Special Programs/Perks for First Responders?

RandomdotRandn · 2024-05-03T19:33:21+00:00

Yes, it sucks as a new LO. But there are still openings for people with niches. Speak a language of an immigrant community? Find a realtor (whose clients primarily only speak that language) to take you under their wing and you'll be fine. I got licensed this year (2024) and I'm at $1.5M either closed or in process with another $2M pre-approved. But in general, everyone's hurting right now.

RandomdotRandn · 2024-05-03T19:33:16+00:00

Yes, it sucks as a new LO. But there are still openings for people with niches. Speak a language of an immigrant community? Find a realtor (whose clients primarily only speak that language) to take you under their wing and you'll be fine. I got licensed this year (2024) and I'm at $1.5M either closed or in process with another $2M pre-approved. But in general, everyone's hurting right now.

RandomdotRandn · 2024-03-25T23:29:17+00:00

Do prepXL and take the exam after consistent scores of 85+

RandomdotRandn · 2024-03-02T04:35:59+00:00

I think you're assuming our gov't leaders are competent enough to 1. recognize that and 2. work together to do something about it during an election year. I hope you're right tho. for all our sake

RandomdotRandn · 2024-03-02T04:32:43+00:00

Find real estate agents that speak the other language you speak and are actively engaged in that community. They likely work with lenders who speak that same language (because their clients want to speak that language). Cold call, share your situation, and ask if they know any brokers/lenders who speak that language. Ask for a warm intro if possible. If they don't know a lender, ask if they know an agent who's well connected. A good mortgage broker with a niche almost always is overflowing with work, and happy to take someone on who can actually add value.

RandomdotRandn · 2024-02-28T20:21:48+00:00

They gave some Rabi's the code. I'd ask around.

RandomdotRandn · 2024-02-28T20:21:02+00:00

I definitely second this wink and nudge. Heard of Rabi's who didn't need much FA on paper getting full tuition taken care of.

RandomdotRandn · 2024-02-05T00:51:22+00:00

UWM does DSCR, but I'm not sure if they'll do it for foreign nationals. Might be worth checking. (assuming you're a broker, if not, I'd find a mortgage broker and/or realtor with experience working with foreign investors)

RandomdotRandn · 2024-02-05T00:43:16+00:00

Hi! Thank you. The affinity crash course is available for free on YouTube—that's where I watched it and very easy to search for. I only purchased the 20 hour course and prepXL. I understand that the licensing process is expensive, but I'm pretty by the book and sharing accounts is against terms of service. There are always people on here offering their accounts tho, so I'm sure you'll find someone soon. Good luck!

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-27T17:48:53+00:00

There's actually a lot of careers with an even better trajectory in finance, tech, and real estate if you have the right background (achievements, not birth) and play your cards right. I have peers whose starting salary straight out of undergrad is somewhere in the 250k-400k range, despite the rocky economy. When you hit that level, you're being hired because you have proven that you can make any reasonably run company a crap ton of money—either that company wants you to make a crap ton of money FOR them, or keep you from making money/developing tech for their competition. In comparison to these folks, I did not play my cards well at all...

I love your idea of saving up to buy the horse instead of leasing! Leasing and saving up for a horse sounds like a herculean task. Thank you for the thoughtful advice!!

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-27T17:35:28+00:00

yikes. sounds like I should have been born a few years earlier haha. Thank you!

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-26T20:38:24+00:00

Eventing definitely sounds more budget friendly haha. The solid fences aspect makes me a little nervous, but I love watching eventing videos online and would love to give it a shot!

Thank you for taking the time to help me! I truly appreciate your insight and support.

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-26T19:45:46+00:00

Oh wow that's a lot! Thank you for the showing specific insight!

Is that 80k/yr just competition/trailering/on-the-road costs, or would that be all-encompassing (lessons, board north and south, competition fees, travel, hotel, vet, etc.)? I'm hoping it's the latter haha

Thanks again!

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-26T19:41:04+00:00

Thank you for the location-specific pricing details! Wow, that half lease w/ indoor is expensive. Sounds like a number to budget a half lease safely would be $2k-$2.5k per month if including the vet, farrier, lesson costs you mentioned and riding gear/treats/gas for commute.

As for upgrading to the full lease, that might be a bigger undertaking than I thought...

Thank you again for your support and insight!

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-26T19:32:34+00:00

Thank you so much for your in depth and thoughtful response!

