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Gratitude, and Calling on Advisors
Those living through the fires, finding joy where they look for it.
Todd Ballenger
January 24, 2025
"Do you appreciate your non-toothache?"
Unfortunately, we often miss the opportunity for gratitude that Thich Nhat Hahn is so richly speaking to in the above quote. We are so focused on what’s wrong with right now that it’s easy to consider all the things that are working… to write this, I have a working computer, electricity (warmth), I’m full from the morning breakfast, I don’t have a toothache (IYKYK), and I’m not worried that my house could catch on fire today. If you were, interest rates or referrals probably seem less important. Certain life events are all-encompassing; you only see the pain, and then the transition where the tooth stops hurting, and you are thankful, but then the water closes quickly, and we simply assume teeth don’t(or shouldn’t) hurt. Or fires don’t burn. Or that rates stay low.
I had an inspiring conversation with loan officers living in a hotel in California who are experiencing firsthand the devastation of seeing homes lost, watching history erased, and seeing families displaced as they watched their own company through the lens of uncertainty. Gratitude is a great habit to form or rekindle. What do you have right now that you’ve forgotten to be thankful for? That you now take for granted?
a BORROW SMART CONCEPT
Why Call On Financial Advisors?
Most of us cut our teeth calling on Realtors… and in time, as we built a history of successful closings, we learned that there was gold in our client database. My claim to fame is I created the first designation in the mortgage industry for loan officers to be distinguished in the way the financial advisors were distinguished by their designations… that was 1996, and we are still at it. My AIM in life is to share the gold that is available through calling on financial advisors for lending opportunities. My ultimate goal is to train 1,000 loan officers in the dark art of liability management.
I had a lovely conversation with Geoff Zimpfler yesterday (podcast to be released next week). We debated a bit about the differences between calling on realtors and calling on financial advisors, and the end result was illuminating. I’ll share that with you fine readers next week, but here are a few differences to consider.
Why Financial Advisors Are a Different Mortgage Referral Source Than Realtors
1. Strategic Financial Integration
Advisors consider the three-sided balance sheet: safety, liquidity, and return.
They focus on tax implications, cash flow management, and equity optimization.
2. Cash Flow And Wealth Creation Focus
Advisors help clients “borrow smart and repay smart” to optimize cash flow.
They leverage inflation to reduce debt costs over time.
3. Long-Term Relationship vs. Transactional Approach
Advisors maintain a lifetime relationship, managing liabilities as financial goals evolve.
Advisors offer regular financial reviews and planning adjustments.
4. Risk Management and Protection Strategies
Advisors consider solutions for debt management, insurance, and financial protection as part of the overall client strategy.
They ensure clients have sustainable repayment strategies.
5. Higher Quality Leads and Financial Literacy
Advisor-referred clients are financially educated and mortgage-ready.
This reduces fallout rates and loan processing issues.
6. Broader Network and Influence
Advisors can access high-net-worth clients and work with CPAs, estate planners, and other wealth managers.
Their referrals include comprehensive financial planning needs.
Net, the financial advisor is focused and incentivized to build long-term financial futures, while the Realtor is incentivized to sell homes. This creates the question - which of these are you focused on, the long-term financial future or the short-term financial transaction of your client/customer?
Is financial literacy important?
LIABILITIES
What’s Happening?
we manage liabilities because no one is managing the house for any asset class and that’s where the equity is, that’s also the lost opportunity cost many of you don’t realize you are missing
makes sense, but this gives it numbers…
LAG is gap between cost of borrowing and cost of lending
updated look at rate cut bets
this could be headwinds for the market as 10 year could go higher
which could drive market down and accelerate recession risk, BUT that would put pressure to lower rates
higher incomes make for higher potential future home ownership
lower taxes wouldn’t hurt but don’t seem to move the collection needle
a lot of wealth has been used to pay down lower interest rate debt (bad idea) IMO
If you are not getting into these playlists, you should. I have 180 books left in my library and I’m done; I’ll be posting a link tree next week for all of them, but save these in your Spotify (or Apple or Amazon) favorites and just hit one a day on your drive to or from work:
REAL ESTATE
What’s Happening?
improvement from the prior week - YAY!
rent is cheaper but not cheap enough
houses are getting larger or adding bedrooms - maybe or aging parents that would be helpful
overall sales down
but some inventory on the horizon
"I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life, because I learned early that if you don't, you get disappointed a lot. If you do, you might be pleasantly surprised quite often.
I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. I re-read passages from my favorite books. I hold the little treasures that somebody special gave me. By keeping my eyes open for unexpected joys, I find the world gives back more than we sometimes think."
ASSETS
What’s Happening?
the Donald is starting at all-time highs…
big jump in wealth fro top 20% to top 1%
average middle class has $472k total wealth, much of that in the house
markets are stretched
and we are the world of markets in one-stop!
but some are starting to look for deals in other countries
fears are flip flopping
we keep engineering good times, when does that music stop and when does the left side rebalance… there is risk in never letting the markets correct naturally
ON BEING HUMAN
What’s Worth Sharing?
This man is a HERO‼️ Francis Zuber ‘s headcam shows him rescuing a snowboarder who was buried head down in deep powder at Mt. Baker, Washington! Luckily, he spotted him as he almost passed him. #skiing#snowboarding
— DeL2000 (@DeL2000)
3:56 AM • Apr 1, 2023
DOPAMEMES
And Other Happy Moments…
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