mortgage guidance: Scariest Home Mortgage Concerns - 10/10/11 01:48 PM
As we enter the month of October, and Halloween draws near, we wonder if a goblin, ghost or something scary is about to pop out at us. Many clients feel this same way with their home mortgage these days. Some of my clients are not even aware of what type of mortgage product they have until things can get very scary for them.
I had a past client the other day realize that he had an interest only product. The product made sense 6 years ago, but today the product scares the heck … (1 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Another Option to Lower Your Mortgage Payment! - 03/08/11 01:27 PM
Looking for another option to lower your mortgage payment? Here is some solid advice given to me by Joey Almeida with Cambridge Financial.
Another way to lower your monthly house payments, that you might not normally consider, is by reviewing your homeowner’s insurance policy. We find that people tend to buy more insurance than they really need by basing their coverage amount off of market value, rather than replacement value. Yet if your home burned down today, the insurance company would not pay you the full market value of your home; they would only pay you the cost to … (4 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Is Your Bank Providing Accurate Mortgage Information? - 02/09/11 03:42 PM
I have a funny story to share with you that happened to me the other day and thought I would share. I got a call from my Bank. As most I do my personal banking with one of the bigger banks here in Arizona. Without mentioning names and protecting the innocent, here is the conversation that transpired. “Hello Gary, Hi this is ________ with XYZ Bank and I wanted to get a hold of you and share that one of your mortgages with us is eligible for the HARP program”. HARP stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program. “I noticed you … (3 comments)
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mortgage guidance: What Mortgage Loan Does The Client Want and Need? (The Power of Listening and Then Advising) - 02/06/10 09:24 AM
In this day and age of information or what I would like to call mis-information, the buying public still does not always have the best grasp of what they need or want when it comes to making a decision on a mortgage loan. I think most of us out there would agree that the buying public has been trained by the worst of worst in the mortgage industry to use trigger terminology when approaching a mortgage lender for a loan.
Here some of very common trigger phrases:
What is the interest rate?
How much can I qualify for?
How much is … (2 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Confidence and perseverance wins the day in the mortgage business - 10/27/09 06:28 PM
Last month I had a business partner refer me a customer that was denied by a big bank for home financing. This client was not buying the biggest of homes but just wanted to have the dream of homeownership afforded to her. Like every client, her situation was unique. She had her doubts that I would not be able to help and to be honest, so did I; she was turned down by a big bank with lots of options. What I forgot to realize is how much we forget that this business is about the individual and not necessarily about … (8 comments)
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mortgage guidance: As Mortgage Guidelines Tighten Professional Advice is Critical: - 08/13/09 03:33 PM
The days of choosing a mortgage professional based on a personality test and box of donuts in your real estate office is changing. Today with the tightening mortgage guidelines, having a mortgage professional who can review credit, employment, debt to income ratios, calculate assets, document the file and make sure that 2+2= 4 is the smart move for a business partner.
We just got word that in 2nd quarter of 2009, the big mortgage investors are still taking pretty significant losses on performance of their mortgage securities. These are not just the old loans that were originated 2 to 3 years … (12 comments)
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mortgage guidance: The Amortization Schedule: An Old Fashion Way of Creating a Savings Strategy - 07/13/08 11:45 PM
The Amortization Schedule was good for our Grand Parents and Parents, so why have so many consumers moved away from the fundamentals? To answer this question, we must dig in a little deeper of what strategies are available in the first place.
When it comes to building wealth using your primary home, it can be accomplished 2 ways.
•1. You can never pay a dime extra to the principal, maybe even get some interest only option and invest this money elsewhere. This is called the investment strategy.
•2. You can pay down the principal and get the mortgage paid off years … (11 comments)
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mortgage guidance: What Needs to be Done to issue a "REAL" Mortgage Pre-Approval Letter - 06/21/08 01:47 AM
I just got done reading a great post from Jesse Clifton titled: I'm sorry, what did you just say? and it made me think about how many loan officers everyday write up pre-approval letters and really give no real thought on the outcome of what they just did.
I have been around long enough and heard the horror stories from real agents about how the buyers loan fell apart and it created a series of unfortunate events that killed the sales transaction. I firmly believe this happens because the mortgage pre-approval was weak to non-existence to start with.
So I would like to share some … (12 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Potential RESPA Violations and Mortgage Lenders Steering Buyers: - 06/05/08 09:58 AM
Brian Brady wrote a post recently entitled: Why Mortgage Brokers Love Countrywide and some of the comments got me thinking again about things going on in my market place that are real borderline RESPA Violations.
In my market place it's now common on REO listings to have it written into the comment section that the buyer must get pre-approved with the lender who is holding the foreclosure. Countrywide Home Loans seems to be the biggest player with this type of stance. Though it might not be a direct violation of RESPA it sure makes you think again about how this gives the … (92 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Paying the Bills on Time: The Building Blocks to Homeownership - 05/30/08 01:14 AM
If you have followed the real estate market and lending environment for the last 12 months, than you probably know that mortgage lenders have become quite strict on their mortgage guidelines.
The banks just do not have the money or resources to take any chances on what they deem as a margin loan.
I have clients that are referred to me that sometimes I just cannot help. Usually I cannot help them because of credit problems.
Once I work up a complete analysis of their situation, it usually boils down to the fact that they just have not paid their creditors … (0 comments)
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mortgage guidance: How to Avoid Credit Hijacks from Mortgage Lenders and Protecting Your Privacy - 05/30/08 12:56 AM
Have you ever applied for a home loan with a trusted mortgage lender just to have some other mortgage company call you within minutes offering you the same loan?
