home loan: It's Cool to Conform in 2021
- 11/29/20 09:13 AM
It's Cool to Conform in 2021
If you know me, you know that I don't like to stick to convention. I was the teenager who skipped college, moved to Hollywood and played rock guitar. In my 20's, I saved up vacation time not for sandy white beaches but instead for expeditions to the harsh mountain environs of the world's highest peaks. In my 30's, I dove (literally) into the sport of triathlon --- an endeavor, to quote my Aunt Marge, that would be something she'd "rather die a thousand deaths" before contemplating. When I come to the fork in the road where straight and … (5 comments)
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home loan: The Seven Real Estate Stages of the Pandemic
- 10/05/20 08:09 AM
The Seven Real Estate Stages of the Pandemic
By now, some of us have lost a loved one, friend or community member to COVID-19. Though if the cavalier denialism exhibited by some Americans is an indicator, there are still many who have yet to share the magnitude of such a loss. But even putting one's head in the sand about the medical realities of the coronavirus cannot spare us the social, emotional and economic impacts.
It's accepted as true that though we all grieve a loss, everyone grieves in a unique manner. One of the most referenced works on the topic was written in … (17 comments)
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home loan: What Are Credit Tradelines?
- 09/27/20 09:12 AM
What Are Credit Tradelines?
I think I've made it clear before that I find no shame in talking about how hard we work for our clients. My assistant, Jamie, and I see a good number of mortgage applications come across our desks every week and in 2019 and 2020, a high percentage of them have been for jumbo home loans, which means that our borrowers must demonstrate strong credit depth by way of an adequate number of tradelines on their credit report. Gone are the days when one could just have a decent FICO score in order to cross credit concerns off of the loan approval list.
When … (12 comments)
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home loan: Can I Refinance a Mortgage on a COVID Forbearance Plan?
- 09/13/20 09:30 AM
Can I Refinance a Mortgage on a COVID Forbearance Plan?
Back at the end of the first quarter of 2020, the president might still have wanted to downplay COVID, but many real American homeowners suddenly found themselves in dire financial straits and quickly took advantage of the forbearance plans offered by the servicers of their mortgages. This payment relief allowed them to navigate the most uncertain and immediate impacts of the pandemic and for some, provided a bridge to re-employment and/or firmer financial footing. Now that some of these borrowers have made readjustments to the new normal, they may wish to take … (21 comments)
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home loan: Should I Keep Making My Mortgage Payment?
- 08/31/20 08:14 AM
Should I Keep Making My Mortgage Payment?
With so many people refinancing these days, and with the loan process sometimes crossing one or two months' time, a question we frequently get from those in process is, "Should I keep making my mortgage payment?" The answer is a simple and clear, "Yes!"
But let's talk about why, because the concept is as simple as it is often misunderstood. In our formative financial years, many of us rented a home or apartment before we made the leap into home ownership. And I'd be willing to be bet that more than a few of us got … (16 comments)
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home loan: How To Win a Real Estate Bidding War
- 08/18/20 08:59 AM
How To Win a Real Estate Bidding War
What's the one thing you can do to make your offer to buy a home stand out? What's the secret sauce, the magic bullet, the key to success?
If you answered, "There isn't one," you're pretty close. Truth is, I haven't found any singular aspect of any offer that assures success. All-cash offers, zero-contingency offers, overbid offers, offers with colorful "love letters," etc., none of them provide any guarantees to the hopeful buyer. But there is one thing I've noticed that does increase the odds dramatically --- stacking advantages.
More often than not, we observe that the winning … (18 comments)
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home loan: How Do Rate Locks Work?
- 08/03/20 08:21 AM
How Do Rate Locks Work?
There is one thing in common among all of our clients. No matter what price point, no matter what loan size, no matter good credit or bad, no matter first-time buyer or seasoned investor, all are looking for the lowest interest rate at the lowest cost. But how does a mortgage borrower secure such terms? A part of the home loan process is "locking an interest rate" and this process could use a bit of explanation, so as to dispel some of the myths and offer a better understanding of how things work.
What Is a Rate Lock?
You've … (4 comments)
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home loan: Anyone Can Hold the Helm When the Sea is Calm
- 07/25/20 03:30 PM
Anyone Can Hold the Helm When the Sea is Calm
If your business is anything like mine, COVID is presently dishing out challenge after challenge to the way you (used to) work. If it hasn't already driven many nails into the coffin of the way things were, then I'm willing to bet you're within earshot of the hammer. If you've had time to collect your thoughts and countenance reality, you may have even begun to think about how biz will look in 2021, 2022 or beyond.
Many of us, in real estate careers we have built over years or decades, have assumed a form … (19 comments)
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home loan: How Long Is a Pre-Approval Good For?
- 07/19/20 07:55 PM
How Long Is a Pre-Approval Good For?
You've decided to make the leap and enter the real estate market as a buyer. You've been looking at homes online, the temptation has become too strong and you realize it's time to hit the street and actually start looking at properties. Your Realtor almost immediately informs you that not only will she not participate in your search before she knows you're pre-approved, but also that in this pandemic day and age, without a pre-approval letter no serious listing agent will even let you step foot in the home for a viewing. And so you … (15 comments)
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home loan: 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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home loan: Your Pandemic Guide to a Jumbo Mortgage
- 05/23/20 08:17 AM
Your Pandemic Guide to a Jumbo Mortgage
"Our Realtor said it's very difficult to get a jumbo loan these days."
"We tried to do a cash out jumbo refi on our place but our bank told us that they're not doing those anymore."
"We wanted to refinance our jumbo loan but by the time we did the research the rates weren't any lower than what we have already."
"Is it possible to refinance a jumbo loan without having to move our savings and investments to the bank who's making the mortgage?"
