Archives for January 2008

More from the Misleading Mortgage Junk Mail Bag

January 9, 2008 by 4 Comments

Yesterday’s prize piece of junk mail has to be one of the worst mortgage mailers I’ve seen in a while.   It states:

Dear M/M Porter,

Congratulations!  We have great news regarding your account originally funded with Mortgage Master Svc. Corp. …

Note:  Who ever shows as the lender on your Deed of Trust is public record.  It’s not magic that someone has this information.   This information is available for purchase from the credit bureaus, title companies or many other data resources.

We are happy to inform you that you have been preapproved for a new mortgage loan that can substantially lower your monthly payment…we can "freeze" your current interest rate and lock you into on of our "fixed" product lines.

We do not qualify for the Bush/Paulson "freeze" plan.   Nice play on trendy mortgage words.

The Federal Government has issued new incentives on 30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Loans through FHA & Fannie Mae!  These incentives have considerably lowered fixed rates and made refinancing attractive again!

We’re still waiting on Congress to work out mortgage plans.  Fannie & Freddie now have risk based (credit score sensitive) pricing for a-paper.   Rates are attractive right now due to investors seeking safety in mortgage backed securities (bonds) instead of stocks.

This promotion will expire January 28th 2008!  However, as an added incentive for you to call us right away, there is an immediate opportunity for you to "skip your next two mortgage payments"!!

Ya gotta love the two exclamation points.  The letter goes on how we must call right away and is signed "Have a blessed day!"

Under the signature, it states rates low as blah blah blah, which is an obvious option ARM and does not include any APR.   This is pure trash.   In the fine print below that the letter does state the letter "is not a direct solicitation endorsed or sponsored by Mortgage Master Srvc Corp".   Duh!

What now?  No where on this letter can I see who the lender is or if they are licensed do provide mortgages in Washington state.   Letters that are a solicitation for mortgage loans that are misleading such as this should be forwarded to DFI to investigate.

Here’s the address:

Enforcement Unit, Division of Consumer Service

DFI, P.O. Box 41200, Olympia, WA 98504.

Please don’t select your Mortgage Professional by a mailer such as this one or a phone call from a total stranger.   Get referrals from your friends, family, co-workers or professionals you trust and respect.   If you had a good experience with your previous Mortgage Professional, contact him or her if they are still in the biz.  If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!

Filed Under: Predatory Lending

Home Equity Loans Offer Protection from Financial Uncertainty

January 8, 2008 by 3 Comments

While on vacation last week, I took advantage of being "unplugged" and read the Seattle Times.   On the last Sunday of 2007, they featured an article on How You Can Ride Out a Recession by Teresa Dixon Murray.   Teresa offers 17 easy suggestions on how to protect yourself during uncertain economic times with her top tip being:

1. If you own a house, get a home-equity line today.

It won’t cost you money unless you use the credit line. But this way, you will have access to money if you lose your job or hit an emergency. If you wait until you’ve been laid off to apply for the credit line, "good luck trying to get a loan if you’re unemployed," said Les Szarka, president of Szarka Financial Management in North Olmsted, Ohio.

I’m sometimes hesitant to broadly recommend HELOCs to clients.  Actually, I feel this way about all mortgage programs, selecting a mortgage properly requires evaluating your current needs and future financial goals.   HELOCs can be trouble when used improperly and a valuable tool when used with the right strategy (this is true for any mortgage). 

One of the best reasons to have a home equity line of credit is for protection in the event of unexpected circumstances such as loss of employment or health.  And as the article mentions, to provide a safety net during uncertain times with our economy.  A HELOC is best used when you’re not using them (was that a Yogi-ism?) but you must obtain one while you’re employed, with good credit and home equity.   If you lose your job or are temporarily off work due to health issues and/or your miss a payment due to being off work or ill, you will find it difficult to qualify for a home equity loan when you need it the most.   Imagine being in need of cash, having decent equity in your home and having a lender tell you, "sorry you don’t qualify" or having to opt for a hard money loan. 

There are a couple other reasons to consider a home equity loan today instead of tomorrow or next week:

Guidelines are tightening.   Most home equity loans are limiting the loan to value they will lend on and are raising credit score requirements.    Combine this with possibility of properties losing value and the amount of your possible credit line may be limited.

