I Work For You

As a mortgage broker, I have access to lenders and
programs that you as a borrower are unable to find
on your own.

For the most part, many of the big lenders that have
a local presence allow us to represent their loan
products as well.

When you apply to the local lender, you are putting
your eggs in that basket. If that lender is unable
to approve your loan request, you will need to
re-apply with another lender. This will probably
result in duplicate fees for appraisal of the
home and for credit reports.

Additionally, when you apply with the one lender,
your request will need to fit into that lender's
available loan programs and underwriting pattern.
The representative there will be working for the
lender and asking you to adapt to their policies.

Because I have the availability of many lenders and
many loan programs, I serve as an advocate for you
with the lenders.

When you complete an application with me, I am
going to package your loan request and select as
many potential lending prospects as possible.

If your qualifications are strong and many lenders
will be willing to approve your loan, I can select
among the lowest in price - that is interest rate
and loan fee - to get you the best terms possible.

The big advantage of this approach is that one
loan application with me makes available to you
the market of available loan products that I
represent.

If Lender A expresses an unwillingness to consider
some aspect of your loan request, I can roll your
loan application to Lender B, and so on.

You would not need to obtain a new credit report or
appraisal to gain access to the additional lenders.

If you have a borrower profile that limits my
choices, it will probably be necessary to have your
loan file submitted to any number of lenders who
provide loan products that fill a particular niche.

Once your loan application is in process, we have
the ability to get electronic loan approval through
our lenders. We submit the data from your file,
the automated underwriting system renders its
decision, and we receive a list of conditions that
must be satisfied to finalize the approval.

The list of conditions will include the lender's
review of the physical file so that they can
validate the data that we submitted.

The approval will typically notify us of the
maximum interest rate up to which the approval is
valid.

Because underwriting guidelines have tightened
recently, it is in your best interest to complete a
loan application early in your time frame for wanting
to purchase or refinance. This early action on your
part will allow us to get the preliminary loan
approval, and to have a list of conditions from the
lender that we can satisfy.

When the time becomes right - either the right home
you want to purchase presents itself, or when loan
pricing is where you want it to be - we can then
be in a position to move quickly on your request.
And, we will already know just what the lenders are
looking for to avoid surprises.

Give yourself every advantage to have your financing
of your home go smoothly. Give yourself lots of
choices, lots of flexibility, and be pro-active
in the process.

Start your loan application with me, and let me work for you!

Is There Any Mortgage Money Available Right Now?

Over the last few weeks, we have seen wild fluctuations
in the financial markets.

Congress couldn't agree on a "rescue plan", and then a
week later, finally put together legislation that was
signed immediately by President Bush.

A big rationale for the "rescue plan" was due to the
fact that credit markets had become very illiquid as
lenders and investors were forced to hold mortgage
loan assets. A larger-than-normal percentage of these
assets were not being repaid in a timely manner which
leads to foreclosure. There were no buyers for these
loans, or for other loans that are currently being paid
well, because investors have no confidence in the
quality of the loans.

So, the "rescue plan" was designed to have the govern-
ment buy these troubled assets to free up liquidity for
the financial institutions and allow them to start
lending more freely again.

But, throughout this process mortgage lending has
continued.

Despite the financial troubles they have been going
through, Freddie Mac (FHLMC) and Fannie Mae (FNMA)
have been purchasing loans up to their conforming
limit of $417,000 with regularity. They have also
been authorized to purchase loans up to $729,750
(depending on which county the property is in) through
the end of this year and loans have been created in
this categoy as well.

The jumbo loan category, those loans above $417,000
(and temporarily those above $729,750), has been
severely restricted. Institutional investors and
those buying mortgage-backed securities through Wall
Street have no appetite for buying these products
right now. Consequently, interest rates are high
for these loans, and availability is extremely limited.

Now, please understand that the qualifying standards
are not as liberal as they were in the past. For the
most part, loans that accept low credit scores, that
accept stated income from the borrower, and that are
above 90% of the value of the property are not readily
available.

So, the key to the kingdom is that your qualifications
include the following:

* Strong credit scores

* Provable, stable income that meets the lender's
current qualifying criteria.

* A strong equity position in your home, or a sizable
down payment on the home purchase.


Mortgage lending has not stopped. Qualifying is more
strict.

If you have an interest in buying a property while
prices are substantially lower than they have been,
or want to see about renegotiating your existing
home loan, just give me a call.

We can work together to see what is possible in this
lending environment, and do our best to help you reach
your goals.