california: Do You Have a Home Equity Line of Credit About to Reset?
- 07/22/15 03:52 AM
Home Equity Lines of Credit were a prevalent tool used by homeowners whose equity was growing like crazy in the real estate boom years. Many of these home equity lines of credit were set up with interest only payments for the first 10 years are beginning to reset now. A homeowner who had been chugging along paying minimum monthly interest only payments of $203 on their $75,000 balance based on the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate of 3.25% with zero margin may now be facing adjustable payments starting out at $527 for the next 15 years in order to pay that … (1 comments)
california: Consumer Action in Lieu of Property Disclosure Statement of Bank Owned Property?
- 01/23/11 01:13 AM
What would happen do you think if homeowners who have encountered financial difficulties that they are unable to resolve with their bank and its investors did their own Property Disclosure Statement and notified their bank/investors, surrounding neighbors, banks’ listing agents and State Real Estate Agency when the property reverts to the bank? Maybe posted it publicly in case buyers are considering purchasing the home on the court house steps at the Trustee Sale or delivered it by attending the sale themselves?
Since the banks and their investors like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD and other institutions are not required by … (7 comments)
california: Thirty Days To Live
- 10/22/10 02:28 AM
If we’d known there were only 30 days for him to live, what would we have done differently? Would we all have dropped what we were doing, and circled the wagons in our family? Would we have camped ourselves at the hospital and insist a thorough diagnosis be done so he wouldn’t have been sent home to die? Would we have gotten a clear diagnosis and prognosis and been able to find a treatment that may have kept him with us longer, or if not, have the time to build final memories we’ll never have now? Would we have spent every … (8 comments)
california: Speechless Sunday - A Lovely Bride's Veil
- 06/05/10 05:17 PM
With "the family homestead" not far from here, I have been able to see Yosemite National Park many different times over the years. Seeing the falls with the Spring snow melts was pretty awesome. I just need to cover the Winter season on the next visit and I'll have seen this glorious park at all four seasons.
Well worth the wait on a busy holiday weekend, we could think of no better way to travel back to the car we left parked in Chinatown. After hoofing it across town to see the sights up close and personal, we were all ready to take a fun ride back. What better way to travel than this?
california: Speechless Sunday - Things Are Hoppin' In Murphy CA on Memorial Day
- 05/25/09 05:43 PM
Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com Providing high Quality, Professional, Ethical service to Oregon and California home buyers and owners since 1983. Whether you are taking out your first home loan or your fiftieth, for your home, your second home or for investment, put my knowledge and expertise to work for you. … (4 comments)
california: Note To President Obama/Senate Banking Committee – It appears Not Everyone Is Onboard With The Home Affordable Programs
- 05/08/09 10:15 AM
Here it is a month after the Home Affordable Programs got up and running. Well, more like a week, since many lenders did not come out with the pricing on the Fannie Mae DU Refi Plus until within the past couple of weeks, and only a few are coming out with the Freddie Mac Relief Refinance pricing. Here are some discoveries/experiences I've encountered. On Home Affordable Refinance:
Private Mortgage Insurance Companiesare restricting the transfer of their mortgage insurance policies to the existing lender/servicer only, eliminating the homeowners' opportunity to shop for their pricing and eliminating competition.
Banks/Mortgage companies holding … (6 comments)
california: Change is GOOD! And Change is Here for This Oregon/California Mortgage Consultant
- 03/31/09 09:20 AM
With the many changes in the mortgage industry over the past 18 months, I have been pondering the necessary adjustments needed to stay up-to-date with the many underwriting and program guidelines a loan professional needs to be aware of to effectively serve their clients. I have been exploring working for national and community banks, obtaining FHA approval for my mortgage company, becoming an affiliate branch for a mortgage banker, or just simplifying things in my work life and becoming a loan officer for someone else's company while letting someone else deal with the nuts and bolts of operating a mortgage company … (2 comments)
california: California Homeowners - Looking for Reasons to Hang On Instead Of Throwing In The Towel?
- 02/12/09 10:33 AM
So, you are "stuck" with a 6.25% interest rate on your 30 year fixed rate mortgage for $400,000. You are bent out of shape because you really were hoping to refinance in order to get a mortgage interest rate in the 4's, like people you know have done recently. Should you say forget it now that you are "under water", throw in the towel, and walk away from your home? You aren't interested in the moral or ethical side of the equation, or are worn down from the constant barrage of tales of woe in the news and from friends and family, … (0 comments)
california: No Cost HELOCs Still Alive and Well in Oregon
- 07/17/08 03:35 AM
Based on the number of inquiries coming in, people seem to be out looking for replacements for the many HELOCs that have been frozen by lenders this past year - lenders such as Washington Mutual, Citi Home Equity, National Home Equity, Countrywide, and the latest lender, Indymac. There are still home equity lines of credit and equity loans available in many areas, although they are tough to come by in California, Nevada and Florida right now. Many of these programs require the borrower to pay their own closing costs, but there are still no cost lines of credit/equity loans available, where … (7 comments)
california: A Beautiful Summer Day Spent In Siskiyou County, California (Part 2)
- 06/24/08 06:13 AM
Traveling a ways off Interstate 5 on Highway 89 at the base of stunning Mount Shasta, it isn't long before we come to the town of McCloud. We've been by the turn off to this historic town several times on journeys back and forth down Highway 89, and have wanted to experience the Shasta Sunset Dinner Train ride that takes off from McCloud, but will have to reserve that ride in advance, as it is a popular one. So Saturday, we meandered through the Brown Dog Gallery, the McCloud Heritage Junction Museum, and the shops throughout town, scoping out some great … (0 comments)
california: A Beautiful Summer Day Spent In Siskiyou County, California (Part 1)
- 06/24/08 05:51 AM
Our youngest child loves seeing the "Welcome to California" sign so quickly after heading out on journeys from our home in Medford, Oregon. Only 30 miles north of the California/Oregon State line, we frequently find ourselves back in California, the State we relocated from in 2004.
