I have been working in the consumer finance field since 1984 and was fortunate enough to be an original founder of Shamrock Financial. Today I’m the company’s Chief Executive Officer, which is a nice way of saying “I got here first.” My career is energized by Educating & Motivating my referral partners, staff, family and friends. I love what I do. Dean’s Desk
You know them. Do they know YOU?
April 8, 2011 by Dean Harrington A funny thing dawned on me as I was driving to Boston recently. I know a lot about the people I know. An obvious – and somewhat silly – observation, sure, but one loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. When I know someone, I know what they do for [...]
Read moreWhat I learned from Mickey Mouse
March 24, 2011 by Dean Harrington I had the good fortune of spending the weekend in Disney World with my wife and children. The weather was perfect, the hotel was beautiful and we had many friends down there as well. You couldn’t ask for a better split from the grip of late winter. Or so [...]
Read moreJimmy Hoffa and Today’s Mortgage Loan Officer
March 1, 2011 by Dean Harrington You can’t turn on the TV, read a newspaper or drive by your local statehouse and not be hit over the head with today’s battle over public labor unions, collective bargaining and worker “rights”. Everyone seems to have an opinion on this mess – some even supported by facts. [...]
Read moreThe Four Ways To Make Sure You Remember Their Name
March 17, 2011 by Dean Harrington “I never forget a face. I just can’t remember names.” Now, if you hear this from, say, an undertaker or a forensic sketch artist then, sure, maybe it makes some sense, But when you hear it from someone in sales – SALES – it defies explanation. And we hear [...]
Read moreSix Books to Energize Your Life
February 23, 2011 by Dean Harrington We talk a lot about having a plan, setting goals and maintaining a positive attitude. In real life, however, there are tremendous forces working to pull apart plans, rip up goals and supplant good attitudes with bad ones. This is the true struggle of everyday life. The world is [...]
Read moreDealing With Doubts – Fear in Action
February 5, 2011 by Dean Harrington I have a fatal allergy to seafood. Eat it and I die. Pretty straight forward. On two occasions, tiny seafood particles found their way into a portion of the food on my plate. In both instances, I played cat and used up two of my nine lives. Just the [...]
Read moreThe Seven Deadly Sins of Real Estate and Mortgage Lending
February 2, 2010 by Dean Harrington There are lots of important things to do each day in being a productive, professional mortgage originator or real estate agent. Likewise, there are a series of important things NOT TO DO in your role in a real estate transaction. At Shamrock, we call them the things that send [...]
Read moreStop Acting like a Child!
January 25, 2010 by Dean Harrington We all know that children hate change. Go ahead and tell my five-year old that her ballet class day moved or we’re trying something new for dinner if you want proof. In fact, you’d be better off telling her Santa gave away the Easter Bunny to a kid in [...]
Read moreSome Calls Have a Special Ring
January 18, 2010 by Dean Harrington I guess you could say Heidi introduced us. It was the summer of 1974 and I was 14 going on 30. The introduction lacked formality, Heidi being a cat and all, and it wasn’t long before I learned her name was Alberta. Alberta was nine years my senior and [...]
Read moreYou Need a Mortgage Soldier
January 11, 2011 by Dean Harrington There was no presidential declaration of war, no congressional War Powers Act and few can recall seeing reconnaissance planes flying over banks and lending institutions in 2007 or 2008. But make no mistake about it, the mortgage industry is under attack from all sides and that isn’t likely to [...]
Read more2011 Predictions – Guaranteed!
December 27, 2010 by Dean Harrington I have a good friend who is absolutely brilliant. Amazing hard-drive of events, facts, statistics and historical relevance of just about any social, economic and political subject you can name. She can summarize and articulate a convincing argument for just about any position for which she has a passion. [...]
Read moreThe Perils of Rhode Island Regulation 6
December 14, 2010 by Dean Harrington Legendary college basketball coach, Jerry Tarkanian, once said: “The NCAA is so mad at recruiting violations at the University of Kentucky that they’re going to slap Murray State with an additional three year probation.” Funny line and like most funny lines it rings some truth. The Rhode Island Department [...]
Read moreDon’t Get Beat at the Starting Line
November 23, 2010 by Dean Harrington Back in my sophomore year of high school I ran cross country. I did it only to work myself into shape for basketball season. It was a means to an end…and it taught me a thing or two. Before each meet I got extremely nervous. Butterflies? No. Think more [...]
Read moreThe Five Habits of Highly Successful Home Buyers
November 17, 2010 by Dean Harrington The Housing Affordability Index recently hit an all-time high of 179. This means that the average person has 180% of the necessary income to afford a home. This is a remarkable statistic. Consider that in 2007 the average person in the United States needed to earn $52,000 a year [...]
Read moreThe Present that Gives and Receives
November 9, 2010 by Dean Harrington There are two kinds of businesses that exist in every city or town. The business whose existence is dependent upon the patronage of the community and the business whose existence is NOT dependent upon the patronage of the community. If a company manufactures a product that is sold overseas [...]
Read moreWho’s conducting this interview anyway?
October 27, 2010 by Dean Harrington Steven King wrote about it as the Ballet of the Flexible Bullet. Tony Robbins blended it into his million selling Personal Power series. Countless successful people work diligently on controlling its influence. So what am I talking about? The questions you ask yourself. Yup, it’s that routine. Each thought [...]
Read moreRead, Aim, Fire
October 19, 2010 by Dean Harrington In my previous entry I wrote an overview of the foreclosure freeze that has hit the real estate community. Today, I’m going to stop stamping my feet and pounding my fists and focus on a number of clear distinctions: 1. Most in the lending world are defending these issues [...]
Read moreYelling FRAUD in a crowded room
October 14, 2010 by Dean Harrington Words are often weapons of the truth, aimed at a vulnerable mark knowing that cynical bystanders will lose sight of the sniper and, instead, see only the target. Yell fire in a crowded room and everyone searches frantically for the flames, not for the person who carelessly started the [...]
Read morePerspective hides behind a stolen moment
September 29, 2010 by Dean Harrington Whether you’re an avid golfer or someone who wouldn’t know a golf club from a night club just about all of us can appreciate the beauty of a well groomed fairway running along the side of a road, at the edge of the woods or set against a picturesque [...]
Read moreWhat Your Clients Don’t Know Will Hurt YOU
September 15, 2010 by Dean Harrington We have been conditioned in this country to think of mortgages as rights. If you qualify, you are a “guest” of that lender, a discriminating shopper, a person who lives by the age-old adage that “the customer is always right”. This mentality transitions many consumers into a mindset where [...]
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