Archives for January 2008

Join Dawn’s Army and the Big Climb for Leukemia

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A troop from The Talon Group will be climbing the Columbia Tower stairwells on March 16, 2008 to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.   

These title and escrow employees of Talon are assembling to be part of Dawn’s Army.  Dawn also works at Talon and was recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. 

Dawn’s Army will be climbing a 69-flight course which features 1,311 steps, 19 steps per flight and 788 feet of vertical elevation.  Whew! 

Back in my title and escrow days, I worked in the Columbia Tower on floors 17 & 18 when it was brand spankin’ new.  I never climbed the stairs!  (I have a weird phobia of stairs, but that’s probably TMI).   

Since I won’t be marching with the Talon troop while they climb the tallest skyscraper in Washington…I’m going to blog about them and hopefully help them raise some funds for the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.   This is a fabulous organization and I did a half-marathon in Vancouver BC a few years ago supporting this cause. 

Please consider contributing to LLS and supporting Dawn’s Army and the fine folks at Talon.   Dawn, a mother of a young son and wife, had no idea this disease was going to strike her.  Let’s do what we can to help!

To donate, click here.  Every amount helps no matter how big or small.  (Gomer Pile is my husband’s alias…when you click the donate link…you’ll understand).

I will be keeping a link in the upper left corner of Mortgage Porter for fundraising until donations have stopped.

Thank you!

The Verve – Columbia City’s Great Wine Bar

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A few weeks ago, my husband and I were looking for a place to meet some old friends we haven’t seen in a while. We decided on The Verve in Columbia City.   Even though their Chef was on vacation (I understand he’s pretty incredible) we enjoyed their "limited" menu and vast selection of wines.  At Verve, you can buy your wine at their store, pay a corkage fee and have a knowledgeable friendly "wine geek" provide you with tons of background information about your beverage.  (This is a huge savings compared to the typical restaurant mark-up on wine).  The Waiter (Wine Steward?) made a suggested for us based on wanting a special and unusual wine to Wine3great our friends.  His selection was a 2001 Les Eres from Spain which was fantastic.   We loved the wine and the meat and cheese platter they assembled (sans Chef).

The atmosphere is very clean with light woods and paint…a little sterile for my taste (but hey, you should see my messy house–or not).   This is a spot we plan on returning to and can’t wait to see what their Chef has to cook up.   

One thing that kind of cracked me Wine_3up (doesn’t take much after sharing a bottle of wine) is in the restroom (yes, bathroom humor) they have a sign on the toilet warning you not to drink the water (as if)!   Armed with my Treo…I captured these poor quality photos and here they are…my Friday Funny.

Do check out The Verve and the many cool restaurants in Columbia City.  It’s happening and off the beaten track and the parking is free.

The Verve is located at 3820 South Ferdinand Street, Suite 102, Seattle WA 98188.  You can reach them via email or by calling 206-760-0977.

A Simple Visual on the Current Mortgage Landscape

Fellow Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist, Dan Green, has created a very easy to understand explanation of what has happened in the mortgage industry.   I highly encourage you to watch this short video presentation showing a history from 2000 to our present condition and how this situation impacts all of us, including "prime" borrowers.

The Mortgage Reports, is written in a very easy to understand style and packed with great informative content.   This is one of my must reads that I’m subscribed to…if you want to understand more about mortgages, perhaps you should too (and don’t forget to subscribe The Mortgage Porter in the upper right corner of this site)!

Friday’s rates will follow later this afternoon.

Be-Be-Be-Benny and the Fed

This morning, Ben Bernanke testified before the House Budget Committee.  You can read his entire testimony here.   During the question and answer session that followed afterwards, there were a few comments that I found interesting:

"Subprime done properly is a positive thing".  I agree completely with Ben Bernanke here.  He gave stats that there are approximately 5 million mortgages classisfied as subprime ARMs with a total principal value of about 1 trillion dollars.   He estimates that currently 20% of the subprime ARMs are delinquent and that not all of the delinquent borrowers will go into foreclosure.   80% of subprime ARMS (the most troublesome sector in the mortgage industry) are performing.

One member of the House, Representative Marcy Kaptur from Ohio-D, didn’t even know who she was addressing!  In an akward moment, she had confused Bernanke with Paulson implying Bernanke was once the CEO of Goldman Sachs and that he may somehow have responsibility with the mortgage meltdown.   From the Baltimore Sun:

"No, no, no, you’re confusing me with the Treasury Secretary, said a smiling Bernanke."

