King George III asked Benjamin West, his American painter, what George Washington would do if he prevailed in the Revolutionary War. West replied, “He will return to his farm.” The British monarch incredulously said, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” On Dec. 23, 1783 Washington did just that and retired to Mount Vernon--despite the encouragement of many to stay in power. Despite the willingness of Americans to crown him king. Thirteen years later, he would do it once again.Read more

Amidst all of the discussion of the mortgage crisis and the implementation of the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), there has been lots of finger pointing, concerning who was at fault for the meltdown and what should and should not be done to fix the problem(s). Unless you have been in seclusion for the past year, you have heard of the attempts of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to keep appraisers separated from loan originators.Read more