The Benefits of a Professional Consultant

Choosing the right lender is a key element to managing your mortgage. As a mortgage consultant, my goal is not just to provide you with a loan, but also to help select the one most beneficial to you and your long-term goals, and then, help you manage that debt over time. There are not many lenders out there who provide this type of personalized service.

My job is just beginning when your first loan closes. I will continuously monitor rates on your behalf, and stay in touch with you to make sure we remain on target with your financial goals.

Seek Pre-Approval

What’s the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval?

Pre-qualification is the starting point in your search for mortgage financing. A quick snapshot is taken which includes income, existing debt, savings, length of employment, etc. All of these factors will then be analyzed to determine your loan eligibility.

Pre-approval is Read more

“Honey, I’m going bird watching again. Again!”

The Federal Funds rate is now 4.75%, down .50% from 5.25%.  The first drop since June 2003.  Coupled with a .50% drop in the over night rate that is used by banks to lend to each other short term, this is big news!

As you probably know, the Federal Funds rate affects Prime from which Home Equity Lines of Credit, Credit Cards, Auto Loans, and Business Loans are priced  It does not have a direct correlation with home loan rates.

Equally important as this rate cut is the Central Bank’s Policy Statement.  This is where analyst try to predict the Feds next move and thoughts on potential inflation.
The explanation for these drops was to avoid “the tightening of credit conditions which has the potential to intensify  the housing correction and restrain economic growth more generally”.

This was the first real test of Chairman Bernanke’s willingness to take aggressive measures to help ease the woes caused by the subprime melt down. 
What this means to you. 

We can expect an increase in investor confidence now that the Fed is actively working to reel in the credit crisis. It’s still too early to predict if more decreases are to come but this is a good first step.

If money returns to the Bond Market and consumer and business financing loosens up a bit we will see a drop in mortgage rates and a return to sound lending practices for the average borrower.
 
Lee Williams, ARC Funding (415) 247-1825

Unscrupulous lenders who deceptively sold a subprime mortgages to millions of Americans should be fined and the proceeds used to help bail out borrowers facing a wave of foreclosures, according to Barack Obama, the Democratic senator running to be his party’s presidential candidate.

The proposal is among the most radical yet from a leading Democrat and comes as Washington tries to respond to a growing wave of foreclosures and a crisis in credit markets.

It also comes amid greater discussion in Washington on whether the mortgage industry – including credit rating agencies involved in rating mortgage-related securities – should be more tightly regulated to prevent a repeat of the crisis. 

Writing in today’s Financial Times, Mr Obama blamed lobbyists working on behalf of lenders for obstructing tougher regulation of the subprime industry, adding: “Our government failed to provide the regulatory scrutiny that could have prevented this crisis.

Full Story Click Here

The subprime mess is widespread, and it seems to be getting worse. It’s certainly worse if you’re about to lose your home.
The stock market is schizoid — up one day and down the next. If you’re a day trader, this volatility is pure heaven; if you’re getting ready to retire, it’s likely to give you a heart attack.

Big Deal

As for commercial real estate, it’s a great market. I just bought a 350-unit apartment house in Tulsa with an assumable loan at a 4.9 percent interest rate. Rents are low, the oil business is creating jobs, and demand for apartments is high.
As with any market, the real estate business is terrible for some people and couldn’t be better for others (like me).
But as much as I love real estate, I believe the biggest opportunity today is in silver. I think this precious metal is about to become the most spectacular investment in recent history — bigger than oil, even bigger than Google.
Read the whole story CLICK HERE

 For the full New York Times Article

Written by David Leonhardt

Becoming the president of an international corporation used to take a lifetime of hard work. Now, it can be done with a PC, strong entrepreneurial spirit, and less than 30 days.

The idea of being self-employed seems daunting to many professionals. It’s estimated that 80 percent of businesses fail within the first five years. If you’re a ‘glass is half-full’ kind of person, you might be discouraged by such an estimate. However, the typical entrepreneur views this an invitation.

