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ANOTHER LENDER TO WHOM WE CAN BROKER – TOWNE MORTGAGE

As a mortgage broker, we can broker to many different lenders. Here we feature Towne Mortgage. Towne is a customer/family friendly lender. They offer competitive rates for conventional, renovation, and government loans, and will do manual underwriting. What is a manual underwrite and why is it important? You may not know, but most loans are sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who have their own automated underwriting systems which loans are uploaded into and run. Their automated systems will let you know if the loan is approved or denied, and will give the underwriter guidance as to what documentation will be needed to get the loan final approved. In some instances, the automated underwriting system will not approve the loan. In these cases, a lender may manually underwrite the file to see if they can still approve the loan. Thus, you have 2 bites at the apple. Towne offers this service. This is another reason to work with a mortgage broker, because, if not for the broker, you may not have known this is even an issue, and that this option is available. Work with us, we are the mortgage counselors.

November 7, 2022June 17, 2023

INTEREST RATES UP, ECONOMY DOWN – WHAT TO DO?

The current best indicator of future Fed action is labor market data – Chairman Powell has made that abundantly clear since beginning his war on inflation last May. To that point, the cost of labor in Q3-22 eased at least incrementally, with the Employment Cost Index rising 1.2% over the three months ending September 30. However, the Q3 increase is consistent with a 5.1% annualized increase, which is believed will keep the FOMC on track for another historically large rate hike at its Nov. 1-2 meeting. Current consensus among economists is for another 3/4% bump in Nov., and a 1/2...

November 5, 2022November 18, 2022

WE ARE HONORED TO SERVE YOU

Counsel Mortgage Group®, LLC, is proud to announce this month marks our 15 year anniversary as both a residential and commercial mortgage brokerage. Counsel Mortgage opened its doors during the depths of the mortgage crisis of 2007 in an effort to offer professional services at competitive rates and costs to meet the needs of homeowners facing the financial impasse. Counsel Mortgage was founded by an experienced attorney/CPA who felt people needed help during a very difficult time in our economy and provided guidance and assistance in choosing the right product and costs for the most important purchase of their life....

November 2, 2022November 5, 2022

COUNSEL MORTGAGE GROUP RESOURCE LIBRARY

The Counsel Mortgage Group has an extensive resource library where you may find answers to many of your mortgage, financing, and lending questions. Our website provides content pertaining to current rates, blog articles containing tips for homebuyers, residential and commercial loans, reverse mortgages, and various loan products. We feel an educated customer is the best customer. Visit our website to become educated on the mortgage process. Have questions, contact us. We work for you, not the lender. Counsel Mortgage Group®, LLC Licensed in Arizona, California, Hawaii and Illinois www.counselmortgage.com 480-502-1000 NMLS #178927 AZ MB #0909580 CA DBO...

October 30, 2022October 30, 2022

VETERANS HELPING VETERANS

Today we are proud to feature Jim Moore. Jim is a Vietnam Veteran, Army Ranger, who is in his 14th year with Counsel Mortgage. He is a Certified Veteran Lending Specialist and a Certified Credit Counselor. He pioneered Vet Your Credit, which is a program to put veterans on the path to homeownership. He works first hand with veterans to help them with their credit, for free, so they can get a VA home loan. Further, if the veteran is disabled, he connects the veteran to a VA disability attorney who works with the veteran to get disability income so...

October 25, 2022October 26, 2022

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MORTGAGE BROKER?

Being a mortgage broker means you shop lenders to find the best product for your customer. I recently attended a mortgage conference in Las Vegas where there were many different lenders showcasing their products. We talked to many lenders and took videos of those conversations...

October 22, 2022October 28, 2022

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN FINANCING A SECOND, OR VACATION HOME

When you are looking to finance a second or vacation home, there are things to keep in mind. You should consider the following: You need a minimum of 10% down payment, it is better if you can put 20% down as you can avoid mortgage insurance. The location of the home needs to make sense. There is not a rule that says the home has to be a certain amount of miles from your primary residence, but, it has to make sense that it is a second, or vacation, home. For instance, in Arizona, if you own a home in...

October 17, 2022October 18, 2022

ARE YOU HAVING DIFFICULTIES WITH YOUR LENDER GETTING A MORTGAGE LOAN?

Are you having difficulties with your lender getting a mortgage loan? There is now finally an answer. Counsel Mortgage is the only mortgage broker founded by an Attorney/CPA who originates mortgage loans. We issue spot troubled items up front, and advise you of the potential pitfalls of your loan. If you have less than perfect credit, we will advise you what is needed to improve your score, as we know the lending laws and have prepared tax returns ourselves, we have been successful in advising underwriters of the regulations and calculations to get loans approved. There is now a knowledge...

October 12, 2022October 12, 2022

ALL-IN-ONE LOAN PRODUCTS

A very interesting loan product that can help monthly positive cash-flow consumers pay-off their mortgage sooner is the All-In-One. You don’t hear of this product much in the U.S., but similar products have been offered in Western Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. It is called All-In-One because it combines both a home loan and a checking account all in one loan. It is a home loan that works like a checking account. You get an ATM card and can write checks. Each time you receive a paycheck in the account or make any other deposit, it gets applied...

October 10, 2022October 10, 2022

DO YOU HAVE A PAYOFF STATEMENT?

Before paying off your mortgage loan make sure you obtain the payoff statement. The lender can provide a payoff statement and the final amount to be paid to release their lien. Then you can know the principal balance, interest up to the date of closing, penalties (if any), and other charges the lender may charge to obtain the payoff, such as a processing fee; if there is a pre-payment penalty on the loan, it would show up here. The payoff is usually obtained by the title company. If the transaction is a sale, the payoff will be subtracted from...

October 7, 2022October 7, 2022