Dave Woodson

I can sit in a classroom and be bored to tears, but get me involved and I will be there for hours on end.  I know some people have taken a speed reading course, but did you know you can listen fast.  If you are like me and many people are I will listen to the same thing over and over again.  Just to make sure that you get all of the little nuances.  I have discovered a way that you can do it faster than ever before.

Here is what you have to do:

• Down load or rip your information to be listened into Windows Media

• Go to the “small” icon above the “pause” button and open the window for “Playing Options“

• Select “Enhancements“

• Select “Playing Speeds” and put the slider on 2.0 (2X times the play speed).

You can listen to the audio with pretty good tone quality and you can easily understand everything that is being said.

If you don’t believe me try and listen for a few minutes, and  then go back to the regular speed and listen. You will find that you are more comfortable listening at 2X speed.

With a clear mind ready to learn, you should be able to get to 2.5X speed. Imagine listening to a 1 hour call in just 24 minutes or a half hour call in 12 minutes.

Now, that is a time saver.

Dave Woodson

Word about the first 2009 Northwest Indiana blogger meet up comes from Steve Dalton:

From: Steve Dalton
Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2009

6 pm Thursday January 8th, 2009

Location - Golden Technologies 2402 Beech in Valparaiso

(Golden has agreed to sponsor our meet up!)

Open to bloggers from NW Indiana, please spread the word … It will not just be politics or real estate, those are some of my favorites, but all kinds of bloggers across NW Indiana.

Agenda - Meet and Kick off 2009!

No sales pitches just fellowship

I look forward to meeting some of you out there.  It will be my first time to go to one of these and I excited to meet many of you.

any questions give me @davewoodson or @daltonsbriefs a shout at Twitter

Dave Woodson

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I used to do a couple of weekly radio shows, but in some geo-political fracas.  I was taken off of the air.   I am not all that mad about it, but in an effort to make some sort of comeback.  I am going to be doing a podcast.  I want to thank one local radio station for giving me a great opportunity and a friend for giving me a chance.

Jim Kaiser, the Jim from “The Jim and Dave Show” or as some called it “Drive-Time Live”.  He gave me a chance that few would have and allowed me to develop my radio chops.  WIMS am 1420 gave me and that Mad Mortgage Machine Show a home over the summer.  It is also the station that pulled me off of the air in NW Indiana.  However, I am coming back in the podcast form.  I plan on it to be weekly if not more often than that.

It is going to be about whatever I want it to be,  It is going to be funny and informative and in your lap.

Stay tuned to the Dave Show

Dave Woodson

Creditors typically write-off or charge-off debts that have had no payments on the account for more than 180 days, or six months. However, this does not mean the consumer is no longer responsible or accountable to the unpaid balance. A charge-off is an accounting procedure used for tax purposes by the creditor to report losses due to un-collectible debt and/or charge-offs.

If you have charge-offs on your credit report, your ability to obtain credit will be severely impaired and will require an active effort to restore your damaged credit scores.  Charge-offs remain on your credit report for as many as seven years from the date of the initial missed payment that contributed to the charge-off, also known as the original delinquency date. Even if payments are made later on the charged-off account, be aware this doesn’t remove the charge-off from your credit report.

The status of any payments after the charge-off will be updated to “paid charge-off”, but will still reflect as derogatory comment on your credit report. To qualify for some loans, including a mortgage loan, you must address these charge-offs.

Disputing the account is the first step in removing it from your report. If after the disputes the credit bureaus still verify the account, you will need to contact the creditor. All negotiations should be made in writing; however, you will likely begin with a phone call to determine who your contact person should be for these negotiations. Once you know who this person is, memorialize everything in writing and request the creditor do the same.

Negotiate with the creditor or collection agency for removal of their listing on your credit report. A charge-off is negative - paid or not. Ensure you get this agreement in writing as well. Remember, that debt collectors will pretty much say anything to get money out of you – that is their job – so getting it in writing will assure that they do what they say they’re going to do.

If you have more questions please visit this Lexington Law review website or go here for a credit repair forum.

