Washington Mortgage Planner-straight up mortgage advice and commentary

Hello all: I started to write this blog this morning and our power went out! Perhaps it was better to submit it now. I'm two weeks into the New Year with a brand new company and it's working out perfectly. It was a huge decision to switch (I'm not sure anyone does well with change) and I was worried about how I would let all my clients and contacts know about the move. Frankly, I still am but have stayed busy with a postcard, an e-newsletter, an email, and another email set to go out shortly. My whole mission is to let people know where I can be reached.

If you're a subscriber or reader of my blog, please take note. I have moved to the Legacy Group in Bellevue, WA. I feel very lucky to be there. The Legacy Group is one of the premier lenders in the Seattle area and handles residential, private capital and escrow transactions in-house. Coming from the broker side (and increasingly finding it difficult to get loans done), it's nice to have the option of doing both (banking and brokering). It appears the brokerage side is challenged right now and I worked for a great group before that had all the wholesale channels available.

My move to The Legacy Group has also forced me to prioritize and remind myself of what is important to sustain my business. This next week I plan on continuing to call all the people in my database and let them know that I've moved. It's funny how a change can be a motivator in and of itself. It's scary for sure but I have several loans in the works and feel it was the right call. I wish all of you well this year and encourage you to imagine yourself having a great year. I got a very encouraging email from a realtor I know and like. She said that she already sold one listing this year and she was in the process of picking up another. Again, I wish all of you the best. Stay in touch!

Good morning: I find myself in my bathrobe this morning thinking about the fact that I'm starting with my brand new company this Monday. And I have to admit I'm pretty excited!

If a person is going to make a change, I think it's a great idea to do it at the first of the year. It's a new beginning. Granted, it's a little scary to do it. In my case, I had to copy alot of the data I had and transport it over to my new workplace. My new employer has been incredibly helpful and this has made me feel like I made a great decision.

I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. There's a lot of hard work ahead and I'm hopeful the market improves as I feel like most of us are in survival mode right now. Let me know your plans for this new year. And don't be afraid to make a change if things aren't working to your satisfaction. I wish all of you the very best in 2009. You can do it! Take care.

Good morning! And Happy New Year! I would be the first person to admit that 2008 was wacky. A person always starts out optimistic and, although I stayed positive the whole year, I felt like I was in survival mode at the end. I believe this year will be better for all of us in real estate.

I have agreed to switch companies (this will be written about in another post) and will hit a milestone this year by turning 50! I wish all of similar success no matter what you're doing or comes your way. I'd like to hear from you about your plans for this year. Active Rain has become probably the top forum for me. I have learned so much and thank all of you.

So make it a great day today. Whether it's watching the parades or the bowl games, enjoy this time off. And, remember, to take it one day at a time. It's so much easier that way! Take care.

Good morning! It's still a winter wonderland here in Seattle and it appears we'll have a White Christmas this year. I just wanted to extend my best wishes to all of you this time of year. It's hard for me to believe another year is almost up. It wasn't an easy one at all. In fact, it was probably the most challenging year yet. I'm hopeful 2009 will bring us some relief. I believe it will.

Even though it was a challenging year for most of us in real estate, I still feel very blessed. I have the privilege of being associated with the very best people, both personally and professionally. And I love the business I'm in and am excited about a change after the first of the year. I'll keep you posted!

So I hope you're enjoying the Holiday season. It truly is magical and reminds me of why and what we are here on earth to do. Take care and have a wonderful day tomorrow and every day!

Good morning! It seems like the whole nation is under the weather. That's definitely true up here. We live in the foothills of the Cascade mountains in Washington State and we had a snow and windstorm to remember. I'm surprised our power is back on; usually it takes a day or so when we have a storm of this magnitude.

It definitely looks like we'll have a white Christmas this year. Personally I love it as I grew up in Eastern Washington where the weather can be severe. For all of the native Western Washingtonians, they're not used to it. But they seem to be enjoying it nonetheless. I say if you're going to have a storm, have one around the holidays. Although we've barely started our Christmas shopping (we're lucky in that we don't have that many people to buy for), I don't feel as stressed as in years past. We've missed quite a few parties because of the weather and it's nice to not feel the need to go into work every day.

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? I was talking on Skype with a friend of mine in Antigua the other day. He and his wife are educators and took a position at a school down there. He said that it was in the 70's. At first I thought you lucky dog! Then I thought I grew up with 4 seasons and that's really what I prefer. Send me a comment with your holiday plans, weather, etc. I'd like to hear from you! Happy Sunday!

Good morning! I hope you're all well!  I was thinking this morning about the fact that most of the potential borrowers out there think they wouldn't be able to get a loan these days. Repeat after me. "I am a good borrower! I am a good borrower!"

It's amazing to me this public perception. Yes, alot more is required to get a loan these days but money is available. We've gotten back to the good old days where a borrower had to prove income, assets, and that they had a job. If you have these things and are not looking to borrow 100%, you can probably get a loan. I've been told even by great borrowers (good credit, assets, and income) that they know they're good borrowers and are frustrated by how much information a lender needs these days. This is true. Will it always be this way? Probably not. There will come a time soon where credit won't be so tight.

So if you think you can't borrow money, think again. The loans are out there. Repeat after me. "I am a good borrower! I am a good borrower!" Have a great day!

Paul

Good morning! I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. After hearing all the talk about lower interest rates recently, I had to smile. Does anyone remember January 2008 when interest rates were at 5% for a couple of hours? I do. Did it do any good? Not really. There were a ton of mortgage applications right around this time. But the bottom line is that loans couldn't get done and closed. So what has changed?