"No, I got the wrong firm?"

Someone whispered to her the Treasury Secretary’s name Henry Paulson which she then uttered.

Then she said "Where were you, sir?"

"I was the CEO of the Princeton economic department," Bernanke said, referring to Princeton University where as economics chair he got to manage other professors and graduate students, not investment bankers and financial traders.

That got a huge laugh in the hearing room, proving yet again it pays for a central banker to have a sense of humor when he has to deal with Congress.

"Sorry, I got you confused with the other one. I’m sorry. Well, I’m glad you clarified that for the record."

Ben’s views on the economy facing slower growth combined with a dismal Philedelphia Fed Manufacturing Index helped to send the Dow tumbling 307 points to a 10 month low.   Mortgage interest rates are currently staying low during this turbulent market.   A rule of thumb to follow is the worse the stock market does, the better rates do as investors are pulling their money from stocks and investing them into bonds.   

All eyes and ears will be on the Fed waiting to see how much they move rates on their meeting on January 30, 2008…or if they take action sooner.   Remember, when the Fed lowers rates, this typically has a reverse action on long term mortgage rates (they go up).   Don’t wait for the Fed meeting to lock in your interest rate.

Local Mortgage Wholesale Office Closes Today

Update January 17, 2008.  I just called Bellevue’s office of MortgageIt where the receptionist told me "we’re not closed YET".  I asked if they were closing and why would their rep send this email out and she replied that other offices are closing and she has no idea why the rep sent the email.   These are odd times for sure.  I’ll try to get to the bottom of this.

Update January 17, 2008 5:30 pm.  I understand that MortgageIt will be closing their Bellevue office at the end of this month.  I guess our rep was a wee bit premature with her announcement.

I just received this email from our Wholesale Rep of MortgageIt in Bellevue:

Hello!
I just wanted to let all of you know that the Bellevue Branch of MortgageIT has closed today.  I wanted to wish all of you well and the best of luck in the New Year.  I will truly miss the relationships I have made in this industry….Please keep in touch.  Thanks again!
Sincerely,
Stephanie Price
MortgageIt is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank.   From another Bellevue MortgageIt Account Executive Krisel Anderson’s site on Active Rain:
MortgageIT is a growing Top 25 lender that originated approximately $29 billion in wholesale, retail and correspondent loans in 2005 and continues to build a network of established offices in the US.
I have no idea if other branches have been closed as well.  I’ll provide more information when I receive it. 
Update – January 16, 2008 1:15 pm:  I just received a generated rate sheet from MortgageIt stating that prices have worsened (many lenders are sending new rate sheets due to the changes in rate today).   So perhaps it’s just the Bellevue Branch that is closed.   I was expecting it to be a formal announcement from MortgageIt.   What have you heard?

Dab-nab-it the Hawks LOST

Well…the first 4 minutes were great.

Down comes the Seahawk flag in our living room and the Christmas tree (we were leaving it up as long as the Hawks were winning).

YOU Magazine and MMG Weekly Now Available

January’s issue of YOU Magazine is now available featuring 7 ways to make the New Year great including:

As if this wasn’t enough, this week’s Mortgage Market Guide Weekly is an absolute must read covering what’s going on in the mortgage industry and why if the Fed cuts rates, mortgage rates likely increase.    This issue of MMG Weekly also addresses how to freeze your credit in the event of ID theft and what’s coming up on the economic calendar.   

Mortgage Market Guide and YOU Magazine are just a few examples of the tools I invest in for my mortgage practice as my commitment to you.   It’s very important to me that my clients fully understand mortgages: the largest financial obligation on the most significant investment they may have in their lifetime.

My First Post at Rain City Guide

 

Today is a very special one for me as it marks the anniversary of my first post at Rain City Guide.  I will always feel like I magoo’d* when Dustin Luther invited me to be a contributor on his Seattle blog.  I was just learning the blogging ropes (Mortgage Porter was just a few months old) and really had no idea the significance of Rain City Guide.

My heartfelt thanks go to Dustin, ARDELL, my fellow contributors and our readers.

*”Magoo” is a term my husband and I use meaning “super lucky”.  Like how Mr. Magoo would walk off a plank, drive off a cliff and still manage to land on his feet.