va: CNET's Tips & Tricks Ends Online Course Program - 04/21/08 11:24 PM
I posted some links a while back to CNET and their free courses.
It seems that they are ending this service and you will have very little time to download your courses before they are gone forever. I hope some of you learned something from this free resource.
IMPORTANT: All class content (class lessons, posts, course completion certificates) will be removed from our site as of Wednesday, April 30, 2008. To save content, follow directions below:
CNET will continue with their free tips section and will be a page to certainly bookmark. I will keep an eye on it for the Outlook Tools … (10 comments)
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va: North Texas Realtor / Lender Happy Hour!! - 04/16/08 10:57 AM
Ok, I cut and pasted the email I got from Scott Harris...... and pasted it here since he doesn't post these here in 'The Rain'
I cannot attend this month, but if interest is there I will be happy to coordinate a meet & greet at this great event.
I have attended many of these in the past and will continue to go and network in the future. The new location sounds exciting too!!
I don't know anything about the door sponsor and this 'greAt mortgage payoff' but I can guess that it is the same old 1st Lien HELOC in a new package. … (3 comments)
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va: Foreclosure: New Fannie Mae Guidelines - 04/14/08 04:10 PM
https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2008/0808.pdf
Fannie Mae has increased time in the penalty box for people with foreclosures on their credit report. Currently a 4yr time frame must pass and that has been increased to 5yrs.
No doubt this is in answer to the many borrowers who can pay their mortgage and elect to let their homes go back to the bank because they owe far more than the home is worth. The banks call it Jingle Mail when a borrower just flat out 'does the give-up' and mails in their keys. Banks are usually left holding the bag on a home that cannot begin to payoff … (5 comments)
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va: Fannie Mae says no to credit scores below 580 - 04/02/08 03:00 PM
Fannie Mae is setting new rules about what mortgages it will buy, including a credit score threshold for the first time.
The District-based mortgage giant has told lenders it will no longer buy most loans made to borrowers with credit scores below 580, nor will it buy loans that have been more than 60 days past due within the last year.
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/03/31/daily33.html
More and more FICO requirements.
Pay your bills on time and keep those credit card balances low, low, low. Clients will need to be wary of their credit scores and those who do not use a lot of credit will be forced … (10 comments)
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va: FHA Non Occupying Co-Borrower - 04/01/08 03:11 PM
FHA Non Occupying Co-Borrower rules in a nutshell.
Typically called a 'Kiddie-Condo' loan. FHA allows family members to help their kids buy their first home. Whether they are in school with no income or out in the real world and just need a little extra income to qualify.
FHA allows for a family member to be a non-occupying co-borrower in order to assist in qualifying. This is available when your borrower would qualify for the loan when considering their credit but they wouldn't qualify because of debt ratios, employment, income and assets.
Adding a NOCB does not resolve credit issues!! … (17 comments)
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va: The Death of 100% Financing.... The End is Near!! - 02/12/08 12:31 PM
I got notice late yesterday that beginning March 1st, loans above 97.01% will no longer be eligible for PMI.
3% down payment may be the name of the game going forward.... and FHA Loans have never looked so sexy!!
Monthly PMI on Gov't loans is 1/2 of what you are charged on conventional loans. Yet, many consumers have opted for 100% financing because they do not have money for the down payment. Not to be confused with the client who 'elected' 100% Financing, these people who are paying twice as much for PMI are doing so for a reason. They simply cannot put any of … (58 comments)
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va: The DallasLoanGuy Joins PrimeLending - 02/02/08 12:38 PM
A while back I informed my friends here that Maverick Residential Mortgage had shut his doors. I appreciate all of the kind words of support from those who called or wrote me with words of encouragement.
In recent days I have taken many phone calls from hiring managers and recruiters and was flattered by the offers. One company who didn't call was PrimeLending. Prime doesn't recruit.... Good loan officers seek them out on their own. I spoke to many loan officers about the biz and was pretty much assured that my thinking was sound. PrimeLending is the place to be!! They … (29 comments)
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va: Maverick Residential Mortgage Shuts Doors!! Another One Bites The Dust!! - 01/16/08 10:09 AM
I wanted to wait and post this until after we made Lender Implode. Well, we have now and even made the Channel 11 News.
