As 2008 comes to a close its easy to look back and say that we’ve undergone a significant amount of economic change.  Change is constant and will never come to a halt, but 2008 has brought forth more changes in our economy than we’ve seen in a couple of decades.  The changes we’ve seen in the last decade have lead to the change we’ve seen this year.  I could talk for days about the lackadaisical lending patterns that lead to our current economic state, but we’ve all heard enough of that in recent months.  The emphasis now needs to be about education on how to move forward.

The education needed in today’s society has to start as a foundation for our youth.  I believe strongly that financial education should be established prior students graduating from high school.  The current lack of financial education has led to our dismal state of consumers with literally no sense of financial responsibility.

As I’ve said in recent posts it’s important to be educated about credit, budgeting, and financing.  In regards to mortgages, it is especially important to be educated about the needs to obtain credit and the responsibility of managing the privilege of home ownership.

Please stay tuned in the next few weeks for some great tips and tools for financial education as we enter the new year!

Have a safe and fun New Year!

I had an interesting conversation with one of my family members today regarding current state of available mortgages.  Dino Venti owner of Venti’s Cafe in downtown Salem has been building his loyal clientel for nearly 13 years.  When you step into Venti’s you feel a sense of community among the regulars – it definitely has that “Cheers” type of atmosphere.  Having the face to face contact with customers nearly every day for the past 13 years, Dino has established many friends and acquaintances in the Willamette Valley.

He mentioned to me this evening as I was picking up my Boulder Bowl and Teriyaki Chicken for dinner, that he had a client tell him today that there are no mortgages available for people who have a credit score less than 750.

We’ve all heard, seen, or read about the housing industry and the changes in lending from banks.  As I mentioned in my post titled “Yes, You Can Still Get A Loan!” there are plenty of loans originating in these harsh economic times.

Communication is a key element in every aspect of our lives.  The media’s job is to communicate the message to the people.  How that message is interpreted by the people can vary on many levels.  In times when there is a massive amount of information flowing from every source of media imaginable, it is vital to understand where you stand in the midst of the changes.  The lack of financial education in our country has been prevalent for so long that we’re now dealing with the consequences.   Education is the tool that must be utilized to understand the meaning of what we hear, see, and read.

If you have questions about how the changes in our banking, mortgage, and real estate industries affect you, please don’t hesitate to ask!