Feb
4
Monday Morning Quarterback
Filed Under colorado, rates, sports | Leave a Comment
Microsoft may be buying Yahoo. They also might be buying the Sun complex in Broomfield. Despite Google’s meteoric rise, Microsoft is/are still the Joneses and Google knows it!
The caucus in Colorado is Tuesday. Isn’t twenty years of Bush (4) + Clinton (8) + Bush (8) enough? For the record, I’m a huge fan of Barry. If you read his bio, you might become one too. He’s half African, half Caucasian. Raised in Hawaii. Lived in Indonesia. Schooled in California and NY. Senator for Illinois. He’s got the whole country and a lot of ethnicities covered plus according to the NY times he’s a MAC.
Rate cuts, rate cuts, and more rate cuts.
I’ll be the first to admit that I really didn’t think the Giants had a shot at winning the Superbowl. I grew up watching both the Jets and the Giants but since my brother liked the Giants, I adopted the Jets as my team just to spite him. Boy do I regret that move big time!
Despite being a Jets fan, it’s hard for me to hate the Patriots. New England line backer Tedy Bruschi is the same ethnic chop suey as I am.
Why do we love sports? My brother said it best, it’s unscripted drama.
My brother is now a Broncos fan.
Suck it Peter King!
Nov
28
Here’s an interesting article on how mortgage rate adjustments have changed lifestyles. A few years ago people were using their homes as ATM’s; taking out cash at will to buy things. I was never a big proponent of racking up debt at the expense of your home’s equity. Here’s why: Mortgage market hangover could choke holiday sales
However, I doubt a lack of equity will really curb the appetite to purchase “stuff.” To put things in perspective on Saturday I ventured to Best Buy to check out flat screen (LCD/PLASMA) televisions. The ones with $1000 up to $5000 price tags. The section was full of people all wanting to buy this high ticket item including myself. While I was enamored with the “kick ass” picture quality and slick design, I opted against buying a new television. It’s basic logic, whenever I buy something I feel the need to use it to justify the purchase. As it stands, other than sports I rarely watch television so buying a television would force me to watch television.
Visa wasn’t happy with my decision, but I’ll bet that he was happy with this past weekends results. Visa should change their marketing slogan, “It’s everywhere you want to be” to “No equity, we’ve got you covered.”
Nov
5
Overland: Cheap Golf Course, Not So Cheap Neighborhood
Filed Under denver, real estate, sports | Leave a Comment
If you’ve ever played Overland you’ve probably felt like a MILLION bucks. My best scores always occurred after 9 or 18 holes at “Overdog.” It’s in a great spot and just like any great spot it’s about to be exploited:
Home prices in
Denver ’s Overland Park neighborhood are on the rise as homebuyers and developers realize the centrally located area’s potential, despite being wedged between major industrial parks and bisected by a busy highway and train tracks.
Yogi Berra once coined the phrase: “It’s so popular no one goes there anymore.” Let’s hope that Overland stays a municipal course forever. I like to feel good about my golf game every now and again.
Read the full article: Overland’s industrial evolution
Oct
12
Sep
7
To merge or not to merge
Filed Under credit, mortgage, personal finance | 1 Comment
PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE: If your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price of the home, mortgage lenders require that you take out Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). This insurance protects the lender in the event you default on your mortgage. PMI has fallen out of favor in recent years due to the 80/10/10 (80% first mortgage, 10% second mortgage, 10% down payment), 80/15/5 (80% first mortgage, 15% second mortgage, 5% down payment), and 80/20 (80% first mortgage, 20% second mortgage, 0% down payment).
On the heels of the mortgage credit crisis comes word that the two bigger players in the mortgage industry may merge. However, after further deliberation, they decided against a merger.
MGIC drops bid for rival Radian
The mortgage insurers agree to end the deal and focus on how to survive in the industry.
By Emily Fredrix The Associated PressMilwaukee - Mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Corp. abandoned its $5 billion bid to buy rival Radian Group Inc. on Wednesday, saying it was in each other’s best interest to concentrate on surviving in the faltering mortgage industry.
Radian had vowed to see the deal through when MGIC announced in August it wanted to back out. But chief executive S.A. Ibrahim said Wednesday that Radian didn’t want to fight and instead needed to weather what he called “an industrywide scramble to survive.”
Investors seemed hopeful for both companies after news of the agreement.
Though Radian’s shares tumbled as much as 9 percent after the market opened Wednesday, they closed up 16 cents at $18.27. MGIC shares fell 29 cents to end at $30.05.
