How much money should you put down on the purchase of a property? If you just want to put the minimum down, then you are generally looking at 3% down for a primary residence (unless it is a down payment assistance, VA, or USDA loan), 10% down for a second/vacation home, and 20% down for...
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CONTACT US, WE OFFER MORTGAGE COUNSELING
Years ago, in the depths of the mortgage crisis, I created a company to provide a solution to the problems created by the mortgage crisis. There were way too many loan officers putting people in loans they should not have qualified for, or simply not caring about their specific circumstances. Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC was...
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WHAT ABOUT THAT “OTHER” SBA LOAN?
Today’s post is written by Michael Green, Commercial Loan Originator for Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC. Most people talk about SBA loans as if there’s only one, and that typically being the 7(a). The other equally useful in the right situation is the 504. This doesn’t get much exposure, probably because it’s more complex. I recently...
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BANKS ARE REVERTING TO OLD BAD HABITS
Today’s post is written by Michael Green, Commercial Loan Originator for Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC. Banks could be slipping into old bad habits. Last year, as interest rates fell, banks started to loosen underwriting standards reminiscent of the last cycle—the kinds of missteps that ultimately led to the great recession. This includes high loan-to-value...
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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE (CRE) FINANCING & FED POLICY
Today’s post is written by Michael Green, Commercial Loan Originator for Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC. The Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cuts have sent a surge of excitement through the commercial real estate (CRE) market. Fed influenced rates have returned to 2018 lows, however, the Fed’s interest rate reductions have little to do with conventional...
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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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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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WHY AN INVERTED YIELD CURVE IS GOOD FOR FINANCING CRE
The black economic cloud that is typically associated with an inverted yield curve does indeed have a silver lining. The correlating chart shows the U.S. Treasury rates for Jan. 2, 2018, the blue normal curve, and Aug. 13, 2019, the red inverted curve. The inverted portion of the curve doesn’t turn positive vs. the 20-day...
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SO MUCH NEWS, BUT SO LITTLE CHANGES
We’ve endured the endless bombarding of “up-to-the–minute” news, “news-alerts”, and “this just in” for what seems like, dare I say, forever! And this doesn’t even include the onslaughts to those of you who stay glued to your hand-held devices for the never-ending tweets and hashtags. And the hot topics of the days gone by...
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THE FED IS JUST THE TIP
Perhaps a better question isn’t when will they drop or raise the rate again, or by how much, but rather why will they do either, or consciously decide to do nothing. The by-now-well-known (accepted) reason is to support the stock market, of course. But that’s old hat – everybody knows that, and as...