For example, if you home is valued at $400,000 today and you have a $300,000 mortgage currently against the property, your credit line may be limited to $60,000.  If your home depreciates 5% to $380,000; your available credit line may be limited to $42,000.   During these historic times, it’s also possible for the lender to reduce your credit line on the HELOC or to close it due to inactivity.

Review your options with your trusted Mortgage Professional (who will hopefully refer you to a bank or credit union if their rates are not competitive with this product…some are…some are not).

Filed Under: Home Equity Loans & Second Mortgages

Bad Santa: Fidelity Title says “No No No” to Employee 401(k) Plans

January 7, 2008 by 2 Comments

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Twas the day after Christmas and all through the title plant, not a creature was stirring because employees have a retirement rant.

According to The Title Report, Fidelity National Financial sent a memo out to their employees the day after Christmas informing them the company will no longer make contributions towards employees 401(k) plans.

"Fidelity did not immediately provide comment about why it ceased making retirement contributions.

The housing downturn has taken a toll on the Fidelity’s earnings as well as its stock value. Since closing at a high of $28.04 per share in May, its stock has lost more than 50 percent of its value, closing at $13.59 on Jan. 4.

Fidelity reported its third-quarter net earnings dipped to $6.5 million, compared to $127.6 million during the same period in 2006. Impacting earnings was an $81.5 million charge the company took as it bolstered its reserve for claim losses."

Other local Fidelity brands include Chicago Title and Ticor Title.  An unnamed source from The Title Report suggested:

"Fidelity could consolidate its Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title and Ticor Title operations if market conditions worse."

Meanwhile, Bill Foley, Chairman of Fidelity National, is enjoying the fruits of his labor as a wine maker.   Wine Spectator’s article dated December 26, 2007 (I kid you not):

"Merus, a Napa Cabernet label founded as a bonded garage in downtown Napa and which became one of Napa Valley’s rising-star Cabernet producers, has been sold to vintner William Foley, who heads the Foley Wine Group. Terms of the sale were not disclosed….

Foley’s heightened involvement in wine comes as he is fazing himself out of other business interests. He is still chairman of two firms, Fidelity National Information Services and Fidelity National Title, banking and home-loan deposit firms, respectively, yet he relinquished the title of CEO in the past year.

"I guess I’m shifting from those businesses to wine," he said, adding, "I’d like to kick [the wine brands] up a notch…."

Read the Wine Spectator article here: Download FoleyWineSpectatorDec262007.pdf

Is Fidelity leading the way for other large title underwriters and banks to cut employee benefits?

Filed Under: Title Insurance

Blood Drive at The Talon Group tomorrow

January 7, 2008 by Leave a Comment

The Talon Group, your title and escrow partners, is having a blood drive on Tuesday, January 8th from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.   Erin tells me that they have a couple of spots available for donors around 2:30.   The blood drive bus will be in Talon’s back parking lot in Bellevue along 112th.   For more information, or to donate please contact Erin.

We are experiencing a shortage at our blood banks so roll up your sleeves and do a good deed.

Talon’s Bellevue office is located at 11400 SE 8th Street, Suite 250, Bellevue, WA 98004. 

Filed Under: Title Insurance

Stuffed Poppers — a tailgating must have

January 6, 2008 by 2 Comments

For the first time, I made stuffed poppers and they were delish (if you like spicy food).  They were devoured while we watched the Seahawks beat the Indians yesterday!

I learned through my experiment, that you should wear gloves when cutting the peppers.   Nothing could get the pepper juices from my hands and they burned all night.  I also discovered that the vapor (?) makes me gag and cough.   Appetizing, huh?  Cutting onions produces a stream a tears…so maybe I’m just an overly sensitive cook.  Bonus: you can make these the night before and pop them into the oven Img_6240when you’re ready to serve.

[photo to follow once I bake up today’s batch…they were consumed too quickly yesterday for me to snap a picture]

Since we’re in the heat of football playoffs, I thought I’d share my recipe with you for stuffed poppers.   They’re kind of like nacho’s; the recipe is very flexible and you can add what ever you want.