MGIC, based in Milwaukee, had agreed in February to pay about $5 billion in stock for Radian, valuing its shares at $60.78. Shares of MGIC closed the day the deal was announced at $70.09.
As problems mounted in the mortgage market, both companies saw their shares tumble and the deal’s value sink.
MGIC said it did not believe it had to complete its purchase of Philadelphia-based Radian because their joint interest in subprime-mortgage investor C-Bass LLC could be worthless.
The decision to end the deal was mutual, both companies said.
Neither party paid the other to get out of the agreement, according to a news release. The original agreement said there would be no breakup fee if a decision was mutual.
Both companies’ shareholders had already approved the deal, which MGIC had said would close in early October.
But woes felt throughout the mortgage industry made the deal difficult to finish, said Michael Zimmerman, MGIC’s vice president of investor relations.
While this is akin to splitting up, it remains to be seen what this means to the borrower. There aren’t too many PMI companies left and when the two biggest PMI companies are more concerned about surviving, especially when in 2007 PMI is tax deductible, this can’t be a good sign.
Aug
5
Flipping houses
Filed Under denver, foreclosure, real estate | 1 Comment
For some reason I get A LOT of visitors searching for “Fix and Flip in Denver” and “Fix and Flip loans.” Most people I’ve talked to regarding “fix and flips” simply don’t have a clue how much time or money is involved in a buying a house, remodeling, then selling it for a profit. People who are unprepared either go broke or wreck their credit or both. However, buying a home, fixing it, and then flipping it has always fascinated me.
Growing up I really enjoyed This Old House and Hometime. 20 years later and much to my surprise these shows are still on Public Television. The cast of characters has changed but the premise remains the same, remodel an aging house.
Today there are several shows devoted to flipping homes and I’m addicted to each and every one of them:
Property Ladder: By far the best of the shows not named This Old House or Hometime. Candidates for this show are fix and flip novices. The show is an hour long and typically the show focuses on the struggles these novices endure while flipping. They do receive guidance from Kristen Kemp a real estate investor. What I like is that follow through to the end and show some flips as complete flops.
Flip That House: If you have a short attention span, this fix and flip show is for you. It’s only 30 minutes long! Experienced and inexperienced flippers are depicted in a quick view of the fix and flip process. The show usually ends with a how much the home was purchased for, how much they spent, and the new price with the expected profit highlighted.
The Real Deal/Real Estate Pros: In one hour this show follows successful real estate flipper Richard Davis and his company, Team Trademark. It’s a pretty interesting show laden with extremely tight deadlines. Getting a house ready in a week only to get one of your employees into the property seems a little far fetched.
Flip This House: I liked this show because of Team Trademark but there was a lawsuit and Team Trademark moved on. There are other “teams” that are featured, one in San Antonio, TX, one in Atlanta, GA and the latest is in New Haven, CT. If you’re in drama you might want to skip the last team, the New Haven group seem to be as cohesive as the 2004 Boston Red Sox.
Flipping Out: Last week a new fix and flip show debuted on Bravo. It’s about Jeff Lewis, a professional real estate investor. Remember it’s on Bravo, the network that brought us Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in other words, expect a lot of drama.
Jul
23
Links: Moving up like George and Weezie!
Filed Under blog, denver, mortgage | Leave a Comment
Interesting links from the web:
The Denver Post has a great article, Sales surge for digs over $1M, on why the upper end homes are selling like hot cakes. Denver homes in the million dollar range are doing very well because move up buyers have done well with their investments in the stock market. Moving up like George and Weezie!
Speaking of luxury properties, I ran into my friend Dan at the Denver based real estate and mortgage blogger meet up last week. He now works for LuxuryProperty.com, a site that specializes in million dollar homes nationwide. Look for their launch very soon.
Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel discusses when prices rise, people remodel. Anyone who links to a Roxy Music clip is pure genius in my book!
Just like every kid, I grew up playing soccer. It’s the premier sport in the world. Somehow it just doesn’t have mass appeal in America. Consider that Denver just hosted the Major League Soccer all-star game, did anyone care?
Chinatown real estate is hot according to CBS. This begs the question where is Chinatown in Denver? My best guess is Alameda & Federal area with their wide array of Chinese restaurants.