Well, I guess I should really just call it my workout. I do not follow as strict as a diet as I should. I will watch what I eat and try to not over eat, but there are times when I want a beer and some fried chicken wings.

5 to 7 days a week, I will go to the gym in the morning. I will go directly to my bike. It is my bike. I like that bike and if someone is on it. Well, it will just wreck my day. There is another one that I like, but that one is my favorite. I will stake my claim on the bike and then walk a lap around the gym on the indoor track. (10 times around = 1 mile)

I will stretch a little and then break into my workout on the bike. I will do the Body for Life 20 minute HIIT method. Here is how it works, on a scale 1 to 10 is 1 is standing still and 10 is all out sprint. I will do a 5 for two minutes then over the next 16 minutes, broke up into 4 separate segments will be a 6, 7, 8, 9 and then the 18th minute will be a 10, then the 19th will be a 5.

3 to 4 days a week, I will be back at night to lift weights.  Building muscle is a great way to speed up the metabolism.  So, you can actually work out less when you are at your ideal body weight, but I have found that you will want to be more active when you are feeling much better.

I will chest and triceps, then back and biceps, then shoulders and the legs.  I will toss in some ab work from time to time as well, whether in the morning or the afternoon.  Some days, when I am feeling really energetic.  I will jog/spring a quarter to a half mile it really juices the metabolism.

I know I would be experience greater weight loss if I would watch my diet better, but man cannot live by bread alone and my ideal goal weight is 225 lbs.  I know that may seem like a lot to some people, but I do carry a nice amount of muscle on me now.

Here is one of my inspirational videos:

So, stay tuned for some great updates on my loss and from my sponsors.  Here is to you seeing less of me

Dave Woodson

I am not going to pretend to know the ramifications of the US bailing out every big industry from The Crednistas and Big 3 automakers.   I can just tell you as an every day American.  Whatever, happen to letting people fail.

How do you learn to ride a bike?  You start with training wheels and then your dad takes them off and pushes you down the road till he thinks you get your balance and he lets you go.  Maybe, he is there to catch you or not, but what does he make you do.  Get up off of your ass and skinned knees and elbows and sits you back on the bike seat to do it again and again.

What did you learn?  You learned what not do on a bike!  You don’t lean to one side while going too slow and or you learned to avoid that curb.  What do the Big 3 learn?  They learn to ask for more money and more money.

GM is a classic example of this.  They had a great electric hybrid coming out and then the plug was pulled.  They dump hundred of millions if not billions into it and then pull the plug as they do not look into the future and try to keep going.  Meanwhile, Toyota creates the Prius and it is a whopping success with the hollywood crowd to everyday Americans who don’t want to keep putting cash into the coffers of Middle East radicals that would rather kill us.

As a entrepreneur, I can hardly afford to spend too much money on an effort that I may just leave on the cutting room floor.  I have to put in my due diligence sometimes spending hours on research or as little as 5 minutes.  But, my eyes are wide open.  I, honestly, feel that GM spends money simply because it can, and do not think I am just blaming GM.  I am sure I can pick on all any of the Big 3.

I am disgusted most off all by the union.  Where else can you get laid off and make 95% of your normal pay.  Sign me up for that.   Just call me Riley.  Their refusal to make adjustments is sickening.  You all will lose your jobs if you are not careful.  I never understood the mentality of a strike, but this is fodder for another blog post.

When will the gov’t figure out that this crisis will be better solved on Main Street than Wall Street?  There is a Congressman that has the best idea that I have heard so far.  Income tax forgiveness the first two months of 2009.  The cost would be roughly $315 Billion, about half the cost of the Credit Market bail and the money could only be used a  couple different ways and they all would help the economy.  They would pay off debt, spend it or save it.

I am sure we all would spend it or pay off debt.  So, Congress hear me now and hear me clear.  Let Main Street help solve this issue.  Give us the ins and outs and we will do it.  We always have.

I am Dave

Today, I am downtown Chicago with the the Chicago RE Connect Tech Talk.  I am looking forward to learning an absolute ton today.  There are some heavy hitters here today in the RE Tech world.

