buyer: How to Rock a Bridge Loan
- 04/21/22 08:07 AM
How to Rock a Bridge Loan
If you've been lamenting how tough it is to get your offer to buy a home accepted these days, think about how much more difficult it is for those who must buy a new home BEFORE selling their existing one. After all, it's practically impossible to make a contingent offer --- defined as one that would allow you to sell your existing home first.
It's usually in this stressful environment that someone well-meaning; a friend, a co-worker, even a Realtor, will swoop in and advise our buyer to "Just get a bridge loan!," as if there is … (6 comments)
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buyer: How to Rock Cannabis Income on a Mortgage Application
- 04/05/22 09:12 PM
How to Rock Cannabis Income on a Mortgage Application
Fifty years ago, when the Doobie Brothers were flying high and the folks in China Grove were rising for another day, it would have been hard to imagine that marijuana would eventually be legal in some states. But, not legal in all states and not legal at the Federal level and that means those who work in the marijuana and cannabis industries can see their mortgage opportunities go up in smoke if not aligned with a lender who knows which programs and investors can navigate this relatively new industry.
So let's take it to … (8 comments)
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buyer: Buying a Home All Cash, Then Getting a Mortgage
- 04/14/21 07:59 AM
Buying a Home All Cash, Then Getting a Mortgage
Back in a real estate market a long time ago and in a mortgage galaxy far, far away --- otherwise known as 2009/2010 --- some buyers needed to purchase a home with cash, then hope to refinance after they had the keys in hand. The reason for this? Bad credit? Nope. Extinction of stated income loans? Sorry, try again. The reason was often that the homes were not eligible for financing --- many had been ravaged by the neglect of economic downturn. Plumbing was torn out, there were holes in the walls and … (26 comments)
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buyer: How Long Does It Take to Get Pre-Approved?
- 07/05/20 08:16 AM
How Long Does It Take to Get Pre-Approved?
Many real estate markets in California move fast, but it's been this way for years. When a hot property hits, perhaps there's a showing on Sunday (more on that in a bit, and in the context of COVID-19) and then offers are due on Tuesday, with some buyers scrambling to make a pre-emptive offer, if possible.
This reality can run counter to some buyers' inclinations to get their mortgage financing in order by dipping one toe in the water at a time. It's not uncommon for us to get a call that starts something like this: "My partner … (5 comments)
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buyer: Are You a Lender or a Banker or a Broker?
- 02/15/19 03:17 PM
Are You a Lender or a Banker or a Broker?
"So are you a broker or a lender?" "Or a banker or a lender?" "Or a broker/banker?" Yes, yes, and yes!
We get this question all the time, but I think it comes from a good place. Naturally, everybody shopping for a home loan wants to get the best rates and terms and some confusion swirls around how the type of mortgage originator one uses has a bearing on the outcome. So when they work with me, who is really behind the curtain?
[Too lazy to read the rest? Watch the video below instead.]
Banker / … (2 comments)
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buyer: Are the Lights Going Down on Real Estate?
- 10/09/18 06:22 AM
Are the Lights Going Down on Real Estate?
You know what's on a lot of my clients' minds right now? No, not Journey of the the 1970's, but the real estate downturn of 2007/2008. Many of these prospective buyers are getting a sense that maybe this is the top of the market and that perhaps they should sit things out and wait for real estate to go on sale --- just like it did during the downturn. I have some advice for them, but it has little to do with market prognostication. In fact, I'll be the first one to admit that … (43 comments)
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buyer: Be A.G.G.R.E.S.S.I.V.E. with a 5% Down Jumbo Mortgage
- 03/29/18 07:39 AM
Be A.G.G.R.E.S.S.I.V.E. with a 5% Down Jumbo Mortgage
I never so much as played a single down of varsity football, but that didn't help me escape the Friday night lights, the pep rallies and late-game chants of the Tigerettes:
Be aggressive! B.E. aggressive! B.E. A.G.G. --- R.E.S.S.I.V.E!
Yes, when the game was fiercely competitive, when it seemed the team was down to its last drive, the attitude of everyone needed to change. The cheerleaders set the gears in motion. Gone were the soft-touch tactics --- the pom poms needed to come off. It was time to be aggressive. We're seeing that it's no different … (3 comments)
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buyer: 20% Down? Ain't That a Shame...
