It was 10 days ago when I started not to feel very well, I started experiencing chest pains. I didn’t think it was heart attack, why would a 52 year old, slightly overweight man with high cholesterol think that? To be on the safe side I went to the doctor and he put me through a battery of tests. I was right, no heart attack. The doctor wanted me to be thorough so they sent me off to get x-rays done on my chest. The next day the doctor called me and said, “Your x-ray indicated that you have a small nebular density on your lung. We believe it’s benign but we cannot rule out cancer. We’re going to arrange a CT scan on chest to get a better look, and from there we can determine what the next steps will be.”

Funny how everything changed from the moment I heard those words. The last 10 days have been difficult. Business meetings, home life, CAAMP meetings, all the things that make up my day was nothing more than a charade. I was having conversations all the while thinking that I might have cancer. The mind works that way. I didn’t focus on the word “benign” and the fact that it may not actually be cancer. The fact that it might be cancer is overpowering. The conversations I had with myself over the last 10 days ranged from I’ll get through this to I need to get my personal matters in order. I’ll say this, never once did I think that somehow it’s unfair that this could be happening to me. My god, children get cancer so it clearly has nothing to do with being fair or unfair. Most of my thoughts revolved around how my family was going to deal with it?  Thankfully I won’t have to find the answer to that.  I received a call from my doctor yesterday saying all is good, no cancer. A relief would be an understatement. A wake up call? Indeed. Perspective? What really is and is not a problem? Absolutely. Getting a call from your doctor saying you might have cancer is a problem; angst over who might speaking at Mortgage Forum 2012, is melodrama.

Until next time,

Cheers.

It can be the most unnerving, and for some terrifying, experience.   There are those who make it look so easy but I suspect their secret to success is the ability to suppress the fear and anxiety of public speaking.  There are plenty of courses for those who want to become better at public speaking but no course is as valuable as practical experience.  Presenting in front of a large audience teaches many lessons, and the lessons are usually painful.

 There’s nothing more humbling than walking off the stage and saying to yourself, “well, that sucked”.  I’ve done enough public speaking over the last few years to honestly judge my own performance.  Really, that’s what public speaking is.  Either you’re “on” or you’re not.  There have been times when I’ve been in a middle of a presentation and I know it’s working.  The words seem to flow, the pace of speech is just right and the audience is engaged.  I measure audience engagement by Blackberry use.  Then there are other times when I know I’m not connecting with the audience, and god forbid if I have another forty minutes to fill.  That has to be one of the loneliest feelings in the world.  There’s no teammate on stage that can cover for you.  It’s just you and the audience wishing they were somewhere else.

Every time I go on stage to do a presentation I’m nervous.  Not to any paralyzing degree but enough to get the feeling in the pit of my stomach, accompanied by sweaty palms.  It doesn’t matter how many times I do it that feeling is there.  It was no different last week when I spoke to a group of realtors in Oakville.  For context, a great supporter of Merix, Mark Mighton, asked me to speak at event he was sponsoring.  It was the Oakville Real Estate Association continuing education session, with some 250 realtors in attendance. The presentation was being held in a movie theatre.  It was an interesting day to say the least.  My morning started by doing the opening remarks at the CAAMP Symposium in Laval, Quebec.  Off to the airport from Laval to catch a flight to Toronto so that I can make it on time for the presentation in Oakville.  Of course the plane was delayed by an hour which means I would be cutting it real close.  I’m providing ETA updates to the organizers of the event, and I know I was causing them some angst.  As luck would have it I arrived with 10 minutes to spare.  No time to decompress or really gather my thoughts, its show time.  So I’m introduced by the host of the event, and I say “Thank you and good afternoon ladies gentlemen’”.   Just then I noticed a woman, right in the middle of the theatre, dead to the world.  I mean she is out cold, head tilted to the side, mouth wide open, she’s in a deep sleep.  It’s funny what goes through your mind in about second.  My first instinct was to laugh, and then I started to rationalize.  “Christ, it can’t be me…I’ve been on for only 3  1/2 seconds”.

