Qualification Basics

With the rise in interest rates, everyone who has not refinanced, along with those contemplating buying a home, are now diving in to make sure they don’t miss the last opportunity on record low mortgage rates. I want to take the opportunity this week to give a quick overview of the qualification process. Because especially… [Read More]

Current Levels of Service

Think of the mortgage industry as a factory that makes stuff. I like the example of automobiles because everyone knows a little about cars. At the auto factory, the raw materials are brought into one side of the plant and after many predefined steps a car is produced and rolled out the other side. Within… [Read More]

“What Are the Costs if I Go with You?”

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I wish more people asked that question when shopping for a mortgage loan. Here’s how too many conversations start with someone calling to inquire about the rates I could offer them: Caller: “What’s your rate today?” Me: “Rates are based on credit score, loan amount, equity in the property, occupancy, and a few other criteria.”… [Read More]

Interest Rates & Property Values

Are interest rates going to drop further? Will Hawaii see a drop in home values? Those are the 2 most asked questions I’ve fielded recently, so I thought I would share my insight for this week’s article. Interest Rates: There are have been numerous articles published recently that forecast even further drops in mortgage interest… [Read More]

Updates on the COVID Mortgage World

People are suffering due to the economic mess we put ourselves into. It’s no more obvious than watching the local news at night seeing people line up for hours to get handouts of free food. If you noticed, these people aren’t bums. These are proud people driving nice cars – a sign that they were… [Read More]

Forbearance Will Affect Everyone

Even if you are making your mortgage payment and not electing to take forbearance, millions of others in the US are, and it will affect you. As of April 23rd 6.4% of all US mortgages went into forbearance. That represents about 3.4 million homes. But the shocker is the staggering number of newly opened mortgages… [Read More]

Here Come the Overlays…

Here Come the Overlays… Here’s a staggering statistic: There are roughly 160 million people that make up the workforce in the United States. Prior to the coronavirus, the unemployment rate was 3.5%, which represented about 5,000,000 people. Over the last 3 weeks we have had 22,000,000 first-time unemployment claims filed. That puts the national unemployment… [Read More]

Appraisals in a COVID-19 World

You are practicing social distancing. You mask-up just to go get the mail out of the mailbox. But in order to sell or refinance you must allow some stranger into every room of your house? Luckily Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government mortgage entities have been collecting home value data for years. Every appraisal… [Read More]

Forbearance – Don’t Skip That Payment

Thousands in Hawaii, and millions across the country are now unemployed and unable to make their mortgage payments. There are also those that own investment property where the tenant is in the same situation and can no longer pay rent. The Feds have come to the rescue and are telling millions of Americans to skip… [Read More]

Loan Servicers in Trouble

If you follow the headlines or have tried to refinance, you’ll know that mortgage lenders have been swamped with applications. With so much business how could there be financial issues? This week we dive into the weeds to expose the next government bailout of the mortgage industry. In the mortgage world there are 3 different… [Read More]