Yet, a lot of people don’t know about these programs or don’t understand how they work.  We’ve spent 25 years working in this arena. For some, the notion is that Affordable Housing translates to ‘inferior’ in some way and nothing could be further from the truth.  Learning about just a few of these resources could put a family in the home of their dreams. Read the rest of this entry »

FHA loan limits could drop yet again on January 1, 2012

While Congress debates how to create jobs, a vote on retaining the current high cost limits on mortgages has not yet taken place.  Thus we revert to the ‘old’ way of calculating the loan limits as of loans not fully credit approved and clear to close by September 30^th.  Currently, the new loan limits in place on Oct 1^st, in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro area will revert to $318550.  However, the formula for calculating the limits in place on January 1^st, 2012 may result in even lower limits.   The loan limits in place after Oct 1 2011 expire December 31 2011.  This could dramatically affect purchase agreements written that are set to close after the 1^st of the year. Read the rest of this entry »

“Nothing is more noticeable between an older home and a new home, than the check you write for utilities every month.” – Fall Parade of Homes Magazine 2011 Read the rest of this entry »

Appraisals continue to be the knothole in a lot of real estate transactions.  If you’ve ever had one come in low, then you know how frustrating it can be to look at the comparable sales and try to make sense of how the appraiser came up with that value.  Underwriters and Investors struggle to make sense of the hodge podge of commentary and adjustments on appraisals as well. Read the rest of this entry »

An old friend of mine once asked me if my husband and I were on a mission to renovate all of the derelict farm houses in Scott County. Over the past 26 years we’ve pulled a lot of plaster and lathe, shoveled our share of bat poop out of attics, rewired, plumbed, and lovingly restored more than a dozen houses. Years of neglect showed itself in many ways; in the peeling paint on their facades, dry rotted boards, failed septic systems, leaky rock foundations that let water and mold into damp, musty smelling basements. Read the rest of this entry »

“You can coach and encourage a thousand people but you can’t carry 3 on your back.”   Let that sink in for a minute. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s the Eleventh hour of the day and you feel that your title ought to be Fire Chief.  That’s how I felt for the entire month of July.  Tuesday, I decided to step back and debrief the month with my people.  In doing so, we came up with a number of ways that we could “One Time” our business practices to insure that we don’t run out of day before we finish our work during the month of August. Read the rest of this entry »

Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.

Mary Hemingway

Spoken like the true Minnesotan that she was, Ernest’s fourth wife and widow has a point. Read the rest of this entry »

This could be an interesting week.

That is still the big question.  So far, the markets seem to believe that Congress will burn the midnight oil and strike a deal. I hope so and I hope it is one both sides of the aisle can and do embrace.   Time is running out.  The closer we get to the deadline without a deal, the more likely the market is to start pricing in the risk of both a default and a downgrade of US bonds.  Keep your eyes on the rates and the news this week.  Better to be safe than sorry.  According to my Financial Planner, his advisors believe a default or failure to reach a deal on the deficit might result in an immediate .5-1.0% increase in rates and an 8-15% decline in the stock market. Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, our underwriter walked in to my office and asked me if I knew when interest rates had last been at 7.0% or higher.

As it happens, I have been keeping track of interest rates since the early 80’s.  The answer:  March 2002.

Given the stalemate in Washington over the budget, and the current debt ceiling, I thought it might be important to issue a pointed warning today that these incredibly low interest rates may soon rise. Read the rest of this entry »

For homeowners on the brink of foreclosure, new federal program might offer help. The Emergency Homeowners Loans Program (EHLP) offers up to $50,000 in loans to homeowners in danger of foreclosure because of unemployment, underemployment or medical issues. The program was developed by HUD, which has set aside more than $50 million to use in Minnesota over the next two years. Read the rest of this entry »

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”  Excerpted from The Declaration of Independence. Read the rest of this entry »

I heard someone this week say, “Real Estate is still the final frontier in America for those who want to determine their own financial destiny.”   I agree. But, for many, there is a conversation going on inside of their heads that stops them in their tracks.  It’s all about fear.  It sounds like, “what if they don’t like me, or perhaps, what if they say no. Furthermore, sales are down, prices are down and I am down!”  The news is filled with negativity. The importance of our mission is called into question. There’s a great book out right now called, Go for No.   Get it.  It’ll change your life if you let it.  No kidding. Read the rest of this entry »

“Every company has its own DNA.  Ours is to seek wise counsel.”  Those were the opening remarks at Fairway’s annual meeting.  We have entered a ‘rules over risk’ environment in consumer lending.  High quality loan origination has to become Job #1 or your bank or lending institution risks failure. Period.

Read the rest of this entry »

True or False?  “There is no Down Payment Assistance Money Left.”  VERY FALSE.

