Blog | Michael R Lewis, ASJA

April 1, 2014January 3, 2024

Seizing Opportunities in the Mortgage Industry and the Missteps to Avoid

This article initially appeared in National Mortgage Professional.com on March 13, 2014.

From time to time, fundamental shifts occur in all markets, upending the traditional roles of industry players and besetting them with new opportunities and risks. These shifts may be the consequence of technology, government regulation, economic exuberance or deflation or a combination of factors. Whatever the cause, however, old ways of doing business are threatened and new industry leaders emerge. Now is one of those times in the mortgage banking and brokerage industries. Success as the playing field changes is not guaranteed. Strategic missteps can lead to loss, even liquidation. The rewards, however, may be great for those who see the future, move forcefully to implement a winning strategy, and consolidate their gains as they proceed.

The right time and opportunity

Following the 2008 implosion of the mortgage-backed security market and the subsequent international recession, housing prices dropped by almost a third, and the stock market as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell to 6,469 on March 6, 2009, less than half its previous value of 14,164 on Oct. 9, 2007. As a consequence, a number of investment and commercial banks failed (Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual), some were forced into involuntary mergers (Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch), and some were bailed out by the federal government (Goldman Sachs). Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into receivership while Congress initiated the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 followed by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 to aggressively regulate mortgage and commercial bank activities.

Obamacare History – Winners & Losers of the Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, otherwise known as “Obamacare,” is destined to be one of the most controversial legislative acts of the 21st century. It is both a symbol of compassion and good intentions, as well as a monument to the complexity of a modern society with conflicting goals and philosophies.

Supporters claim that it can lead to affordable healthcare for all Americans for the first time in the nation’s history, while detractors believe it may destroy the national healthcare system and bankrupt the country. What is the truth?

Brief History of the ACA

American presidents and congresses have wrestled with the paradox that is our healthcare system since the end of World War II. As a result of World War II wage controls, the system has evolved into one of the country’s largest industries, employing almost 17 million workers in more than 784,000 healthcare companies, including over 6,500 hospitals, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2020, healthcare costs will consume 20% of the nation’s GDP.

By the turn of the century, business leaders, politicians, and citizens recognized that the existing healthcare system was not sustainable and, if left unchecked, would ultimately bankrupt the country. Its high costs reduce American competitiveness in world markets, limit wage and salary increases to workers, and force many to forgo health insurance altogether. Everyone agreed that the system was broken – but how best to fix it?

How to Help and Elderly Parent Deal with the Death of a Spouse

Velta Lewis died the morning of May 15th in the arms of her husband in the home they had purchased upon retiring three years previously. Her death, nine months after the diagnosis of lung cancer, occurred shortly before the couple expected to celebrate their 52nd wedding anniversary during a two-week trip to Paris. My father was devastated. Over the following weeks, I would find him sitting alone in their darkened family room – no television, no radio, no conversation to break the silence – staring with red-rimmed eyes into the past, trails of tears upon his cheeks.

If you have experienced the death of a loved one, you understand how grief can stun, even take you to your knees. In the midst of your own pain, it is easy to forget others who suffer. However, in the case of a parent whose spouse has died, it is at this time that your strength and compassion is most needed.

Members of the Greatest Generation were no strangers to death. My dad had experienced the passing of his grandmother as a young boy, and witnessed her body resting in the parlor of their house for final viewing, as was the custom in those days. He had spent almost a year in Europe during World War II, losing buddies to the ravages of battle. In the ensuing years, he and my mother buried parents, relatives, and friends, the funerals becoming more frequent as they grew older. They were religious people, neither fearing death, sure of their place in eternity.

But generally, the natural order of life is for husbands to go first, not wives. They had worked and saved over the years, expecting to enjoy 5 to 10 years of travel and seeing grandchildren before Dad’s time to go. Mother dying first was unnatural in the grand scheme of things – unlikely, but not impossible. In fact, according to the U.S. Census figures in 2012, husbands are 3.2 times more likely to die before their wives, with 36.9% of women older than 65 widowed compared to 11.5% of men over age 65 who are widowers. To my father, all of their shared preparations for their final days were suddenly pointless.

Shedding Excess Baggage and Downsizing Before Retirement

This article first appeared on Forbes.com on February 19, 2014.

If a person’s lifetime was equated to the four seasons of a year, the time following retirement would be the equivalent of autumn. It’s when nature slows down, takes a breath, and appreciates the accomplishments of spring and summer. People generally reach this season in their 60s and 70s, some with trepidation preparing for their remaining years. Many mourn the passage of youth and resent the next generation taking their place in the sun while others, like the poet W.B. Yeats did, choose to “take up life in both hands and care more for the fruit than the flower” in the years following retirement.

Retirement means, for the first time in decades, you have the luxury of worrying only about yourself and possibly your spouse. A new life beckons, pregnant with opportunities and challenges. Unlike your youth, you’ve gained experience and wisdom as well as the confidence that comes from having survived the obstacles and setbacks of starting a family, raising children, and building and maintaining a career. You are free and now face a whole new life full of adventures just waiting to happen.

The End of Accumulation

Youth and middle age are spent chasing dreams, accepting responsibilities, and amassing assets – psychological and physical. If you’ve been diligent and lucky, you’ve accumulated financial wealth in the form of an IRA, 401k, stocks, bonds, and savings. Your employer might have provided additional assets in the form of company stock, a pension, or a profit-sharing account. You may own tangible assets like real estate, art, and collectibles and you’ve also acquired automobiles, furniture, tools, gadgets, heirlooms, and knick-knacks over your lifetime – most of which are rarely used or even remembered.