san diego: Things Looking "Up" in California - 02/21/07 03:15 PM
Everyone loves to point to California as the prime example of the excessive greed of the recent real estate boom. Media, bubble bloggers, and pundits predict that California will plummet to new lows and bring on a lengthy recession akin to the Great Depression. Even home-grown and respected PIMCO of Newport Beach predicts a heavy fog for the state’s real estate forecast.
Why are these developers choosing to build up instead of out? 
The answer is that demographics are still favorable.  Here are four reasons why. 
… (2 comments)

san diego: High Noon in Long Beach, CA - 11/02/06 09:45 AM
The California Association of Mortgage Brokers, the same organization that sponsored the trade show that featured completely irresponsible lending practices,  has drawn a line in the sand with this statement that all loan originators need to be licensed. 
"We believe there should be a barrier to entry besides being able to fill out a job application form," said Michael Faust, CAMB's government affairs chairman.
Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
Not to be outdone, the California Mortgage Bankers Association, fired a shot across the bow of the brokers' association with this statement refuting their demand today.
Dustin Hobbs, spokesman for the California Mortgage Bankers … (12 comments)

san diego: Do Lenders Have a Fiduciary Responsibility to a Borrower? - 10/13/06 02:44 PM
I have been enjoying this banter about fiduciary capacity in the real estate transaction as it related to lending.  Clearly, this has been a fun "academic discussion" for me today and probably a pain in the patootie for many other posters in the Active Rain Real Estate Community.
A brief history:  Lenn Harley wrote a nice blog yesterday about The Evil Press. Normally, I would agree with Lenn that members the press are drama seekers with a lack of imagination and an inflated sense of self-importance.  Actually, I retain the opinion about the press.  In this instance, Lenn paraphrased an article about … (24 comments)

san diego: So, you want to be a trust deed investor? - 10/05/06 12:57 AM
So, you want to be a trust deed investor and earn double digit returns?  Let's see what I can tell you about investing in trust deeds in 3-4 paragraphs.  a more detailed explanation can be found here.
A trust deed is what we call a deed of trust or mortgage in California.  When you "invest" in a trust deed, you are the bank (or the lender).  We usually get you rates of 10-14% and 1-2 points on the deal.  Most loans are short-term in nature and have a term of one to five years,  The average loan we make is paid off … (5 comments)