Flower Bouquets

 Flower Bouquets from my garden over the years

I've been growing flowers since I was a little girl. 

I had hundreds of rose patents which I sold to Jackson and Perkins when I moved from the Central Valley. In the past six years I had acreage without as much access to water and I experimented with cactus, Epis, cut flowers and roses that can take heat. Most of my flowers became bouquets for friends or for holidays. I've done the flowers for three weddings for fun. I'm sharing some images from the past. I hope you enjoy

I love sweet peas. In Southern California start them around Halloween

Pink cereus epiphyllum this flower is nine inches across and smells like jasmine

Lily's are easy to grow in Southern California and last in bouquets

Love in the Mist blue Nigella or Devil in the Bush of the buttercup family. The fern like leaves do not last long in cutting arrangements but I love the blue color and lacy feeling. Easy to grow annual it also comes in other colors.

Don't be afraid to add seed pods, grasses and a variety of shapes to make your bouquets fun.

Even vegetables such as zucchini flowers which are abundant in the heat can combine with

more delicate flowers. Or stir fry them up for dinner.

Branches 

Wild roses near the ranch

Desert flowers without any irrigation

C G Barbeau the Loan Lady Mustard Field

You Want to Become a Loan Officer?

Getting licensed as Loan Officer. Mortgage Banker, 

Loan Originator does not prepare you to operate the business and earn income. 

Getting licensed is about knowing all the laws and regulations. 

Working a desk also requires: marketing, sales, organization, ethics, intuition, and grit.

There are almost Fifty licensed schools who provide the NMLS 20 hour course.

Average price for the course is $239.00 None of these are in a university setting.

https://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/courseprovider/Course%20Provider%20Resources/Updated%20AP%20List.pdf

In addition licensees must complete eight hours a year of classes. Study includes the following topics:

Three hours of Federal law and regulations;

Two hours of ethics that shall include instruction on fraud, consumer protection, and fair lending issues;

Two hours of training related to lending standards for the nontraditional mortgage product market; and

 One hour of undefined instruction on mortgage origination which can be programs, products, and marketing

States also layer additional education requirements,

There are more than five hundred thousand licensees in the United States with the largest percentage in California as Southern California has been the home to the majority of Mortgage Companies. 

In the last quarter of 2018 the Mortgage market has seen numerous companies merge and tighten belts as interest rates rose. This is expected to be a short term correction and in the past thirty years every year there was consideration, the banks and mortgage companies found themselves understaffed and unprepared when the Ten Year Bond corrects and pulls interest rates down. Many companies are still expanding in operations jobs, computer applications and sales positions. 

Companies that offer NMLS classes offer online study which carefully measures the student’s time. An eight hour class typically takes eleven hours to fulfill with time outs, breaks and retesting. There are few live classes offered perhaps because the cost would be higher. Saddleback could offer a combination or choice of live class time, live study by Skye or Youtube, and traditional home book study with testing completed after the reading. NMLS is particular about having sources which verify student identity. 

Bank employees who are mortgage originators don’t have as rigorous requirements and the institution usually provides the classes for free online. Mortgage bankers and originators who work for mortgage companies would be interested in taking classes that are less expensive but more importantly less time consuming. 

Mortgage loan originators work on commission. The average income is $100,000 but some earn $600000 at the higher end. Entry level jobs are typically found from insiders and like a trade. The license testing is specific to a certain set of skills that demonstrates ability.  Having a license before hiring is a foot in the door. Assistant positions in Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego Counties earn forty thousand dollars as starting base pay. It is not required to hold a four year college degree in this business. The community college system could provide the class training but also the much needed guidance for job hiring and ongoing help with marketing. 

I see the following courses as highly desirable:

Law and Legal Aspects of Mortgage Origination

Ethics and kindness  Guiding Towards Homeownership

Marketing, Sales and Building A Book of Business

Niche Products, Hard Money, Closing the Difficult Client

Teaching the business is mentorship and as I like to refer to it get

ready for every type of beating.

I hope this answers your questions and gives you a place to start.

Please feel free to call me with questions.

Sincerely,

C G 

Caroline Gerardo Barbeau

NMLS # 324982

Cell (949) 784-9699