Do you…workshare?

Have you ever heard of a workshare program?  I guess it could mean a variety of things, depending upon whom you ask (grammar junkies might correct me with “who” instead of “whom” here… either way you get the gist).  Ask an IT person and he’ll take you through a string of registry, prompt you for a password and tell you it’s the group you belong to.. scratch that, that’s a ‘workgroup.’

 

As it pertains to our industry, workshare sounds like a funky version of the carpool lane, but I can assure you that the benefits of time and money saved for you as a real estate professional are contrary to that of the actual carpool lane.  Introduced to me by an escrow professional, workshare is where employees give up one day of work (maybe more) per week.  Sounds like a good deal, right?  We all wish for longer weekends, right?  Well, maybe during better economic times, but for most that rely on that full day of work multiply that out by 52 weeks in a year…it could be financially problematic. 

What do you think about workshare?  What new ‘programs’ has your company whipped up for you to forcefully participate in?  Speak out and let it be heard ontheme.nu!

Mr. Mortgage Freeze to the Rescue

It appears that the feds are stepping in to help unsteady, ARM holding homeowners save their wallets from potentially double-payment mortgages (when the ARM adjusts of course), and more importantly, salvage their home from foreclosure. 

A couple of key subprime lenders may get a hand in it as well, including Citigroup, Countrywide Financial, Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual.  If this idea sticks and ARM holders are given some sort of respite, what do you think it will do for the subprime lending job markets?  Will it be enough to call people back into the mortgage industry?  Will this cool off the feverish rate of foreclosures in our market?  Or should starving real estate professionals continue to search elsewhere for a paycheck?