Nevada Real Estate >> Las Vegas Real Estate Specialist: California: Carlsbad

Get real!  Why would I want to have an agent act as a middleman when I can deal with the builder?  I can get the house for less because there will be no commission to pay. Why should I lose thousands of dollars just to have you walk in with me? If you are a home buyer how often have you thought this?  If you're a Realtor how often have you heard this?

When the cat is away the mice will play.  There are so many things that can work against a home buyer when they aren't properly represented. Check out  the latest scandal by some home builders.  No agent to review your paperwork and you aren't an attorney or well versed in deciphering a harmful clause in a real estate contract.  Glad I'm not you.

People will pay legal fees to protect themselves in a small civil case but think they can "wing it" on their own when buying a structure costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. As I recall a lot of people were taken advantage of by builders.  For example, everyone in the real estate community in Sacramento knew to steer clear of this company.  These unlucky home buyers who went at it alone ended up with a huge mess on their hands. A mortgage on a home they couldn't occupy.

Don't think this is an isolated incident.  Visit www.ripoffreport.com and type in your favorite builder and see what pulls up.  Most complaints are made by buyers who were not represented by an agent.  To further drive my point home, how many of you reading this post think oversight of mortgage lenders and investment people is a good idea?  Who is going to oversee your new home purchase?  The agent who is paid by the builder?  Uh huh, you catch my drift.

You're not  hiring a person who lets you look at the inside of houses or a shuttle driver.  You're hiring a professional who's little subtle re directions during the transaction helps you avoid disasters.  You think it was a great idea and we know it was more than that.  It saved you from a lawsuit.  These lawsuits aren't always contractual either.  Many can fall into the form of discrimination.  Some blatant most subtle.  I didn't know is no excuse in a courtroom.

Even if your theory of a home being sold for more holds true, hiring a Realtor to represent you in a purchase of a new home is much cheaper than the potential mounting legal bills or paying for a home you can't even occupy.  Agents know contracts, federal and local laws, have the inside scoop on bad and good builders and always stay abreast of breaking news that could affect the area you are buying in or the credibility of the builder.  If the builder thinks they can pull a fast one on you to make more money, then there's a good chance they might.

Some home builders are including in their contracts a 1% fee to be paid to them every time the house is sold  for up to 99 years.  The money is nothing more than profit for the builder and is not used for up keep or any type of property improvements.  Lenders are getting keen to this and reviewing contracts very carefully looking for this clause.

If the lender sees this clause in the contract they will likely deny the buyers home loan.  Lenders will be on the hook to try to sell a home with an additional 1% fee everytime the property is sold making it harder to sell in a case of default.  Anything that adds a layer of risk will either cause the lender to adjust the interest rate to reflect that risk or they will simply deny the loan altogether.

Just when a Realtor thought their job was hard enough.  Now you will want to comb through these builder contracts very carefully before assisting your buyer through the process.  I would even recommend a full underwriting approval on all new construction homes to protect your buyer form a possible loan denial.  If the underwriter reviews the contract and the buyers qualifications and approves the file then you would have significantly reduced the likelihood of problems.

If you are in the states of WA, OR, CA or NC we will gladly package a loan without a property address and submit it for underwriting allowing you the peace of mind that the loan shouldn't become an issue. E MAIL or (888) 206-5781 Otherwise ask your favorite trusted lender to do the same. Of course one could take the simpler approach and focus mainly on existing homes.

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It's not who you think!  This video with Edward Pinto (Chief credit officer for Fannie Mae) tells us what happened, who caused our housing crisis and how the new laws being passed will affect the real estate business.  Realtor or lender, if you want to know what the future may look like then watch this video.

Believe it or not lenders are watching what their borrowers order for delivery and ordering a pizza could get your loan denied!. They carefully comb through bank statements searching for clues. It's not so much what you order but rather where the order is being delivered to.  A simple but clever way to know if a property owner is lying about a home being their primary residence by finding out where deliveries are being made.  Kind of hard to call your home in San Diego your primary residence when for the last two months you've had your pizzas among other things delivered to a home in Atlanta.

