Twice rejected…the third try is a charm (or so I hope).

August 13, 2007 by Leave a Comment

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On Friday I received a friendly letter from DFI stating that my finger prints have been rejected for a second time!  Darn my fine prints.  I called them right away to see what I should do since I’ve all ready tried this twice unsuccessfully with Alliance.  The helpful person at DFI recommended that I go to the Washington State Patrol office in Olympia.   She assured me that if they could not obtain quality prints from me, DFI would accept WASP prints.

Img_5565_2So I hopped in my car and drove just over an hour today and visited the WASP Criminal Records Division to have my prints extracted.   What pros!

After that, I decided to head over to Tumwater to Washington State’s Department of Financial Institutions to personally hand over my fresh prints.   

Three hours later (of being on the road0…I’m back to work.  I couldn’t help but wonder if I was working at bank-mortgage company if I would have to do all of this since the law targets Loan Originators who are employed by Mortgage Brokers.   I know bank employees go though background checks but I don’t believe it includes finger-printing…oh well! 

I scheduled my Loan Originator exam for next month (Loan Originators who work for bank-mortgage companies do not have to take a state wide competency test, either).    I’ve heard that out of the 15,000 LO’s who have registered as Loan Originators in Washington State, less than 600 have taken the exam and a reported 9% of LOs have failed.   In order for a Loan Originator to retain their license, they must pass the exam before the end of 2007 or they cannot originate mortgages employed by a Mortgage Broker.

Filed Under: Legislation

How could CNBC use Bankrate as a reference?

August 13, 2007 by 1 Comment

I typically have CNBC on while I’m working.   This morning, I watched in dismay as Diana Olick of CNBC used Bankrate to compare jumbo rates.   What on earth was she thinking? 

JumboBankrate does not have a sterling reputation for posting accurate mortgage rates.   In fact, they settled a lawsuit from their advertisers (the mortgage companies who are listed at Bankrate’s site are paying to post rates) using bait and switch with the rates they are promoting.

I just visited Bankrate for a jumbo mortgage using 20% down in Seattle.  Here’s an example of actual rate quotes I received priced at zero points/zero origination:

Lender 1:  APR 8.017% – Rate: 8.000% – APR Fees: $815

Lender 2:  APR 7.428% – Rate: 7.250% – APR Fees: $8740

Lender 3:  APR 8.200% – Rate: 8.125% – APR Fees: $3500

Lender 4:  APR 6.787% – Rate: 6.625% – APR Fees: $8278

Lender 5:  APR 9.855% – Rate: 9.875% – APR Fees: $410

How can there be such a variance in rates that are priced at zero points and zero discount?  Check out the closing costs shown as APR Fees…try telling me points aren’t factored somewhere in with Lenders 2 and 4.   It’s misleading and this is similar to the example used on CNBC this morning.  Worse, CNBC did not include the fees when they were showing the rates.   Good drama, bad reporting.   

The media is digging the mortgage crisis.   They are sensationalist who thrive on bad news.   Yes, we are in historic times with the mortgage industry.  This is why it’s so important for consumers to select qualified mortgage professionals instead of the lowest rate on they believe they’ve found on the internet.

Filed Under: Jumbo/Non-Conforming

Diana Krall at Chateau Ste Michelle

August 12, 2007 by 2 Comments

Last night we went to see Diana Krall at Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery.  She was fantastic (of course).   What could be better than a nice bottle of chardonnay and crab cakes with chipolte sauce while listening to Diana’s smokey voice (not to mention her top notch band).

There may still be tickets available for tonight’s show.  You can check out Ticketmaster, Craigs List or eBay.

Dress warm and enjoy!

Filed Under: Just for Fun

Concerned questions from a home owner regarding the “credit crisis”

August 12, 2007 by Leave a Comment

mortgageporter-thinkingThe other day, one of my past clients asked me:

“I was wondering if there are issues that could arise if this credit crisis continues in a downward spiral? The market hasn’t been doing well in the past week with concerns about the “credit crisis”.

Is there any reason for concern that we could have our home loan called in early if our mortgage company gets into trouble? Are there other issues that we should be thinking about if this causes a ripple affect to other areas of the economy?”

 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM), Mortgage, Refinance, Residential Purchase

What’s going on in the mortgage industry? A must see graph spells it out.

August 11, 2007 by Leave a Comment

This graph from the New York Times paints a picture that I can’t call pretty.   

"So what’s gone wrong in the last few months?  An unfortunate combination:  more loans in default (many borrowers were never in a position to pay them off), risky bets worth billions made by some investors (deals now gone sour), and the reversal of the housing boom."

A big hat tip to Behind The Mortgage.

