Perusing my feed reader on a Saturday afternoon…

Active Rain vs Move.com. Nothing says I love you like a lawsuit.

There is plenty of speculation out there regarding it’s merit, likelihood of success, practical economics of it all, ramifications towards members…

One point sticks out to me…If Move told the guys of AR not to engage in talks with anyone else about strategic partnerships et. al. and stalled AR out until they opened the Kimono (regardless if this was smart or not), then Move should pay.  Not that this was their intention, but since when did intent ever matter?  When was the last time ‘I didn’t mean to’ worked for anyone?

AR was white hot at Inman NYC 2007 and they had plenty of options as to what to do with their platform and bustling community. It was at Inman that Jon Washburn told me he didn’t think he could engage in a previously discussed project due to some big yet still confidential news involving AR. He was definitely stoked about this new relationship yet admirably kept ‘the secret’ to himself.

If it can be shown that Move prevented these guys from engaging in what could have been other beneficial relationships, intently holding them ransom with the promise of money (women) and power, and then pulled the (BIG) rug out…it would seem to be rather easy to see that AR as a company and community have been damaged (intentionally or not) and should receive restitution.

RIM, Apple or both?

Im still using Nextels BlackBerry 7520 (their top-o-line), but continued unit failures and the subsequent misery has caused me to say ‘no-mas’. I love the Crackberry UI…been hooked on it for 4 years . I’m in contract with Nextel for another 9 months, however I can move over to Sprint at no penalty and get their BlackBerry 8830, which is very hot cool (love the trackball), for $199.00. Problem solved, right? Nope.

I just got a MacBookPro and love it, so the iPhone caaalls tooo meee. This is the first time another Super-Mobile has caught my eye and down right wooed me to the point of considering leaving Berryland, however the notion of transferring and using AT&T’s service causes enough revulsion to allow the rationalization of not purchasing the stickiest sickest damn mobile device ever…I can live with that (so I tell myself).

Now Apple releases the iTouch iPod, everything cool about the iPhone (pretty much) without the phone part. Shit. So now Jeff is looking at $199.00 for the BlackBerry and $399 for the iPod…too rich for me, can’t justify $600+++ for two devices (so I tell myself). I need a new phone, I’m hooked on CrackBerry, yet can’t get the iTouch out of my head.

Do I stick it out with the 7520 and get the iTouch, only to feel buyers remorse in 9 months when I’m out of contract with Nextel and iPhone adopts more than AT&T as a service provider? Get the new BlackBerry (locked into Sprint for two more years) and ignore the benefits of an iTouch/MBP combo, violating a fiduciary responsibility to myself?
I’m so confused.

More Mortgage Vomit

I’m tired of the ‘Mortgage Meltdown’ news, ad nauseum. So sick in fact, I can’t bring myself to conclude the Great Mortgage Correction series. Worse, the industry is locked up in such analysis paralysis that now very qualified buyers are suffering.

It’s so bad for mortgage bankers that (in Texas at least) if the APR on a loan closed via a correspondent credit line isn’t correct down to one-hundredth of one percent when using the ambiguous (at best) APR formula, the banker must cut the consumer back a check for the difference. While this may sound like a good thing, it’s not. In order to calculate a (semi) correct APR on an Adjustable Rate Mortgage you need to know the interest rates index and margin. The index on many ARM’s can change daily, so bankers would have to be able to see the future to give an accurate APR disclosure for the day of closing. This dumb rule makes good mortgage professionals look bad and hangs them out to dry on something they have no control over. The fact that there is no standard methodology to calculate APR makes this practice even more retarded.

Man I’m glad I don’t own a brokerage anymore. It’s like when you’re out real late and 2-3 drinks past your normal tolerance level, having a great time talking to what you’re sure is some hot girl, then the lights go on and reality sets in (so I hear). Everyone in the industry was high on the atmosphere choosing to ignore the pending…Flood Lights! were turned on and there were more than a few blemishes to see. Since the party lasted for years this hangover is especially bad and probably won’t go away until mid-late 2008