It happened. I've always heard the stories. I've seen it happen to other people. And now it's happened to me. We've had a complicated loan in process for the past couple months. I'll spare too many details, but it's a unique property in a unique, very rural (aka, it'll take longer than a month to get a title report or appraisal) area. Well, we finally made it to funding. Just a quick dot of final i's, crossing off some final t's, and a quick verbal verification of employment, and we.are.done!
Recently our team was fortunate enough to work with a customer we've worked with for years on various properties in various states. One benefit of licensing in multiple states is that when a customer moves, considers investing outside of their state, or picking up a vacation home, we're still able to assist. In this instance, we last helped our client nearly a decade ago when we met him in Pennsylvania. This past week, we funded a condo loan in South Carolina, helping the customer move from a 30 year loan into a new … (2 comments)
As a lender, I see a lot. I see people's financials, their credit, inside their homes. Over the years, there have been a lot of disturbing things - spouses with wild spending habits their partners knew nothing about. Homes of hoarders. Folks who make a ton of money and have a ton of flash while in reality they're drowning in debt. Agents behaving badly. But when I saw the December ActiveRain contest for the craziest transaction story, I didn't have to think too hard. Back when I lived in Pennsylvania, I connected with a real estate … (38 comments)
Most deals don't come easy. Nearly every mortgage application has SOME type of puzzle piece that's difficult to place. Thankfully, the complicated loans with lots of moving parts are the ones that make me a better loan officer, and give my team an opportunity to shine.
Recently in Martinez, CA, we had an applicant that wanted to take some cash out of a recently purchased and renovated property. Easy enough, right? It was, until we received tax returns that indicated minimal qualifying income, a title report that indicated multiple liens … (3 comments)
This month Lisa Von Domek invites us to share some of the more amorous transactions we've had the pleasure of participating in, and my first entry is a no brainer because it closed just 6 days ago.
A lot of people hate working with their friends and family. I'm not one of them. The reason I think I enjoy it is that I treat friends and family just like I treat the majority of clients - like friends and family. My job is to educate, guide, and offer as much help and understanding as I can … (22 comments)
The JM Loans team recently just wrapped up a purchase loan for a couple relocating from Nevada to Bristol, Tennessee to spend their retirement years.
This client was in 2 groups that have become very common to work with for the JM Loans team - Veterans, and relocations. Being licensed in 12 states (With Mason Mac being licensed in 8 others), we see a lot of relocating clients, and with good cause - in more cases than not we have some tremendous resources available in both the areas they're coming from and going to.
When it comes to effective retirement planning, one of the best moves most people can make it ensuring that they are not burdened with debt at a time in life when income decreases. For many home owners, thismeans trying to get rid of their mortgage payment by the time they hit retirement age so they can stop working and still enjoy a level of cash flow that allows a safe, happy, andcomfortable lifestyle.
With that reason in mind, many home owners opt to refinance their mortgage into a 15 year loan rather than the standard … (0 comments)
For many buyers, FHA is the best loan option available at the time of a home purchase. Many who lost their home to foreclosure or short sale during the real estate crash haven't met the time requirements to obtain conventional financing, and other times credit scores make FHA financing far more attractive than what conventional can offer, especially with a low down payment.
The downside to FHA, though, is the PMI, which stays in place for the life of most 30 year loans. That's where the FHA conversion refinance comes … (4 comments)
When I first spoke to my client, we went over what she was looking for in a loan - monthly payment range, timeline, rate, costs, and how the process would go.
This was a fun one - perfect credit, down payment in a single savings account, salaried and on her current job for more than 2 years, renting the same current residence for more than 2 years as well.
"The good news, Ms Buyer, is that you're going to have a much easier loan process than you probably expect", I … (3 comments)
What do you get when you mix a first time home buyer living in Utah purchasing a property in the suburbs of Houston, Texas getting their mortgage from the JM Loans team in Northern California?
A great experience, and a happy buyer, of course!
I was sitting in my office one day when the phone rang, and on the other end was a young man who had just accepted a job in the Houston, TX area and was looking into how to move his young family there. He had … (9 comments)
Over the past few months I've been working with a few clients on their retirement planning, namely how home ownership and mortgage financing fits into the picture, after they inquired about a potential refinance. A few years ago, I helped them refinance their Delaware home with a low rate 15 year mortgage, and the plan at that time was to pay the loan off as fast as possible and sail into retirement nearly mortgage-free. As it does, life had other plans for these wonderful people, and they now had … (2 comments)
A little while back I got a call from a Realtor that I've worked with for years in Montgomery County, PA. We first met back in 2007 and have worked on many transactions with each other over the years. For years, she and her parents have toyed with the idea of multigenerational living as her parents reached retirement age and enjoyed spending as much time as possible with their grandchildren. This year, they were finally ready to make the leap, so she called me to see what mortgage options we had available.
A few months back I received a call from a client that found me through ActiveRain, specifically looking for options to get a cash back mortgage on a recently acquired property. He had gone under contract to purchase a new home in Rialto, CA with a standard purchase mortgage through another lender (a big mistake, I'd add with very much bias!). A week before his settlement, that lender informed him they couldn't qualify him for a loan.
Unfortunately, this is an all too common occurence when lenders don't do their due … (2 comments)
mortgage stories: What I've learned growing my business
- 09/03/13 11:07 AM
What I've learned growing my business Thanks to the inspiring contest, I've given some thought to what has changed in my business over the past 6+ years in business and WOW. I came up with a lot. Since graduating college in 2006, I've learned far more than I had the previous 17 years of schooling. "Experience: That most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn" - C.S. Lewis
When I started in the mortgage industry, I was as green as they come, but anxious to learn everything I could. I had little money but … (69 comments)
mortgage stories: Our Industry is Ridiculous (I laugh so I don't cry)
- 02/13/13 06:55 AM
One of the most common phrases I hear (ok...and say) on a day to day basis working in the mortgage industry is "that doesn't make any sense". Fact is, since the mortgage market ran into problems a few years back, there has been a complete reversal in underwriting standards, and underwriters have incentive to NOT use common sense. It can be said that there is no such thing as common sense in the lending industry today - only paper trails, I's to dot and T's to cross. Sometimes, this makes me want to cry, but when I … (2 comments)
Don't Quit Your Day Job (during the mortgage process)
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