Loan Officer Gustan Cho
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President Donald Trump has outlined various methods he hopes to use to lower mortgage rates and make housing more affordable:
Efforts to Lower Interest Rates
In prior meetings, like at the World Economic Forum, Trump discussed his wish to ‘demand that interest rates drop immediately.’ With the Federal Reserve lowering rates, there have been hopes that mortgage lending will become more accessible and borrowing less expensive overall.
Tax Reforms
The administration plans to cut corporate tax to 15%, dropping it from 21%. With this, they hope for enhanced economic development, enabling investment in housing and other related industries.
Retrenching Energy Policies
The administration hopes that expanding domestic energy production and exports will lower energy prices, which could lower overall living expenses and make owning a home easier.
Regulatory Changes
Regulation changes focus on stimulating economic growth, reducing living costs, and making the market more competitive.
These policies will attempt to stimulate economic growth and lower mortgage rates. However, their effectiveness will depend on economic state and implementation factors.
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GCA Forums News – Daily National GCA Forums NewsMortgage and Real Estate News
January 28, 2025
The 47th President of the USA has his Eyes Set on Housing Affordability.
- Trump has pledged to continue the slogan “Making America Great Again” by making housing affordable for Americans.
- The 47th president took immediate measures as part of his election campaign by reducing the interest on mortgages.
Important Updates
Working with the Federal Reserve:
- The Trump Administration and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell are working on easing mortgage rates.
- This change is necessary given the current climate of increasing inflation, high mortgage rates, and expensive home prices.
Problems With Homeowners Insurance
An ongoing insurance crisis has resulted in the unavailability of high-risk area coverage for homeowners in North Carolina, California, and Florida. This makes finding affordable insurance even more challenging for prospective home buyers in these regions.
Economic Action
Reducing the Size of Government:
Trump is considering radical changes to boost economic activity, including scrapping FEMA and the IRS.
Critique of the Biden-Harris Administration:
- Trump says that the current administration’s economic policies have damaged the country.
- On the other hand, he points out his steps during his first week in office to address housing and economic problems head-on.
Political Landscape
Bipartisan Praise:
- Defying all expectations, Trump has also received praise from Democratic politicians like Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who told ABC’s The View that Trump is “actually doing what he said he would do.”
Support from Swing and Red States:
- Since Trump stepped into office, his actions have prompted favorable responses from voters in swing and some traditionally blue states like Nevada, California, and Pennsylvania.
- Analysts subsequently claim that such a November will most likely result in an unprecedented shift in the political order, with a number of blue states turning red.
Victims’ Reception
Warm Welcome from Disaster Victims:
- During his recent trips to North Carolina, which was struck by hurricanes, and Southern California, ravaged by wildfires, he received much fanfare from the victims, who praised him for his concern and willingness to help them.
Predicting What’s Ahead
- The housing and economic policies formulated by the current administration can greatly change the existing political order.
- Trump’s policies can tilt many blue states towards Republican support.
- As news breaks, it is unclear how these plans will affect the mortgage and real estate markets in the next few months.
Follow GCA FORUMS NEWS for important updates on housing and mortgage rates and economic policies under this administration.
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Macaques, commonly called “MacCraw,” are popular pet monkeys. Pet Macaques are a huge commitment and require consideration of many factors ranging from legality and ethics to personal practicability. Here is a step-by-step guide to everything you need to know before bringing home a pet monkey.
Understanding Legalities
Check Local Laws: Each state and municipality has different laws regarding the ownership of pet primates. Your first step is to ensure you are legally allowed to own a pet monkey.
Permits: You may also need a few permits or licenses to own a monkey. Make sure to gather all required documents.
**Finding a Reputable Source**
Adoption vs. purchase: To make your purchase, rescue or sanctuary adoption is always a better ethical option than purchasing a pet monkey from a breeder.
Find a Breeder: If adopting is not an option, find a licensed, ethical, and responsible breeder. Also, avoid pet stores that do not offer proper animal care.
Choosing the Right Monkey
- Species: Adult Japanese Macaques and Rhesus range from 15 to 40 pounds, depending on their species.