For 45 minutes I tried to avoid looking at the woman in a coma.  That’ not an easy thing to do because I know she’s there and I’m wondering if she’s really going to sleep through entire presentation.  She did.  In fairness to the slumbering woman, when the audience clapped at the end of my presentation it startled her awake.  She rose to her feet and joined the others in clapping.  I made eye contact with her and mouthed, thank you.  What a thrill for me.  I received a standing ovation from one person in the audience who didn’t hear a single word I said.

 Until next time,

 Cheers.

This is going to be pretty busy year for me as relates to travel.  My work requires me to travel a fair bit as it is, but when I add my responsibilities as CAAMP Chair, well, Toronto’s Pearson International Airport will become a second home to me.  I’m not complaining in the least bit.  I signed up for this gig; therefore, I have to accept the responsibilities.  It would be tempting to only visit cities where I have a personal interest (i.e. Merix volumes) but if that was my motivation I should have never campaigned and ran for Chair.  The Chair has to separate his/her personal interests from that of the associations, and so it begins for me.

 The CAAMP road show begins today with the first symposium of the year in Kelowna, B.C.  It will eventually move across the country and I’m looking forward to talking to members in all regions of the country.  My only regret is that I will not be able to attend the symposium in Montreal due to a family commitment.  I’ll be completely candid; I’m putting the association ahead of many of my personal interests and responsibilities this year.  The one thing I will never put the association ahead of is my family.  If there’s anyone who will be offended by my absence because of a family commitment, I won’t lose any sleep over that.  What I would lose sleep over is if our attendance at the symposiums was down or if our members perceived there wasn’t any value in attending.  I’m happy to say that my sleeping patters will not be disrupted.   Registrations are buoyant, exhibitors are many and the overall content will provide many takeaways.  It appears we’ll be off to a great start.

My message at the conference will emphasize CAAMP’s government relations efforts.  Besides it being one of my priorities as Chair, recent events have demonstrated the importance of government relations.  CAAMP has to have a presence in Ottawa and we need to be seen as the “go to entity” for regulators.  The way to accomplish this is to ensure that our membership is strong, and that it serves many interests.  The varying interests which CAAMP represents garner greater credibility for us as an association.   For those who believe that separation or fragmentation of the association is a path to follow, this would accomplish one thing – having our collective voices muted.  There’s strength in numbers, and we should never lose sight of that.

Until next time,

Cheers.

Another CAAMP conference (Mortgage Forum 2011) has come and gone, and I’m looking forward to catching up on some sleep.  The sleep deprivation has nothing to do with indulging.  On the contrary, I was a good boy during the conference,  and even if I was tempted by all the distractions logic dictated discipline.  The meetings seemed endless during the conference, and no complaints on my part.  I signed up for the gig.  But I can take a deep breath now that the conference is over.

The Mortgage Forum 2011 was significantly different than the previous conferences.  There’s always a risk in trying something different but when you balance that against what could be, well, you have to go for it.  Based  on the feedback I received from attendees I have to say the reward was worth the risk.  I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to receive all the congratulatory emails.  The satisfaction  has nothing to do with inflating my ego.  It’s satisfying to know the efforts made by the CAAMP staff was appreciated. These folks work tirelessly and they don’t get the credit they deserve.  They made it happen, I just provided some ideas.  They rolled up their sleeves and did the heavy lifting.  To the CAAMP staff, Bravo!

When you put a program of this magnitude together your hope is that the attendees walk away with the feeling that they received value for their money.  Attendees can only assign the value on what they learned, the importance of networking or partaking in the social activities.  Whatever an attendee was looking for it could be found under the big tent called The Mortgage Forum 2011.

One of the things I learned this year was that the conference is an extension of our government relations efforts.  I was seated with the regulators at the Hall of Fame Gala, and they were very impressed with the sheer size and magnitude of the gala, and the conference in general.  The lens they saw this event through represents strength, cohesion, unity and a commitment to the industry by CAAMP members.  We should never underestimate how important that is, especially if we want to continue to be invited to sit at the adult table.

