DO YOU BUY LOCAL? During this time when many of us are frustrated by waiting on our government to "fix" everything, I wonder how many people make an effort to BUY LOCAL?
I saw a TV program where a restaurant owner was about to lose his business because of the bigger restaurants coming into his market. When word got out, the town came in and ate, provided income for him to stay in business. When someone like this can stay in business, that person has money to spend in the local economy. It helps not only the restaurant owner, but all the local businesses.
I believe most patrons of businesses do so without much consideration. The business is perhaps on the way home, perhaps a little cheaper in price.
I am thinking about this today, Thanksgiving week, when we have so much to be thankful for. I am a mortgage broker. I started my business in 2007, just when the real estate market began to unravel.
It was a good move for me at the time. All my business is referral based; I built my business when working for larger banks based on trust, honesty, and genuinely caring about my customers. I did not see the housing collapse coming, primarily because I did not engage in the higher risk loan origination.
Now what I am witnessing three years or so later, housing problems have escalated. There are fewer mortgage loan transactions in Northern Kentucky where I work. The large banks are getting the lion's share of these transactions not because their rates are better or because they give better service. In fact, neither of these things are true.
With all the changes that have been levied against mortgage brokers many have left the business. Some of us keep soldiering on with the hope that sometime it will get easier. In the meantime, there are few real independent mortgage brokers left in the business. The flow of mortgage loan business is directly to the large banks. One can't help but think it was designed to be this way.
So, today I ask DO YOU BUY LOCAL? Do you think about the businesses you frequent? When it comes to mortgage loans, do you go to the large banks where someone in upper management can get an eleven million dollar bonus for getting fired? A a Realtor, do you think about where the money is getting spent when you refer your clients for a mortgage? Mortgage originators at banks saw their incomes slashed with the loan officer compensation ruling in April = LESS LOCAL MONEY. Most of the profit from originating a loan at mega banks is not staying local.
If you find yourself frustrated with the large banks. When their lobbying dollars are making the decisions for our country, do something about it. BUY LOCAL. Think about all of your purchases, we CAN change the trend.