- Size: Baby monkeys usually weigh 1-2 pounds at birth and grow around 18-25 inches tall.
- Temperament: It is best to choose a baby monkey with a gentle personality that is friendly, well-socialized, and regularly handled.
Training And Socialization
- Training: Using positive reinforcement techniques, it is best to start training as early as possible.
- Monkeys can learn commands and some social behaviors.
- However, the training has to be persistent and patient.
Expert Guidance: If required, a primate behavior specialist can offer suggestions relating to training and socialization.
Caring For Your Monkey
Diet And Nutrition: A healthy, balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, and specialized monkey pellets will be suitable for primate nutrition.
Space And Environment: The monkey should have a safe and spacious place to explore and play. Enrichment provides essential stimulation and is very important for mental health.
Health Care: Routine veterinary care is a must. Find an experienced vet who deals specifically with primates for vaccinations, check-ups, and ongoing health monitoring.
Lifelong Commitment
Longevity: Macaques will live 20-30 years in captivity, which means this is not an animal to adopt lightly.
Behavioral Considerations: With age, monkeys can become more aggressive and will certainly learn behavioral problems over time.
Wildlife Considerations
Surrendering To The Wild: Pet monkeys should not be released into the wild. Domesticated monkeys lack survival skills and can endanger the local environment.
Spaying/Neutering: Discuss the issue of spaying or neutering with your veterinarian to eliminate the chances of aggression and unwanted breeding.
Primates are complex beings and should be treated with care and compassion, so monkey owners must do their homework and understand what the animal will need from them. Make sure that you understand the deeper question of responsibility and ethics. Your most important consideration is to ensure that the animal is well taken care of in terms of its needs and that the environment is suitable for the animal during its life.
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Today’s market is not easy to navigate as a Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO), but plenty of rewards await you if you can find your way through it. The industry’s evolution has been remarkable, especially with the economic and regulatory changes experienced with the recent housing market downfall. Let’s look at the mortgage industry and everything you need to know regarding becoming an MLO.
Current State of the Mortgage Industry
Market Conditions:
- The mortgage industry has contracted with the high interest rates we are seeing.
- This has resulted in less refinancing and lower home sales.
- The average mortgage in 2025 is approximately 7%, which is very low for what people can afford.
Mortgage brokers and lenders have shut down, merged with competitors, or laid off most of their employees due to the new normal of low industry demand.
Regulatory Environment:
- The industry is known for being very litigious.
- Thus, MLOs must stay updated on compliance changes by The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
- This is essential due to the increasing focus on compliance and consumer protection.
- The real estate sector is quite competitive, especially in an environment with low transaction numbers.
- Many seasoned players have exited the field, paving the way for new entrants with innovation and superior service offerings.
- The mortgage business has undergone substantial changes over the years.
- Most lenders are now embracing tech through portals to automate submission and approval, and mortgage professionals can harness the ease of technology here.
Social media and online platforms are tremendously powerful for mortgage loan originators who must market themselves and acquire new clients.
How to get started as a loan originator
Licensing criteria:
- To become an MLO, one must obtain a Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) license.
- This includes:
Completing a requirement of 20 hours of pre-licensing education covering the federal government’s laws, rules and regulations, ethics, and law of real estate originating business.
Clearing NMLS exam
applying with background and credit check
Specialization:
- Some MLOs specialize in conventional loans, which the federal government does not secure.
- Thus, they usually have much higher credit score requirements.
- Others focus on government loans like FHA, VA, and USDA, which many first-time buyers with low credit ratings use.
Non-QM and Alternative Financing:
- These products are more lax regarding who they give funding to, such as the self-employed or people with nontraditional forms of income.
- Understanding this will help penetrate broader markets.
Local Networking:
- Partnerships with local realtors, financial planners, and other professionals help generate leads.
- Getting involved in local real estate and mortgage associations can also provide networking opportunities.
One can also network professionally by participating in industry conferences and events that offer timely market information.
Growing Sales Expertise
Strong sales abilities enhance the chance of success. These include:
- Communication, listening, and negotiation skills.
- Selling a mortgage product to customers and guiding them through all the processes.
- Consultative selling technique – understanding the client’s needs and offering appropriate solutions.
Advertising and Lead Generation
Develop a comprehensive marketing campaign that is both digital and paper-based. This may mean:
- Setting up and liaising with a specialist firm to construct a company website and advertising through social media to attract and convert clients.
- Community activities and seminars for persons of visible professional stature.
- Regular newsletters and emails to previous leads and customers.
Ongoing Learning and Modification
- The cycle of progress in the mortgage sector never halts. To be competitive in this business, it is extremely important to continuously learn and keep track of industry changes, developments, and shifts in laws and policies over time.
- With the right attitude, a career as a mortgage loan originator is attainable.
- The shift in the market does not seem easy, but it can present a unique set of advantages for those with ambition.
New MLOs must adapt to new technology, know how to build rapport with clients and understand all the various loan options available in the market. This will surely ensure their success in such a competitive field.
https://gustancho.com/remote-mlo-career-opportunities/
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Remote MLO Career Opportunities
Gustan Cho Associates has remote MLO career opportunities for branch assigned loan officers and independent branch managers
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President Donald Trump has made it clear what steps he plans to take to improve affordability in housing and lower mortgage rates. Below are some of the things he stated:
Regulatory Reductions: Trump plans to remove the cost of housing associated with regulation. By lowering such expenses, he hopes to make homes more accessible.
Increasing Housing Supply: He intends to liberalize more federal land for housing and a lower construction regulation, which is expected to improve the availability of homes and reduce their cost.
Deportation Policies: Trump has consistently said that he intends to deport many undocumented migrants. According to him, that will reduce the demand for housing and subsequently lead to a decrease in the cost of housing.
Tariff Policies: While Trump continues to threaten tariffs on lumber as a construction raw material, which would significantly inflate construction expenses, his recent policy shifts may assist in controlling mortgage rates.
Emergency Price Relief: Trump has given executive orders granting emergency price relief on housing, aiming to lower the cost while increasing the supply.
Those are just a few of his efforts to improve the prices associated with home buying for the commoner. Are those steps effective?
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Understanding the Elements Determining the Future Price of Gold and Silver – as of 2025 As we look at the elements in this infographic, it’s pretty clear how they can aid us in giving estimates of the rates of Gold and silver in the year 2025.
These elements and their economic effects are broken down in a simpler manner below:
Economic Factors
Rates of Inflation:
- History shows that Gold and silver are the best protection against inflation.
- Investing in Gold and silver can help preserve one’s wealth during high inflation.
Value:
- During periods of great economic uncertainty or recession, there is usually a spike in investments in Gold and silver, as they act as safe-haven currencies.
Changes in Investments
Investment in Gold will generally grow with an increase in real interest rates and decrease with low or negative real interest rates (nominal rates with no growth).
Growth Rate of US Federal Depository Institutions
The Federal Reserve’s policies directly influence investment decisions in Gold and silver. In many cases, lowering rates generate higher prices for these metals.
Global Issues Affecting Gold and Silver Prices
Political Changes:
- Geopolitical tensions or conflicts can increase demand for Gold and silver, especially from a foreign investor’s perspective.
- Events like war, trade conflicts, and other major political shifts can significantly affect demand.
- The trade value of the currency and forex is of core importance as the value of Gold and silver are integrated with the significant international economic position of the US.
- If the dollar weakens, the prices of Gold and silver tend to increase as they are more appealing to foreign countries.
Buying And Selling Activity
Mining Production:
- There are new and existing sources of new Gold and silver. Still, their availability is contingent on the supply of effective mining.
- If the production cuts result from certain environmental restrictions, strikes of workers, or empty mines, there could be a price rise.
Industrial Demand:
- Silver is an important industrial metal (electronics and solar cells).
- As one of the industrial commodities, its price changes compared to the price of crude oil.
- At the same time, Gold is an investment commodity and does not change in value as often.
