Blog

By Elizabeth Duffy, Advana Mortgage’s unofficial writer-in-residence.

It began with a vision, as most great things do, and was accomplished through teamwork, as most great things are. At Advana Mortgage, we view ourselves as a family, and moving into a new home, especially one created from scratch, is always a trying endeavor. Not unlike the families we finance, our staff was full of excitement and anxiety throughout the 45 days it took to create our new office space.

The first step was finding the space. Our fearless leader, Jim Lowe, took to the streets, considering space after space to find the right fit for our growing company. He sought the advice of Mortgage Banker Shawn Nielsen, who has experience in choosing and building out office space. Nestled between the buzzing retail intersection of 57^th and Western and the active real estate offices scattered along the south side of Sioux Falls, 5109 South Crossing Place was quickly chosen.

The Crossing Place Office Park is a much quieter neighborhood than the bus stop corner of 11^th and Minnesota we were used to. Each of the three buildings in the park looks identical, with three office suites in each. To abide by the developer’s aesthetic rules and regulations, we knew our collective taste and creativity would need to be expressed within our individual suite.

With blueprint in hand, Jim presented the plan. With various levels of fussiness, each loan officer claimed an office, most of which only existed on paper. The big remaining question was the reception area. How could we make our office stand out from the rest? How could we add a “wow factor” to our new home? That’s when our resident architect/interior designer and Senior Mortgage Banker, Craig Markhardt, took the reins.

Craig spent hours of his free time brainstorming, drawing, and tweaking the design of our feature wall and overall office aura. With the slightest arm-twisting, he convinced Jim to have the contractors create a feature wall with a giant inset of frosted glass, featuring our company logo, which would light up from the inside. He also developed the idea of inserting the same type of frosted glass into the walls throughout the office, with our mission statement and core values embossed on each piece. The Advana family came together over this design. We had our “wow factor.”

Piece by piece, the Lowe Construction crew brought our new home to fruition. By April 25, we were packed and ready to go. Fueled by the pizza and cupcakes our friends brought by, we worked through the weekend to have our new office ready for business by Monday morning, April 29.

Each one of us is now blessed with an office door, four walls, and most importantly, a ceiling. This was a significant upgrade for those who were used to the glass panel offices set up in the middle portion of our cavernous former building. It was particularly beneficial that Jordan, lovingly nicknamed “Boombox,” was now able to enclose himself into a nearly soundproof room. There were many occasions in the old office when we would find Jordan with his cell phone in what used to be the bank vault, attempting to use an “indoor voice” and protect his conversation from unintended eavesdropping.

Over the past few weeks, each one of us has put our own stamp on the new space. The walls of each office are filled with artwork, family photos, and various diplomas and awards. Our conference room has a new flat screen television hooked up to our network server, making it the perfect place for our “family gatherings.” So, stop on by – we’ve always got a fresh pot of coffee and a friendly smile for our visitors!

Despite the recent rise in house prices and residential shelter costs comprising 32% of the CPI, rising house prices won't, in the short run, worsen inflation. This is because the CPI does not look at house prices, but rather the cost to rent a dwelling (owner-occupied or rented). And since house prices and rents are generally inversely correlated, we're safe until rents start rising and with multifamily construction going gangbusters.    Elliot F. Eisenberg, Ph.D. GraphsandLaughs, LLC elliot@graphsandlaughs.net Cell: 202.306.2731 www.econ70.com

Between Benghazi, the heavy-handed AP data grab and the IRS fiasco, any tiny window for tax reform has all but shut. While Senator Baucus and Representative Camp, who head up both tax writing committees have 17 months until the next election, the combination of an uninvolved administration, 2014 being an election year, for fierce lobbying against change by corporations, and a requirement budget neutrality make any chance for reform history.    Elliot F. Eisenberg, Ph.D. GraphsandLaughs, LLC elliot@graphsandlaughs.net Cell: 202.306.2731 www.econ70.com

The current bull market that began on 3/9/09 has lifted the S&P 500 over 146%, and now ranks as the fifth best bull market in history. It's also within 10% of the fourth best rally of 157.70% that occurred between 4/28/42 and 5/29/46. The combination of steady growth, no inflation, low interest rates and no wage pressure is a golden environment for equities. I think I'll buy more Enron!     Elliot F. Eisenberg, Ph.D. GraphsandLaughs, LLC elliot@graphsandlaughs.net Cell: 202.306.2731 www.econ70.com

The good: the index of leading economic indicators rose, as did retail sales, consumer sentiment, and housing permits. The bad: Europe is now officially in recession, first-time unemployment claims rose, manufacturing activity declined, inflation as measured four different ways is non-existent, housing starts weakened, and industrial production and capacity utilization both fell more than expected. Data like this is why talk of tapering QE3 before January 2014 is complete nonsense.    Elliot F. Eisenberg, Ph.D. GraphsandLaughs, LLC elliot@graphsandlaughs.net Cell: 202.306.2731 www.econ70.com