We know you want a lower rate to save money but if you"stretch the truth" to get a lower rate you will likely get caught.  Homeowners insurance, transactions on bank statements among other things are clues used by a good loan officer, underwriter or lender.  There's a lot of ways to find out if someone is not being honest so it always pays to tell the truth.  You may not end up getting the rate you wanted but you won't get yourself into trouble either.

Junk fees on a home loan. What an ambiguous term. So many fees are mistakenly classified as home loan junk fees including fees that are bona fide. Mortgage loan fees nationwide amount to roughly 110 billion annually. You may wonder why that figure is so high to do a home loan.

With each loan that funds there are multiple people working to complete the loan transaction whether the loan is from a bank or a broker. Here is a list of the titles of people who are always involved in each and every home loan:

* a loan processor

* loan officer assistant

* escrow officer

* title insurance company

* appraiser

* appraisal management company

* underwriter

* underwriting assistant

* lenders account executive

* funder

* doc drawer

* county recorder

* courier

It amazes me how many banks provide good faith estimates without listing all of the fees associated with a home loan. Little does the consumer know that they make money to cover these fees by giving out higher interest rates. That higher rate can amount to more money spent on a loan than if the borrower would have paid the fees themselves.

If you hear your neighbor brag about how they got a no fee loan remember this: A sucker is born every minute in this country and nobody works for free.

California home loans since 1977

First Priority Financial is licensed by the California Department of Real Estate #00654852 Nevin#01366552

2990 Jamacha Road #136 El Cajon CA 92019

(888) 206-5781

Also licensed in Oregon, Washington & North Carolina

*Certain credit and income restrictions apply. Call us for more details.

This is not a guarantee to lend. Equal housing lender.

Lending money and assembling a loan file to get the money are two separate things.  People who assemble your loan file are all called "loan officers." You can hire and pay the loan officer at the bank or hire an independent loan officer (mortgage broker) to complete this task for you.

Example: Take your car to the dealer (bank) or to an independent mechanic (broker).

Banks lend their money and only offer loan programs that they have.  They do not shop various lenders and do not have the flexibility to go to a diffferent bank to get money if your loan is denied.

Bankers are loan officers who work for mortgage companies that offer mortgage loan products only. Bankers can only offer their loan products and cannot shop your loan with other lenders unless they are also licensed as a mortgage broker.

Mortgage  brokers can go to just about any bank or mortgage company allowing them to find the best terms. Brokers are required to meet federal and state licensing requirements in order to have the abllity to assemble (originate) a mortgage loan file.

Who has the best rates?  Brokers do.  Banks offer lower rates (wholesale rates) to the broker in an attempt to get their business. The cost of originating your loan is the difference.  Some banks show all of the fees but mainly banks will offer a higher rate with reduced fees.  To read more on this subject click here.

I am both a banker and a broker so there is no incentive for me to promote one over another. You can get great service or lousy service from any of the above.  It really depends on the individual loan officer and how they handle their business.

Click logo to visit our website

Serving California since 1977

First Priority Financial is licensed by the California Department of Real Estate #00654852 Nevin#01366552

3110 Camino Del Rio #311 San Diego CA 92108

(888) 206-5781

Also licensed in Oregon, Washington & North Carolina

Want to fit in with the wild crowd but can't stand the distortion made by electric guitars?  Well, here's your opportunity to rock out with Metallica smooth jazz style!

Smooth Jazz Version

Metallica live in Moscow-Real version

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced some changes in interest only amortization loans.
These changes are being made to 5 year and 3 year fixed adjustable rate mortgages (ARM).

The following interest only products are no longer eligible for delivery to Fannie Mae:
Cash out refinances
Investment properties
2 to 4 unit properties

The following transactions are still eligible:
1 unit purchases
Rate and term refinances (no cash out)

New Requirements:

Must be a primary residence or second home
Maximum loan to value and combined loan to value of 70%
Minimum credit score of 720
The borrower(s) must have a minimum of 24 months payments saved in liquid assets (Reserves)

Contact us before you start the home buying process because many loan programs are modified with little notice.

