Washington Mortgage Planner-straight up mortgage advice and commentary

Hello all: I hope you have great plans for the weekend. Here, it's beautiful once again. We've had a fabulous streak of nice weather.

I seem to be increasingly encountering difficult underwriting guidelines. I'm curious if you're seeing them too. The latest was on a loan that was supposed to close next week. Now, I'm not so sure. My borrower wanted cash out on his primary home. The problem was he recently took it out of an LLC (he had to in order to get the loan). When we tried to do a cash out refinance, it was approved by my underwriter initially and then nixed by the lender as these types of loans require six months seasoning on title. I know this rule has probably been in effect for the past year; the thing I asked my underwriter is why didn't we know this sooner. Her explanation was she just found out when submitting to the lender.

I heard recently that one lender was taking 78 days on average to close loans. We lock all ours for 55. What I'm seeing is our underwriters (we underwrite in-house) are bogged down by checking so many guidelines before issuing an approval. And sometimes when the approval is issued, the conditions can't be satisfied right away.

I have to admit it gets a little frustrating at times. I've heard this recently. We're all working harder for our money. I recently had to find a home equity line of credit for a borrower because they forgot about a dormant one they had on their home. Of course, they wanted to keep it but the lender wouldn't allow that. So I took the time to call a banker friend of mine to set my borrower up with a new line of credit.

It probably sounds like I'm ranting here but so be it. I love what I do and plan on making this a long-term career. If you're on the other side, please have patience. Those of us in the loan business will get your loan done. It's just taking longer. Hopefully the "oh by the ways" will diminish as we continue this economic recovery. Have a great day!

Hello all: I hope you're well! We're in day 51 of the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) and I thought I'd comment on what I've seen. From an appraisal standpoint, there really haven't been any issues. In fact, we just got a report back within a week. Granted, it's for a purchase that needs to close by July 10 but I was surprised nonetheless. The appraisal ordered before that took quite a while but that was due more to the borrower's busy schedule. Once the appraisal was done, the report was quick.

I have to admit I didn't know how the new HVCC law would play out. And I did sign the petition; mainly because I really like the two appraisers I work with. They both seem to be hanging in there even though they're not on our company's approved list. I'm seeing if it might be possible to have them added.

My conclusion? Things haven't been quite as bad as I thought they might. Either way, I'm committed to this business and told my appraisers we would adjust to this as well. So what are your experiences? Perhaps I'm the proverbially glass half full person. I welcome you to weigh in. We've had so many challenges the last few years and I honestly feel as if we're about ready to turn the corner. Have a great day!

Good morning: I hope you're enjoying your weekend. We're back to cloudy skies and drizzle after record breaking temperatures last week. I was thinking as we get into Summer if you have plans to take time off.

Yes, I know it's difficult. We're wired up and feel the need to be accessible. Even though I have several days away scheduled this summer, I'll be checking in periodically. It could be that because we're on commission we wouldn't want to miss any opportunity.

Still, I think it's important to take time away. How do you do it? Even last year when business was rough, I managed to take a couple weeks away from the office and enjoy time with my family. This summer we'll head to our own little slice of heaven (Priest Lake, Idaho) at least twice. We also have a trip to Leavenworth, WA. for a few days.

I find a day or more off recharges the batteries. Let's face it. We're in a non-stop never-ending business. Alot of us are extremely competitive too; we don't like to lose that deal to someone else. But not taking time away can lead to burnout and a bad attitude about things. I know when I need a day off. I start to get grumpy and impatient with the world around me.

What are your plans this summer? If you haven't made any, I suggest you do everything in your power to take a few days. Even if you don't go anywhere, time away from the stress will do you wonders! Here's to a great summer. Be sure to enjoy it! Take care.

Good morning all: Yesterday was a wild day. Mortgage rates just kept on getting worse. Our secondary market manager sits in the office next to me and she was glum, to say the least. I told her not to worry.

Here's what happened. The government (yes, they're the only ones buying mortgage backed securities these days) decided to take a breather yesterday. We even speculated if it was because they wanted to give everyone a breather. We've been pretty swamped lately. The so called "breather" had the bond market tanking and mortgage rates worsened by between 1/2-1% in most cases.

I believe this is short term. The government's appetite for guaranteeing mortgages is still there as they try and right our economic ship. Plus, the great unknown is the private market. Remember the private investors have effectively been on the sidelines since August 2007. It stands to reason they'll jump back in at some point.

Eventually mortgage rates will climb back up to levels we saw earlier this decade (think 7% or so). But, for now, I think our irrational fears are unfounded. I look for lower rates again, perhaps as soon as the middle of this upcoming week. Have a great day!

Hi all: I've noticed a real upsurge in my business lately. Granted, I work for one of the best and largest lenders in the whole area and I'm starting to gain traction after working my rear off for peanuts for the first 3 years. But here's what I'm noticing recently.

We started the year not knowing what was going to happen after a pretty dismal 2008 for most of us. Then the refi. boom hit and, to date, hasn't let up much. The interesting thing lately has been the purchase market. That, for all practical purposes, crashed around our feet in August 2007 after the failure of American Home Mortgage and the subsequent takeover of Countrywide by Bank of America.

Lately, I've been getting a call/day from a realtor with a potential customer. Granted, I can't help them all but am encouraged by the agents' moxie and attitude these days. I think the purchase market is starting to rebound and that's a great sign. Most of the stuff selling up here (35-40% of the market) is still short sale, foreclosure or bank-owned. But, let's face it. Our customer loves a bargain and there are plenty to be had.