Rumors abound that the CFO went missing with $4MM and the FBI is on the case. But all that I can confirm to you is that payroll was yesterday and we did not get paid!!! NOR are they communicating with us WHEN we will get paid!!!
Moving forward:
Tom Burris & DallasLoanGuy.com is portable. As soon as I digest the 10(edit: make that 20+ so far) recruiter calls and countless emails I received yesterday, I will hang my hat with a reputable … (28 comments)
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va: Bank of America buys Countrywide Financial for 4$BB - 01/11/08 09:13 AM
Noone Can Do What Countrywide Can..... NOT!! Bank of America just topped them.
Of course we knew this was coming.... Countrywide's Execs were practically asking to be purchased in the media. And the $2B loan a few months ago should have been the first clue.
Clue #2? Well, that would be the fact that BofA shut down it's wholesale lending arm.... which was struggling.
This purchase makes perfect sense for both parties. Countrywide needed money and the rates they would have to pay for loans would hurt them. BofA needed a wholesale lending arm that knows how to lend in the wholesale market. Both … (19 comments)
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va: Get the Skinny on YOUR Neighborhood.... Great Resource for House Hunting!! - 12/26/07 02:55 PM
ZipSkinny.com was recently introduced to me by a friend. It looks like a wonderfull little resource for those in the Housing Market. A quick snapshot of what makes up your Zipcode is a click away.I simply put my 5 digit Zipcode into the box and click enter.
This tool uses 2000 Census Data for the output.
See the output below....
Some of the charts didn't do right.... but I think you can see the potential here.
Realtors: Can post 'The Skinny' on the neighborhood surrounding their listings. Home Buyers: Can get a great snapshot of the neighborhood surrounding a few homes they have … (15 comments)
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va: Two ActiveRain women spent the evening in my arms.... - 12/19/07 09:28 PM
Well, at least for the duration of this picture.... ( That's me in the middle )
I had the pleasure this evening to spend some time with Lorrie Semler and Karen Otto. As always, it is a pleasure to spend time with quality individuals who are committed to their segment of this wild and crazy industry.
We got together for a Monthly Happy Hour at Carsons for a little Hump Day stress relief and conversation... courtesy of the Dallas Association of Mortgage Professionals Partiers! ( DFWAMP ). And good conversation it was, indeed. If you haven't met these two ladies, you should make the effort. They … (22 comments)
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va: I turned down a Fraud Loan today!!! - 12/04/07 11:53 PM
Loan Officers Beware!!!
The current market has the the 'Real Estate Investor' desperate. And they know most of the inside angles!!!!
I get a call today from a purported 'Real Estate Investor' that I will call Suzy. We will look at that term 'investor' later. But, Suzy recently bought a property for cash 2 months ago. Now Suzy the 'investor' wants to BUY that property from the LLC that holds the property...... Here is the rub=> Suzy OWNS that LLC..... So she bought a distressed propery and fixed it up for resale and earned a great deal of equity in the process. Great deal for her... except that she NEEDS … (22 comments)
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va: Maverick Residential Mortgage Selected Among Top Dallas 100 Entrepreneur Award Winners - 11/27/07 02:31 PM
Maverick Residential Mortgage, Inc. was selected as 48th highest winner of the 2007 Dallas 100 Entrepreneur Awards at an impressive awards banquet Nov. 7. Executives and representatives of Maverick learned of their impressive finish at the gala held in the Morton Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District near downtown Dallas.Sponsored by the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship at the SMU Cox School of Business, the 2007 Dallas 100 Entrepreneur Awards honor the 100 top entrepreneurial businesses in the Dallas market. Maverick Mortgage, one of the nation's fastest growing and most dynamic privately held firms, was named the number one ranking company … (8 comments)
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va: MORTGAGE PRO Week in Review, Nov. 19 - 25 - 11/27/07 12:26 AM
I was honored when Jeff Belonger asked me to write this review. I don't consider myself the best writer on ActiveRain but I do have opinions and a wealth of knowledge to share.... So even with my lack of writing skills I have still found my voice here on ActiveRain and am grateful for the small following that I have to date!!