To all those who attended I hope you enjoyed yourself.  To those who didn’t make it, there’s always next year.  The Mortgage Forum 2012 in Vancouver promises to be bigger and better.

Until next time

Cheers

Editors Note -
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This blogging thing has taken me by surprise. I’ve been at it now for four months, and in that time the blog has had more than 16,000 views.  I find that number staggering.  I was convinced that when I went down this path that my mom, and my staff (who I pay), would be the only regular readers.  It appears that interest in the blog reaches beyond the Bozic household.  So to those of you who read the blog, including family members or individuals on the Merix payroll,  my sincerest thanks.  As I stated in my first blog, writing is not something that comes naturally to me.  I feel more comfortable using the spoken word rather than the written word.  When you speak to someone one-on-one or  public speaking for that matter, you have many tools at your disposal.  There’s facial expressions, body language and tone of voice.  When you try to tell a story just by using words, well, there’s not many tricks at your disposal.  You either convey a coherent message, in way which isn’t mind numbingly boring or you don’t.  Not much wiggle room.

 I would like to dispel a myth.  A number of people have asked me, as well as Leeanne, do I have a “ghost writer?”  The answer to the question is, no.  There’s no point in blogging if you’re going to hide behind someone else’s words.  Prior to starting the blog I did a little homework and research.  The most interesting blogs I found are the ones that offer insight and an opinion.  The blogs that just regurgitate the facts are, well, kaka.  For those who know me know I’m not bashful when it comes to offering an opinion.  If you ask…I’ll share. 

 I hope you continue to read to read the blog.  Those of you have taken the time to comment, pinky swear I read them all.  Moving forward you have my word I will never just mail it in.  I would rather post the following;  “Brain Cramp, Got Nothing” than put no thought into a post.

 Until next time

 Cheers

Editors Note -
Attention current subscribers: Due to recent changes, please reconfirm your subscription to To The Point with Bozic, please Click Here.

Last week I officially took over the role as CAAMP Chair.  It’s an interesting process to go through.  I say that because I had 12 months to prepare, and when the day finally arrived it was almost anticlimactic.  Upon reflection I realized the difficult part was being elected Vice-Chair.  The Vice-Chair automatically becomes the Chair the following year, therefore, one has to campaign and be elected Vice-Chair.  No election is required to become Chair, and I have to tell you I will not miss campaigning.  But campaigning is an integral part of the process, and the most recent  election results were announced  last week at CAAMP’s AGM in Niagara Falls.

For all those who stood for election, your commitment to the process and willingness to serve is to be commended.  What stood out this year was the organized effort made by all the candidates, and the utilization of social media to get their message across.  Gone are the days where you can throw your name in a hat and hope that industry reputation alone will be enough to get you elected.  It’s work being elected.  I know from past experience that discipline and organization is required to get elected.  That’s a good thing because if one is prepared to go through that effort to get elected then the successful candidate will be serious about serving all the members. 

 When you look at the composition of this year’s board, I think you have to agree it’s a good representations of our industry.  Mortgage Brokers make up 60% of the board, (that includes active mortgage brokers and management of mortgage broker firms).  The lenders make up 24%, and insurers make up the balance.  All the significant stakeholders in our industry have a voice at the table.  This is critical to the strength of the association, and it ensures there’s a balanced a view when we discuss and make decisions about the issues we face.  I have had the great pleasure of being on the CAAMP Board for the past 4 years.  What’s always impressed at the board meetings is that every board member has put their self-interest aside for the greater good.  Vigorous debate is good, doing what’s right is a must.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank a few people for all their assistance over the last four years.  To Jim Murphy, and all the staff at CAAMP, thank you for your support.  I especially want to thank you for all your patience when I asked really dumb questions.  You’re always quick with an answer, and a guiding hand.  To the now Past-Chair, Joe Pinheiro, my responsibility on the Executive board was to work at the pleasure of the Chair, and I have to say it was a pleasure to work with Joe on the Executive.  To Hali Strandlund, thank you for convincing me to run again after my first term.  If truth be told I wasn’t sure if I had another campaign in me.  Hali called me and said she wanted me on her executive.  She gave a great deal of thought to succession planning, and she convinced me that continuity at the Executive level was important to the association.  To Joe and Hali, thank you!

