Realtor: A real estate agent or broker who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, and its local and state associations.

Founded in 1908, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(NAR), has grown from its original size of 120 to today’s 720,000 members. NAR is composed of residential and commercial realtors, who are brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, counselors and others engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry.

What separates a realtor of other real estate professionals is the agreement of the “realtor” to operate under a universal code of ethics and standards.

A licensed person that negotiates and conducts real estate sales, and who holds active membership in a local real estate board, that is affiliated with the National Association of Realtors.

A realtor will have the ability to list your house on the MLS system if you are selling a home. If you are buying a home a realtor can help you find the right home by finding MLS listings that meet your criteria. A realtor can also have new listings that fit your search criteria E-mailed to you as soon as they are on the MLS.

Residential and commercial loans are similar in many ways. However, there are some major differences in the uses for commercial loans, and the way that you qualify for them as opposed to residential loans.

The major difference between the residential mortgage and commercial mortgage is the required minimum down payment that the borrower needs to make. Since there is a higher risk for a commercial mortgage, the lender usually want to see some equity to be paid down by the borrower.

Commercial mortgages in general have higher interest rates and shorter terms than residential mortgages. This is due to the fact that there is a significantly smaller secondary market for commercial loans, whereas Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would purchase any conforming residential mortgages from banks. Knowing that they can recoup their capital investments by selling their mortgage loans on the secondary market, banks are more willing to offer competitive interest rates on residential loans.

Commercial loans are riskier than residential loans. If someone who owns a residence and commercial property has financial difficulties, they will make sure their home mortgage is paid first and often become delinquent on their commercial property mortgage.

Here are some reasons why you would use a mortgage broker:

There are many reasons that you should use a mortgage broker and many advantages to using a mortgage broker. One reason to use a mortgage broker is because a mortgage broker has access to all kinds of different home loan programs.

A mortgage broker’s job is to assess your situation and then shop your loan via 100 different lenders in order to find you the most beneficial loan for your situation. We have access to over 1200 different loan programs and are able to obtain wholesale rates which can save you $100,000 plus over the life of your loan.

Here’s something to keep in mind. As a mortgage broker, I’m completely independent. I’m not employed by or work for any bank or lending institution. I work for my clients. The bank is going to look out for its best interests, isn’t it nice to have someone working for you, the borrower, and looking out for your best interests?

Many mortgage brokers have expertise in certain types of loans, such a construction-to-permanent loans, poor credit loans, or reverse mortgages. If your situation has special obstacles a mortgage broker may be the best answer.

A mortgage broker is an individual or firm that acts as an independent agent for both the borrower and the lender of a mortgage loan. Mortgage brokers are the middle man between you and the lending institution, which can be a bank, trust company, credit union, mortgage corporation, finance company or even an individual private investor. A mortgage broker will analyze your financial situation to determine which lender is the best fit for your loan needs.

Mortgage brokers have the advantage of being able to access dozens of rates quickly for similar loan programs from different lenders. Although banks have similar programs, their rates can vary widely. Mortgage brokers, through experience and through searching rates, can find which lenders are offering the lowest rates at any given moment.

Mortgage brokers have more options than banks. For example. if you have poor credit and need a sub-prime loan, your bank may have access to one option. A mortgage broker would have access to dozens. Other situations where mortgage brokers would be able to provide you with more options than a bank include manufactured homes, rural properties, commercial properties, first time home buyers, and special credit situations, such as bankruptcies and foreclosures.

Working with a mortgage broker has many benefits. Just to name a few: we discuss and explain the programs that are available to you in your particular situation. We inform you in writing that you loan interest rate is locked and wont change. We explain all the documents in plain English so you understand what you are signing. We explain all the costs involved in closing the loan. We give you a time-line of the loan process. We provide you with a good faith estimate. We also coordinate the final closing of your loan.

Mortgage brokers have access to wholesale rates, where as your local bank only has access to the rates that they offer. This can save you money on your monthly payment, especially if you have a unique situation that your bank will not be able to handle.

Mortgage brokers are also familiar with the area in which they operate. Using someone local has big advantages. With so much mortgage information online, it’s hard to know who to choose. If something goes wrong along the way with your loan, it is easier to deal with if you have a loan officer you can meet with face to face rather than a website or 800 number.

A mortgage broker is also able to move your file to another lender should a better deal appear. Or if there is a problem with your file in underwriting your mortgage broker can switch lenders within minutes and ensure you meet your close date. Local banks cannot do this.

KOSI 101 Denver’s lite rock station plays non-stop Christmas music (between commercials) during the holiday season. However, they seem to play the same Christmas songs. So I took an informal survey in my office of which Christmas song is the best of all time:

And the winner is…. The Christmas Song sung by Nat King Cole

Thank you Mel “the Velvet Fog” Torme for coming up with that gem!

Here’s an article from the Rocky Mountain News discussing Rates, Home Sales and Housing Bubbles.

Rising rates won’t stunt home sales, builder says

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News
November 10, 2005

Mortgage rates will rise to 8.5 percent in two years but won’t trigger a massive slowdown in Denver-area home sales or a housing bubble, Pat Hamill, CEO and president of Oakwood Homes, said Wednesday.

