More local title companies face proposed fines of $300,000

September 19, 2007 by Leave a Comment

The Insurance Commissioner released a new report yesterday disclosing more title companies involved with using illegal inducements to induce business.   In addition to more details regarding Stewart Title of Snohomish County’s violations, Rainier Title (a licensed agent for Commonwealth Title Insurance Company) was added to the mix. 

Both John L. Scott and Coldwell Banker Bain have ownership interest in Rainier Title which received a $115,000 penalty with $65,000 suspended if they can play nice and follow the rules for 2 years.

The investigation continues….

Filed Under: Title Insurance

It Was The Last Straw

September 18, 2007 by 2 Comments

I was just over at the Seattle PI Real Estate Blog to check out their latest post and decided to update my profile for when I comment when I noticed a comment I had made on a post that Jillayne Schlicke had done which…lead me back to the very story that is responsible for pushing me into blogging.   

It was a story that Susannah Frame had done on a local mortgage broker who committed fraud to her fellow church members.   It just irked me to no end…on top of the injustice, the reporter for King 5 wrongly stated how all loan originators would be licensed.   A small detail to some…but not to someone who is classified as working for a mortgage broker and therefore actually licensed.  Those who work for mortgage companies that are banks, like Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, Chase, Countrywide…etc… are not licensed nor are they held to the same standards by the State of Washington and DFI.   Anyhow…you can see this bugs me.

Just kind of amusing to stumble over what motivated me to take the plunge into the blogosphere hundreds of posts and not quite a year ago!

Filed Under: Weblogs

It’s B Day…Big Ben decides to…

September 18, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Wow!  Cut the Fed Funds to 4.75% and the Discount Rates to 5.25%; a reduction of 0.50% EACH.   Ben is showing Greenspan (who’s been very active promoting his new book) that he has his own moves.

"Economic growth was moderate during the first half of the year, but the tightening of credit conditions has the potential to intensify the housing correction and to restrain economic growth more generally."

More info to follow soon on how this will impact mortgage interest rates in the near future.   Will this send inflation shock waves?  Will traders seek bonds for safety?   

Today, if you have a home equity line of credit, your interest rate reduced by 0.50%.   Prime rate is now 7.75%.

Stay tuned.

Read the entire press release here.

Filed Under: Current Affairs, Interest Rates

How Low Can You Go…Depends on Your Down Payment

September 17, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Here are some credit score/loan-to-value figures I just received from a subprime lender for "full doc" mortgages:

  • 90% – 580 Mid Score
  • 85% – 540 Mid Score
  • 80% – 520 Mid Score

The rates were not provided but I can assure they would not be attractive.  We’re probably talking double digits for a 3 year balloon with a prepayment penalty.   I strongly recommend using FHA over this type of financing.  (FHA is not credit score driven; you do need to have a good credit history over the past year). 

If you cannot qualify for FHA, then I encourage you to work with a Mortgage Professional to develop a plan to get on track for buying a home or refinancing.

Filed Under: Subprime Lending

Sparky, Mollydooker CEO, has not lost his head!

September 16, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Although from this photo, it looks like I whacked a piece of his head off!   What can you expect from a cell phone/camera?   Friday night we attended the Wine Maker’s dinner featuring Sparky Marquis of one of my favorite wines, Mollydooker   The event took place at Andaluca located at the Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle.   

Sparky1 Sparky is quite entertaining and we sampled the entire 2006 releases:

  • 2007 The Violinist – Verdelho ($20)
  • 2006 The Scooter – Merlot ($20)
  • 2006 The Maitre D – Cabernet ($20)
  • 2006 Two Left Feet – Shiraz, Merlot and Cab blend ($20)
  • 2006 The Boxer – Shiraz ($20)
  • 2006 Goosebumps – Sparkling Shiraz ($50)
  • 2006 Gigglepot – Cabernet ($50)
  • 2006 Blue Eyed Boy – Shiraz ($50)
  • 2006 Enchanged Path – Shiraz/Cab blend ($80)
  • 2006 Carnival of Love – Shiraz ($80).  My favorite WOTN.
  • 2006 Velvet Glove – Shiraz ($175)

If you’ve been reading Mortgage Porter for a while, then you know that I’m a big fan of Mollydooker and to meet Sparky was a thrill.   It was a very fun evening. 

For more information on Mollydooker wines, visit their website.

Filed Under: Just for Fun

Confessions of a former Predatory Lender

September 15, 2007 by 2 Comments

Subprime_photo

I recently received an email from a Loan Originator who wanted some advice on how to develop a "referral based business".   Having a referral based business means that you have provided such a high level of service to your clients that they feel compelled or at least comfortable in recommending you to the people they care about.   My business is dependent upon referrals from my clients and professional relationships.