I'm helping a couple with financing on a builder short-sale and the bank who holds the note is in trouble. Plus, the realtor is a crackerjack. This doesn't mean it will happen but I think there's a pretty good chance. I encourage all of you to keep your chin up. Better days are definitely right around the corner. How are you doing in your neck of the woods? I'm curious. Thanks for reading!

Good morning all: And a beautiful morning it is. Highs should be in the 70's here. I was thinking last night (always a dangerous concept!) about how even in our area it seems that most of the sales are short sales, foreclosures, or REO's. That's not completely true as these amount to about 35-40% of our market. I would hazard to guess the rest are mostly first-time homebuyers taking advantage of lower prices and interest rates.

In Seattle, we've been hit but probably not as hard as other parts of the country. Still, it seems to me that most of the move-up buyers and a large percentage of first-timers are interested in what they perceive as deeply discounted property. In some cases, that's true although you'll never convince me that bank-owned real estate is a bargain. Why do I say that? It could be that one of my contacts in my database is a banker who's in charge of REO's. And this particular bank doesn't seem that interested in disposing of what they have for 50 cents on the dollar or anything like that.

On the other hand, I've got several clients wanting to make offers on short sales. Alot of it is from builders who are upside down and feeling the heat from their bank. This year I expect more of these to come to fruition. If the bank can agree to taking less than what is owed, they don't have to own it and the builder can potentially keep that relationship when he needs to build again.

What are you seeing in your market? I know these types of transactions can often take months to complete. I know this is trying your patience along with the fact you may not always earn your full commission if the deal is too tight. How are you dealing with this changing market? I think we still have a way to go. The bottom line is there is still a ton of inventory out there and very little new is being built. Until we reduce what we have, I don't expect the market to change much. I am seeing increased activity out there and wish you well this year. Thanks for reading! If you're not up-to-speed with short sales, etc, I suggest for now that you get educated. Have a great day!

Hello all: I hope you're enjoying your weekend. Here in Seattle, it's beautiful.

I was wondering this morning about virtual offices and how they work for you. Increasingly, I see people working from home. I know quite a few realtors who have adopted this model. Some I think because it's less expensive. Others do it because they are more productive and may actually have less distractions by working from home.

I have the ability to work from home and occasionally (2x/month during the  week) like doing it. It allows me the luxury of not commuting and sometimes I need the peace and quiet. The rest of the time I need the support that my home office provides. Is that then the answer? That most of us would like to have our cake and eat it too?

I do believe this. A person really needs to be a self starter to work from home a majority of the time. Especially if you have a family still at home. I'm curious what works best for you. What do you prefer? I think it's the wave of the future although it will never replace our need to interact with our peers in person! Have a great day.

Good morning all: Tomorrow, I'm pleased to announce our next class, "Short Sales and Foreclosures-Demystify the Process", will be taught from 10 a.m.-12 noon at Renton Technical College. Rebecca Haas and her team from Re/Max Metro. Realty will be covering a very hot topic these days. Cost is $10. We hope you can join us.

Rebecca Haas is a Certified Distressed Property Expert and has extensive knowledge of the short sale and foreclosure market. If you don't already have plans, stop in and catch up on the latest news. I hope to see you there! Have a great day!

Good morning all: Today is the third day of HVCC, better known as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. Until our internal company memo. last Thursday, I honestly didn't know how the new appraisal law would be implemented. Now I do.

In my company, all appraisals will be ordered by one of our senior executives from an approved list. My appraiser is really disappointed. I think his reasoning is all the relationships he built over time (including the one with me) are gone for now. I personally think the good appraisers will do just fine with the new system. Let's face it; they're busy right now.

But as Russ Ravery pointed out here on Active Rain, the new HVCC law will slow down the process and will probably be more expensive for the consumer.  If an appraisal comes in below the value needed, what does a person do then? We probably order a second appraisal increasing the cost and time needed to do the transaction.

To me, it's interesting that the system was correcting itself without intervention. It usually does. Recently, I had to have a client pay for two appraisals as the lender didn't like the first one due to its model. With home values still on the decline, appraisers were often getting very conservative with their reports. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before HVCC is tweaked. I give it about a year. In the meantime, all of us lenders will be utilizing different methods to determine value. Realtors: you may be fielding a few calls from me to see what you see before I submit a loan.

As always, I welcome your feedback. What do you think? What are you seeing? Have a great day today!

Hello all: It came to my attention that even though I spend time online, it doesn't take away from my  most productive activity; face-to-face, email, mail, or over the phone marketing to my database.

Don't get me wrong. I blog. I post. I believe it's important to be optimized and to be up-to-date with the latest trends. But I was having a conversation yesterday with our top producer this year. He's been in the business for 9 years and is having a phenomenal year so far. What he said I agree with. He built his database and markets to it. Whether it's a mailer, email, or personal phone call, he is doing something right. I haven't talked to him about his online presence and plan to. I would bet he doesn't have alot of time right now.

I joined Active Rain to connect with my smarter peers; I needed to learn. Then came Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. I take the time to post, usually once/day in the early morning or late evening. I'm curious what you think about being online. How has it benefitted you? I don't think I've done any business to date. I've had a few referrals and understand about branding. I still don't think an online presence replaces what else we can be doing. I welcome your feedback. Tell me your success stories! Thanks! Have a great day!