Tell us everything before you do anything, tell us your story, then we can get the best loan for you. Over the years, we have told our clients to tell us everything about their scenario. We want to see their income, credit report, assets, bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and real estate owned. We...
Tag: California
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RATE ENVIRONMENT: UP OR DOWN?
Right now, we are in a decreasing interest rate environment. Is there somewhere you can look to determine if interest rates are going up or down? We look to the interest rate on the US 10-year Treasury Note as a leading indicator for mortgage rates. As the 10-year rate goes up, mortgage rates tend to...
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FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS
First time homebuyers will call me asking for a FHA loan. I guess the urban myth is that there is not a low-down payment option for conventional loans. However, this is not true. Conventional loans can be obtained for as little as 3% down. So, what results in a better option for the...
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HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT
HELOC the acronym for a home equity line of credit. A HELOC works like a credit card, but it is secured by your home. You can borrow against it, and then pay it down, just like a credit card. If you have equity in your home, but you need some cash to consolidate debt or...
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HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS AND LENDING
Did you know when you apply for a loan there are actually 2 approvals that take place? The lender reviews the file based on your credit and income, and also reviews the collateral. The collateral must be sufficient in order for a loan to be approved. When the collateral is a condominium, there is increased...
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HAPPY VETERANS DAY
We hope everyone is having a great Veterans Day! Thank you to all the men and women who have served in our military to keep us safe and free. Are you a veteran? We support our vets and have many veteran employees. Jim Moore is licensed in Arizona as a Mortgage Loan Originator and an Army...
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VARIABLE RATE LOANS AND FED POLICY
Today’s post is written by Michael Green, Commercial Loan Originator for Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC. Reminder from our last issue: You’ve heard of ZIRP – zero interest rate policy – from 2008-2015. Now get ready for NIRP – negative interest rate policy. Currently about $16 trillion of sovereign bonds (all countries that issue),...
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IS REVERSE MORTGAGE RIGHT FOR YOU?
One way to understand what reverse mortgage is, is to understand forward mortgage. A forward mortgage is the mortgage you know, you borrow money, the loan is secured by your home and you pay it back. For the reverse mortgage, you also borrow money, the loan is secured by your home, but you don’t have...
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MORTGAGE BANKS AND MORTGAGE BROKERS
You have many different choices for where to get a mortgage. There are banks, mortgage banks, and mortgage brokers. Many try to sell you their products, for example, down payment assistance, free appraisals, first-time homebuyer loans, doctor’s loans, public employee (teachers, police officer) loans, etc. hoping you’ll bite on the sales pitch in lieu of...
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IS IT MOVE-IN READY?
In order to get a mortgage, the property condition must be move-in ready; it must be habitable and safe. I often get asked if there is a list of items the house must have in order to meet the habitability standard, but there is not, as it is on a case-by-case basis. Here is a...