Lawsuit filed over Realtor/Title referrals - 02/22/07 04:02 PM
I found an interesting article in the Minneapolis StarTribune over lunch this afternoon.....
"Coldwell Banker/Burnet sued over agents' referrals" (Business section, page D2)
Basically, a suit has been filed over Realtors 'steering' closings to Burnet Title, an affiliate of Coldwell Banker- without 'full disclosure'.
Well, I know that all folks sign an affiliated business disclosure, and this would be discussed up front. I also know that title companies can be more or less expensive, but I don't find thousands of dollars in differences between most title agencies.
But....one little part of the suit makes me wonder.......
The plaintiff's attorney, William Crowder, stated that " Burnet … (7 comments)

"Blowing that whistle" on a Realtor - 02/15/07 11:40 AM
Since I had gotten some good comments back from the community...I thought I would tell you what ended up happening with my 'client'.
To recap: I had pre-approved a Realtor's referral after verifying income and credit. Later, the Realtor visited a home where the selling Realtor wanted to place my client in an Option ARM....where they would be able to make the 1.75% payment.....but would be not only upside-down in year 5, but would also be at a 78% DTI - with a conventional refinance...not even looking at the amount of the 'recasted' loan. The Realtor asked why I didn't pre-approve the client … (2 comments)

How do you "blow the whistle" with a Realtor? - 02/14/07 10:40 AM
Had a tough call to make yesterday, and thought I'd ask the community about handling it....
I had a referral from a realtor. When I interviewed the client , and verified credit & income, I gave the realtor the amount they would be pre-qualified for on a 30-yr. fixed rate.
At one home they stopped at, the showing Realtor was very aggressive in trying to also "pre-qualify" the buyer for an Option ARM. Of course, she qualified for a bigger home & smaller payment.....but I also know the buyer can NOT afford the payments in year 5 and beyond based on current … (5 comments)

Financing Changes in Minnesota? - 02/06/07 08:58 AM
Last week, our new Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson was given a copy of a ‘Final Report' from her Predatory Lending Study Group. In it, a number of recommendations were made that are being requested to include in a bill to come to a vote this legislative session. (I do have a copy of the entire report if you need to see it....and it's interesting to see that while 4 local Bank Presidents are on this study group, and 4 politicians, there are NO Realtors or Mortgage Brokers at all!) Here are the "Predatory Mortgage Lending Proposals" as defined by her task … (2 comments)

 
Dsc_6716_1_

Loren Johnson, CMPS

White Bear Lake, MN

More about me…

Waterstone Mortgage

Address: 659 Bielenberg Dr. #200, Woodbury, MN, 55125

Office Phone: (651) 226-4363

Cell Phone: (651) 226-4363

Email Me

Thoughts about Mortgages, the Real Estate market, how customers should be treated, and mabye sports!


Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog