Nobody goes to college to become a “mortgage broker.” This is not something the kids in kindergarten say they want to be when they grow up. I never did, but then I never wanted to be a ballerina either—which I am not. So, who knew?

I do know I wanted to be famous, but I was probably thinking Hillary Clinton or Angelina Jolie fame, not lecturing on real estate or teaching people about finance kind of fame. Nevertheless, after about 100 dog and pony shows on real estate and finance, I realized that I was good at it and I was pretty funny too!

I was told many times from folks attending my seminars I had missed my calling (hysterical). What does that mean? I should have done stand up? I think I could have brought my act national doing Jackie Mason type stuff, or Seinfeld, but now I am thinking Chelsea Handler (she is quite sick but very funny!)

So here I am teaching How to Get the Best Mortgage for Any Property seminars with a funny side. Who’s laughing now!! I wrote the book…..and now I am most famous.

Here’s my history, in case you care. As my brother says, we came from a modest background. Think Macy’s not Bloomingdales but certainly not K-Mart. I do frequent Target quite often now with the rest of the hipsters. I grew up in middle class America, living in New Jersey until I left for college in Connecticut. I had what you could call a “normal” family upbringing. (I just don’t understand how my brother turned out the way he did!) My parents were strong and supportive in whatever we did, which is why I am where I am today. I inherited my father’s ability to be a kind and honest salesperson and my mother’s strong convictions and beliefs.

Most importantly, I learned from my parents the value of a dollar, how to live within your means, and how to save for your future. I consider myself a tad more than frugal these days. (I recently had a stress attack because I had to throw out a three dollar tomato for fear of contracting salmonella…it was a hard choice to make.)

I live by my own conservative financial guidelines, and advise every client and student I meet to think about it and do the same. I do practice what I teach, although, I slip up every once in while when I see a pair of shoes I must have. Who’s laughing now….the mortgage broker that bought the million dollar house and the Range Rover or ME?

After graduating from the University of Hartford with a degree in business, I continued on to get an MBA, concentrating in finance. After that, I was off to law school, even though I knew I would never practice law. I was not ready for the real world yet! After graduation, I thought I would get a job as a talent agent until I could not find one that actually paid. At that point in my life I thought I was going to start at the top.

I did practice real estate law for two years after graduation only to conclude that it was truly not for me. (BTW, lawyers do not really make as much as you would think, so don’t be impressed by every one you meet.) After that, I dabbled in real estate investing, home construction, and land development only to find my path to real estate finance. I loved the art of the deal and the challenge of negotiating. I do owe thanks to a short fat guy named Bill in upstate New York. He taught me what I know about home construction and working with lenders and contractors and helped lead me into the world of finance. Maybe one day I will build my dream house somewhere in the world. I’ll keep you posted on that.

From there I found my way into wholesale mortgage lending and then consumer mortgage lending. I have been there since around 1995, helping thousands of consumers and families buy homes and obtain mortgages. I have held many many hands and lectured many many people on the fatal desires of buying too big and the drawbacks of owing too much.

I have a tough love posture and speak to folks as a friend and mentor as well as an expert advisor. People trust me and hopefully they listen to me. I have turned away more than a few people that do not heed my advice and want to borrow more than they should. I have had one client foreclosure out of a thousand mortgages and that was due to divorce—a bad one.

In 2000, I was invited to be a guest lecturer at Baruch College, part of CUNY in New York. Since then I have been an adjunct professor there teaching Originating and Underwriting Residential Mortgages to my industry peers. Again, I found myself loving the classroom and teaching my contemporaries the secrets of the residential deal.

I also am a regular at The Learning Annex in New York. CEO Bill Zanker has had me on the roster since 2001, teaching two different real estate courses to full classrooms over and over.

I think I found my calling! I like to spread the word (the right word) on home ownership and personal finances. So, this book is a product of necessity and love. I felt it was my personal duty to lay out the real information to the consumers who have been hosed and screwed for who knows how many years!

This book is bare-bones and just-the-facts. I am cheap with words but generous with information.

I keep in mind that most people have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and would fall asleep halfway through a 300 page book on the subject. NOT NECESSARY! I know that they are not going to perform the surgery themselves. “Hey, I just want to know what you are doing and how it is going to help me, I do not need to know exactly how you are going to cut my heart out!”

I also know this stuff is boring and dry, so I make it light and funny. I tell you lots of great anecdotes on how people got screwed and make you laugh at their expense. This method is proven to make you not forget the bad stuff that happens to good people. This way, you can stop it before it happens to you.

I am very excited about this book. I think it is really, really good—and so does my mother! I am even more excited about getting my IT guy, Tommy (age 12) to create a website so owners of the book can get updates on the info. Keep checking it out! www.shortbookonmortgages.com.

Let’s face it: how-to books are typically written by people who do not necessarily do what they write about, and then the book sits at the publisher’s for a year. THE STUFF IS OLD NEWS BY THE TIME YOU GET IT!

This stuff is fresh as daisies! As a matter of fact, we probably updated it a few weeks ago and printed it out when you ordered it.

So, my plan is to sell you the book, keep you on top of the info and then sell you another book that I am finishing up on credit scores and how to get yours up! (Catchy title?) Hey if you like this one, buy another!

Buy this book and I will donate a portion of the profit (whatever it is) to the charitable organization of MY CHOICE. I am into clean water, financial education of under-privledged women, and art as therapy for children. Who could have a problem with those?

Come on, buy the book!
Email me, call me, write to me……