September 10th, 2009
It appears that there will be a new credit scoring model. The new model is being dubbed “FICO 08.”
Supposedly, this model is designed to help more qualified borrowers get the loans they deserve and filter more borrowers from potential default. Mostly, it’s geared towards punishing repeat default borrowers more. Borrowers who have an infrequent delinquency [...]
September 9th, 2009
I had the honor of going to my first barcamp on Wednesday, September 8th 2009. This BarCamp was geared towards how to utilize technology in the real estate market. We covered many topics including the Seattle real estate market, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Blogging, video blogging (something I’m excited to try) and social networking. It was [...]
September 2nd, 2009
Here is a timeline and excerpt from an article from Channel 11 Alive reporting from Atlanta, GA
We dug through bankruptcy filings to get a better understanding of what’s going on. We’ll post more links below. TB&W serviced approximately 488,000 mortgages worth an estimated 80 billion dollars. 95 percent of those were government back mortgages. 5 [...]
September 1st, 2009
Taylor Bean and Whitaker recently posted information on their website on where home owners should send their payments after the mortgage company unexpectedly closed.
I tried to give some clarity to Taylor Bean’s instructions on a recent post I put on my blog. However, the feedback I’ve received from homeowners have been mostly of confusion and [...]
August 19th, 2009
UPDATE
Taylor Bean and Whitaker has posted a new link that searches for your new servicer by entering your Taylor Bean and Whitaker loan number. You can find this page by clicking here.
This has been a question I’ve been receiving more lately. Calling Taylor Bean and Whitaker’s exit from the mortgage industry “Ungracious” would be the understatement [...]
July 14th, 2009
I’m very excited and humbled to announce that I will be joining the Zillow.com team of blog writers!
This does not mean I will be abandoning this blog. The material I will be writing for Zillow will be only mortgage related on a broad scale. I will continue blogging on my site with mortgage rate updates, [...]
July 9th, 2009
There have been a few interesting articles regarding our region.
Lisa Pemberton Butler and Justin Mayo of the Seattle Times reported that for the first time in 3 years, there’s multiple neighborhoods considered “affordable” to the median income for our area.
“King County’s median household income in 2008 was $68,832, according to estimates by the state’s Office [...]
June 29th, 2009
Well, technically HUD has allowed us to use the Federal Tax credit as a down payment, but we are still waiting for the missing puzzle piece.
HUD (The Department of Housing and Urban Development) is the Federal agency that regulates FHA loans. HUD issued a letter on May 29th allowing buyers to get a grant or [...]
June 26th, 2009
A colleague sent me a great article about the Seattle housing market and how it’s unique geography and building laws have helped shelter Seattle from over-development during the real estate boom.
Here’s an excerpt…
“Two big factors will help bolster Seattle housing prices in the next few years: stringent building restrictions and basic geography.
City officials kept [...]
May 26th, 2009
Rates continued to move upwards today continuing the ugly trend that started last Thursday. Consumer confidence reports came in much higher than expected.