It is with great humility that I take on the role as the Chair of CAAMP.  It’s a responsibility that I do not take lightly.  The next 12 to 24 months are going to be “interesting” for our industry.  I’m looking forward to working with the new board, and soon to be elected Executive.  I’m also looking forward to getting feedback from CAAMP members, and I would also encourage members to volunteer and serve.   To all I say this, confrontation garners headlines, cooperation garners results.

 Until next time,

 Cheers.

Rolling the dice is perfectly acceptable when you’re in a casino in Las Vegas. I know from first-hand experience that playing “craps” in Vegas can be a rush. For those of you who may not be familiar with the rules or finer points of “craps”, and would like to give it a try next time you’re in Vegas, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PLAY UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND ALL RULES!  Now that you’ve rolled your eyes and are thinking thanks for enlightening me Bozic, the fact is many do play without understanding all the rules. Why? Because that’s where the action is and where all the noise is coming from. The noise draws you to the table, and when you get there you think I want some of this. You find yourself placing bets, not even understanding what your odd’s are. You might even start mimicking the bets being placed by other gamblers at the “craps” table. You look down at the table and you’ve got all your bets covered. Come on shooter, make this a magical role. Then you hear the most dreaded words at a “craps” table, seven out…seven out. For those uninitiated that means all your chips are gone! That’s when you start thinking if you only had played blackjack instead you could have played for much longer. But that’s gambling and it’s a part of the experience. That’s okay for Vegas but maybe not so much so when choosing between a fixed rate mortgage and an ARM.

The reality is that many borrowers are rolling the dice today. I’m setting aside those borrowers that can withstand the rate variances, and have the stomach to ride out an ARM for 60 months. I just wonder about borrowers who truly don’t understand the rules of the game. I wonder if some borrowers are placing mortgage bets based on what their neighbor or co-worker did with respect to their mortgages. Maybe borrowers are being influenced today by advertising. The 50/50 mortgage is getting a lot of airplay today, and that product was designed for those that wanted to play it safe or safer. Maybe it’s all about today and they’ll worry about tomorrow, whenever tomorrow comes. Maybe all of the above plays a part in the decision-making process but the biggest influence is the brokers personal bias.

All I know is that at some point in the not too distant future rates are going up. The warnings and predictions have been there for all to see for some time now. For example, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney recently said the following, “Low interest rates today do not necessarily mean low rates tomorrow,” warned Carney. “Risk reversals, when they happen, can be fierce; the greater the complacency, the more brutal the reckoning.” There’s no ambiguity there, and I’m thinking he might be one of those people “in the know”. The way I look at it any five year mortgage, under 4%, is free money. It’s also 60 months of peace of mind for the borrower. I can’t help but think if borrower’s get squeezed by a rate hike, and then they ask you how did this happen, irrespective of the facts all they will hear is, seven out…seven out.

Until next time

Cheers

I hope it’s clear by now that my blog will have a lighter side to it. At times I’ll comment on serious issues relating to the mortgage industry.
But I have every intention to comment on my other passions, family, politics and sports. Hey, it’s my blog. Remember, there’s one person out there that will love it. Hi mom!

I’m off to dig through newspapers, the net and other information sources to come up with great ideas for a blog. You see I have plenty of time to do that right now because I’m in the the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, waiting for my flight which has been delayed by three hours, and counting. Me thinks there will be a blog in the future about Air Canada, oh, most definitely.

Until next time.

Cheers.