Your home buying experience. What do you think?

I'd really like to know how you feel about this. A quote from MReport.com: "Almost two-thirds of homeowners who purchased homes in the past 10 years consider their home-buying experience 'excellent' or 'very good', according to survey results released Tuesday by TD Bank."

The article goes on to point out that finding the right lender was infinitely more difficult than finding a real estate agent. At first I took exception to that, but on second thought the statement is probably accurate.

In the first place, it was only recently that Loan Officers were required to be licensed. Let me explain a little bit about licensing: 1.) There is a stringent education requirement. 2.) There are separate State and Federal exams. 3.) A licensed Loan Officer must complete a required number of continuing education hours each and every year. 4.) Not every loan officer has to be licensed. ... Not fair you say? ... A little scary? ... Agreed, but there you have it. I personally believe that licensing is a FANTASTIC idea. Not only to protect you, the consumer, but to protect myself. If I've gone through the process of education, testing, licensing, and continuing education, I am less likely to make a mistake that would endanger or even end my career. And much, much less likely to antagonize my clients.

Quickly, back to the unlicensed Loan Officers. Yes, there are some. The "big" banks operate under a single license and in most cases their Loan Officers do not need to be individually licensed. Maybe this is a good thing... maybe not. This is not the point of my post. My point is this. I am licensed, and as such I have a stake in making my client's experience a positive one. I'd be curious to know how many of the surveyed buyers reporting "very good interaction" with their lender, dealt with one of the "big" banks, and how many sought out a licensed Loan Officer.

Twenty-four percent of respondents considered the home buying process "very stressful". Is there any need for that? For the most part there is a process. There is a process for Real Estate contracts, and there is a process for Mortgages. If consumers are well informed by both their real estate agent and their lender there should theoretically be very little stress.

I read this article several times, (you can read it here) and I understand the concept of a stressful transaction, I just don't understand the method. What, or who causes a real estate transaction to be stressful for the buyer?

As a Loan Officer being accessible, responsive, and transparent, as the article states, is a no brainer. And here’s my second point. My license requires these things but that’s not why I am this way. I've always felt that these qualities are critical, and I'll say this again... to protect the consumer, and to protect myself.

Have you recently been through the home buying process? I'd be curious to know what you think.

New - Down payment assistance in Arizona!

In addition to the Down Payment Assistance program that’s available for the Greater Phoenix area (Maricopa County), there is a new program available!


The Home Plus program, administered by Arizona Housing Finance Athority, provides 4% of the mortgage amount to be used for down payment and/or closing costs in most other Arizona counties.

A few of the highlights:

4% of loan amount is a GRANT – NON-Repayable !!

Up to $315,569 purchase price in Pinal County (call me for other counties)

Grant is available for Primary Home only

FHA, VA, or USDA financing regulations apply

Minimum 640 credit score

This is a great program. Visit the Arizona Housing Finance Athority web site for details on a tax benefits.

Only approved lenders can offer you this opportunity. Call me for additional details or to apply.

Quick Alert - Mortgage Insurance Premiums

Re: MIP Changes

- FHA is removing the MIP exception from loans with terms of

- 15 years or less, and LTV ratios of 78% or less.

- And increasing MIP on all loans* beginning June 3, 2013.

Paying Mortgage Insurance? Pay Attention!

Many people hold the misconception that you pay mortgage insurance only until the equity in your home reaches twenty percent, then it will automatically drop off. This isn’t necessarily true. It can continue for quite some time before government regulation kicks in and the bank is obligated to remove it. You could however, take the initiative and begin the process yourself.

If your mortgage was more than 80% of the purchase price of your home you are very likely paying mortgage insurance. You may have even forgotten about it as it’s included in your monthly mortgage payment. With the real estate market heating up and home prices showing noticeable improvement, I suggest you revisit the necessity of mortgage insurance.
Mortgage insurance, unlike other insurances that you are paying for, is not in place to protect you. It is there to safeguard the lender in the event that you default on your loan. So it only stands to reason that it would be in your best interest to stop paying for it.

There are a couple ways to accomplish this. The most likely positive result is through refinancing. With mortgage rates still in the highly favorable range this is a valid consideration. There are of course the usual closing costs associated with any loan. Your lender will assist you in determining whether or not the cost of a refinance is a worthwhile expenditure. And one caveat, refinance or not, you will still need to have a loan to value ratio of 80% or less. It’s always worth the effort to inquire, it costs you nothing to evaluate your position.

Your other option is simply to ask. Did you know that you are entitled to request the removal of mortgage insurance? If you’ve paid your mortgage consistently and have reduced the mortgage amount to 80% of your home’s original value, an appeal to your lender to cancel your mortgage insurance would not be out of line. There are no guarantees. Stumbling blocks can include; current real estate values, your payment history, additional mortgages or equity loans on the home, or simply you lenders opinion. But again… it costs you nothing to ask.

Subprime Again ?

Would a return to subprime mortgages be good or bad for the real estate market?

There are so many different ways to look at it that I’m not exactly sure what I think.

On one hand, I do believe that the subprime mortgage debacle played a huge role in the implosion of our housing market. But what was it that drove the machine in the first place? Was it lender greed? Borrower ignorance? Crowd mentality? Inflated appraisals? Over enthusiastic Realtors? Buyer desperation? Keeping up with the Joneses? Bad timing? “Big bank” duplicity? General apathy? I would tend to go with All of the Above. And who benefitted? We all did. There are millions of thankful homeowners who wouldn’t be homeowners at all if it weren’t for the leg-up they received from their first (subprime) mortgage.

On the other hand, I keep having this nagging feeling that if everything negative in our economy hadn’t come together just as it had, in precisely the right way and at precisely the right moment, the real estate crash mightn’t have been so severe (would it even have happened?). There’s such a muddle of cause and effect in this whole snarl of events that it’s become a “chicken or egg” debate. No one is really certain what came first and what caused what.

I watched the movie Too Big to Fail again last week. It’s an eye-opening little piece of cinema for sure! All about manipulation… ultra-powerful people in various stages of delusion, seducing and misleading the general public. I felt gullible and exploited. But then maybe it’s just a movie. Maybe.

As much as I’ve mulled over our economic maladies in the past 5 or 6 years, I am no closer to understanding them. That’s frightening to me. Does anyone understand, and are we doomed to repeat this?

This all incites me to share a very brief article I read today, courtesy of Housingwire.com. You can read it here. Apparently someone is suggesting we return to some version of the subprime mortgage.

Knowing what I know, which as you can see is very little. And feeling what I feel (very much conflicted). I’m right back where I was before I read that article. I have no idea what I think.

What I know…

1.)    People need a place to live.

2.)    People deserve a second chance.

What I feel…

1.)    This might help our housing market and in the process, our economy.

2.)    We still don’t know what started this whole thing.