If you have: You have been a victim of what I consider an unethical but legal practice in the mortgage industry called "Credit Hijacking".
I have not had this happen to one of my clients in awhile, but it happens. It usually follows by a phone call from my client wondering if I sold their information to other companies.
My client usually feels like they have been "financially molested". I have to then explain to … (3 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Tempe Mortgage Lender for First Time Homebuyers - 05/24/08 03:36 AM
Are you looking to buy your first home, but do not understand the process? Are you needing funds for down payment assistance? Were you turned down by other lenders who do NOT specialize in these types of loan programs? Well look no further, you have come to the right person to help you. I have over 14 years experience in the Real Estate and Mortgage Services Industry. The purchase of your first home will be one of the largest investments you will ever make. You will need a plan and guidance along the course of that long term investment. I am the Trusted Advisor that … (0 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Adjustable Rate Mortgages a Smarter Alternative for the Savvy Borrower - 02/10/08 04:32 AM
In the Last 24 months, the popularity of the adjustable rate mortgage plummeted. With the inverted rate curve, it just made better sense for a mortgage lender to advise a client to stay far away from this product. When you could get a better rate on a longer term note that would not adjust it became pretty clear quickly that we had a one trick pony.
It was like going to the ice cream shop and asking for "Rocky Road" and you were told "we only sell Chocolate, Vanilla or Strawberry".
What's funny is how many mortgage lenders used huge amounts of advertising dollars to make the public think … (9 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Financial Literacy Starts with a Family Budget - 02/06/08 12:11 AM
We are all feeling our pocket books being pinched in so many different way these days. The economy might be heading into a recession, costs of goods are increasing, gas prices are at an all time high, and for some homeowners it just getting tough to make ends meet.
Recently I met with a homeowner who approached me about refinancing their home. As we started getting to their core needs about pulling cash out of their home, I realized that they did not have a family budget. They just have never done a budget and started to run into problems. We … (10 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Subprime Lending Wearing Conforming Camouflage - 02/05/08 10:48 PM
Sometimes conforming mortgage guidelines just do not fit into every deal. This is where sub-prime lending comes into play. Even in our tightening mortgage environment sometimes an alternative bank can place a difficult loan. Today I called a sub-prime bank to find out if they can lend on a hard to place mortgage loan. I talked with the account executive, and went over the client's entire loan situation. After our discussion, she was not able to help me out. Lately, it just seems that most sub-prime banks are not taking on any risk. Her mortgage guidelines were so close to conforming … (0 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Arizona Identified as a Declining Market: 5% More Down Payment Required - 01/25/08 12:39 PM
Attention Realtors and Home-buyers in Arizona: We are in a market identified by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be a moderate declining market.
This is not the first time I wrote about this issue:Arizona Identified as a Declining Market: Appraisal Reviews Required, but because I am having more people contact me about this lately, I thought I would elaborate further. Also, I found some other interesting blog posts who covered this exact topic and thought I would share their viewpoint. Declining Market Values " Oh My, Oh My"! Effective Today Fannie Mae's Declining Markets Reinstated Guideline Takes Effect Declining Market Values-a lenders … (4 comments)
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mortgage guidance: With Interest Rates Coming Down, Should I Refinance My Mortgage? - 01/14/08 11:25 AM
In the last couple of weeks, interest rates have been at the lowest point that I can remember since September 2005. Recently, I have been locking my clients rates at around the 5.625%-6.00% range.
Now the question is: "Should YOU take advantage of these Low Rates and Refinance your Home Mortgage?"
Here are some great tips to help you make that decision.
Refinance only if it benefits you in the long haul. For example if you are planning on selling in the next 2-5 years, repaying closing costs again may cost more money then the saved amount on the payment. A smart mortgage advisor can calculate your … (6 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Are Wholesale Mortgage Banks putting themselves Out of Business on Purpose? - 12/31/07 06:47 AM
In the last year, mortgage guidelines has changed completely. We have seen tons of mortgage companies go under. Heck I think we all enjoyed visiting mortgage implode
But now that the herd has thinned and the competition has been eliminated, I am having a hard time understanding why wholesale banks are still treating us remaining loan originators like kindergartners.
I work as a mortgage lender. I originate loans through my company and then my company chooses later to sell the loans in a secondary market. I originate about 90-95% of my loans within my own company.
The only time I need to deal with … (10 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Making Chicken Soup out of Oatmeal - 12/19/07 07:49 PM
Lately, getting a borrower approved has been challenging. My good Realtor Friend Christoph Schweiger has a phrase when he knows its going to be very difficult getting his clients pre-approved. He says "Let's make Chicken Soup out of Oatmeal". This seems to be the case lately and it does not help that our company is tightening up even more on the mortgage guidelines.
Its has been more important then ever to work with my mortgage underwriter and go over files piece by piece. I have found going back to mortgage basics and learning the program guidelines have been saving my deals.
Recently I had … (2 comments)
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mortgage guidance: Creating A SYSTEM is Vital to Your Real Estate Career! - 12/15/07 10:03 AM
As the 2007 Year unwinds, I have taken a moment in my busy schedule to re-examine my business plan, start planning for next year and figure out what did not work this year.
As I started talking with more Real Estate Agents, Lenders, and others in this business, I saw one overwhelming difference in the ones who are exiting out versus holding tough and making it happen.
Most of the ones who are struggling, just do NOT have a system in place. They have no database system, no file system, no way to measure customer service, no prospecting system.
So I encourage all of your … (10 comments)
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