Saturday was one of those days, when we unanimously decided our family time would start out at the Yreka Gold Rush Days festival. After meandering through the streets of Yreka, California looking at the offerings available at the many booths along the way, enjoying the summer sprinkling of rain, we went in … (4 comments)
california: Metamorphosis With An Ever Changing Housing Market
- 06/12/08 05:36 AM
A lot has changed in the housing market since I entered the business in July 1983. I can speak more specifically to the real estate finance industry, as the bulk of my 25 years have been spent here. Had I not started out with a bank whose top leaders were the husband and wife team of Herbert and Marion Sandler, I wonder sometimes if I would have experienced many of the opportunities that came my way. Sure, bank dress codes even in the "liberal 80's" preferred women employees in skirts/dresses whose hemlines fell below their knees, business suits that were preferably … (2 comments)
california: California “50 Somethings” Ready to Begin Their Steps to Retire?
- 05/15/08 05:59 AM
I've been checking in with some of my Southern California clients since I learned one of the latest banks to begin freezing home equity lines of credit, National City, had pulled the plug on homeowners who are seeing declining values in their market areas. Some common threads have been emerging in the conversations I've been having with them. These are nice, chatty conversations, no sense of urgency about the real estate market, although quite a bit of disgust expressed over the negative media barrage they believe has gone on way too long. Interest is being expressed in how long industry professionals … (2 comments)
california: TOP Five Reasons We Relocated to the Rogue Valley
- 04/25/08 03:07 AM
2003 was a year of transition for us. My husband was in between jobs, and really didn't want to work for anyone else anymore. For years he watched, and for a while participated in, the hard work and satisfaction that came from my mortagage/real estate business. The time had come to pursue his dream, and we switched gears, looking for a business to purchase instead of a job for my husband to go to. What we were finding in Southern California was disheartening, but we realized this was not a disappointment, this was an opportunity! We had been prowling all over … (4 comments)
california: Bring On The 2008 Farm Bill For Our Rural Communities!
- 04/16/08 04:33 PM
Only 2 more days to go before several programs under the Farm Bill are set to expire. Many programs have run out of funds, and cannot be used until the 2008 Farm Bill is passed which will put forth the funding allocations for the next 5 years. The House and Senate each put forth their own proposals, and are 6 months overdue in coming to terms and approving a 2008 Bill that will then need to go before the President. The Farm Bills are the legislation necessary to fund so many programs administered by the US Department of Agriculture, from Food … (4 comments)
california: Sales Price Established by "Price Per Square Foot"!!!?? You've Got to Be Kidding Me!
- 03/10/08 10:43 AM
Alright, esteemed Active Rain Realtors, I have a scenario I wish to run by you, and am looking for your feedback. First, a bit of background history... My husband and I have a rental house in Medford, Oregon that the tenants recently moved out of. When they gave notice, we discussed various options. Shall we just sell it since we were planning to do so a year from now anyway? Shall we move in to it since our youngest will be attending a school 4 blocks from the rental next year? If we move in to it, do we rent our current … (13 comments)
california: First Time Home Buyer Resources (Part 3– Seller Funded Down Payment Assistance)
- 01/07/08 06:00 AM
Seller Funded Down Payment Assistance programs are being eliminated as allowable sources of down payment. As of December, 2007, FHA programs will still allow AmeriDream and Nehemiah Seller Funded Down Payment Assistance programs as acceptable down payment sources, but only until February 28, 2008 for AmeriDream. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not accept Seller Funded Down Payment Assistance as acceptable down payment sources on their programs. Down payment assistance providers Nehemiah Corp. of America, of Sacramento, Calif., and AmeriDream Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., sued the government Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, respectively. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman granted a preliminary injunction barring … (5 comments)
california: First Time Home Buyer Resources (Part 1 – the MCC)
- 01/07/08 05:09 AM
A Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) is a federal dollar for dollar tax credit that program participants may take advantage of. This program was authorized in the 1984 Tax Reform Act, and is a tool to help homebuyers that usually fall in the category of needing "workforce housing". Several Cities and Counties offer the Mortgage Credit Certificate program to first time homebuyers - those who have never owned a home, or have not owned a home for the previous three years - who either meet the income criteria set for their local program, or are purchasing their home in a Federal designated … (3 comments)
Loving the challenge of a career in mortgage|real estate since 1983, keeping up with the progression of changes in this industry keeps one on their toes. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? Here's to a few more decades of strength building!
Home Equity Lines of Credit were a prevalent tool used by homeowners whose equity was growing like crazy in the real estate boom years. Many of these home equity lines of credit were set up with interest only payments for the first 10 years are beginning to reset now. A homeowner who had been chugging along paying minimum monthly interest only payments of $203 on their $75,000 balance based on the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate of 3.25% with zero margin may now be facing adjustable payments starting out at $527 for the next 15 years in order to pay that … (1 comments)
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