For those of you who aren’t already aware, the mortgage business is going through a period of self-correction right now. By that I mean there are several loan programs that have drastically changed or gone completely extinct over the past month or two. This is both good and bad news.

Many have criticized the biggest lenders for accepting borrowers over the last decade or so that were too risky for traditional tastes, without making adjustments for more equity or mortgage insurance. Some even believed this would ultimately create a “credit bubble” that would eventually burst and cause widespread turmoil in housing both for businesses and homeowners. Well, we’re sort of seeing that right now. Foreclosures are way up and lenders are dropping like flies. The stock market has taken a beating because of all this as well.

The bad news is that it’s now harder for people with bad credit to get home financing and/or refinance their current loans. The good news is that hopefully the industry will learn a great deal from this experience and be able to prevent such a situation from occurring again in the future.

So, more than ever, if you want to buy a home be sure to make your payments on time, save up a little money for a down payment, and try not to overextend yourself with debt.

It’s only fitting that I follow up my last post about Ray Giacolletti leaving Utah with a post about his successor, Jim Boylen, Utah’s new men’s basketball head coach. It will be interesting to see how Boylen does as a first-time head coach, but so far all indications point to him being a top-notch coach.

I don’t spend all my time working on mortgages, and can often be found cheering on the University of Utah in football or basketball. The last two basketball seasons have been particularly frustrating for Utah fans, and today Coach Ray Giacoletti resigned from his post as head coach.

The news is bittersweet because Coach Giac did take the Utes to a sweet sixteen in his first year, though it appears now that was mostly thanks to the player Bogut turned out to be. For that season anyway, it appeared the Utes had another fine coach that would continue the legacy of Utah Basketball.

At any rate, it will be exciting to see who Dr. Chris Hill brings in as Giac’s replacement. And now it’s back to work…