The Washington State Senate has passed revisions to excise tax that is paid when real estate is sold or transferred. Instead of having a flat rate, the new tax once signed into law by Governor Inslee, will be graduated. Some will enjoy a lower tax rate while others will pay a significantly higher tax rate. Real estate excise tax is typically a cost paid for by the seller. In San Juan County, the excise tax has been split by both the seller and buyer of real estate. Many would argue that excise tax (as with other cost of selling, such as real estate commission) is often passed onto the buyer as it is factored into the sales price. [Read more…]
Big Changes Coming to Real Estate Excise Tax for Washington State Homes
Improvements to Credit Scoring
Earlier this year, the three major credit bureaus (aka “credit reporting agencies” or “CRAs”), Experian, Equifax and Transunion, came to a settlement with the New York Attorney General impacting credit reporting. It is anticipated that the settlement will help some consumers improve their scores by 10-40 points. [Read more…]
Mortgage Insurance Deductible through 2014
You may have heard that last week, Congress passed and President Obama signed the 2014 Tax Increase Prevention Act. It has some good news for home owners who currently pay various forms of mortgage insurance. If you pay mortgage insurance, including private mortgage insurance (pmi), or VA, FHA or USDA forms of mortgage insurance during 2014, you may be able to deduct that on your 2014 income taxes.
Before you get too excited, this act does not extend the mortgage insurance deduction past 2014.
So if you are paying any form of mortgage insurance, especially if it’s private mortgage insurance or FHA mortgage insurance, it still makes sense to see if you can eliminate or reduce your payment with a refinance as you will not be able to deduct your mortgage insurance during 2015 (as things currently stand).
If I can help you with your refi or home purchase on property located anywhere in Washington state, please contact me!
Why would a consumer work with a non-licensed Mortgage Originator?
Following the release of the QM and Ability to Repay rules from CFPB, I decided to try to read through the proposed Loan Originator Compensation rules. I found this pretty interesting. Instead of making additional regulations for Mortgage Originators who work at banks or credit unions, why not just make them subject to the SAFE Act and require them be licensed?
CFPB’s Qualified Mortgage Rule and the Ability to Repay
Today the CFPB released the “ability-to-repay” and “qualified mortgage” rule which is set to go into effect next year on January 10, 2014. These new laws will require that lenders consider a borrowers ability to repay a mortgage.
Happy New Year! Is your Loan Officer Legal?
Mortgage originators (also referred to as Loan Officers or MLOs) are required to be licensed with the NMLS unless they work for a depository bank or credit union, in which case they are only required to be “registered” (per the SAFE Act).
Can Your Mortgage Originator Legally Take a Loan Application Next Week?
You may want to check with your preferred mortgage originator to make sure they have fully renewed their license for 2011. If they have not, or if they started the process late and are waiting for their 2011 license from DFI, they might not be able to legally take a loan application next week.
Some mortgage originators are not required to be licensed. Thanks to Congress, the SAFE Act allows mortgage originators who work for credit unions or depository banks (like Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America) to only be registered. It's unfortunate that our elected officials did not create the SAFE Act to have the same standards for any mortgage originator who takes a residential loan application.
Washington State Mortgage Originators who are required to be licensed should check on DFI's website to make sure they have met all the steps required to originate loans in 2011. If certain steps are missing, including the renewal being approved, DFI has it clearly flagged as "needed". Some mortgage originators have yet to pay for their renewal fees which will also prevent them from taking a loan application as a licensed mortgage originator as of January 1, 2011.
I am fully licensed to originate mortgages for homes located in Washington State. I received my 2011 license from DFI in mid-November.
From DFI:
"As of [Dec. 22, 2010] 59% of Washington MLOs successfully renewed and have been issued their 2011 license. This percent represents 4,381 individuals who will be working as MLOs come January 1st."
Note: MLO = Mortgage Loan Originator.
If you find your mortgage originator has not completed the steps to be NMLS licensed in 2011, it's possible that they may have decided to work for an institution that is not required to be licensed (depository bank or credit union) or perhaps they simply procrastinated. If you find they're not fully approved to take an application in 2011 per this list, you may want to ask them directly what their plans are for the new year.
Mortgage Originators (MLOs) who allow their license to expire may have to go through additional steps to renew and may be subject to additional fees.
If you are a Washington State Mortgage Originator - do double check DFI's list to make sure you have everything set for 2011.
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