The Single Most Important Thing When Shopping for a Mortgage (No, It Isn't the RATE) - 11/30/07 10:25 AM
Tomorrow is December, a month dedicated to the great American sport of SHOPPING. Yet even the most confident super-shoppers, the ones who know every angle and tactic to snag the best deals, crumple and hide when it comes to shopping for a mortgage. Either that, or they simply revert to something that gives them the most comfort: shopping for the lowest rate.
I understand that "RATE" is a number, it is measurable (a 5.99% mortgage MUST be better than one that is 6.25%, right?), and therefore rate shopping brings a certain level of comfort. Well, here's the scoop: you can shop till you drop, but comparing mortgage rates by looking … (10 comments)

Easy Rider: Will the Real Subprime Please Stand Up? - 11/25/07 10:05 AM
After attending my first round of holiday parties this week I realized it isn't just us real estate geeks that have the mortgage crisis on our minds. People used to run the other way when I said I was in the car business. Now they seek me out with the following question: "What about this subprime mess?"
**Sigh** Can't a girl have a pinot grigio and a bite of the cheese log without having to explain the mortgage mess? (Answer: yes, by listening to their opinion and taking mental notes for next blog)...continue sipping pinot and nodding. They may need to vent and could care less … (6 comments)

Here's A Concept: Let's Just Do Nothing About the Mortgage Crisis - 11/24/07 01:15 PM
Inspired by the discussion taking place about the current mortgage/foreclosure crisis, I pose the following question: What if we just did nothing? That's right. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
No government intervention. Stop playing the blame game...   (what does it matter?) What would happen if we just plain old sat back and let the market take care of the problem?
Oh, boy. What a concept.
Let's see. Has anyone thought about the fact that when a house goes into foreclosure something else happens BESIDES the borrower losing his home? That's right, the lender loses his shirt (read: loses money big time). Have we forgotten what the "short" … (40 comments)

The Secret to Better Rates NOW: Divide And Conquer - 11/15/07 11:05 AM

Mortgage brokers have been the whipping boys of the lending industry this year. Ouch, still stinging, still getting bad press. We're battered, we're bruised, but guess what? The real estate world needs smart, creative mortgage brokers more than they ever did before.
Why? Because putting loans together in a way that gets the BEST LOAN for the borrower requires thinking outside the proverbial BOX these days. What has changed?
The difference in a jumbo loan ($417,000 and above) and a conforming loan is much greaterLenders place limits on the amounts they want to loan on first loansEvery aspect of a loan is subject to much tougher scrutiny from appraisals to credit … (6 comments)

Is The Mortgage Crisis OVER? Or Are the Buyers Just OVER IT? - 11/13/07 08:03 PM
Here come the buyers. They have lurked in the shadows all year while the headlines screamed "MORTGAGE CRISIS". Mind, you, they have no idea WHAT a mortgage crisis is, but this much is clear:   Who wants to buy a house (which means getting a mortgage)  in the middle of a crisis?   Did "The Mortgage Crisis" keep buyers from buying houses? Absolutely. It scared them off, plain and simple.
How do you think the mortgage crisis sounded to the average potential homebuyer? How about this: Blah, blah, blah, FORECLOSURE. Blah, blah, blah, VALUES DOWN. Blah, blah blah, NO MORE GOOD LOANS.  Okay, that sounds like a … (8 comments)

Buy Here, Finance Here, At Your Own Risk - 11/06/07 10:44 PM
In response to the discussion about Realtors being "encouraged" to use their affiliated lender, I would ask this: What do you think happens in the Toyota dealership when you are ushered over to the finance department and walk out with a Toyota Motor Credit loan or lease? That's right, you have just been referred to the "affiliated lender". Does it work to add profit to the dealership? Of course...especially since you are in an altered state of mind from being under the influence of new car smell.  Is it the best thing for the consumer? Not by a long shot. 
"Buy here, … (70 comments)

Desparately Seeking Thanksgiving - 11/04/07 12:26 PM
As I closed up the Sunday paper this morning, I felt more than a little sad. It was filled with a kind of desparation advertising for all things Christmas. Fifty-two days before Christmas and the commercial onslaught has begun. Is there anyone else out there that remembers when Christmas lasted only a few weeks? When Thanksgiving was not something completely overshadowed by all the Christmas hoopla?
I have a couple of issues with the whole "HOLIDAY SEASON".  One is, a 2 month Christmas is just too darn long. The second is, Thanksgiving has been lost. 
When I was growing up, Christmas was about a 3 week event. People didn't moan … (17 comments)

Your GOOD CREDIT is Just Not Good Enough Anymore - 11/03/07 05:49 PM
Before that nasty thing we call the mortgage crisis descended upon us, we mortgage brokers lived in simpler times. With so many lenders, and such broad guidelines, matching a borrower...(good credit.....bad credit....no credit!)... to a lender was pretty easy. No one thought much about credit scores, because for every seat, there was a saddle. And off we rode into the sunset....
Oh, if only the story ended there. How could we have known some saddles would slip off, the horse would run wild, and some riders would be left on their rear end in the middle of nowhere?
The problem is, getting back in the saddle these days requires … (8 comments)

The Future of Mortgage Brokers Is Questionable - 11/01/07 10:17 PM
As the year comes to a close, the mortgage crisis is taking on a different spin. Slowly, yet steadily, banks are closing their wholesale divisions. When this happens, a borrower must go into a bank and deal directly with a bank employee to get a mortgage. He will have no option to use his mortgage broker to get a loan from that lender. THE LENDER ELIMINATED MORTGAGE BROKERS, and more and more lenders are heading in this direction.
When a major player such as Bank of America decides to drop their entire wholesale division, they are sending a message: "See, investors? Now we have gotten rid of the … (14 comments)