Roger Schlesinger

Roger Schlesinger

Receive Updates from Roger Schlesinger

 

Time Has Not Run Out!

By Roger Schlesinger (Dec 21, 2009)

As we reach the end of another year we realize that many things we had planned to do remain as they were when we added them to the list, and in some cases the time to... more

The Recession is Over?

By Roger Schlesinger (Dec 11, 2009)

If you’re out of work or your hours have been drastically reduced, then I don't have to tell you about the recession. Likewise, if you’ve lost your home, you know we’re far... more

Consecutive Term? I Think Not!

By Roger Schlesinger (Nov 19, 2009)

When the Framers of the Constitution determined that elected representatives should be allowed to serve consecutive terms in office, they couldn’t have foreseen... more

Could You Get Trampeled?

By Roger Schlesinger (Oct 22, 2009)

Crowd psychology is interesting, especially when it comes to investors, who generally move in the opposite direction from the one in which they're being led. When an action... more

Will They Read the Bill?

By Roger Schlesinger (Oct 16, 2009)

I remember as a high school student, once in a while, actually more than once in a while, waiting until the night before an exam to begin studying. By that time, it was... more

Icebergs Are Everywhere

By Roger Schlesinger (Oct 13, 2009)

Like the icebergs that sunk the Titanic, hidden dangers lurk in the murky depths of the American economy. They are as difficult for our economists to see as they were for the... more

Navigating Through the Mortgage Morass

By Roger Schlesinger (Oct 08, 2009)

Applying for and obtaining a mortgage loan used to be a routine matter. Not any more. The politicians have chimed in and turned the process into something akin to the... more

Taking Time to Get It Right

By Roger Schlesinger (Sep 29, 2009)

When I was a young man graduating from college, more years ago than I choose to admit, I interviewed with various prospective employers. I remember the International Business... more

From Out of the Wilderness Come

By Roger Schlesinger (Sep 21, 2009)

Now that I have your attention…. In a normal economy, most people who sell their houses (with the exception of those relocating for lifestyle or career reasons) plan to move... more

It's Time to Make the Move

By Roger Schlesinger (Aug 26, 2009)

On May 11th of this year, I wrote a column "The Real Estate Market Has...", stating I believed that the bottom had been reached in some areas of the country for residential... more

If You Don't Know It, Don't Try and Run It

By Roger Schlesinger (Aug 21, 2009)

Now that we have seen "amateur night at the Bijou,” starring the President and the Congress, maybe we can realize that knowledge of a subject should be somewhat of a... more

Are We Afraid of Results?

By Roger Schlesinger (Aug 12, 2009)

An answer is what every question needs, a result is what every experiment needs. So why aren't we concerned with results? The only thing that seems to be interesting to... more

Government Mistakes Are Our Problem?

By Roger Schlesinger (Aug 06, 2009)

As strange as it might be, it has come to my attention that the government has, on occasion, over promised and under delivered. Freely translated: they overestimated... more

Our Fifty States: Really United?

By Roger Schlesinger (Aug 03, 2009)

I was struggling with the answer to the question of state unity, and the only clue I have that stopped me from saying “no” unequivocally is the fact that we can travel from... more

Trying to Hit a Moving Target

By Roger Schlesinger (Jul 24, 2009)

This title might suggest this is a militaristic column or worse, as in terrorism of some sort. So let me put your mind at ease and confess this is only about the mortgage... more

What in the World is Going On?

By Roger Schlesinger (Jul 22, 2009)

The recession is either over, coming to an end, bottoming out or about to start anew. Take your pick and realize that if you study the proposition long enough, you will... more

Balancing the Budget Without Effort

By Roger Schlesinger (Jul 13, 2009)

The premise is wonderful, the execution is easy, but understanding the problem is not so easy. Waste in America defies imagination. The waste I am referring to isn't the... more

Are we guilty of suspending logic?

By Roger Schlesinger (Jul 09, 2009)

I am just as big a critic of the U.S. Government's massive spending for questionable projects as anybody, and yet over my years on this earth, I have seen so many people... more

Bull

By Roger Schlesinger (Jul 08, 2009)

How come the public, you and perhaps me, (in my case it is generally tall tales about my golf ) seems to consider the truth as an optional choice in their communications with... more

Did you ever stop to think that?...

By Roger Schlesinger (Jun 25, 2009)

If the government took over other industries, as it is trying to do with the health insurance industry, with an entity that will be run by the government without profit, how... more

Who's Kidding Who?

By Roger Schlesinger (Jun 19, 2009)

As we flounder at the bottom (?) of a nasty recession, I am astounded by the message that seems to permeate from Washington: everything can be accomplished, and except for a... more

WHAT IS A.P.R.?

By Roger Schlesinger (Jun 16, 2009)

To me an A.P.R. means Another Problem for Roger. It is the government's attempt to have the mortgage industry explain their entire operational slate in one simple manner. ... more

The Total Disappearance of the Mainstream Media

By Roger Schlesinger (Jun 11, 2009)

I stopped my subscription of over 30 years to The Los Angeles Times about four years ago. I look forward, with much anticipation, to buying seven copies of the last edition... more

Government Math Doesn't Add Up

By Roger Schlesinger (Jun 10, 2009)

Since the President announced his health plan where we add half the free world to our list of those who will have health coverage, and announced that we will save money doing... more

Saving the Buggy Whip Industry

By Roger Schlesinger (Jun 03, 2009)

The possibilities are endless when you're out to rescue that which is important to this nation. I am only sorry we didn't have this national philosophy when there were some... more

When One is Not Enough

By Roger Schlesinger (May 28, 2009)

How many people do you know who have gone into the stock market and bought one security, other than the company they work for, and never considered buying another... more

Unintended Consequences?

By Roger Schlesinger (May 27, 2009)

How many times can you claim that what has happened is an unintended consequence before it appears that it’s actually an intended consequence? This is a question that I... more

The Residential Real Estate Market Has...

By Roger Schlesinger (May 11, 2009)

Before I conclude the above statement, I must stress the situation that confounds real estate experts throughout the country: the problem with the analysis of real estate... more

What a Mortgage Loan is Not

By Roger Schlesinger (May 05, 2009)

It isn't anything more than a loan, period. Unfortunately, our society tends to make this particular financial instrument many other things that tend to blur its prescribed... more

Who is Going to Help the Helpers?

By Roger Schlesinger (Apr 28, 2009)

The President has divided the country into two camps not by political parties or ideology but by those who could need help and those who should be helping. It sounds... more

Turning the Economy: Two Solutions!

By Roger Schlesinger (Apr 15, 2009)

I have listened for as long as I can without speaking out and realize that two simple solutions are the answer on the economy. The solutions are simple, but implementation... more

Is Doing the Right Thing Wrong?

By Roger Schlesinger (Apr 09, 2009)

I wish to start this essay with two points that are the pillars of the article: The country would like to see the real estate industry begin to improve, for the good of the... more

The Smell Has Returned!

By Roger Schlesinger (Apr 08, 2009)

On April 1, 2009, we lost a lender in the mortgage industry that shouldn't have failed. They didn't offer sub-prime loans, option arms or any of the other gimmicks that... more

What More Can I Tell You?

By Roger Schlesinger (Mar 31, 2009)

In case you hadn't noticed, real estate is either at the low, going slightly lower, or starting to turn around. Add to this piece of information the fact that mortgage rates... more

Who Knew?

By Roger Schlesinger (Mar 26, 2009)

Sometimes I get the feeling that the world has turned upside down. Especially lately. I feel that either I don't get it or maybe bad is good and good is bad. When I first... more

The Scary $160 Million Bonus Problem

By Roger Schlesinger (Mar 20, 2009)

The best news about the $160 million business bonuses is the chance we have to see our government in action. You would have thought that somebody got into Fort Knox and... more

What a Difference a Crisis Makes

By Roger Schlesinger (Mar 17, 2009)

For those old enough to remember, there once was a song "What a Difference a Day Makes" whose next line was "24 little hours". Oh how I wish we could have created a parody... more

Milton, You Have Got to Be Kidding!

By Roger Schlesinger (Mar 10, 2009)

I never read the Los Angeles Times, for a myriad of reasons. However, I was out of town and thought it would be an interesting way to fill up some time before my wife... more

The Only Thing You Can Say is, "Really!"

By Roger Schlesinger (Mar 04, 2009)

The best way to cure a sick economy is to tax those who create the jobs. Really! Cutting taxes costs the government money. Really! Deficits are reduced in a high tax... more

What is a Trillion Dollars?

By Roger Schlesinger (Feb 20, 2009)

There is so much talk about trillions of dollars that I thought it was only fair that those who are destined to pay all of this money back should understand what it is. A... more

Now We Can All Get an 'A'

By Roger Schlesinger (Feb 16, 2009)

The worst thing I faced in both college and graduate school, studying economics, business finance and real estate, was the endless amount of dull reading I had to force our... more

Government Speak: Words Without Meaning

By Roger Schlesinger (Feb 06, 2009)

I realize, more than people know, how weary the American public has become from the constant barrage of verbiage coming from all types of government officials. We have the... more

What Can't They Understand?

By Roger Schlesinger (Feb 02, 2009)

We are in the middle of a very serious financial crisis in this country and around the world, yet a real solution is being missed. Let me take it a step further: ... more

Is There More About Mortgage Rates Than Meets the Eye?

By Roger Schlesinger (Jan 27, 2009)

In olden days, about a year or so ago, mortgage rates were a reflection of the economy. They were set by lenders who reacted to the market for mortgage backed... more

What You Don't Know Can Cost You

By Roger Schlesinger (Jan 20, 2009)

You don't have to check the calendar, the television, or the weather to see how things have changed. You only need to apply for a mortgage loan and VOILA, it will hit you... more

Questions But Not Answers

By Roger Schlesinger (Jan 13, 2009)

We all know that thousands of people are losing their houses, and while many already have lost them an even bigger housing problem exists that really hasn't been addressed. ... more

Where is the Outrage?

By Roger Schlesinger (Jan 08, 2009)

So much is going on that offends any moral person in all areas of our country that I am shocked that nobody seems to stand up and ask, "what the heck is going on?" Among a... more

What's Happening Now?

By Roger Schlesinger (Jan 06, 2009)

We start the New Year with a continuation of the last days of the old year: stock market rise and bond market sell off. The stock market has apparently priced in all the... more