"We have a 20% down payment and are looking to buy a house that requires … (5 comments)
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home loan: Will My Property Taxes Go Up If I Refinance?
- 05/17/20 07:33 AM
Will My Property Taxes Go Up If I Refinance?
Because the current interest rate environment is so conducive to refinancing, a concern that some have about taking action stems from confusion related to how their property taxes are determined, and specifically the question, "Will refinancing cause my property taxes to go up?" It goes without saying that nobody wants to save money via refinance, only to see it evaporate in the form of higher real estate taxes. But is this a real threat? Or is it safe to assume that simply by refinancing you would not see a change in your tax basis?
Our answer must first … (5 comments)
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home loan: How Hard Is It to Refinance a Mortgage?
- 05/10/20 11:03 AM
How Hard Is It to Refinance a Mortgage?
On a weekend morning you wake up:
A) Before 6AM.
B) Before 8AM.
C) Before 10AM.
D) Yeah, yeah, I'm awake...
It's time to take out the trash when:
A) Pickup is the following day.
B) The level of trash is approaching the top of the trash can.
B) The level of trash has crossed the plane of the top of the trash can.
C) Expert levels of jenga skill are required to balance your trash on the top of the steaming heap.
If you answered "D" to either of the above, and you have a mortgage in California, this blog post is dedicated to … (3 comments)
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home loan: N/O/O: Jumbo Mortgage's Scarlet Letters
- 05/02/20 07:59 AM
N/O/O: Jumbo Mortgage's Scarlet Letters
May 1, 2020
Day 46 of Shelter-in-Place
If you are a real estate investor at this time, in this market and looking for a jumbo mortgage to buy a non-owner occupied home (N/O/O), you may feel like our industry sees you with a scarlet letter(s) on your chest. Before the pandemic, everybody wanted to talk to you, but now...now, you cannot find a mortgage lender to make you a jumbo loan. Many of the options that existed before are gone. The ones that remain have been restricted, their guidelines whittled down to the ultra-conservative. Each day, you struggle to … (1 comments)
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home loan: I'm Here to Help You
- 04/18/20 10:03 PM
I'm Here to Help You
Be clear. Be specific. Reduce uncertainty. Speak to the most pressing need. Keep running. You still have a long way to go.
No, I did not just come down off the mountain of some Tony Robbins motivational speech. No, I did not use the featureless timescape of shelter-in-place to read all of the self-help books heretofore exerting their gravitational pull on my office's shelves. Instead, I am recalling one long night in June of 2019.
Some of you know I dabble in the sport of ultramarathoning. These are (usually) trail races that exceed a distance of 26.2 … (3 comments)
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home loan: I'm Refi The Cash Out Man
- 04/10/20 08:38 AM
I'm Refi The Cash Out Man
Sing to the tune of Popeye the Sailor Man:
I'm Refi the Cash Out Man. You're lookin' for cash in hand.
Your house is worth plenty, you can access them pennies,
So cash out? Indeed you can.
We're in a pandemic, you hear jumbo lenders
won't refi your equity spare.
But that ain't the truth and I'll show you the proof
if you've managed your money affairs.
I'm Refi the Cash Out Man. You're lookin' for cash in hand.
If you still got a job and your credit's the bomb,
If the mortgage makes sense then get off of the fence,
Call Refi the Cash Out Man!
Shiver me timbers,
Robert J. Spinosa
Vice President … (5 comments)
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home loan: To Active Rain, With Gratitude
- 04/07/20 08:17 AM
A big THANK YOU for helping make me a top originator in 2019.
I'm proud to be among Guaranteed Rate's top originators in the country, as ranked by industry publication Mortgage Executive Magazine. For 2019, Guaranteed Rate placed 45 of us in the nation's Top 200, and we could not have done this without your support. We always strive to provide the best financing experience possible and we wouldn't be here without you and your referrals.
With gratitude,
Robert J. Spinosa
Vice President of Mortgage Lending
Guaranteed Rate
NMLS: 22343
Cell/Text: 415-367-5959
rob.spinosa@rate.com
Marin Office: 324 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., San Anselmo, CA 94960
Berkeley Office: 1400 Shattuck Ave., Suite 1, … (9 comments)
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home loan: 10% Down Payment Mortgage
- 04/05/20 08:39 AM
10% Down Payment Mortgage
But I don’t get it. 2020 started just like the many of the years that preceded it. Sure, there was a seasonal slowdown in home buying activity as we got through 2019’s holiday season and got the new year underway, but with interest rates at historic lows, a strong seller’s market in the San Francisco Bay Area and lots of buyer competition for any desirable home that came on the market, it looked like deja vu all over again for anybody looking to purchase a home. In other words, here we go again with having to come up … (23 comments)
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home loan: The New Abnormal
- 03/28/20 08:54 AM
The New Abnormal
We've just turned the corner from March to April, but here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are still sheltered in place (SIP). Everybody in our home is making adjustments to our new abnormal and it's a good lesson for today's homeowner too. We may not be able to move around or go out, but can we hunker down and tweak our financial situation so that it better positions us to weather the next few months?
First, a little perspective. Even if the health implications of the pandemic miraculously prove to be short-lived, my sense is that the economic ripples will … (23 comments)
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home loan: Errors of Intent
- 03/21/20 08:48 PM
Errors of Intent
Watching the world grapple with a pandemic has had a profound impact on my ability to count blessings. Yes, we are sheltered in place, but my immediate family is presently in good health. And though I suspect the coming days, weeks and months will be disrupted by yet unknown challenges, I am grateful that the hull of my career has been solidly hewn by hours of hard work. I take deep appreciation of the experience I gained during other times of hardship like 9/11 and the Lehman collapse. Though I worry about the well-being of my 85-year old father, he's seen great … (13 comments)
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It's Cool to Conform in 2021
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