Jim 's Blog

Most of the homeowners I talk to these days are feeling butterflies in their bellies.  Not about the wildly fluctuating interest rates or what homes in their area are selling for, but where the market will go.  Most people buy homes with the anticipation that the home will appreciate as they payd...

My good friend Chris Catanese's blog got me thinking today.  Chris is not only a great friend, mortgage wizzard, and pretty darn good realtor, but has become quite the social economist.  (Chris, you know where to send the check).  His blogs deal with the economy and it's effect on the real estate...

If there was a way for your clients to legitimately pay their mortgage off faster, in as little as ½ to 1/3 the time would you tell them?Well, there is and here's what makes this so powerful:•·        their primary mortgage company won't change•·        their monthly mortgage payment will stay th...

Yesterday my step-son & his wife closed on the sale of their home.  It had been a long and arduous process for them as the inventory of similar homes is huge.  They placed it on the market in early August, and finally are out from underneath the burden of carrying two homes.  They were originally...

The Money Merge Account is a wonderful aid to homeowners who have have gotten caught in the cash-out refi cycle.  Most people don't realize what they do to a loan when they refinance every 5-7 years.  On a $200,000 loan, if a homeowner refinances at the end of the 7th year, they turn a 6% loan in...

As a United First Financial Agent, I have often encountered CPA's and Financial Planners who are of the "Equity Harvesting" mindset.  They want to argue that using the banks (first mortgage) money, it should be repayed as slowly as possible, investing any money that could be used to pay down that...