An entrepreneur isn’t discouraged by 4-to-1 odds. They see a good chance (one in five) that a given venture will succeed. And, they have a sense of certainty that while individual ventures may fail, it should only take them five attempts to find the right venture.

With the help of technology, it’s never been easier, or less expensive, to start an international company. And, even the cost of failure has decreased. Within 30 days, its possible for anyone with a good idea and a modest savings account to start their own business.

 Full Article: Click Here

The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, those with at least $30 million is rising fast. Last year, the number of members of that exclusive club rose more than 11% to almost 95,000. The total amount of money they represent, according to the World Wealth Report, is just over $13 trillion (yes, with a “t”).

There are about 3 million millionaires in the U.S., according to the report. They have more than $11 trillion and did a pretty good job of managing their wealth: assets rose 10.3% for the year. Europe, with about the same number of millionaires, didn’t do as great a job in terms of asset growth; assets there rose 7.8% in the year.

All in all, the numbers point to high growth rates in the ranks of the world’s wealthiest individuals, and CapGemini/Merrill Lynch don’t see a stall anytime soon: they predict financial wealth among the high-net-worth population globally will increase by an annual rate of 6.8% in the next few years, hitting $51.6 trillion by 2011.

Full Article: Click Here

 What it Takes to Get Ahead of the Competition

Very few individuals have the luxury of being the only professional in their marketplace offering their particular service. Competition is constantly at our heels, hoping to catapult one step ahead of us. For this reason, we must continually strive to differentiate ourselves from any competition we may have.

Dan Sullivan, President of The Strategic Coach Inc. and co-author of How The Best Get Better, provides a solution. According to Sullivan, if you wish to remain in the upper echelon of your profession you must “…disregard your own commodity and focus on deepening the power and possibility of all your relationships.”*

This means that no matter how much better your business model may be Read more

We all get stuck or loose focus on the important things that lead to the greatest areas of happiness in our lives.  I re-read this article that highlights perpectives from Deepak Choprah and Anthony Robbins.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

http://www.anthonyrobbins.com/PDFs/FamilyCircle.pdf

 Lee Williams

Ever dream about quitting your job and taking off to parts unknown? It’s easier than you think. With a bit of careful planning and research, taking an extended vacation can be surprisingly affordable. The secret is to target areas where daily living expenses are lower than those here in America. Even with the weak U.S. dollar, that still leaves a huge portion of the globe to explore. Let’s assume that a typical San Franciscan spends $1,000 per month on rent, $150 on gas, and $150 on utilities. Even without factoring in food and entertainment expenses, that gives them over $43 per day to play with — more than enough to live on in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and Africa.

But what about airfare? Since plane tickets are one of the most expensive parts of traveling, it’s actually cheaper to stay longer in each destination. Around-the-world tickets may seem like a bargain at first glance, but many require you to lock down your itinerary in advance, and the joys of long-term traveling are often about seeing where the road takes you. We think it’s better to book only your major flights (getting in and out of the U.S.) and rely on local transportation (bus, low-cost air carriers, camel) during your journey.

Top Five Secrets of Long-Term Travelers Read more

Jun

12

Paul Potts - Frog to Prince

June 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Not a fan of the show but this was a moment where I found myself very inspired.  An amazing performance and an example of where a man takes that first step towards his destiny.  Good luck Paul.

http://www.youtube.com/v/i0dzZTPWrSM

Jun

1

Understanding the Home Appraisal Process

June 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Consumers are often baffled by the home appraisal process. They may feel their home is worth a certain dollar amount, and therefore, the appraised value doesn’t make sense to them. It is important to know that appraisal guidelines are dictated by the lenders. In many states, the lenders must disclose the purpose of the appraisal, as each situation carries its own set of rules.

In essence, lender guidelines force appraisers to put a fair market value on a home based upon comparable sales in the area where the home is located, as the home must be bracketed according to size and value. For example, Read more

Apr

24

How to Opt-Out of Credit Card Offers

April 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment

There are 220 million people in America eligible for credit, however credit card companies sent out over 6 BILLION offers last year.  Besides the obvious waste of paper, these offers create a real risk of Identity Theft. 