The ActiveRain week in review has become a staple here... yet it seems that the Mortgage content has been lacking. I have heard from many people here that ‘content is king' and that ‘knowledge is power'. Well, what a better way … (32 comments)
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va: The other lender had a better Good Faith Estimate....... - 11/15/07 12:34 PM
That was the excuse I got today when informed that the borrower went with another loan officer to close their deal for them.
Thing is..... My quote was better!!! And then we learned that the borrower made a mistake. It seems that the 12 GFEs all looked the same and mine got lost in the shuffle. He even admitted to not remembering my rate.
Moral to this story? You can indeed shop too hard for a loan.
Usually, when borrowers get quotes from many, many places and use those quotes to beat up the others for a better deal... The borrower typically ends up buying from … (18 comments)
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va: President Bush Pushes to Relax FHA Guidelines to Help Subprime Borrowers!! - 08/31/07 06:33 AM
We have all heard that President Bush wants to remove the 3% Down Payment requirement for FHA. His next move may be to offer FHA as Subprime Mortgage Relief.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the President will push to relax certain loan guidelines to allow FHA to back loans for those in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure.
Also on the agenda: Higher loan limits.... especially for the high cost areas who have traditionaly been priced out of FHA.
I expect many people to hang on the edge of their seats thinking this is the Subprime Bailout that they … (16 comments)
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va: Help!! My ARM is adjusting, and I don't have the equity to roll in closing costs!!! - 08/03/07 10:42 AM
I have heard this one before. A borrower buys a new home with 100% financing with all of the closing costs rolled into the loan or Down Payment Assistance Programs were utilized. Now, that ARM is adjusting and they do not have the money for closing costs.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. And although I rarely suggest this, it just might be the 'Silver Bullet' that the homeowner needs to save their home.
The No Fee Home Loan or No Fee Mortgage or No Closing Cost Loan. It can be called many things, but they are all the same thing. And don't … (29 comments)
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va: Low credit score? Just add some trade lines from a credit repair company..... - 05/14/07 03:02 PM
........ And 'go to jail'
I know all the tricks. I hear about the techniques. I know that people can read the "Fair Credit Reporting Act" or "Fair Debt Collections Practices Act" and use that info to remove some bad stuff from their credit reports. I have even seen folks get added to mommy's credit card as an "Authorized User" to boost their credit depth, and FICO scores as a result.
But, have you heard the latest craze? It's called "Piggybacking". For a fee, an internet site will add you to a good credit card with a high limit, low balance and perfect … (5 comments)
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va: Zero Down Home Loans.... Alive and Well!!! - 05/14/07 01:12 PM
I'm still doing 100% financing in the Great State of Texas!!!
I got a call from a realtor on a deal we were working on together. She asked all of the usual questions about what I have done and what she could get for me to smooth this deal. Then came 'THE question".
"Is there going to be any problems with the "100% Financing"? <= I get that one a LOT!!! LOL
What a lot of people do not understand is that the people who 'NEED' 100% financing are more affected by the recent tightening of guidelines than people who 'ELECT' 100% financing. This borrower … (8 comments)
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va: Why An AVerage Of Only 11% Of Past Clients Return - 04/04/07 02:57 PM
In this competitive business of mortgage lending, relationship marketing is the most effective method to grow and maintain your business. Shockingly statistics show that 93% of purchasers are satisfied with the professional they used. However, only 11% return and buy from them again. Why? It's because they don't remember their name.Staying Visible To Past Clients is key to your success!As a fact, the average homeowner moves about every three to five years because of changes in income, family size or other needs. You must work at having your past clients equate your name and face with all their mortgage needs. Maintaining … (2 comments)
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