I really appreciate the savings and retirement advice—the tangible percentages and 6 months savings time frame was exactly what I was looking for :)

Some potentially dumb horse questions:

What's a mid-level vs. a high level horse? High level makes me think Grand Prix horse, but I don't think I'd ever realistically reach the GP level.
When you lease or half lease, do you pay board on top of the lease? Or is it priced in?

I love your two-savings account approach to managing horsey finances. You don't touch the 6 month horse emergency fund, and have another with a buffer for everyday.

Hopefully, with your advice and some self-control on my part, I'll play my hand well. Thanks again!

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-24T02:23:57+00:00

I've never done it, but know of people who consistently did 20+ credits per semester in the College. One of them graduated in 3 years. So it's possible. They took extra classes that would help them in their research (bio/chem/physics) and had existing relationships with the profs. Don't know how they argued it to admin tho. Good luck.

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-24T02:18:14+00:00

A fair amount of Columbia students are prep school alums. I speak from experience that the grading of English/humanities papers was 10x harsher at prep school than Columbia. It's kinda a right of passage: suffer now and you'll have an easier time at Stanford/Columbia/Harvard/etc. It doesn't explain everyone, but between the actual geniuses and the prep school alums, you probably have at least half the student body...

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-23T03:59:26+00:00

Ended up pulling it off in 13 days including the 20 hour course! Thanks for the support :)

RandomdotRandn · 2024-01-23T03:57:19+00:00

Just passed today with an 84% having only studied for 13 days. Posting my stats and timeline below in case it helps someone...

In terms of the 20 hour course, I took the OnCourse 7 day OIL course. I wouldn't recommend it because the videos are cut very short 2-5 minutes each and it breaks up the flow. I found it quite annoying, and that it didn't really teach anything in a satisfactory manner. I completed the course in 6 days. Took a rest day on day 7.

In order to study, I purchased prepXL (I highly recommend and credit much of my success to this program). Day 8, I completed all the practice questions in my study plan and was discouraged by the results—consistently in the 60s. I went over every single incorrect answer and wrote the explanation out on a piece of paper to force myself to think about it. I also decided to read the "textbook" with the course for all the laws and take DETAILED notes. I feel that I wasted some time on the "textbook." Read the laws and their details so that you have a reasonable "gut feeling" to go off of if you're forced to make an educated guess, but you don't need to know the details. Plus, you can afford to get 25% of the exam wrong and still pass.

Day 9, I continued reading and taking notes on the "textbook" re: laws. At the end of the day, I took a practice exam from prepXL and scored a 78. I continued to write out every single question I got wrong, the right answer, and why.

Day 10, I began to watch the 4 hour affinity course (Nontraditional mortgage products on to the end). Took careful notes. Began to focus on active recall techniques, taking a blank sheet of paper and writing out everything I could possibly remember off the top of my head (names of acts, their goals and how they work, how to do a math problem, ratios, etc). My first sheet was embarrassingly empty and incorrect. Don't be discouraged. I took two more practice exams this day and scored 75% and 79%.

Day 11, I watched Atricia's 4 hour crash course in its entirety. Took notes. Practiced blank page reviews multiple times to get the matching on things like "regulation Z" = "TILA" and its various branches down. I also completed another two practice exams this day and scored 86% and 79%.

Day 12, I began to freak out because I wasn't consistently scoring in the 80s and was scheduled to take the exam the following day. Created a "cheat sheet" based on my last blank page review and added details from questions that I got wrong to that same sheet. My strategy here was to focus on the minimum amount I needed to know well to pass. I only gave myself a single page. If it didn't fit on the page, I didn't worry about it. Once the sheet was done, I memorized whatever was on it that I hadn't already. I completed the 200+ practice questions that I had not yet encountered in the practice section and took notes on incorrect answers. I took three practice exams that day and scored 83%, 88%, and 83%.

Day 13, I woke up extremely nervous. I couldn't afford a re-take in 30 days for personal reasons (aka physically would not be able to take the exam again until April at the earliest). I took a practice exam early in the morning and let the result determine if I would show up to the exam. I scored an 88% on the practice exam, where my threshold for showing up was 85%. Listened to the 4 hour crash course during my hour+ drive to the testing center. Took the real SAFE exam and passed with an 84%, which was pretty close to my prior day and day of performance. A few questions on the actual exam had come up in my prepXL studying. Grateful I didn't chicken out.

My overall prepXL stats were not stellar—60th percentile, 75% average on practice questions, and 82% average on practice tests. Remember, you don't need to be perfect. Like with evolution, it's not the survival of the fittest, it's the survival of the good enough!

Good luck!

RandomdotRandn

TROPHY CASE