Should you ever need to take out new credit you are much more likely to get great credit card deals at sites like BankRate.com so there is no need for these offers to clog your mailbox.

If you would like to reduce the number of pre-screened credit and insurance offers you are receiving, visit www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5OptOut (1-888-567-8688) to opt-out of these offers. This is a free service to consumers offered by the major credit bureaus.

Through this website, you may request to:

• Opt-Out from receiving Firm Offers for Five Years - (electronically).
• Opt-Out from receiving Firm Offers permanently - (mail).
• Opt-In and be eligible to receive Firm Offers. This option is for consumers who have previously completed an Opt-Out request - (electronically).

Other consumers who wish to decrease the amount of unsolicited telemarketing calls they receive should register with the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry at: www.donotcall.gov or by phone 1-888-382-1222.
Lee Williams
 

Apr

24

PICKING UP STEAM

April 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment

After tagging along on Zephyr’s tour of homes, it appears that reports of the S.F. market’s demise have been greatly exaggerated

Heather Boerner, Special to The Chronicle

There were still multiple offers — Drypolcher reported that even amid last year’s slump, a third of their properties sold with multiple offers — but they weren’t as common and they didn’t elicit the frenzy of offers that is seen now. Houses came on the market and were pulled off again after price reductions and lack of interest. The Casselli property, a two-flat building, had been on the market for several days last year when it was pulled off again. And then, voila — the new year arrives, Casselli goes back on the market, and suddenly there’s a bidding war and tons of offers.

Stories like this ripple through the meeting. Take a property a few blocks from Casselli Avenue, on Ord Street. Peter Goss represented the seller on that property when it went on the market this year. But it wasn’t the first time the house had been on the market. In September, the owners listed the house for sale — and waited. They waited 92 days and lowered the price by $46,000 before eventually deciding that perhaps it wasn’t the time to sell.

“Oh, it’s a tremendous change,” Goss said. “This property on Ord, it was listed last year for $1.795 million before the price was lowered to $1.749 million and then taken off the market. This year, we listed it for $1.695 million — a little lower — but the offer we received was for $1.85 million. So again, this is more than asking price of last year.”

The house sold in five days.

 Read the whole article at The Chronicle

Apr

23

The Weekly Review

April 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment

A Strategy for Success

In today’s business world, information comes at you rapidly and from all directions. It’s far too easy to become overwhelmed and find yourself in a reactive rather than a proactive mode. How can you regain a sense of balance and control?Each week, as work winds down, make an appointment with yourself to assess how you’ve been doing. David Allen, the best-selling author of Getting Things Done, calls this a weekly review, which he believes is critical to achieving the results you desire.

The weekly review is more than a chance to step away from the distractions of the office, it’s also a time to catch anything that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks. Schedule an uninterrupted Read more

Apr

17

Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent

April 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Choosing the right person to represent you in negotiating your home purchase is a major decision. Whenever you see the designation of REALTOR® (with a registered trademark) you can rest assured that person is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR), and has a commitment to meeting the standards of the organization. My team and I have a network of professionals that have done a great job for our clients in the past, and we can provide you with a referral to a qualified representative, and pre-approval to shop as a cash buyer.

How will you know which REALTOR® is right for you?

Seek to work with an experienced Real Estate professional that works with buyers on a regular basis. A real pro will go the extra mile to show you that they will look out for your best interest and gain your respect. Sincerity is a key word here. This type of Real Estate Agent will Read more

Apr

13

The Balancing Act

April 13, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Family, Work, and You

These days, most of us work two jobs—the one that pays, and the one we love (at least most of the time): raising our kids.On the Working Moms Message Board at ParentSoup.com, they have great tips on how to make it easier to do both at once. It’s also a great place to share advice of your own, and to get support if something’s getting you down. And though it’s mostly for Moms, working Dads can find plenty of helpful advice, too. Here are a few of the best tips for balancing work and family:

Get up before your kids do. Painful, but worth it. Getting that extra 15 minutes of sleep is nothing compared to the calmness you’ll feel if you get up and get yourself ready first. Whatever it takes for you: work out, take a shower, get the coffee down your throat. When your act is together, it makes it easier to get their acts together.