Nothing really. In fact, credit has probably gotten tighter. I know we're all looking for that shot in the arm to get us moving again. And the idea is great and I hope it works. I'm just not sure we're ready to exit the downturn we're in. I expect maybe Spring or Summer 2009, at least up here. Case in point. I get an email from a borrower that he wants to refinance. The rate I got him in 2007 was the best I could do at the time given his credit score. Now their credit score is better. The problem? Their house has declined in value, probably to the point where I can't do it.

Obviously, there's a ton of interest by borrowers to refinance. And it's so easy to take an application, pull credit and get excited about the prospect of a new loan. Then, we start working on the minutiae and find that it can't be done or doesn't make sense. Obviously, I'm talking about refinancing at this point. I don't know about you but the purchase market is pretty dead up here right now.

What are you seeing in your neck of the woods? Is this helping your business? Do you expect to close more loans because of the lower rates. If so, good for you. I just think it's important to bring a little levity here. When the " make sense" loans start getting done again that will start to signal a turnaround. Right now that's not happening. Plus, we're going to probably be getting some bad news in January. If retail sales are as gloomy as they predict for the Holiday Season, expect several bankruptcies after the first of the year. In other words, we're not out of the woods yet. We will be soon. We just need another six months or so. Feel free to disagree with me; after all it's just my 2 cents! Have a great day!

Good morning! I was thinking yesterday (always a dangerous thought because it usually leads to a blog!) about how we in the real estate business should approach our job. Of course it brought up the question "Are you working your job or it it working you"?

I'm aware that the last couple years have been tough and I know that I'm also looking forward to better times ahead. Personally, I don't have much historical perspective. I started in April 2006, am not a quick starter, and by the time I figured it out things were almost at a standstill. The one thing I probably did right is I continued to work my job as if it was a career.

I think this is important. My office has shrunk from probably 18 people originating loans down to 5 over the past couple of years. Most of the people who left were younger and got used to a big paycheck without building their business. When I was counselled by two friends to go into the mortgage business, I took the plunge and tried to make it a career.

That's the difference and what I mean by working your job. I am always impressed when I meet a realtor, for example, and they're wearing their badge and talking about their Open Houses. To me that means commitment. Let's face it. We all have a choice and if we don't decide to work our job it will work us. Rich Sweum here on Active Rain recently came up with 30 things we can all do to keep our head in the game. Thanks, Rich. That list helped me get focused again. I'm curious what you're doing to stay sharp. I believe that for those of us who stick with it, and maintain our focus, good times will come again. And probably sooner than we might imagine. Have a great Thanksgiving and keep working your job. Or it will work you! Take care.

Hello everyone: I arrived in the office about 8:30 this morning to hear that mortgage interest rates were in free-fall and 5.125% O.A.C. on a 30 year fixed was available. I crafted an email which I then sent out  to my email list about the good news. By this afternoon, I had several responses asking me further about loan programs. All in all, an amazing day and one that will probably garner a few more loans.

So will this trend of low rates last? For the time being, I believe so. Remember we are entering into a slower time of year so I expect the days of several price changes/day to diminish somewhat. Plus, in spite of the stock market gaining back some of what it lost, I think the market is still prone to weakness. Remember this is the number one reason that mortgage interest rates have stayed low as people seek security in safer havens such as bonds.

The other reason I heard is that with the banks being able to borrow money at often less than 2%, their margin is high at 6% on a mortgage. Supposedly the Federal Reserve lent banks money to stay afloat and originate new loans. But the banks didn't do this and so the Fed. lent more money to try and free up the credit markets. I've been told lately that mortgage interest rates were artificially 1% higher than they should have been due to the banks building in risk. With the Fed. now guaranteeing more money for banks, interest rates may be closer to what they should be.

Will this help unfreeze the market? I don't know. Today I heard about how many new loan submissions there were in my company because of the lower interest rates. That's great news but I'm going to remain sober about it. Many of my brethren still don't seem to understand how to get a loan done. I know alot of you do and bless you for that. I just know alot of loan officers are stuck in the past and don't necessarily realize you can't just lock a loan these days. The loan has to be researched because, if it's submitted and doesn't go through, the lender keeps score.

In closing, I still expect we're going to experience our share of ups and downs before it gets smoother in the Spring of 2009. Is it an excellent time to buy or refinance? Absolutely. Will alot of people take advantage of this. Probably not. Obviously, I'm hoping people will. That's my job and that's how I get paid! Enjoy your evening!

Good morning: With the governments announcement that they will be bailing out Citigroup, I have to wonder where's my bailout. Obviously, I'm just kidding. I don't expect one; I expect to make it on my own. Besides, I'm a small fry. Only the big entities get government subsidies.

I have to wonder about all this government bailout stuff. I read today on www.ml-implode.com that the big builders are going to look for help next. My question is when will it all end? And where is all this money going to come from? Somehow I wonder if we, the taxpayer, won't be paying for it during our lifetime. I know they're selling it as having a great rate of return. The problem I'm having is the numbers just seem to be getting larger.

I was talking with my wife yesterday and she was talking about how her mother, who doesn't drive, has started setting appointments for every Monday because she knows it's my wife's day off. I told my wife, because she is increasingly frustrated having to give up Monday, that she needed to talk to her mother about setting limits. That is, she can take her mother on her errands once or twice/month on a Monday. But not every Monday. The reason I'm telling you this is because I believe the government is going to have to start to say the word no. Everyone and everything needs limits. Otherwise, I'm not sure we'll ever make it to the other side.

I'm curious as to your thoughts on this whole bailout idea. It seems to have created a life of its own. Have a great day!