Changes in Spending Habits
Exchange-Traded Funds (EFT):
- The price of Gold and silver is most affected by the purchase and sale of gold and silver exchange-traded funds.
- Prices are appreciated when there is a heavy investment in the fund.
Retail Investment:
- The demand from personal investors for physical gold and silver bars or coins can also change the price range.
Economic Developments
Increase in mining and recovery—New, improved technological strategies for mining and recovery will constantly and positively alter the pricing structure.
Fever and enthusiasm
Investor Behavior:
- The psychology and sentiment of the market tend to change the prices.
- Increased sentiment encourages purchases, while excessive pessimism encourages sales.
Predicting the prices of Gold and silver in 2025 will require analyzing numerous factors. Prices in the future will largely be determined by the state of the economy, inflation, interest rates, the geopolitical situation, supply-and-demand, and even market mood. Therefore, these indicators and other metrics will be crucial when trying to anticipate sentiment in the precious metals market.
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Coming into the market, a new insurer is observing how best to position its products in high-risk areas and is employing some very innovative strategies.
Here is how they are working on problems of high-risk areas like hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and so on:
Unique Coverage Extensions
- Tailored Coverage: New insurers are developing unique insurance policies for homeowners in high-risk areas.
- These policies may have safe local risk coverage limits and flexible endorsements.
- Modular Policies: Some companies will sell modular policies that let the homeowners choose and pay for specific coverages depending on their risk profile.
Technology and Data Analytics Adoption
- Risk Analytics: Insurers are implementing geo-information, predictive analytics models, and advanced data analyses to assess risk for particular sighted areas.
- Smart Home Technology: Some insurers reward or subsidize homeowners who actively engage with smart home technologies (such as fire alarms and flood sensors, which can benefit loss reduction simply in case of incident) that mitigate risks.
Adaptive Premium Payment Plans
- Pay-As-You-Drive Policies: Focused market new entrants are testing pay-as-you-drive policies, where premiums are paid proportionately to the policies’ set risk exposure and monitored in real-time by changes to the data.
- This tiered pricing system is quite interesting. New insurers design premium payment systems to allow for lower premiums by taking on riskier policies and adopting methods to mitigate the risk.
Education and Risk Mitigation Programs
- Homeowners Education: Some new insurers concentrate on intensive homeowner education and provide them with a number of risk mitigation resources to help reduce probable risks.
- Incentives for Improvements: They can also reduce their premiums or provide some rebates to homeowners who make certain improvements to their homes, such as using fire-resistant materials or setting up flood barriers.
Collaboration with Local Governments and Organizations
- Community Partnerships: Insurers are teaming up with other local governments and organizations to develop community
- Or region-wide risk mitigation programs that upgrade community facilities or preparedness activities.
- Support for Resilience Projects: Other insurers may also fund investment for resilience-building projects at the local level to achieve minimum disaster impact and thus serve the communities they cover.
6. Focus on Reinsurance and Risk Sharing
Reinsurance Arrangements: Emerging market insurers are seeking creative reinsurance arrangements to enable them to bundle risks with big established firms with a reasonable assumption of financial loss to access areas with high market financial risks.
Risk Pools: Cooperation among insurers to create risk pools can help mitigate the alarming financial impacts of catastrophic events, making insurance coverage in even the most high-risk regions possible.
Environmental issues
- Sustainability Initiatives: New insurers tend to focus more on promoting environmental sustainability by adding policyholder practices that include incentives for using energy-efficient appliances in upgraded homes and solar panels, among others.
New insurers creatively adjust their policies in high-risk zones using technology to offer holistic coverage. They are focusing on educational and preventive approaches to insurance. These companies hope to address the urgent concerns of natural disasters with creative, innovative approaches and collaboration with other community stakeholders to develop sustainable home insurance solutions.
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In January 2025, a diplomatic rift formed between the United States and Colombia regarding the deportation of Colombian citizens living in the U.S. Colombian President Gustavo Petro started the issue after declining two American military planes loaded with 80 deported Colombian prisoners. As they tried to land in Colombia, President Petro expressed his worries about the deportees being inhumane and undignified. He even suggested using the Colombian presidential aircraft instead.