Prep ahead. You do it at work, why not do yourself a favor and think a few steps ahead at home, too? This can mean anything from picking out their outfits for the next day before going to bed, to making Read more

Apr

9

Six Steps to Avoiding Foreclosure

April 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

David Bach, The Automatic Millionaire

If you are a home owner and are having trouble paying your mortgage this article could help save your house and your family’s finances.

Mar

27

Mortgage ignorance rampant

March 27, 2007 | Leave a Comment

By Elizabeth Razzi • Bankrate.com 

As concerns about subprime mortgages plague the nation’s leaders and lenders, America’s homeowners are confused and worried about their own mortgages, according to a recent poll commissioned by Bankrate.com.

What type of mortgage do you currently have?   Source: Bankrate.com 2007

In the survey conducted by Gfk Roper, homeowners with mortgages were asked what type of mortgage they had. A stunning 34 percent of the homeowners had no idea.

“That’s a symptom of the complexity of the mortgage market today,” says Ken Wade, chief executive officer of NeighborWorks America, a nonprofit organization that provides financing and training to neighborhood-based housing organizations.

A generation ago, mortgages were made primarily through banks. Today there are many more types of organizations making mortgage loans, some of which are less regulated than banks. Adding to the confusion is the variety of loans now available to borrowers. “There is a proliferation of new products that come on line just about every week, and I think it creates confusion among consumers,” says Wade.

Read the rest at Bankrate.com

Mar

23

Subprime Meltdown Snares Borrowers With Better Credit

March 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment

By Jody Shenn

March 22 (Bloomberg) — The subprime credit crunch is beginning to ensnare even borrowers with better credit.

Lenders are increasingly refusing to lend to homebuyers who can’t make a down payment of more than 5 percent, especially if they won’t document their income. Until recently such borrowers qualified for so-called Alt A mortgages, which rank between prime and subprime in terms of risk. Last year the category accounted for about 20 percent of the $3 trillion of U.S. mortgages, about the same as subprime loans, according to Credit Suisse Group.

“It’s going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to do a no-money-down loan at any credit score,'’ said Alex Gemici, president of Parsippany, New Jersey-based mortgage bank Montgomery Mortgage Capital Corp. Companies that buy the loans “are all saying if they haven’t eliminated them yet, they’ll eliminate them shortly.'’

Read the full article at Bloomberg

Mar

17

Failure is Not Permanent

March 17, 2007 | 1 Comment

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.
- Henry Ford

As I have walked with thousands of families through hope-robbing financial problems, I have realized there are reasons we lose our hope. Our mind and spirit have believed lies in order to lose the most precious item called HOPE.

One big hairy lie that we allow to steal our hope is: Failure is permanent. If we see failure in our past as an indicator of our future, it will rob our hope. Winston Churchill, the great British prime minister, said, “Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” When we believe failure is here to stay, we lose enthusiasm and the ability to head back toward success.

Hope is stolen when we misunderstand failure. Failure is natural, normal, and is going to happen. If we take all the lessons learned from failure and stack them, we can easily get the breathtaking view that hope gives. The trick is to avoid making short-term decisions, based on loss of hope, that have worse long-term effects.

When people are in financial difficulty, they often make stupid short-thinking financial decisions. If you really believe you can never save enough money to pay cash for a car, you lose hope and borrow the money. If you got laid off from a job or your small business went under, you may think the rest of your life is doomed. Debt, which robs your ability to build wealth, is usually the result of lost hope. We have been sold debt so thoroughly that it has stolen our hope. People who have hope, grown from vision based in values, are savers and investors; they think long term. Where there is a lack of hope, we cripple our ability to build wealth and long-term relationships of value.