Click logo to visit our website

Serving California since 1977

First Priority Financial is licensed by the California Department of Real Estate #00654852 Nevin#01366552

3110 Camino Del Rio #311 San Diego CA 92108

(888) 206-5781

Also licensed in Oregon, Washington & North Carolina

After spending hours or days working on behalf of a client who decides to not complete a transaction it's easy to let your emotions get the best of you.  Although it's frustrating this situation can actually work out to your benefit and those who may have referred you.

It’s not personal, it’s business, is what I employ when I experience disappointments from time consuming efforts that amount to no income. It’s my policy to continue providing service, building trust and distinguishing myself as a true professional regardless of the outcome.

It’s easy to be a professional when things are going well.  Most of us know how to be professional as we employ our skills in the art of real estate and finance. This makes it much harder to stand out among your peers. Knowing more than the next agent or loan officer is not paramount to most people, it’s their experience.  People reinforce to friends and family the experiences that they’ve had with you more than any other factor. Your behavioral response from a fallen transaction will be part of their conversation. What would you want them to say?

How you handle adversity is what sets you apart from others in your industry.  Most clients will know they have hurt you by backing out and they expect a retaliatory attitude.  A retaliatory attitude will make you unapproachable and you’ll lose an opportunity for future business. Being kind and understanding of their decision will likely motivate your clients to want to send you business.  They know you have helped them and they will want to return the favor.

It’s not personal, it’s business, makes me approachable and sets the stage for a life long relationship of trust and respect with my client. It reminds me to separate my personal feelings and to focus on the business aspect of my profession. Your commitment to excellence will enforce the reason they picked you as their professional and enforce your right to call yourself one.

Click logo to visit our website

Serving California since 1977

First Priority Financial is licensed by the California Department of Real Estate #00654852 Nevin#01366552

3110 Camino Del Rio #311 San Diego CA 92108

(888) 206-5781

Also licensed in Oregon, Washington & North Carolina

For all of the Americans who show their support each memorial day, this blog post isn't about you.  I'm writing to the millions who think memorial day is all about camping, traveling, feeding their face and nothing more.

I have no issue with these activities and I'm sure our dead veterans would want us to celebrate our wonderful freedoms that we enjoy thanks to their sacrifice.  However celebrating life and our freedom isn't what I'm talking about.  I'm talking about showing some respect.

Memorial day formerly known as Decoration Day used to be about honoring those who died in the Civil War.  Soldiers graves were decorated with flowers and flags. In 1971 Decoration Day officially became Memorial Day to honor all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. You can read more from Jim Frimmers interesting blog about Memorial Day.

America: Land of the free and it's all about me is my title because so many Americans don't take any time out of their 72+ hour long weekend to do anything to show their appreciation. It makes me sad that many take absolutely no time out of their weekend or anytime during the year to truly show their support.  Friends, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters died because they believed in something greater than themselves.

You don't have to attend a parade or visit your local VFW to show your support.  Do something simple, display the American Flag.  How long does that take?  Out of 4,320 minutes in a three day weekend someone can't take two minutes to get the flag out of their closet and fly it?  Thousands died in less than two minutes on the battlefields in which they fought.  Tell me, which task would you rather perform?

It's never too late to make a conscious effort to show some respect.  Having the thought of sorrow and gratitude run across your mind for five seconds or buying red white and blue paper plates in my opinion is a poor excuse for support.  Let's not forget the real reason for Memorial Day and make sure our living veterans can see your efforts of gratitude.  Tell a war time Vet thank you, fly our flag, wear a pin...something that requires a little thought and effort.  (Don't thank me, thank a war veteran. I served during peace time and never had to dodge bullets.)

If you don't show support because you oppose war remember that we are not honoring war, we are honoring people who died in those wars.  Grill, camp and have fun but please take a moment to do something that resembles gratitude.

Some choose to pay more for a mortgage at a bank because of trust. They know a big name, assume they can’t do much better and feel protected.  In my opinion those who do are enabling banks that took TARP money due to poor management and then paid themselves huge bonuses.

15 minutes could save you 15% on your mortgage fees.  A loan from a large bank could cost $30,000 or more over 30 years compared to a brokerage or small to mid sized lender. 100 million dollars was spent to place a name on the side of a sports stadium. Not including poor judgement like million dollar bonuses to their poor performing management, private jets and other lavish luxuries.

