Considering that horrific condo building collapse in Florida last year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued new guidance to lenders. Today we’ll explain the implications of that new directive. In most mortgage transactions, after you close on your loan with your lender, that lender will “package” your paperwork and “sell” your loan to Fannie… [Read More]

Former President Obama once said “elections have consequences”. President Biden’s team that oversees the two mortgage clearing houses Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac put in place new directives that change the focus of who these two giant Government Service Enterprises (that’s what Fannie and Freddie technically are) serve. Before we dive into today’s topic, I… [Read More]

With so much news about the Federal Reserve recently, I’ve received a ton of calls from people saying they want to move fast because the Fed is going to raise rates. If there’s one thing you take from this article, let it be that the mechanism of the Federal Reserve raising rates will directly impact… [Read More]

We have a huge problem right now in the real estate/mortgage world and it all centers on appraisals. The system is so broken, that in certain areas of the state, it will take 2 months to get your appraisal. The simple reason is there are too many appraisal orders and too few appraisers to complete… [Read More]

I received a call this week from a prospective client who was very specific in what he wanted. He wanted rates on a “conventional” loan. That triggered today’s article. In mortgage lending you have several types of loan products, and it’s a good idea to know the differences between them. In their most simple grouping,… [Read More]

As with so many of the articles I write, the inspiration comes from actual events I come across. Recently I received a call from a real estate agent because I am the President of my community association. The agent is selling a home in my neighborhood and wanted to know what restrictions were in place… [Read More]

Zillow is the big behemoth in online real estate. One of the first companies to feature real estate listings, Zillow’s website gets more traffic that the official site for realtors. One of the huge features on Zillow’s site is the Zestimate. It is a computer driven artificial intelligence (AI) system that allows you to plug… [Read More]

With over 500 newsletters published, I try my best not to repeat myself and always offer fresh knowledge and insight. Occasionally, like today, it’s a good idea to circle back on important do’s and don’ts when applying for a mortgage (or any other type of credit). This is especially true when it comes to mortgages,… [Read More]

I have specialized in Condo-Hotel, Condo-tel, or Condotel (all the same) financing for over 20 years. I was also asked by the State of Hawaii to write the questions covering condotels on the test taken by those wishing to provide mortgage financing in our state. I have also argued over the years with many a… [Read More]

As we all try and put 2020 behind us – the lock downs, the empty streets, and the closed businesses, we do see hope in the flood of economic activity and Hawaii once again being a tourist mecca. This ray of good news has sprung hope to many who were greatly impacted financially. When interest… [Read More]