Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.

~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

There are many among us who think there should be no season of giving. Instead, giving should be an ongoing and daily event. There are even some in the mortgage industry who aspire to this lofty goal. What???

Take, for example, the Chenoa Fund. Never heard of it? Then perhaps you have also never heard of the CBCMA. Started in 2013, CBC Mortgage Agency is a nationally chartered housing finance agency. It is a subsidiary of the Cedar Band Corp., a federally chartered tribal corporation founded by the Utah-based Cedar Band of Paiutes! 

Chenoa Fund is offered via CBC Mortgage Agency (CBCMA). CBCMA’s mission is to increase affordable and sustainable homeownership, specifically for creditworthy, low and moderate-income individuals. CBCMA partners with quality mortgage lenders on a Correspondent basis.

Want to learn more? Click here for the 92 page program guideline or just call an affiliated mortgage lender. 🙂

When we talk about giving and mortgage in the same sentence, we often mean helping worthy, low income borrowers. In addition to Chenoa, then, there are lots of other ways people in that category may achieve the American Dream. Many states have their own programs also. And there is always the FHA options.

What about seniors with low income? As always, they may be able to refinance, assuming they own a home. This is not exactly as easy as it was before the crash of 2007, ‘08, but rates are still low and this remains a viable option. 

According to SeniorLiving, seniors who own homes with mortgages who get into payment difficulty should start by contacting their current lender. There may be ways to lower interest rates or even principal owed via a modification that can help seniors stay in their homes and make necessary payments.

They also recommend checking out Hope Now, a non-profit formed in 2007 by The Department of the Treasury and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Members work towards creating a unified, coordinated plan to assist homeowners and address issues when circumstances are out of the homeowner’s control. 

And, of course, there are home equity loans, and reverse mortgages via the HECM suite of products (HECM Standard, HECM Saver, and evcen the HECM Purchase). 

But remember, this is the season of giving. Perhaps everyone just needs to ask for what they need, reach out to others, adopt a, “Seek and you will find” find attitude, right? [And let me digress just for one second here … how many mortgage blogs quote the Bible, come on! :-)]

• What about THIS? Christmas Mortgage Miracle Sweepstakes 2019 where people can enter for a chance to have their mortgage paid for all of 2020.
• Check out the “Great Mortgage Giveaway” courtesy of United Faith Mortgage. 
• And then there is this, “Mortgage Provider Hosting Holiday Giveaways”, reflecting, “At Churchill, we believe in leaving people better than when we met them and hosting a sweepstakes is one of the many ways that we can do that,” said Mike Hardwick, President and founder, Churchill Mortgage.
• Then US Mortgages has a sweepstake where the winner gets his/her rent or mortgage paid!

And I found those 4 after about a 40 second search. Is this a great country or what? 

Speaking of great, there is some emphasis these days on trade schools as much better alternatives to college degrees. Further, there is a movement that requests school boards add classes on skills such as balancing checkbooks, obtaining and maintaining a great credit rating, and bills associated with owning or renting a home. Keeping to our theme, here are some GIFTS regarding preparing today’s younger generation to be financially responsible adults from moneywise.com.

• Savings Bonds
• Savings account for college or trade school tuition
• A share of stock
• An investment account
• A Kiva gift card (Kiva makes small loans to help people in developing countries improve their lives)
• Certificate of Deposit
• LIFE or Monopoly board game
• Life insurance
• Cash, with a plan

[Second digression alert. I never got ONE of those as a gift. The closest was when my mother paid my last student loan payment as my Christmas present. But, in retrospect, that was great. Thanks mom.]

In honor of my dad, who had the sense of humor in the parental unit, let’s have some fun.

A man goes to a job interview and presents himself well. The interviewers are really impressed by how professional he is."Wow! You have an amazing resume and you present yourself fantastically but you seem to be missing 5 years on this part of your resume, what happened there?" Asked an interviewer."Oh that’s when I went to yale" says the man and the interviewers are even more impressed and offer him a job on the spot. The man shows his gratitude by saying "Thank you for the yob."

~~

How do generals show their gratitude to their troops? They give tanks.

~~

A middle aged surgeon and his wife are walking along a sandy beach, when they notice a brass lamp protruding from the ground.

The wife picks it up and a genie immediately spouts forth from the lamp. "You each may have 3 wishes,'' the genie says.

The surgeon allows his wife to go first. She asks for a house on the Cliffside nearby, overlooking the beach. Suddenly a mansion appears in the distance. She then asks for immense wealth. This too is also granted. Finally she asks to be free of illnesses for as long as she lives. This is granted and as a token of gratitude the genie transports them to the doorsteps of the cliff side mansion.

The genie turns to the surgeon and inquires what his wishes are. The man states “I’d like to have a wife that is 20 years younger than myself”. The genie nods and makes the man 70 years old.

~~

Former Olympic skier Pickabo Street donated money to a local hospital. In gratitude, the hospital named their emergency ward after her-- it's now the Picabo ICU.

~~

One Christmas, mom decreed that she was no longer going to remind her children of their thank you note duties. As a result, their grandmother never received acknowledgments of the generous checks she had given.

The next year things were different, however.

"The children came over in person to thank me," the grandparent told a friend triumphantly.

"How wonderful!" the friend exclaimed. "What do you think caused the change in behavior?"

"Oh, that's easy," the grandmother replied. "This year I didn't sign the checks."

~~

The Twelve Thank You Notes of Christmas

Dec 25

My dearest darling Edward,

What a wonderful surprise has just greeted me! That sweet partridge, in that lovely little pear-tree; what an enchanting, romantic, poetic present! Bless you, and thank you.

Your deeply loving

Emily.

Dec. 26

Beloved Edward,

The two turtle-doves arrived this morning, and are cooing away in the peartree as I write. I’m so touched and grateful!

With undying love, as always,

Emily

Dec. 27

My darling Edward,

You do think of the most original presents! Who ever thought of sending anybody three French hens? Do they really come all the way from France? It’s a pity we have no chicken coops, but I expect we’ll find some. Anyway, thank you so much; they’re lovely.

Your devoted Emily.

Dec. 28

Dearest Edward,

What a surprise! Four calling birds arrived this morning. They are very sweet, even if they do call rather loudly - they make telephoning almost impossible - but I expect they’ll calm down when they get used to their new home. Anyway, I’m very grateful, of course I am.

Love from Emily.

Dec. 29

Dearest Edward,

The mailman has just delivered five most beautiful gold rings, one for each finger, and all fitting perfectly! A really lovely present! Lovelier, in a way, than birds, which do take rather a lot of looking after. The four that arrived yesterday are still making a terrible row, and I’m afraid none of us got much sleep last night. Mother says she wants to use the rings to "wring" their necks. Mother has such a sense of humor. This time she’s only joking, I think, but I do know what she means. Still, I love the rings.

Bless you,

Emily

Dec. 30

Dear Edward,

Whatever I expected to find when I opened the front door this morning, it certainly wasn’t six socking great geese laying eggs all over the porch. Frankly, I rather hoped that you had stopped sending me birds. We have no room for them, and they’ve already ruined the croquet lawn. I know you meant well, but let’s call a halt, shall we?

Love,

Emily

Dec. 31

Edward,

I thought I said NO MORE BIRDS. This morning I woke up to find no more than seven swans, all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond. I’d rather not think what’s happened to the goldfish. The whole house seems to be full of birds, to say nothing of what they leave behind them, so please, please, stop!

Your Emily

Jan 1

Frankly, I prefer the birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids? And their cows! Is this some kind of a joke? If so, I’m afraid I don’t find it very amusing.

Emily

Jan. 2

Look here, Edward,

This has gone far enough. You say you’re sending me nine ladies dancing. All I can say is, judging from the way they dance, they’re certainly not ladies. The village just isn’t accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless viragos, withnothing on but their lipstick, cavorting round the green, and it’s Mother and I who get the blame. If you value our friendship, which I do (less and less), kindly stop this ridiculous behavior at once!

Emily

Jan 3

As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing up and down all over what used to be the garden, before the geese and the swans and the cows got at it. And several of them, I have just noticed, are taking inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids. Meanwhile the neighbors are trying to have us evicted. I shall never speak to you again.

Emily

Jan 4

This is the last straw! You know I detest bagpipes! The place has now become something between a menagerie and a madhouse, and a man from the council has just declared it unfit for habitation. At least Mother has been spared this last outrage; they took her away yesterday afternoon in an ambulance to a home for the bewildered. I hope you’re satisfied.

Jan. 5

Sir,

Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs me to inform you that with the arrival on her premises at 7:30 this morning of the entire percussion section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and several of their friends, she has no course left open to her but to seek an injunction to prevent you importuning her further. I am making arrangements for the return of much assorted livestock.

I am, Sir, yours faithfully,

G. Creep

Attorney at law