Let’s talk about service.  You might get through quickly on the initial call to a large bank.  Once you become a “file” you are asked to call their customer “no – service” number for updates. Most brokerages and small lenders I know of automatically contact their clients with updates.    

I have had a checking account with them for years.  They don’t care and it doesn’t matter. Being a loyal bank customer won’t derive you any special treatment.  Their mortgage division is separate from your banking and they still have to pay that 100 million dollar sport stadium advertising bill along with print, internet, television and radio ads.  Well…actually, you pay for it.

Pay off your home loan faster.  Checking terms and fees with a broker or smaller lender could save you enough money to allow you to pay off your home earlier.  The monthly savings from a lower rate loan could be applied to principal thereby reducing your loan term by years. 

Small business keeps America working and helps create jobs.  When you or someone you know is in the market for a mortgage, give them a try and compare them to the highly advertised, mismanaged and too big to fail banks you bail out know so well.

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Since 1977

First Priority Financial is licensed by the California Department of Real Estate #00654852 Nevin#01366552

3110 Camino Del Rio #311 San Diego CA 92108

Also licensed in Oregon, Washington & North Carolina

Sunday’s earthquake certainly got everyone’s attention, or did it?  The lack of earthquake coverage in San Diego is staggering.  Many homeowners think that earthquake damage is covered by their home owners’ policy.  Well I have bad news for you, it isn’t.  Should you get earthquake insurance?  Yes and no.

Paying for earthquake insurance is not always a good idea.   If you have little equity and assets, it may not be worthwhile to pay for earthquake insurance. It might be financially advantageous to just walk away.  If you have a large amount of equity and/or a lot of assets then I would most definitely get coverage.  Losing equity is an obvious reason.  Lenders may come after assets if you have them.

Won’t the government help me?  No. The government does not pay for damage to a residence resulting from an earthquake. Well, with the Fed reserve, Barney Frank and friends recent behavior, I guess government intervention could happen but I doubt it. 

There is one option to help if your home is destroyed.  The SBA offers loans for disaster relief.  Low rate second mortgage loans up to $200,000 used to repair or replace your home.  You are still on the hook for the current mortgage you have on the home so this loan would be an additional payment you would have to make.  Click here for more info.

Lord I was born a gamblin’ man.  The monthly disaster relief loan payment would likely be more than an earth quake insurance premium. This is where you have to roll the dice:  Pay earthquake premiums.  If your home is never damaged by an earthquake, you lose and spent a lot of money for nothing.  If you don’t pay for earthquake insurance and your home gets destroyed by a future earthquake you’ll have to make the payment on a pile of rubble.

Cover your ass-ets:  Other items not covered: Earth movement, which includes landslides and erosion, mudflows, earth sinking (sink holes) or volcanic eruption, floods, risks associated with running a home based business, acts of war, illegal activity (example-renters blow up your house cooking methamphetamines-not covered!).  You can get riders to cover these items separately for a cost. Regardless of the state you live in it’s a good brilliant idea to go through your home owner policy at least once a year, in detail with your agent and find out what is not covered. 

The demand for corporate debt and higher yields is luring away buyers of treasuries.  The purchase and sale of US Treasuries affect smortgage rates.  When treasuries are bought, rates stay stable or drop.  When they are sold rates increase.  There was heavy selling today causing the mortgage markets to respond by increasing interest rates.

I recommend that you lock your loans immediately.  Floating is way too risky as investors scramble to find higher returns on their investments.  Enonomic recovery are part of the reason and investors preparing for higher taxes in response to health care legislation that passed.  Investors are not buying the statement that the deficit will go down.  Wall street expects higher taxes to fund the health care reform.  Hard to determine if this caused the run up in rates today.

Tomorrow the 7 year note goes on sale but nobody expects many buyers.  We may see aother sell off tomorrow causing mortgage rates to rise.  The duration of this will be determined on te economic outlook.  If investors believe the economy is improving they will buy socks.  Mortgages are attractive in bear markets due to their conservative nature.

Lock 'em if you got  'em.

