Web Conferencing

Today, I experienced my first webconference. At least a serious one. It was me and 2 other presenters talking to a bunch of bankers around the country about the exciting new changes in mortgage lending, namely RESPA. First, although I know that any discussion about RESPA will put most people either to sleep or to death (and I'd like to avoid that), I think I should say something quick about this law.

RESPA stands for the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and anyone who has gone out for a home loan has experienced it. It is one of the 280 disclosures that broker or a banker gives you that mean almost nothing to you. Most borrowers want to know two things: do I get the loan and how much is it going to cost. Well, RESPA tries to answer the second one. Unfortunately, it is sooooo complex that there really isn't a good answer. When things get complicated, well, you get fraud. In this case, the government (ha ha) actually tried to make it a bit simplier for us common folk to understand. They have failed, but that wasn't much of a surprise as the whole matter is a off the charts impossible to understand.

However, that doesn't stop the government from trying and who are we to blame them for the effort. Moreover, as a guy who used to make decent money on trying to figure these laws and regulations out, who am I to complain.

In 2008, following the debacle of the mortgage industry, the Housing for Urban Development (the guys who manage RESPA) decided to change the law. Not a small change, but a complete overhaul. Today, I had the pleasure of trying to explain part of that overhaul. You're probably wondering whether I am the right guy to explain the overhaul aren't you? Well, frankly no. But, that doesn't stop me from wanting to get in the mix. After all, life isn't about just talking about what you absolutely know (i.e., an expert), it also includes the spirit of going boldly where no man has gone before (at least no man as in me).

So, there I was struggling to explain things using technology including webconferencing, telephone conferencing and explaining a topic that I'm not all that suited for. It was, entertaining. About like being in the Dentist's office for a root canal without anesthesia. So, I presented for about 40 minutes and mostly read the slides offering a bit of my powerful insight into the issue. Not too easy for me and made me realize why I prefer making movies. It has moments where you don't know what you're doing too, but in the end figuring it out is consider part of the fun. When you're trying to figure out RESPA, your just trying to sort out something that can't be sorted out. And, if you do, you just sit there wondering what you were thinking in the first place when you agreed to try and sort RESPA out. Crazy is as crazy does.