Read the rest of this article at DaveRansey.com 

Mar

16

What’s wrong Mortgages? - Stated Income Loans

March 16, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Stated Income loans were originally created for self employed or individuals who had sufficient income to service the loan but had circumstances that made it difficult to show the required documentation for traditional underwriting.  In exchange for a slight increase to the origination cost of the loan, borrowers were given a free pass from this documentation requirement.

The downside is this has become a way to raise the amount of loan for employed people to qualify.  Wait, why is that downside?  This was another log on the fire fueling housing appreciation. During the heyday more than 80% of loans in the Bay Area were stated income, thus contributing to 300% housing appreciation since 2000.  If I make $4,000 per month but am able to “state” I make $12,000, this can greatly increase what a bank is willing to lend me.  However in a society where an ever increasing number are living paycheck to paycheck it is easy to see how overstating how much one makes can lead to mortgage lates and even foreclosure.

Joan and Sarah are sisters in Daly City.  When they bought their 2 bedroom condo they had a combined income of $5,500 per month.  The loan application they signed at closing stated their income as $10,500 with loan payments of $4,300 PITI.  When they pointed out the error to their Realtor^® they were told,”Don’t worry, you’ll refinance out of it.”  6 months later they are a month behind, out of savings and out of options.  “We can’t make the payments even if we refinance at a lower rate and only pay interest.  I wish we had stopped everything at signing, but we were afraid to lose our deposit and didn’t really understand what was going on.”
 

What goes up must come down…
As this type of lending comes under greater scrutiny, the market will tighten up and lower what people can “afford”.  When people can no longer qualify for these loans it lowers purchase offers and possibly housing prices. 
This may be a necessary part of normalizing the lending standards as lenders become more fearful of getting caught cheating.  Loan reps will be required to act in their client’s best interest instead of focusing on commission checks.

 

Mar

15

Bay Area home sales lowest since 1996, prices still flat

March 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Bay Area homes continued selling at an 11-year low in February as the region logged its seventh month without significant price appreciation, a real estate information service reported.A total of 6,305 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 2.2 percent from 6,168 in January, and down 7.9 percent from 6,844 in February last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

February has averaged 6,600 sales since 1988. Last month’s sales were the lowest for February since 1996, when 5,940 homes sold. January sales were also at an 11-year low. On a year-over-year basis, Bay Area sales have fallen for 25 consecutive months. The declines have generally eased each month since sales fell 32.4 percent last July.

Full Article [DQNews]

Mar

14

Subprime Loan Trouble

March 14, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I am often asked about subprime loans for purchases of properties and I have a simple answer.  Subprime loans should NEVER be used for a purchase of a home.  And only be used in a refinance in rare and temporary cases.
Subprime loans are generally given to borrowers with a credit score below 620 who are “qualified” primarily on income.  5 years ago subprime loans were made to folks with big down payments and new jobs that were used to help get out of past financial woes.  The aim was to use these loans as part of a strategy to raise credit scores, decrease other debt and prepare for traditional financing in a short period of time, usually 24 to 36 months.
The recent subprime feeding frenzy led to sketchy qualification practices, interest only loan options, 2 - 3 year prepayment penalties, 100% financing, twice the origination cost

Read more

Mar

12

CalHFA Offers $7.5 Million in Low Interest Loans

March 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment

SACRAMENTO, February 26, 2007 – Local government agencies can now apply for low 3.5% deferred interest loans to promote affordable housing projects in their communities through the California Housing Finance Agency’s (CalHFA) award-winning program, Housing Enabled by Local Partnerships (HELP).
The CalHFA HELP Program is offering $7.5 million in low deferred interest loans to California cities, counties, housing authorities, redevelopment agencies, and community development commissions to assist with the acquisition, development, rehabilitation or preservation of affordable rental housing. In addition, this program also provides financing to facilitate the construction or rehabilitation of ownership housing, as well as making funds available for the implementation of subordinate loan programs for eligible home buyers. Applications must be submitted to CalHFA by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20, 2007.
                
“Through the HELP Program’s nine years, CalHFA has partnered with 105 local government agencies, awarding $167.5 million in financing statewide,” said Theresa Parker, CalHFA

http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/