Lie: A fiction; a fable; an untruth.

I’ve been told to lie to my clients, or else.  If I don’t lie, I  will be asked to pay thousands of dollars.  Lying is in the best interest of the consumer and is there to protect them. All honest mortgage loan officers must now lie about their loan charges.

The Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act or MDIA requires that we include "seller transfer tax" and the “sellers cost” of owners policy for title insurance in the annual percentage rate (APR) on the truth in lending disclosure and new good faith estimate, otherwise we have to pay for them. 

Some escrow companies refuse to close escrow unless seller charges are included in the buyers APR. Lenders and escrow companies define APR fees differently.  Therefore, to meet the requirements of the new policies imposed by the Fed I will lie to my clients on every truth in lending disclosure I provide by including seller fees that they don't really have to pay. 

The process of shopping a mortgage was confusing enough.  These new requirements make it near impossible to shop a mortgage loan. Trust is strained between a new client and their loan professional by these inconsistencies.  It's absurd to a client that we show them paying a fee they won't pay.

I applaud the Fed on the new good faith estimate.  It’s so convenient and easy to use with no signature required by either party. Hmm.. how does one know if the customer ever saw it?  The Fed trusts us to provide a good faith estimate without proof of receipt.  However they do not trust us to properly estimate fees.

It must be easy for predatory lenders to verbally quote low fees, provide a confusing truth in lending and then slip a higher than initially quoted good faith estimate into the file for underwriting. The customer is still victim to the old “bait and switch” tactics that the new good faith estimate was created to prevent.

The opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of First Priority Financial Inc.

It's 9:15 at night and you started your day at 7am.  Haven't had dinner,still have work to do and you're stuck on the phone with a chatty prospect.  In a hurry to get off the phone you roll your eyes as he/she continues to tell you their life's story which has nothing to do with real estate.

Tired of listening you finally interrupt: I hear ya. How about we speak about this in more detail tomorrow?  You basically told them: So what. Who cares? I don't want to hear it! 

Smooth move ex lax. You interrupted at the most critical phase of the interview. The life story is what it's all about, not the house or the interest rate. Showing properties, writing contracts or securing a favorable rate on a mortgage are key elements in our professions but it's not the reason we are referred business.

I collect a lot of intimate details: pay rate, bank account balances, credit history, divorces or bankruptcies.  Sharing intimate details with a stranger is uncomfortable so have some respect. Their life story is them giving you permission to know them on a more intimate level so don't blow it because you may only get one chance.

Relationships cannot be one sided unless you're Lynn Curtin trading a face lift for an eviction notice. They're hoping for some kind of relation.  Something, anything that you can all relate to regardless of age or background. When they're done share a similar belief or experience that you can both relate to.  Most of us don't listen very well which is why so many companies make money teaching listening skills and why so many marriages fail.

Here's a freebie I found for you compliments of mind tools.  Don't thank me now, thank me tomorrow- It's 9:24PM, I haven't had dinner yet, I have more work to do and thank god all I have to do now is  submit - proxy error, submit - proxy error and then a final submit instead of on the phone following my own advice.

After that I can do my own version of Chopped using an orange, chicken breast, peanut butter and gummy bears.

Obviously this doesn't cover all types of music so I picked random Billboard hits from each decade.

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

With all the news lately about the subzero weather and snow that the Midwest and east coast areas are experiencing, we shouldn't forget that Southern California has its share of devastating weather also.

This is a photo illustrating the excessive damage caused to a home from a west coast storm that passed through the San Diego area a week ago. It really makes you cherish what you have, and reminds us not to take life for granted.

I don't know how they'll get this resin chair back in the upright position!  My prayers go out to this family.

1. Changes are effective for case numbers assigned on or after April 15th, 2010.
2. New upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) will be 2.25% for all purchase and refinance loans.
   
3. The premium for H4H and HECM is 2.0%. H4H = Hope for Homeowners HECM = Reverse mortgages
4. This change applies to all standard FHA Single Family Programs except the following: Title I, Section 247-Hawaiian Homelands, Section 248-Indian Reservations, Section 223e-Declining Neighborhoods or Section 238c-Military Impact areas in Georgia and New York.