Well, my personal life is finally starting to get caught up with and now I’m noticing my streaky real estate business picking up again. One thing I have always noticed that is a problem in my business model is that I am very streaky. I will go 2 or 3 weeks with a small amount of business and then all the sudden have a month where I am too busy to see straight. I would like to achieve more consistency so that neither of these things happen.

I was talking with a buyer of mine today about the mortgage he is working to attain. He was discussing how it makes him nervous that he has five different people calling him from all sides of his loan asking for information. Unfortunately, this is fallout from the mortgage crisis…buyers must provide much more documentation. With raised credit requirements and stricter lending standards…it is more work from all parties to help you as a buyer get a loan. …more

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The press has seemed to really pick up surrounding FHA loans in the past couple of weeks. Professionals in the housing and mortgage industry have been talking about this solution for months. For many potential buyers, it was and still is the only valid option out there. Lower down-payments and more flexible credit requirements are beginning to make homeownership an affordable option again.

Also, in the past few weeks the Economic Stimulus packet has really begun to positively affect our local market with the better lending standards on what were traditionally “jumbo loan” limits. Between this and another article in the Seattle PI last Friday…word and excitement seems to be spreading. …more

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A few months ago when the Economic Stimulus Package was passed…there was lots of news about the new Conforming Loan Rates for jumbo loans. People were very excited at first saying that this would fix so many things…however, at the time…there were many skeptics, including me. Over the past month or two as this all has come into effect…unfortunately, many of the skeptics have been proven right.

Thankfully, the government has been quick to notice the problems that have been occurring and have been working hard to fix things. In the past couple of weeks we have begun to see rates drop on jumbo loans as well. There are still many questions to be answered and it still stands to be seen if they will allow these changes to become more long term or end at the end of the year. Thankfully, we are starting to see light in the mortgage industry…hopefully this will help out market rebound very quickly. The summer will tell alot!

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One of the major reasons real estate markets all across the country have been struggling to recover is due to many buyer’s difficulties in obtaining a mortgage. Since getting into real estate, I have spent a lot of time learning the financing industry. Recently I came across a new program that can benefit many buyers in our more rural region. Unfortunately, most lenders will not discuss this program as they do not make money. However, if you do qualify for this program it may be very wise to get involved. …more

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Zillow has been known as an innovator who really works hard to keep the marketplace honest and informed. Overall, I am a fan of Zillow. There are a lot of good resources throughout the website. Many consumers and realtors have concerns about Zillow’s “Zestimates.” I always tell people that these are a good general ball park for what your home is worth… …more

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Posted in Mortgages/Loans 1 Comment »

In my opinion…one of the most overwhelming parts of the home buying process unfortunately can be obtaining a mortgage and picking a good lender to go with….especialy for first time home buyers. Many times, first time buyers love shopping for a house and planning to move in…but frankly, obtaining a mortgage just simply is not fun. …more

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Posted in Mortgages/Loans No Comments »

So, I just blogged about two minutes ago but as soon as I posted I looked at my website stats and noticed that a couple of people had found me on search engines linking to my old blog post about what rate cuts mean for home buyers.

With the Fed cutting rates again today, I thought I would bring this post back to your attention as it really is important to remember. I am not a pessimist but I do not want people to get out and get the wrong idea about how this will affect home loan rates in the near future.

OK…now I’m done.

(…)

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