FORUM
The things that matter most
Nigel
Alston
Motivational
Moments
The greatest tragedy in life is
to spend your whole life fishing
only to discover that it was not
fish you were after.
t - Henry David Thoreau
"What do you value most?"
Jack asked Bob Perks after a talk.
It was a thoughtful question and
the topic of an article written by
Perks, an author, storyteller, train
er. and motivational speaker. Jack
(fhad uhcovered what he valued
most from a man who lived next
door to him as he grew up, Mr.
Belser. It was inscribed on a gift
left for Jack inside a box opened
after the neighbor died.
It was difficult for me to nar
row an answer down to one thing.
I value, among other things, my
family, laughter, spending time
with friends, establishing new
relationships, reading, making a
difference, solitude, learning and
helping others grow. If I had to
make a choice though, it would
be the time spent with my grand
daddy and the resulting lessons
learned that have influenced me.
J I spent a lot of time with him
as a boy growing up and working
in the little mom and pop store he
owned and operated, as well as
cleaning up the church under his
supervision. There is a direct rela
tionship to the time we were
together, the work I would do in
that store and in the church and
who I am today. I believe my
ability to work with diverse
groups of people and get along
with others have roots that started
in that small store and in our
church.
Those memories resurfaced
as I read the story Jack shared
with Perks. He had received a
long-distance telephone call from
his mother informing him that
their next-door neighbor, Mr.
Belser, had died. It had been a
long time since Jack had seen or
spoken to him. Like so many
people, he was consumed with
his work, trying to find time to
spend with his family, and his
fiiture.
Mr. Belser had always asked
about Jack, according to his
mother. Like some of us who
have lost contact with a person
for a long time. Jack admitted he
thought Mr. Belser had died some
time ago. That didn't stop him
though from making arrange
ments to fly across the country to
attend the ftineral. After doing so.
he visited Mr. Bear's house
with his mother one last time,
bringing back memories that
rushed through him like a flood.
It was like stepping back in time.
"I wouldn't be in this busi
ness if it weren't for him. He
spent a lot of time teaching me
things he thought were impor
tant," Jack remembered. He had
been reminded by his mother
how Mr. Belser, after Jack's
father had died, made sure he had
a man's influence in his life. He
had taught Jack carpentry.
Walking through Mr. Belser 's
house, Jack found it to be exactly
as he remembered it, except for
one thing. He noticed a small
gold box was missing. He had
asked Mr. Belser about the con
tents of that box "a thousand
times." Each time produced the
same answer: "the thing 1 value
most." Now, he thought, he
would never know what that
"thing" was.
Time would change all that,
though, and Jack would find the
answer he sought. He would be
moved by it too. A couple of
weeks after attending the funeral,
he received a package in the mail.
He opened it and found a gold
box and an envelope that con
tained the "thing" Mr. Belser val
ued most.
"Jack's hands shook as he
read the note inside," Perks
wrote Mr Belser had left behind
instructions for the box and its
contents to be forwarded to Jack
at his death, with this note: "It's
the thing I valued most in my
life."
Inside the box was a gold
pocket watch with these words
engraved on the cover of the
watch: "Jai?> Thanks for your
time! Harold Belser" The thing
Mr. Belser had valued most was
the "time" he shared with Jack.
At his death. Mr. Belser had
helped Jack realize what he val
ued most. That moment moved
him to call his office and clear his
schedule for several days to
spend more time with his son.
It is important to be reminded
that the people who make a dif
ference in your life aren't the
ones with the most credentials,
the most money, or the most
awards. They're the ones who
care enough to spend persona)
time and effort for you. That's an
important lesson to learn and one
Jack came to fully value and
understand.
Nigel Alston is a radio talk
show host, columnist and motiva
tional speaker. He is the chair
man of the Winston-Salem Slate
University Board of Trustees.
Visit his Web site at
wwwmotivationalmoments com .
Subprime mortgage wave
Yvette
Clarke
Guest
Columnist
I can vividly remember my
days as a Council Member in
City Hall, working with my for
mer colleagues, trying to prevent
the subprime mortgage crisis
from financially crippling our
beloved New York City.
We passed anti-predatory
legislation, but when the Wall
Street powerhouses threatened
litigation, the legislation went
nowhere fast. Today, this crisis is
now upon us as many Americans
are rapidly losing their homes. In
New Yoik City, the prognosis
looks bleak. Housing
Preservation and Development
(HPD) Commissioner Shaun
Donovan reported there may be
14,000 foreclosures by the end of
this year.
Part of the process of
rebounding from this crisis
includes educating legislators
and members of the community
at large about the various
nuances of mortgages and lend
ing. It is crucial that we under
stand how yield spread premi
ums (YSPs) and prepayment
penalties are negatively impact
ing our community, especially
minority borrowers.
The honest truth of the matter
is that some, not all, mortgage
brokers are receiving kickbacks
from lenders for convincing
minority borrowers to acquire
subprime loans with high interest
rates called yield-spread premi
ums. The yield-spread is the dif
ference between the new higher
rate and the lowest rate for which
the borrower is qualified. This
process is complicated, but that is
no excuse for what we know is
industry wide abuse of the
process, which is adversely
impacting minority borrowers.
Even if a borrower knows that
brokers are not required to offer
the best rate, determining
whether a subprime loan even
has a YSP can be overly burden
some. Yet, these are the kinds of
questions that we must be pre
paredto ask".
Furthermore, discretionary
up-front charges such as yield
spread premiums are very arbi
trary, which leads to disparate
pricing.
According to Harvard Law
Professor Howell Jackson,
African-Americans pay an aver
age additional up-front charge of
$474 per loan, while Latinos pay
an average additional $580 per
loan. These pricing disparities
faced by minority borrowers in
the sub-prime market are at least
partially driven by YSPs. Thus,
when YSPs disparately affect
minority borrowers, the discre
tionary charges may carry seri
ousijair lending implications.
Next, minorities are nega
tively impacted when prepay
ment penalties and YSPs are
combined in the same subprime
mortgage. Although prepayment
penalties are generally charged
for any early debt repayment,
they provide borrowers an
opportunity to get a lower inter
est rate, while YSPs tend to be
offered to exchange a higher
interest rate for reduced closing
costs. Combining YSPs with pre
payment penalties ensures a
lender will receive either extra
interest or penalty income to off
set the upfront cash payment to a
broker.
Prepayment penalties and
YSPs work together against a
minority borrower's interests:
prepayment penalties allow
lenders to lock in an above-mar
ket yield, making them more
willing to pay inflate*) YSPs to
brokers for higher-priced loans.
With prepayment penalties
attached to higher-priced loans,
lenders benefit by getting paid
through penalty payments at
early payoff or through the high
er than necessary interest paid
out over time. Without the pre
payment penalty, generally, bor
rowers who realize they paid too
much for their mortgage can
quickly refinance into a lower
cost loan.
Moreover, merging YSPs and
prepayment penalties into a sub
prime loan also creates opportu
nities for deceptive marketing
practices to minority communi
ties.
According to Fannie Mae, 30
to 50 percent of subprime loans
are made to borrowers who could
have qualified for traditional
prime loans.
The subprime lending indus
try has made it possible for many
with modest incomes and low
credit scores to buy homes.
Although not all subprime loans
are predatory, predatory loans are
commonly an abusive lending
practice that occurs in subprime
loans. I believe that communities
must be financially aware and
legislators must be strongly
oppose to any abusive lending
practice that allows YSPs and
prepayment penalties to increase
loan costs so much that borrow
ers can never repay it.
S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke rep
resents the llth Congressional
District of New York.
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