Hamill said rates were that high in 1995 and 1998, which were good years for home sales in the Denver area. But Hamill also pointed out that rates actually were falling during those years. Thirty-year, fixed- rate mortgages now are hovering around 6.5 percent.

Economic growth and job creation are far more important than higher rates, Hamill said.

Hamill was among the speakers at the 2005 Rocky Mountain Commercial Real Estate Expo Fall Forecast, held by the University of Denver’s Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management.

Other speakers gave mostly rosy outlooks for the office, industrial, apartment, retail and land markets.

“We’re finally clawing our way out of the trough,” said Natasha Felten, president of Colorado Commercial Cos.

Hamill said one reason there won’t be a housing bubble is that homes aren’t as liquid as stocks. Even if home values fall, most people won’t be forced to sell, which is what often happens when stock prices drop, he said.

Also, speculators – who are artificially driving up home prices in other markets, such as California and Las Vegas – no longer are a factor in Denver, he said.

And home buyers in the U.S., on average, pay a smaller portion of their salaries to buy homes than do homeowners in other parts of the world, making them less vulnerable to falling values, Hamill said.

In the U.S., a typical buyer spends the equivalent of 3 1/2 times their annual income to buy a home, while in England, an average buyer spends seven times their income, he said.

People stretching to buy homes in hot markets such as California and Las Vegas, though, may be getting close to what U.K. homeowners pay, he said.

“We’re going to see that in our lifetime,” Hamill said.

rebchookj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5207

Copyright 2005, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.

However, according to the National Association of Home Builder’s website, they predict rates to be 6.6% in 2007.

Here’s an article from the Rocky Mountain News regarding the onslaught of bankruptcy filings.

As new rules loom, debtors in single day file 433 fresh cases

By John Accola, Rocky Mountain News
October 4, 2005

Record day, record month, record year.

A stampede of debt-laden consumers on the last day of the month broke the charts Friday in Denver’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Bankruptcy Clerk Brad Bolton said Sept. 30 marked the court’s largest number of filers in a single day – 433 fresh cases – and also exceeded previous record highs for the month and year.

“It’s the No. 1 day of all time here, and I bet it won’t last a week,” Bolton said.

Bolton said he expects the figures to keep climbing as debtors rush to file before a new and stricter bankruptcy law takes effect Oct. 17.

This year, with three months remaining, Colorado filings totaled 28,093 on Friday. That compares with 27,993 filings for all of 2004.

For the month, September showed 5,432 filings, a 131 percent jump over September 2004.

Overall, bankruptcies are up 31.2 percent from a year earlier.

To declare bankruptcy, consumers whose debts total more than their net worth must also show that living expenses and monthly bills exceed their income.

The new bankruptcy law, however, will make it more difficult – and expensive – to go through the bankruptcy process, with higher bankruptcy filing fees and added requirements, such as mandatory credit counseling and debt education.

The extra legal hoops are designed in part to steer people away from Chapter 7 bankruptcy, where most debts can be wiped out entirely, to a less forgiving Chapter 13. In a Chapter 13, the bankruptcy court requires debtors to set up a plan to repay a percentage of their debts over five years.

An income “means test” presumably will prevent debtors with above-average incomes from filing a Chapter 7. In Colorado, a couple whose income exceeds $54,187 would likely have to file Chapter 13, according to the new rules.

Josh Stritecky, an attorney at Methner & Associates in Denver, was in bankruptcy court recently lugging a bag overloaded with bankruptcy files. Stritecky said he and his colleagues have been working seven days a week to keep up with the flurry of cases.

“It’s been crazy,” he said.

He said credit-card debt is just part of the picture. A lot of the cases involve job loss, huge unforeseen medical bills and divorce.

One woman, a legal assistant in Denver who makes about $50,000 a year, said she wouldn’t qualify for Chapter 7 after mid-October. She declined to provide her name for this story because she feared her career would be affected by the stigma associated with bankruptcy. She was faced with repaying about $15,000 in credit-card debt, $10,000 for a student loan and two mortgages totaling roughly $125,000, according to her filing. She only had $50 in her checking account and $50 cash, according to the filing, made in August. She said she believed she would never fully pay off her debts.

“I just couldn’t cut it,” she said. “I’ll never take out a loan for anything again in my life.”

The law also takes aim at business bankruptcies. Denver attorney Brent Cohen, a commercial bankruptcy specialist, said retailers filing for bankruptcy – either to reorganize or to liquidate – could have a harder time keeping store leases.

Cohen said the new law favors commercial landlords, in some cases allowing them to break their rental agreements with a bankrupt tenant. Current law allows bankrupt businesses to sell those leases as an asset and even remain on the premises for years until a reorganization plan is approved.

Tighter deadlines will give business tenants fewer breaks.

“If you have a landlord resisting the debtor’s efforts . . . and the debtor needs additional time to organize, that can be a very difficult deadline to live with,” Cohen said.

accolaj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2666.

Copyright 2005, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.

Chairman Alan Greenspan of the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by .25% to 3.5% yesterday. As a direct effect, commercial banks boosted their PRIME RATES (used for Home Equity Lines of Credit) by a .25% to 6.50%.