I have mixed emotions reading this gentleman’s email.   I’m angry that consumers could be prey to someone who is not properly trained and suffer by possibly losing their home or at the very least thousands of dollars.   I almost feel bad for this person who really seems to have had no idea (he seemed almost brainwashed) at what he was doing to consumers with his former employer.   

""I have been in the mortgage industry for nearly 2 years. So I guess in the scheme of things I am relatively new …or maybe not the way that things are currently going. Anyway, I started at a mortgage company that I will not mention here for fear of being sued. It was an extreme predatory lender. I didn’t realize then how much so; I was given 2 weeks classroom training and thrown on the floor to sell. They taught me enough to sell the mortgage but not to properly qualify borrowers, so the rates, fees, etc. always changed.

I really knew nothing of the mortgage industry at the time. That particular company really keep the LO’s separate from the process. You sell the file, pass it off to the processor, and sell another one. Also act as a liaison between the borrower and the company. I was required to call them up every day to let them know that everything was fine then take the fall when the mortgage program completely changed.

The company that I am speaking of really had me sold on them for a while. I really had company pride and truly believed that my rates, programs, and ease of use were superior to any other mortgage company out there. I slowly began to realize that none of this was true. I studied relentlessly for several months on my own time. The more I learned about the industry the more I realized that the company that I was working for was horrible. I began to lose sleep over the fact that all of the “wonderful” mortgage loan products that I had been providing my clients were really the worst deals they could’ve gotten.

Needless to say I left that company when I realized what was really going on…."

When you are considering a mortgage or mortgage advice, please do select your Mortgage Professional carefully.   Don’t let them select you by "cold calls" or deceiving junk mail.   

Hat tip to Tim at Rain City Guide for the photo.  We’re not sure if he’s either a victim of a bad mortgage or if he’s an unemployed subprime Loan Originator.   What do you think?

Update:  Don’t miss America’s Mortgage Broker, Brian Brady’s response to this post:  The Difference Between Right and Wrong.

Filed Under: Predatory Lending

Friday Funny

September 14, 2007 by 1 Comment

Regardless of our opinion of Ben Bernanke, I’m sure you’ll find this spoof of "Every breath you take" comical.   

Ben, we’ll be watching you Tuesday, September 18.

Hat tip to Calculated Risk.  (I’m not sure if this was an ad (for CBS) at the bottom of their page or if they posted this video there.   Regardless, it made me chuckle).

Filed Under: Just for Fun

Zipping the Scales

September 13, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Obesityzipcode0912finalx_3I found this article by the Seattle PI very interesting.   Before moving to West Seattle (10-14% obesity zip code), I lived on North Lake in the West Hill neigh- borhood of Auburn (a more than 25% obesity zip code).   

Living at North Lake meant that I planned my groceries because it was a bit of a trek to make it to QFC (which is now gone).  The produce and meats were pretty good quality.   The neighborhood also had other low cost grocery stores.  I felt that QFC, at the time, offered the highest quality.   There was (is?) a Trader Joes, for some reason, I didn’t shop there.

Living in West Seattle, we currently have several grocery stores, including Metropolitan Market and PCC.   Whole Foods is coming soon (it’s rumored that Trader Joes will follow).    With so many stores, I find myself shopping for groceries every day for that nights meal.   The grocery store is an almost retreat like a pleasant break in my day.   Metropolitan Market has great samples of cheeses and the kiosk is always cooking up something great.   The produce and meats are very fresh.   (When I lived in Des Moines, I loved going to the local butcher, B&E Meats over the grocery store). 

Where my home was located in West Hill Auburn, we had a lot of Weyerhauser walkers (North Lake is next to Weyerhauser’s corporate headquarters)…admittedly, I was not one of them.   I do get out and walk more living in West Seattle.  In fact, this is a much more "active" neighborhood than my former.   You have to be mindful opening your car door or you just might nail a bicyclist.   Joggers, walkers and people with strollers cover the sidewalk.   

The study, which followed 9000 King County residents boils down to:

  • Access to fresh healthy foods.
  • Cost of fresh healthy foods and organics compared to canned and other processed foods.
  • Education about different types of food and reading labels.   One example in the article which surprised me, is that raisin bran was less healthy than frosted mini-wheats.
  • Walkable neighborhoods (sidewalks, safety, etc.)

To read the entire article, click here.

UPDATE:  Hat tip to Lisa Wallace-Baker who just told me about Walk Score which "grades" how walkable your neighborhood is.   My West Seattle neighorhood scored 32 out of 100 and my former Auburn scored a 15.

Filed Under: Real Estate
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