I’ve received an unbelievable amount of email in the past week or so offering to support this site financially. Wow. And while I am utterly appreciative of everything, I wanted to let everyone know that I’m not really looking for financial support — I have a day job in a different industry that I really, really like. I make enough to cover my costs off of the indirect ads on this site, and that’s all I really care about.
And as I mentioned before, I simply no longer have the time to write news story after news story and to track down my own breaking news. I also, quite frankly, no longer have the energy, either. (I’d have to be a full-time reporter to do it, and I don’t see Dow Jones or Bloomberg calling me just yet.)
After having some time to think about where to go from here, I’ve decided to compromise a bit. I’m going to keep Housing Wire going, but I’ll be doing so to chronicle what’s taking place in the industry and hopefully generate some meaningful dialogue around that. That means I’ll be linking in much more to other sites, and giving you a feel for what’s out there.
It means, in a nutshell, that this site is going to become that blog that I had mentioned in the past but never really acted on. I’ll be giving you in-depth reviews of what’s news in the mortgage industry, and will be commenting more on it as well.
I’ll also be joining in on the discussions taking place on numerous other great blogs out there, including Calculated Risk and Housing Doom. And, for those out there that have offered to have me guest blog on your site — I’ll be glad to take you up on yor offer on an irregular basis.
I’ve realized that I have two things to offer: a knowledge and understanding of the industry that few outside of mortgage finance possess, and access to people actually working in the industry. I think I can offer that both here on this site and as a guest blogger elsewhere.
I’ve said in the past the mortgage industry needs an independent voice, and that’s true. But it’s a battle I can’t fight - instead, I think I’ll be better off focusing my efforts on being an independent industry observer. Hope the difference isn’t lost, there, because it’s an important distinction to make.
So that’s what I’ll be doing here. I know it’s a change from what I’ve been doing, but it does represent something I can commit to going forward and, hopefully, something that the industry will find value in reading. From what I’ve seen in the flood of emails I’ve gotten, I think many of you will enjoy the change.
You’ll see some outward changes — the masthead, for one. But I will continue to run the REBAs, and in general want to stay engaged with the blogging community I’ve gotten in touch with over these past few months. Hope you’ll be along for the ride.
Email me questions or concerns - pjackson@housingwire.com.