In retaliation, U.S. President Donald Trump declared Colombian goods would be subject to a 25% tax, with the threat of raising it to 50% if they did not comply in a week. Travel bans and visa restrictions were enforced on Colombian government officials, and heightened scrutiny was placed on Colombian goods entering the U.S.
Due to these decisions, Colombia agreed to the unconditional acceptance of deported individuals, including those delivered on U.S. military planes. As a result, America lifted the tax and sanctions against Colombia, keeping the lifted measures in place only after the initial deportation flight.
This event highlights the difficulties of implementing national policies while maintaining good diplomatic relations with other countries.
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*As always with the US, things can change at any moment. When President Donald Trump stepped into office, he made huge shifts in policy AND executive orders. His actions in the first week had and continue to have long-lasting impacts across many sectors. Let’s dive deeper into this.*
Political Landscape in the US.
Focus for a second on how polarized the US has become. The actions that Trump decided to implement during the beginning of his presidency worsened both public and congressional division by a long shot and increased overall polarization. This was not a surprise to anyone. Given the history of how Trump was treated during his presidency, it is clear that there will always be a toxic political environment.
Opposition Groups Trump Policies:
- The polarisation did not end at division.
- Trump’s policies and actions shifted the entire approach toward United States conservatism.
- This shift focused a lot on systemized opposition, protests, and organized movements among progressive and liberal voters.
DACA and Immigration Policy
- As simple as it may sound, Trump’s shifts in immigration policy started a trend of aggressiveness toward immigration.
- This led to the appointment of officials who focused on increasing deportations and tightening border control, which was a clear turnoff for many immigration communities.
- The disputes around immigration don’t stop there.
The heated debate surrounding DACA, a sensitive area concerning children who are brought into the US without legal documentation, makes the situation much worse.
Economic and Housing Market Impacts
Mortgage Rates and Housing Affordability:
- Trump’s promise to lower mortgage rates opened and changed the windows of the housing market.
- While some policies were designed to improve affordability, fear regarding immigration and the economy made some dramatic changes and lessened buyer confidence.
Tax Reforms:
- His campaign statement promising to eliminate taxes on gratuities and concentrate on changing the economy started a wider conversation about who should bear the burden of taxation and how it should be spent, especially with regard to services and their eventual laws.
Foreign Relations and National Security
Shift in Alliances:
- His campaign assertion suggested that “America First” neglects a curated set of modern alliances.
- An embrace of Europe’s more conservative governments countered poor relations with established allies.
- This change reduced collaboration on major projects such as renewable energy and global security.
Increased Tensions:
- The withdrawal of domestic security measures and bone-hurling speeches about certain states worsened tensions worldwide, especially in states of northern Asia such as China and North Korea, sharpening the American approach to external affairs.
Impact on National Security and Intelligence
Changes in the Intelligence Community:
- The withdrawal of certain officials’ security clearances and as such, their protections shifted the balance of the Intel community, violating the trust of many people.
Public Trust:
- Such actions contributed to deteriorating public trust in government institutions, most noticeably in national security and intelligence activities.
Policies for Sustained Growth
Public Policies’ Focus on Deregulation:
- The Trump administration’s focus on deregulating several domains, including the environment, resulted in major shifts within various industries and public policy discussions concerning development and economic growth.
Market Instability:
- Outward economic predictions teamed with promises of welfare reform to boost the market.
- Pledges of directed government investment to stabilize the market initially fostered faith, but losses soon suffered.
Political and Social Consequences
Civic Activity Surge:
- The first week led to grassroots movements as organizations began tackling issues, such as civil, women, and immigrant rights, thus changing the social fabric for decades.
Media and Fake News:
- The administration’s relationship with the media was adversarial, and crafting counter-narratives fostered an environment of fake news that affected public engagement and trust in news systems.
The measures implemented in the first week of President Trump’s office resulted in lasting impacts on internal policies, external relations, and society. These impacts changed political conversations, altered economic policies, and shaped the general attitude, creating a legacy that will be remembered throughout Trump’s presidency and afterward.
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