The state of the mortgage industry:

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“Yes, I actually looked this good in the 80’s.”

There have been drastic changes the past few years since the sky has fallen on the real estate industry and the economy as a whole. Once again, the media have done their share to put the situation in such dire straits as to give everyone the im-pression that buying a home; or even getting a mortgage is impossible these days. I have not seen such a reaction since my 5 year old son Mi-chael lost his DVD of Speed Racer.

It is true that we are in a deep recession and the industry is tough, but the best way to put it is that if you want to buy a home you have to prove you can afford it.

In the past the industry let things get out of hand by simply approving a loan without getting proof that one could afford the property. In other words they would take it for granted that you would pay them back.

As we know in life things are not that simple. Even Fonzie had to jump 14 garbage cans to still prove to the gang at Arnold’s that he was cool.

This is true in all walks of life. Back in college, the hottest show on TV was Miami Vice. Every Fri-day we would go out for happy hour, the bars would empty at 8 pm so we would watch the latest episode and then the night would begin. Crockett and Tubbs; was anyone cooler? I prided myself on being a fan from the beginning and not jumping on the bandwag-on in the 2nd or 3rd season. Did this get me any props? None, so I took it one step further. I bought the white sport jacket and would wear it out with a turquoise Polo shirt underneath, thus of course solidifying my status. I would mix it up a bit also. I would look es-pecially intimidating with a black tank top! Mission accomplished.

The age old argument and rivalry in Chicago as to which baseball team is the better was of course ended in 2005, lest I need to re-mind anyone.

You want to be cool? Jump the garbage cans.

You want to be a true fan? Wear the attire.You want to buy a home? Show you can afford it.

You want bragging rights? Win the World Series!!!

Lenders have drawn the line and have gone back to the more tradi-tional approach of lending. Some-times drawing the line is a good thing as I have done the same in my own household.

A typical evening in my house is me playing Power Rangers with my

Time for bed, Red Power Ranger.”

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PERL MORTGAGE

...page 2

“Would you trust Destin to pick your next mate?”

“...really, I was.”

boys and then putting them down for bed which can be a struggle. When we are done my wife and I look forward to a little down time, which means we watch TV. I have been made to watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette, Millionaire Matchmaker, and Jon and Kate Plus 8 (yes, I really have had to endure this! Now you understand my plight).

But when it comes to Keeping Up With the Kardasians and Dating in the Dark I have to say enough is enough. This is where the tension begins. I have countless episodes of Arrested Development, Scrubs and The Office recorded on our DVR (yes, we have a DVR, we are that hip household) to keep us amused and make the down time as enjoy-able as possible. This last season of The Bachelorette was too stress-ful on our household. How many times can grown men cry from getting dumped by a girl? I know everyone hated Wes, but take a step back and he… never mind, I never watch the show!

So basically the lenders got burned doing loans that were below stan-dard or sub prime, such as the shows I mentioned and now only want quality loans in their port-folio. They are wiping the slate

clean, starting over and forgetting about the past and moving for-ward. I too feel that I should wipe the slate clean and move forward. A few things that I have lived with over the years but never owned up to:

I was never officially a member in the KISS Army. Yes, I bragged about it in 8th grade but never sent in my registration card. So yes, since 1978 I have been living a lie about being in the army and having served. But I was a huge KISS fan back then. KISS Alive 2 rocked!

De Nowak, it was me who put

that thumb tack on your chair sophomore year in English class. People have always suspected me but I vehemently denied it. Now I am com-ing clean. My conscience demands it.

I never actually kissed my girlfriend in 7th grade…ever. I talked and bragged about it, but never did.

Whew! There I did it; I can finally sleep at night!

Back to the market. In the long run this can make for a stronger real estate market, because now more than ever with the tougher guidelines, the people qualifying for loans are the most qualified borrowers we

have had in over 20 years. This is a solid and stable foundation to build on for the real estate market and the economy as a whole.

PERL Mortgage; we offer the lowest rates in the industry. This is a fact and every other lender in Chicago knows it. No hype or marketing gim-mick. That is why we have become a $1billion/ year lender.

For those of you wanting to check out the latest Dean Vlamis videos, they’re back on YouTube. Apparently, there were close to 10,000,000 hits and the system overloaded and in order to save the Internet from destruction, they had to pull them. They are now back on YouTube, or you can see them at www.deanvlamis.com.

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DEAN VLAMIS773.413.6256dean@perlmortgage.comwww.deanvlamis.com