The Pacific Northwest Housing Summit and Seattle RE Barcamp

March 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

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Hard to believe after months of planning, the Pacific Northwest Housing Summit and Seattle RE Barcamp events are done. 

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During the Housing Summit, I brought my netbook and provided a stream of updates via my Mortage Porter Twitter account and for PNWHS on Twitter.  Overall I was very pleased with the event–there was a lot of good information (not all positive) shared with what to expect with housing in our area.   The wrap-up post on the Housing Summit site will continue to be updated with articles as I find them.  I was a bit disappointed that more real estate professionals did not show up for the event.  I'm chalking it up to it being a reflection of the current state of our industry…especially mortgage originators.  It's true that there were not continuing education clock hours valuable for LO's due to the NMLS requirements, but I don't that's reason enough to not attend an event like this.  I wonder how many are planning to stick around in this industry as the bar continues to raise and disclosure forms continue to pile on.  The job is much tougher than what it used to be and if the Fed (and big banks) have their way, our income will be reduced to peanuts.  Good luck finding an experienced mortgage originator to assist you with your largest investment…sorry…didn't mean to digress!  

PNWHSREBCSEA 264 Seattle RE Barcamp was a blast.  I enjoyed really enjoyed volunteering for this event and strongly encourage others to do the same.   Since it followed the Housing Summit, there were topics suggested that were beyond social media as I had hoped. 

My only regret is that I couldn't attend more sessions!  PS… if you have any photos or videos from the event, feel free to post them at the Flickr group.

We had folks from all over the country join us at the Seattle Center on last Thursday and Friday for the Housing Summit and RE Barcamp.   I really enjoyed finally meeting Frank Garay and Brian Stevens from Think Big Work Small.  I appreciate their efforts in keeping mortgage professionals up-to-date with current issues facing our industry laced with humor on their vlog.

Thank all of you for making both these events so special!

Filed Under: Events

I hope to see you at The Pacific NW Housing Summit & Seattle RE Barcamp

March 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Pacific NW Housing Summit and RE Barcamp Seattle are taking place this week on Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19, 2010. If you are in any aspect of the real estate industry, I hope to see you at both events!

Filed Under: Events, Real Estate Agents

Gifts from the Bank of Mom and Dad – Part 2: Conventional Financing

March 12, 2010 by 2 Comments

PLEASE NOTE: This was written in 2010 and guidelines have changed. Please refer to our Conforming Mortgage Guide or contact me for additional information.

Often times when gifts from family members are involved, borrowers my opt to use FHA financing since the guidelines are (currently) more flexible than conventional with regards to gifts.   With FHA, a gift from a family member can go towards to borrowers minimum required investment with conventional financing, it cannot. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Home Buying Tagged With: , , , ,

FHA Flips for Flipped Homes (Some Restrictions Apply)

March 11, 2010 by Leave a Comment

 

UPDATE: HUD HAS EXTENDED THIS WAIVER THROUGH DECEMBER 2014.  Information in this post from March 2010 may be outdated – as are many blog posts about mortgages (thanks to our ever changing guidelines). [Read more…]

Filed Under: Home Buying, Mortgage Programs Tagged With: , ,

Friends Don’t Let Friends Miss Out on THE Premier Real Estate Event in Seattle

March 6, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The Pacific Northwest Housing Summit and Seattle RE Barcamp 2010 are less than two weeks away!

It's time to rsvp to both events, if you haven't done so all ready.  Preregistration for the Pacific Northwest Housing Summit will save you $10!  RE Barcamp is free–but knowing how many folks to expect before the event is very helpful.

If you are in any aspect of the real estate industry–you don't want to miss out on either of these events.

I look forward to seeing you March 18th and 19th at the Seattle Center!

Filed Under: Events, Seattle

It’s Not You, It’s Your Neighbors

March 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Mortgageporterhome One of the most challenging aspects with refinancing homes in the Seattle area is the appraisal.  It doesn't really matter what you paid for it or how much you love your home.  What is probably going to impact the appraised value of your home the most is what your former neighbors have sold their homes for. 

If your neighbor had to drastically drop their sales price to sell their home, it may impact your home value.   The closer their home is located to your home and the more similar to your home, the more weight that home will have as a "sales comparable" to the appraiser. With fewer sales for an appraiser to rely on for sales comparables to your home, it can make it even tougher.  

