Washington Mortgage Planner-straight up mortgage advice and commentary

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!