To thrive in this market, successful real estate professionals need to stay on top of the latest technologies, and embrace them to benefit our clients and practices. Visit http://SPARKt.org.

The inaugural SPARKt (formerly TechTalk) features national experts leading discussions on innovative ways to take advantage of these new ideas and applications, and providing sparks (actionable takeaways).

Our preliminary dais of speakers includes such prominent thought leaders as:
Dean Rutter - EVP, Bus. Dev, Liquidus Media / Founder, Apartments.com
Brian Stalzer - Midwest Sales Dir., Zillow
Hilary Marsh - Managing Dir., Realtor.org
Elijah Litscher - Network Solutions
Todd Carpenter - Founder, Lenderama.com
Blagica Bottigliero - Founder, CondoPerks.com
Dan Green - Founder, Bring the Blog
Brian Timpone - Founder, BlockShopper.com
John Yedinak - Founder, ReverseMortgageDaily.com
Geoff Dougherty - Founder, Chi-Town Daily News
Kris Petersen - Founder, NeighborHuddle.com
Ray Casey - President, Arestar, LLC

I will keep most of you abreast of what we are learning today.  I fairly excited at the knowledge I am sure I will get today.  I look forward to implementing much of what I will learn today.

Ever Striving for Knowledge

Dave Woodson

I will admit that I am a chronic procrastinator, but I thrive under a deadline.  If I have weeks to do something.  I will wait to the last possible moment to get it done.  However, under a deadline.  I kill it.  I come in under most times or nail just as the clock strikes the deadline.

I am, also, a very impatient person.  I know exactly where I get that from, Mom and Dad.  I make the joke that my brother got the best of my parents and I got the worst.  What I hate with working with the public is that they are impatient and must have it now.  So, when I accommodate and hurry right over they are lounging back as if nothing is going on and nothing needs to be done.

This is the same guy who will call my office line at 930 in the evening.  I have learned to ignore my phone over the years and I can go to be not worrying about it.  Really, at 930 at night, there is not a lot that I can do about it anyway.  My wed guys are all doing something else, my underwriters are asleep and I know my processor will kill me if I call that late.

Learning to squelch the “hurry up and wait” monster is hard.  It is not an easy monster to defeat.  I battle it every day.  I learned to make a list, use my calender function on my blackberry and just have that “I don’t care” look on my face.  I know that last one really gets people, but it is fun to watch the look on their face when you roll up with a completed project done right and done way before time is up.

Making it all happen in the required time frame and then some

Dave Woodson

I think I have let it be clear that I am Mortgage Broker in NW Indiana and a pretty damn good one at that.  I specialize in Indiana FHA I am sure you all can read the news that being one is not all that easy today.  Well, they are right and so wrong at the same time.

Well, to be honest with you.  There are days that I do not want to get out of bed.  I am wiped out, tired, depressed and so on, but I have been trying to lose weight.  So, I will drag myself out of bed and get my daughter ready for school and then I hit the gym.  Wow, what a difference a couple of weeks make.  I have lost upwards to 14 pounds and kept them off.   I am no where near my goal weight, but I am inching my way there.  The tunnel rats in “The Great Escape”did not escape in one day.

At my absolute heaviest, I think I topped out @ 301 lbs.  I will dig up an old pic and post it on here before the day is over.  Today, I am @ 265 lbs and my goal is 225 lbs.   I am 5′11, I carry a pretty stocky frame and I think @ 225.  I will look pretty damn good.

Back to today,  tired, I want o nap.  I have worked out, I am dragging ass all day.  I got up, I worked on what, I cleaned the house.  I am now back here in the basement that is where is my home office is or as I call it the Mortgage Bunker.   banging out this blog while I wait for one of my clients to drop off a packet of information for me.

The lesson here is today.  Action, get up and start, the motivation will catch up to you.  If you don’t feel like working out go anyway and once you are there you will be glad you went.  Well, at least, when you are done you can sit in the hot tub or the steam room.

Burning the Boats,

Dave Woodson