Jun
4
There are several definitions of the word BILL:
- an itemized statement of money owed for goods shipped or services rendered; as in “pay your bill“
- a piece of paper money; as in “dollar bill“
- the entertainment offered at a public presentation; as in “what’s on the bill“
- player for the National Football League team based in Buffalo, NY; as in “Jim Kelly will always be a Buffalo Bill“
- Nickname for William; as in “Bill Clinton“
- a brim that projects to the front to shade the eyes; as in “bill of a baseball cap“
- beak: horny projecting mouth of a bird; as in “pelicans have big bills“
- a statute in draft before it becomes law; as in “I‘m just a bill. Yes, I’m only a bill. And I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill.”
Bill Ritter recently signed five mortgage and foreclosure bills into law. Here’s a rundown of these BILLS from the Rocky Mountain News:
- HB 1322, MEASURE TO PREVENT MORTGAGE FRAUD
- SB 85, PROTECTS CONSUMER REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS
- SB 203, MORTGAGE BROKER LICENSING
- SB 216, MORTGAGE LOAN ACTS PRACTICES
- SB 249, REAL ESTATE TITLE ESCROW SETTLEMENT
Summary: Mortgage brokers and others involved in real estate transactions must act for the benefit of the borrower, including making reasonable inquiries into the borrower’s financial situation and using best efforts to obtain a loan that takes into consideration the borrower’s situation.
Summary: Prohibits brokers from trying to influence the judgment of a real estate appraiser through coercion, intimidation or compensation.
Summary: Brokers must be licensed by the Division of Real Estate and must get adequate training, testing and continuing education and are prohibited from engaging in 24 specific activities, including fraud and conflicts of interest. A broker who has a license revoked for violating this legislation would not be eligible to be reinstated unless he or she provides full restitution to individuals he or she has harmed.
Summary: Requires brokers to act in good faith and deal fairly, including: not to recommend the borrower enter into a transaction that “does not have a reasonable tangible net benefit to the borrower, considering his circumstances; to make reasonable inquiry into the borrower’s financial circumstances; not to make loans where there is no reasonable probability of repayment.”
Summary: The Division of Insurance is required to provide annual reports on the number of enforcement actions taken, the market trends with title insurance and real estate transactions, and consumer complaints generated by market analysis, investigation and enforcement efforts regarding title insurance.
While this is a start but there are several areas that still need to be addressed:
What about the borrowers? Aren’t they culpable? If Joe and Jane Borrower buy a house and refuse to pay their mortgage simply because they racked up a lot of debt what’s their penalty?
What about banks? In Colorado, state and nationally chartered banks are exempt from registration: bank, saving bank, savings and loan association, industrial bank, industrial loan company, credit union, or bank or savings association holding company organized under federal law, and subsidiary or employee of the above. This is a large population of the mortgage community.
What about the Account Reps? They represent the mortgage lenders who end up buying your loan. Some will say just about anything to get mortgage brokers to send them business. In other words they’re part of the problem. Somehow there’s no law where mortgage lenders have to police their own employees.
Apr
4
More books I’m reading
Filed Under sports | Leave a Comment
The best part about the Denver Libary is that you can put a book on hold and they call you when it’s ready. It beats going to Tattered Cover, Borders or Barnes and Noble and reading a book you really have no intention of buying.
Recently I picked up a book with the greatest title ever: Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot: The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad by Mike Greenberg of Mike and Mike fame on ESPN Radio.
I expected it to be humorous. It was about as humorous as the sitcom “Yes, Dear!”
When someone has what you consider your “dream job” you really don’t expect their lives to be rather pedestrian. I almost gave up completely on the book until I read a paragraph that Mike wrote about Micheal Jordan:
“It was all in his head. It was all in his confidence and competitiveness and determination and mental toughness. I traveled with Michael Jordan for years and never once saw him waver. I never say him afraid. Michael Jordan was the most supremely self-confident human being that ever lived. His unshakable faith in his ability is what set him apart, made him special. It is what enabled him to fly.”
Good job Mike!
Mar
1
FAQ: What exactly do you do?
Filed Under faq, mortgage | Leave a Comment
I get this question more than any other: What exactly do you do?
A mortgage broker acts as an intermediary who sources mortgages on behalf of individuals or businesses.
My role as a mortgage professional is to “broker” a home loan for a home purchase, home refinance or a home equity loan/line. I interface with borrowers (clients) and companies that buy mortgages.
Before I got into the mortgage business I worked as a systems analyst. I never thought of it this way but my previous life in the software field and my current life as a mortgage professional are one and the same. This clip from Office Space best sums up my previous life.