but you get my point).
5) I don't think everyone is necessarily destined to be a homeowner. Some people can and should renters.
Yes, I am aware that most of these opinions are contradictory to the typical industry perspective, which tends to lean toward any opinion that helps to sell more houses, or close more loans is good and any opinion that may affect my paycheck is bad. That's ok. I subscribe to the philosophy that the world is much bigger than me. I'm also aware that this post is similar to committing social suicide much like showing up for the first day of school wearing the wrong outfit, admitting that you have a crush on the head cheerleader and resident Mean Girl's boyfriend, or joining the AV club. That's ok too. I've watched enough cliché movies to know, that in the end the popular crowd is always defeated, the uncool, unknown misfit always triumphs, and everyone learns a valuable lesson along the way.
Michelle Chamberlain - Suburban Philadelphia Mortgage Broker
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Keep your blogs short and to the point. The bottom line is do what is comfortable and enjoyable for you. Your friends and collegues will make you a success, not blogging, internet leads, ads, etc.... That is mere gravy. From $51mm of business, 73% comes from known contacts. Makes you rethink advertising, ehhh? The bottom line is profit, not revenue......
Just ask your friends for help.....they will.