Soak 1-2 wooden toothpicks in water before you begin (to prevent flamage).

Softened Cream Cheese – one package works for about 6 peppers.

I blended chopped garlic, fresh chopped basil (dry would work too) and sun-dried tomatoes with a little salt and pepper.

I make the cream cheese mixture first and then prepare the peppers so the flavors have a chance to blend.

Fresh jalapeno peppers (my sister in law uses another pepper that she says is not as spicy and is slightly larger.   I’ll let you know if we can narrow down which one it is).  I would figure 1-2 peppers per serving.

Slice a small wedge down the length of the pepper.  You want it to be narrow enough to keep the pepper closed when cooking yet large enough to stuff with the goodies.   Remove the seeds and ribs from the pepper.   Stuff the peppers.

Wrap thin sliced bacon around each stuffed pepper and secure with a soaked wooden toothpick.  Wrap the bacon in a criss-cross to cover the cheesy opening of the pepper.  If your pepper is larger, you may need two slices.  Darn!

Secure the bacon with a wooden toothpick.

Broil (or BBQ) the poppers until the bacon is cooked.  I broiled my poppers with the cheese side down first and then flipped them once the bacon was cooked to finish with the cheese side up.  This was out of concern that I may loose my stuffing if the cheese became melted and gooey by heating up the cheesy side and then flipping over.

Enjoy!

Other ideas I may try the next  time I make poppers are stuffing with:

  • Brie
  • Sausage and rice (like a mini stuffed bell pepper)
  • Crab and cream cheese

What are your favorite popper stuffings?

Filed Under: Recipes

Go HAWKS!

January 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment

We have our first round play off game starting about 1:30 today.   It’s a home game and you know our fans are going to be loud!  Plus, we’re in the midst of a windstorm with 50 mph gusts and a possible thundershowers…I’m hoping Mother Nature will allow our power to stay on so we can watch the game and cheer for our Seahawks!   

Filed Under: Seattle

First Friday Funny of 2008

January 4, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Well…it has to be the firework display at the Seattle Center.  Who’d a thunk that in the land of techno giants, we would have a computer glitch halting the show for a couple re-boots!

To view un-edited the video, click here.

No word on which computer system caused the error.  In the end, the fireworks had to be manually triggered by humans.

Happy 2008 Seattle!

Filed Under: Just for Fun, Seattle

Bits and Pieces from the FOMC Minutes

January 3, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Here are a few bits and pieces from the minutes of the FOMC meeting from December 11, 2007 that was released today.

"In the housing market, new home sales were below their third-quarter pace, and sales of existing homes were flat in October following sharp declines in August and September. These declines likely were exacerbated by the deterioration in nonprime mortgage markets and by the higher interest rates and tighter lending conditions for jumbo loans….

Participants discussed in detail the resurgence of stresses in financial markets in November. The renewed stresses reflected evidence that the performance of mortgage-related assets was deteriorating further, potentially increasing the losses that were being borne in part by a number of major financial firms….

Moreover, participants recognized that some lenders might be exposed to additional losses:  Delinquency rates on credit card loans, auto loans, and other forms of consumer credit, while still moderate, had increased somewhat, particularly in areas hard hit by house price declines and mortgage defaults. Past and prospective losses appeared to be spurring lenders to tighten further the terms on new extensions of credit, not just in the troubled markets for nonconforming mortgages but, in some cases, for other forms of credit as well….

In light of elevated inventories of unsold homes and the higher cost and reduced availability of nonconforming mortgage loans, participants agreed that the housing correction was likely to be both deeper and more prolonged than they had anticipated in October.  Moreover, rising foreclosures and the resulting increase in the supply of homes for sale could put additional downward pressure on prices, leading to a greater decline in household wealth and potentially to further disruptions in the financial markets."

Remember, this is not a forecast into the future but a press release of minutes from the meeting a couple of weeks ago.   With that said, 2008 will have many homes facing their ARMs adjusting unless they take action soon.  If you have an adjustable rate mortgage with a fixed period ending in 24 months or sooner, please contact your Mortgage Professional.   

Filed Under: Mortgage
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