- 10/28/17 06:48 AM
20% Down? Ain't That a Shame...
Last week, with the passing of Fats Domino, we lost a rock 'n' roll legend and pioneer.
But nearly every week we (me and my team and you, as real estate agents with your teams) lose transactions simply because of the unquestioned and untested myth that every buyer needs to bring in at least a 20% down payment, especially here in California where many of our home prices require loans that exceed the conventional and FHA loan limits. In addition to simply not recognizing that many great programs exist in order to accommodate a 10% down payment on a … (4 comments)
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buyer: California's Stunning Bridge (Loan)
- 04/22/17 06:18 PM
California's Stunning Bridge (Loan)
It is 2017's peak buying season in the San Francisco Bay Area and many buyers in this competitive, low-inventory market face a challenge greater than just the inability to find the right house. For them, there's actually a more pressing dilemma. Before they can even put in an offer on the home of their dreams, they've got a home of their own to sell first.
But it's not as if these buyers have a concern they won't sell their current house or even get top dollar for it. On the contrary, they're quite sure that once it's listed for … (2 comments)
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buyer: Rent Back to Where You Once Belonged!
- 01/08/16 11:57 PM
Rent Back to Where You Once Belonged!
The last several years have witnessed “sellers’ markets” in many areas. For the uninitiated, this means that as a home buyer, it has been of utmost importance to present a strong offer to any seller in the hopes that it may be accepted over others that perhaps have fewer complicating factors. It would seem then that all sellers would benefit from this climate, however, circumstances change when some of those same sellers must immediately turn around and then become buyers themselves. One aspect of a home purchase that can bedevil the “move up” buyer has … (25 comments)
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buyer: How Much Down Payment Do I Need to Buy a Home?
- 11/21/14 10:43 PM
How Much Down Payment Do I Need to Buy a Home?
As kids, there are just some things we all learn while we’re growing up:
Never drink soda after you eat Pop Rocks. Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis. You’ll catch a cold if you go outside without a jacket. It takes a 20% down payment in order to buy your first home.
After having both a good laugh and some time to gain a little experience, we come to find out that things are not always as we believed when we were much younger. However, in … (5 comments)
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buyer: People Who Say It Can't Be Done...
- 05/29/14 11:51 PM
People Who Say It Can't Be Done...
...should not interrupt those who are doing it."
This quote, attributed to George Bernard Shaw, is one I'd be willing to guess most of us have heard. I found it particularly applicable in light of a recent closing and thought I would share the connection I made.
Here, at the apex of the "spring buying season," in one of the hottest seller's markets, at the very epicenter of the unreal bidding wars and all-cash grabs --- San Francisco --- I had a client sell, then buy, within a four month window. That's … (0 comments)
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buyer: New Rules Could Make Mortgages More Elusive for Some in Marin
- 01/28/14 12:38 AM
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buyer: See Spinosa Sell the Seller Credit by the Sea Shore
- 11/10/12 01:25 AM
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buyer: FHA Loan Limits Restored to Higher Levels at RPM Mortgage!
- 12/20/11 09:15 AM
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buyer: Understanding Property Taxes in Escrow
- 12/03/11 04:14 AM
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buyer: Weekend Availability + Can a Buyer Use a Cosigner?
- 11/18/11 06:14 AM
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buyer: Weekend Availability + Don't Let CO Kill Your Escrow
- 08/19/11 07:20 AM
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buyer: Weekend Availability + Buyers Who Wait Don't Get Good Rates
- 08/05/11 12:51 PM
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buyer: Realtors w/ Homes Listed Between $780K and $950K, I Want You!
- 05/17/11 07:21 AM
Realtors w/ Homes Listed Between $780K and $950K, I Want You!
As we go into the remainder of the spring buying season and onto summer, I noticed that here in Marin County there are approximately 100 homes listed for sale in the price range between $780,000 and $950,000, so I wanted to reach out to every listing agent who has a property on the market in an area where we have been able to take advantage of the Fannie Mae hi cost loan limits. You may be thinking, "Why is a mortgage professional interested in contacting the seller's agent instead of the buyer's?" Here … (0 comments)
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How to Rock a Bridge Loan
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