Appraisers today need to ideally find three – four recently sold homes in your neighborhood to create a value for your home.  They also need to comment on the real estate market and how long homes are typically staying listed.

When I'm helping a home owner who's considering refinancing their home in Washington, I'll do my best to review recent sales in their area and I tell you, it's not an easy job!   At the very least, I'll share what I find with the home owner so they can have a rough idea of what the appraiser may be viewing as well.

If you get a low appraisal, thanks to HVCC (and NY Attorney General Coumo) your mortgage originator cannot order a new appraisal as that's considered "value shopping".   Worse case scenario, if a home owner does not qualify for a home affordable refinance after discovering the appraised value is lower than expected, they may be out the cost of the appraisal (typically around $500).

As home sales pick up and sales prices begin to rise, appraised values will eventually pick up.  Remember, an "appraised value" is different than how you value your home and it's reflective–it will change up or down over time.  Unless you are selling or refinancing your home, what it would "appraise for" doesn't really matter.

Filed Under: Appraisals

Dawn’s Army is doing The Big Climb for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

February 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Bigclimb My husband and step-son will be marching up 69 floors of the Columbia Tower on Sunday, March 21, 2010.   They're doing this as part of the team proudly called Dawn's Army to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societyalong with friends, family and Dawn Appel's former co-workers at The Talon Group.

This is not the first time this team has assembled for their friend, Dawn Appel.  Dawn has been battling Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia long enough for this to be the third annual climb by her friends.

The Columbia Tower is located in down town Seattle and many will climb (some race) 1,311 steps for this worthy cause in just a few weeks. 

Please click here if you can make a donation–every bit helps!

Thank you.

Filed Under: Charity

How Much Should I Pay for an Adjusted Origination Charge

February 24, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I love reading how people found Mortgage Porter via search engines.  Apparently someone has been doing some research on how much their adjusted origination charge "should" be.  The new 2010 Good Faith Estimate was designed by HUD with the intent that consumers would be able to shop mortgages using a more meaningful document.  The 2010 GFE is suppose to be an easier tool for home buyers and those considering refinancing to make educated decisions about their mortgage. 

What HUD and mortgage rate shoppers alike cannot control is how often mortgage rates change…just as with the pre-2010 good faith estimate, if you are selecting your largest debt (your mortgage) on your largest asset (your home) by interest rate alone, you're doing so with a moving target.  The 2010 GFE does provide the consumer with some protection as to how much certain closing costs may change, it cannot and does not protect the consumer against unlocked rate changes depending on what the mortgage originator uses for an expiration period on the GFE in the "important dates" section.

What also has not changed is how mortgage rates are priced.  Home buyers and home owners interested in refinancing still have the option of having their mortgage priced with or without points or origination fees.  They simply need to communicate this to the mortgage originator.  Lower closing cost tends to equal a higher interest rate (typically, but not always, 1% of the loan amount tends to pencil out to 0.25% in interest rate).  Mortgage rate shoppers will still need to compare interest rate to closing costs keeping in mind that the rate shown on the GFE may no longer be available by the time they select a mortgage lender.

The 2010 Good Faith Estimate includes additional fees than just the origination on the "adjusted origination charges".  The fees reflected in this section may include:

  • loan origination fees
  • discount points
  • processing/admin fees
  • underwriting fees
  • funding fees
  • doc prep
  • wire fees
  • other misc. lender fees charged by the lender when originating a mortgage

For example, if a mortgage originator provides an estimate priced with zero origination or discount points, the adjusted origination charges may still show fees if they have an underwriting or funding fee (any fees listed above).  You can request the mortgage originator provide you with an itemized list of fees when reviewing an estimate. 

When reviewing the 2010 GFE make sure that you're also factoring in the lock period the mortgage originator is using (the shorter the lock period, the less expensive your rate will be).  Obtaining a rate quote based on a 15 day lock looks great and is useless if your transaction is closing in 30 days.  (Refer to the "important dates" section on page one of the GFE).

Don't forget, if your mortgage originator won't provide you with a good faith estimate on your home located in Washington State, I will.  Many LOs are reluctant to issue the 2010 GFE because of the liabilities associated with guaranteeing closing costs.

Filed Under: Good Faith Estimate
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