Filed Under: Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM), Mortgage, Subprime Lending

Because it’s Friday: The Mollydooker Shake

August 10, 2007 by Leave a Comment

The_boxer_2Last Friday, I told you about Mollydooker wines and apparently Sparky Marquis, CEO of Mollydooker and wine maker, reads The Mortgage Porter.  (Since he’s in Australia, what is more likely is that he has a "Google search" created for his wines).   

Sparky sent me a very friendly email about Gary Vanderchuk and my post:

"I was laughing at Gary’s videos when I saw them the other day.  Now he is extremely passionate. As he said when he was doing the videos he is a great friend of ours and has always been a huge supporter of our wines.  What I realised by the end of his video was that I had forgotten to teach him about the "Mollydooker Shake" which we found to be such a critical part of what we do that we have put it on our new website www.mollydookerwines.com .  Gary said that he would be reviewing The Boxer (as well as the fall release wines, Enchanted Path, Carnival of Love and Velvet Glove) using the Mollydooker Shake, so we will be interesting to see what he says.  All of the Lefty Series wines will also be reviewed in The Wine Advocate at the end of August so it is going to be awesome to see the comparison."

My husband and I gave the Dooky Shake a try.   Earlier this week, we opened a 2006 Two Left Feet.   Doing the Dooky Shake made a huge improvement on the wine.   It’s incredible.  Before we were unsure about the 2006 Two Left Feet (compared to 2005)…now we’re thrilled. 

I do recommend finding Mollydooker before the Wine Advocate review.   Wine Spectator has rated the 2006 Boxer at 90 points.   Wine Advocates rating last year created an absolute frenzy over Two Left Feet and Boxer (at the $20 price point).

If you love Aussie fruit bombs…

  1. Find Mollydooker
  2. Do the Dooky Shake.
  3. Cheers!
Filed Under: Just for Fun

Question of the Day: Can my mortgage be called due if the company gets in trouble?

August 9, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Five gold stars to Sandy, one of my clients who I helped with financing a few years ago when they bought their dream home in Eastern Washington, for asking me this regarding the current market:

“I was wondering if there are issues that could arise if this credit crisis continues in a downward spiral? The market hasn’t been doing well in the past week with concerns about the “credit crisis”.

Is there any reason for concern that we could have our home loan called in early if our mortgage company gets into trouble? (We are with CitiMortgage right now). Are there other issues that we should be thinking about if this causes a ripple affect to other areas of the economy?”

I’m going to address the “bold issue” first.   Your loan will not be called due if the company you’re making mortgage payments to gets into trouble.   The mortgage company you’re making payments to does not hold your mortgage.   They are actually just receiving and processing the payments.   They receive a small percentage of your payment for “servicing” the loan.  Your mortgage has been bundled with other mortgages and has been sold to investors as mortgage backed securities (bonds).  If something were to happen to the mortgage company you make payments to, you would just be sending your mortgage payment to someone else.

Continue to make your mortgage payments (including your property taxes and insurance) on time and your mortgage will not be called due early.

I’ll address Sandy’s other excellent questions in a follow up post.

Filed Under: Mortgage

Now is the time to work with a Correspondent Lender

August 9, 2007 by 4 Comments

A correspondent lender is a blend between a bank and a mortgage broker.   What sets correspondent lenders apart from others is that they have significant credit lines that allow us to fund loans which are then sold to the lender after closing.   A correspondent lender processes, underwrites and prepares the loan documents which allows them more flexibility than the traditional broker.  Correspondent Lenders have access to many different lenders unlike most banks.   Even if bank mortgage companies can broker, loan originators often will not as they’re typically paid a lower commission if they do not use their bank’s products.

So why is now such an important time to select a correspondent lenders?   With banks pulling back (or suspending) products or repricing and lenders shutting down, it’s important to work with a Mortgage Professional who can make adjustments if needed in a rapidly changing market.   Many were caught at closing when they sent loans to American Home Mortgage, one of the nations largest lenders.   If you were getting ready to close with a mortgage broker, the loan would need to be re-processed, re-underwritten, and new loan docs prepared and delivered to escrow.  With a correspondent lender, as long as the rate had not changed, you could possibly keep the same docs and your escrow appointment.

Because it is more difficult to become a Correspondent Lender vs. a Mortgage Broker there are fewer of us and therefore, we’re a bit more challenging to find.  How do you  know if your Mortgage Professional is employed with a Correspondent Lender?   Ask.  A “mortgage broker” or “mortgage banker” is not the same as a correspondent lender. 

A Correspondent Lender just may make the difference in your transactions closing on time in this uncertain market.

Filed Under: Mortgage Tagged With: , ,
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