Just when you thought you knew your favorite bloggers, along comes the Bubble Gum Interviews. We ask the really tough questions about things like food preferences, high school stories and favorite hair products.  For today’s interview, Brian Brady sold me his soul in exchange for promoting the launch of his sexy new website, Mortgage Rates Report.  As a reader, you’re required to check the site out and add it to your RSS feed reader before you will be allowed to read the rest of this amazing interview… we’ll wait…

Ok, now that you’ve done it, let’s get started!!!

Is it possible for your pants to stay up without suspenders?

Kevin Boer asked a similar question at Inman Connect. I guess it’s become a bit of a trademark.

The suspenders picture just “happened”. I was at the Kodak Theatre for a Republican party fundraiser. It was pretty cool, rubbing elbows with Pete Wilson, The Guv-i-nator, and some of the great thinkers from the Hoover Institute. They had this Kodak photo machine that e-mailed you the picture they took of you.

I used the picture for my Active Rain and MySpace profile and it was all over. I am constantly told by my wife and women friends to get a new picture but I don’t want to blow the “trademark”. I suppose I could get a new picture with the suspenders but then everyone would see how gray I got these past two years.

As a child, what did you hide under your bed?

I was a Sports Illustrated books junkie when I was 7-10. My father worked in publishing so I used to get lots of the SI biography series free. I used to read them into the wee hours by flashlight and throw them under the bed when my mother checked in on me.

As a teenager, I graduated to the, um…women’s tennis books. In college, it was mostly dirty clothes. Today, it’s suitcases with dust on them (I really hate to travel)

Mitt or Barack?  Now the picture up top makes sense, no?  Brian very cleverly answered “Mitt- see attached pic.”

You are stranded in the mountains, in a shack without power for a month- which three bloggers would you most want to be stranded with and why?

Jeff Brown. He tells stories like he writes and comments. He’s old-skool corny and F-U-N-N-Y. He loves talking baseball and real estate. Jeff, his son, and I were having lunch last week when the waitress sort of gave his son “the eye”. Jeff and I were trying to engage her in conversation so that his son could chat her up. When she left, his son asked “What was that all about?”. The Bawld Guy replied “Kid, you got 50 years of wingman between us; what’djya expect?”. Classic.

Laurie Manny. When I met her, I felt like I was talking to my sister. Her New York accent reminds me of the “old country”. I can chat with her about blogging, real estate, politics, and family. Oh, we bicker like siblings, too.

Tony Gallegos. Tony G for many of the same reasons as Jeff. Tony G’s been originating loans since 1986. He closed over 400 HUD units one year. I met him when he was on assignment for a bank in Carlsbad. We had two beers and chatted for about 3 hours. Then, we stood out in the parking lot, in the rain, talking for another hour.

Tell us a story about an experience you’ve had in a bowling alley or skating rink.

My fraternity brother was bowling captain my junior year; nobody signed up for the team. He roped 10 of us into it. We showed up at the “Big East Roll-Off” and they said we had to bowl 13 games. We thought we got a couple of free road trips out of it but they actually expected us to bowl ALL DAY! Well, we stunk up the conference the whole year.

Here’s the kicker. Two months after the season was over, I received a varsity award in the mail with a big felt V for my jacket ( I went to Villanova) with crossed pins on it. Memo: The crossed pins do NOT impress many people.

Give an example of how your faith affected a difficult business decision you’ve made.

The decision to work with mostly investors reflects my belief that the Kingdom of God is at hand. I think He gave us everything we need to live abundant lives on earth, provided we are good stewards of that wealth. To me, that means that I need to feel that the investor must have good plans for the money, like educating children or retiring financially independent. That sense of purpose drives me daily. I know that the advice I dispense and the referrals I make will have a lasting impact on families. If I do it right, Johnny can go to Harvard and Mom and Dad can retire without worrying about whether Social Security will be there.

That decision moved us to diversify into private mortgage transactions. Most “hard money” lenders are thought of as predators, solely worried about equity. Charged with the preservation of capital, we make difficult decisions about whether we are solving or perpetuating problems. In short, if Bill can make a short-term loan to his neighbor that helps him out of a temporary spot and the return he receives fits into our plan, we make the loan. The counsel and follow-up we extend to the the borrower helps to protect the investment while assisting the borrower to get back on track.

Our rates and fees are MUCH lower than the securitizing hard money lenders. Every time I’m asked why I “play in the muddy side” of the business, I think of what Christ said when asked why he associated with tax collectors and prostitutes.

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So, there you have it.  Brian rubs the Guv-i-nator’s elbows (eww), plays wing man to a 20-something, dreams of spending time in the mountains with dudes (uh, you couldn’t have chosen three ladies?  where’s Berg in all this?), and lettered in BOWLING of all things, but these shortcomings are forgiven because he hearts Romney as much as I do and his faith leads all of his transactions.   Now that you really know Brian, what do you think?