“I was just so amazed and excited to hear about all of the great programs for funding for 1st time home buyers.” Quote from a Homestretch Class Participant this past weekend. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re like me, you work at least a third of your waking hours. I’m a realist.  My motto, like Erma’s, is that ‘the grass is greener where you water it.’  I’ve had the same address and phone number for 22 of the 25 years I’ve originated mortgages.  I’m surrounded everyday by talented people I’ve worked with for most of my career. They are family to me.  About 4 years ago, when the market started to crash and burn, I came to the conclusion that my motto needed a however added to it.  It’s tougher to grow grass on concrete than fertile soil. If you’re going to spend a third of your life there, the place you work should provide a culture and a platform that is fertile soil for success.  It takes much less effort to succeed when you work where the leadership is ‘can do’ and the culture is open and service focused.  We needed to make a change. Read the rest of this entry »

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Henry David Thoreau wrote these words in Walden, his memoir of the 2 years, 2 months and 2 days he spent living at Walden Pond. He also wrote, “ the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation.” Read the rest of this entry »

I’m so bullish on Real Estate that I now own two homes…well, sort of. In the dark and bitter cold of January, Bill and I scouted out a great deal on a cabin. We closed at the least likely time of the year for such a purchase, February, and spent the winter taking it apart and putting it back together again. Our friends and family just scratched their heads in wonder at what had possessed us.  It was cold work and we did have to brave snow banks, mud, and spring floods but last night, we caught a stringer full of fish off of our dock and this morning, woke to the sight of Pelicans and Egrets fishing for their breakfast in the same spot. If we would have waited for spring to find this place, we’d have spent the entire summer working on it instead of fishing! Read the rest of this entry »

There’s no use fighting it.  The last few years have been a game changer and yet there are still a lot of people yearning for the days of old when there appeared to be wiggle room in the rules.  Compliance is the Hot Button in Washington these days and ignore it at your peril.   Every banker and mortgage banker who ever sold a loan to Fanniemae, FreddieMac or GNMA(FHA/VA), has been called on the carpet to explain any deviations from compliance with prudent underwriting and servicing standards.  The price for non-compliance is high: give us the money back and pay a hefty fine for non-compliance.  For many, it was simply the end of the road.  Read the rest of this entry »

A friend of mine, Mike Elwell, from All American Title, told me about a website at www.forecasts.org.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to predict the future of such things as the next market rise or fall, or what mortgage interest rates are going to do with accuracy?  These guys, whoever they are, think they can.  Their teaser got me so I subscribed to see just what they had to say.  They claim to have a lot of big name clients and a history of accuracy and I was feeling kind of whimsical today so I thought I’d share their predictions for the future.  I don’t recommend by any means that you take these as gospel. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not only Buyer’s who need to Beware in today’s Real Estate Environment

In real estate, everyone has heard of the Latin phrase, Caveat Emptor, meaning Buyer Beware.  Generally, it refers to the fact that when you buy real property you’re buying it in its existing condition so you should carefully check for defects in the actual property and the title before handing over your cash.  Unless the seller, in their statement of condition, lies or covers up a known and pre-existing problem, you may have little recourse after closing. Read the rest of this entry »

“It’s Never too late, in fiction or life, to revise.”-Nancy Thayer

I’m 59.  I prefer to think of myself as ‘experienced’, not old.  I’ve spent a quarter of a century working with 1^st time buyers.  About 4 or 5 years ago, I read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and realized that I’d have to change a few things to remain relevant to this new generation of 1^st Time Buyers. Read the rest of this entry »

According to my mother, I came into the world a fighter. I also came out sunny side up. At the age of six, intent on a grand adventure, I climbed to the top of an old rickety ski jump in Chester Bowl in my hometown of Duluth. There were more boards missing than still attached. My brothers, fearing my imminent demise, ran and got my Dad who begged me to climb back down. I did not understand what all of the fuss was about. The view from up there was terrific and I was having fun. Read the rest of this entry »

Not to be flip but when bad news hits the headlines, it’s usually pretty good news for mortgage interest rates.  CNN has this little ticker you can watch on their Money page.  It shows interest rates with an arrow that goes up or down depending what’s on their world news page. Read the rest of this entry »

My husband has a nickname for me: Kate loves a Mystery

It happens.  Your buyers have mentally moved in and your sellers have packed and are ready to move on. Then, WHAM! everything comes to a screeching halt when the appraisal comes in low.  For years we took for granted that the appraisal would always come in at the price the buyer was willing to pay for the house. It seems reasonable that a willing buyer and a willing seller who have come to a meeting of the minds over price ought to be the best judge of value. With the advent of The Home Valuation Code of Conduct and the rules in the code now made law, many lenders, sellers and buyers simply give up or give in because they don’t know how to overturn a low appraisal.  As frustrating as the process is, it is possible to turn things around.  Time to get your Sherlock Hat out and think like a detective. Read the rest of this entry »