The Veterans Administration announced new loan limits for 2010. IF you currently have a VA loan in process and it does not close by 12/13/09 it will be subjected to the new loan limits regardless of application date or whether loan has been locked. In most instances I do not see this as a problem however check with your mortgage professional for more details. Please click http://www.kirkwilliamsgroup.com/996611.html and look for VA Loan Limits for more information. I wish us all well.     12/29/2009

Neighborhood Profile for Valley View & Sylvan Crest in Everett, WA Valley View neighborhood in Everett, WA has 237 single family homes as well as a few condo/townhome units. Construction on the first phase of Valley View, commonly referred to by the residents as "Valley View 1" began in 1968 and continued into the 1970s. The second phase of developement in Valley View commonly referred to as "Valley View 2" primarily took place between 1981-1985 and includes a total of 49 homes. Valley View 2 is the section beginning from Hamlet Ln and southward. While many of the homes on the eastern side of Valley View have views of Snohomish Valley, ironically, none of the 49 homes in Valley View 2 or on the west side of the neighborhood have the view. Sylvan Crest includes 53 homes of various sizes ... 12/18/2009

The New York Times says the following about Shaun Donovan Housing Urban Development (HUD) Secretary.... "He developed a national reputation as an innovator along the way, holding to a middle ground between free-market forces that opposed government controls and liberal groups that believed only government and nonprofits could be counted on to provide housing for the working class." "Mr. Donovan has experience in all facets of the affordable housing market, having worked in both the nonprofit and private sectors and in academia as a scholar of housing policy. He has even worked as an architect in New York and Italy." Really?  So far the Good Faith Estimate going into effect January 01, 2010 certainly is different but innovative? The consumer or the working class folks won't think so. Now... 12/10/2009

Over the past two years we have had hearing after hearing with all the usual suspects that I have named as public enemies to the consumer and our industry. Wall Street certainly set the table for this calamity but they couldn't have done it without the help of repealing an act called GLASS STEAGULL (Originally passed in 1933). The repeal happened in the dark of night a late December eve in 1999. Thank you Phil Gramm. Without going into much detail you can read the awful details and yes you will find the usual enemies of the consumer and our industry currently costing the consumer millions with their antics of "reform" - familiar names. You will find a huge list on both sides of the political spectrum which demonstrates and supports my previous blogs noting that we are not represented by... 12/08/2009

If you have gazed upon the stock price of Fannie Mae recently you can at the same price purchase a pack of gum....or maybe not. Comprehensive Quote: 12/01/09 11:15 AM EST Last 0.92 Change 0.04 % Change 5.05% Volume 8,368,658 Open 0.90 High 0.93 Low 0.89 Prior Day'sVolume 32,357,983 52-Week High 2.13 (08/25/2009) 52-Week Low 0.35 (03/09/2009) Prior Day's Close 0.88 NYSE and Amex prices are delayed at least 20 minutes and Nasdaq prices are delayed at least 15 minutes. Volume updates until 8:00 p.m. ET. Meanwhile the genious at Fannie Mae has decided to tighten underwriting standards hiding behind the credit score system that in my humble opinion should be abandoned after all it is is used to jack up rates and costs and if you lose your job score does not matter does it? Well that's a good... 12/01/2009

If I'm not sharing my vast wisdom (nudge nudge wink wink) I would be on a rant about the inept nature of government or particular individuals but today as another deal closes for a new home buyer knowing they will be celebrating their first Thanksgiving in their new home I pause to give thanks that I am still paddling up this creek we call an economy. It has been a challenging year for our family on many fronts just like families across America. In the end we still have it better than most in the world we live in today. I am thankful for that. Our community lost a couple great souls this year some way too premature. I am lucky to have been touched by their lives. I am thankful for that. I am lucky I have one of my parents still living. I am thankful for that. If I were to drop today I c... 11/25/2009

Not surprising to me HUD is going to put a 120 day 'enforcement' delay for the new Good Faith Estimate and HUD-1 roll out scheduled for Jan. 01, 2010.  What a mess. What a disaster. This photo depicts perfectly how our government (the big guy - Oliver Hardy) and HUD (the skinny -Stan Laurel) are managing this little thing we call a financial calamity. Recovery my (Fill in blank). HUD always has a scandal each administration costing millions or billions (depending upon how many years you include). Inexplicably they eliminated the down payment assistance program thinking a down payment would solve this economic calamity. BIG thinking. So here the nation of lenders wait to see what's next. How are the investors going to react. Some lenders may require us to use the new form. Others may not... 11/17/2009

If you were one of the activists that mailed in the online petition supporting the elimination of HVCC the day in court is coming soon. A group will be delivering the petitions to one of the enemies of the consumer and our industry - the attorney general of New York - Mr. Cuomo maybe as early as this week. His office has been contacted and we will see how they respond. See previous blog about its history and BS that fly's around this issue. You want government to do what? The failure of HVCC appraisal It continues to baffle me why the Honrable Mr. Cuomo does not go after the real villian in this and that is Wall Street. Oops I forgot that's where he will be getting his campaign donations for future political asperations...what was I thinking!   I wish us all well. 11/16/2009

Project Phoenix is focused on helping families in Snohomish County who are experiencing foreclosure to aviod homelessness and other devasting outcomes and to help create a recovery plan for each family. Homes for Good has five new affordable rental homes that will soon be available in Maryville. Homes for Good, is a non profit organization providing assistance for families with children who have lost their homes to foreclosure and are at risk of being homeless. Income Eligibility and Rent: These homes are restricted to families in Snohomish County at or below 50% of the areas Median Income. For a family of 3, annual income would be $37,950 or below. Rent levels are set in compliance with HUD Home “Low Rent” levels, approximately $1,095 for a 3 bedroom homes. Rent includes utilities. Ho... 11/13/2009

Talking to friends, colleagues or total strangers about their experiences in the military I am always impressed by their humble nature. What an all star group of people - men and women. Not all serve in the battle of war. Often times they spend tireless hours supporting those engaged on the ground. Then there are the families. The families are hero's too and in my opinion neglected way too often and need better support particularly today in the times we live. To all I cannot thank you enough.  I wish us all well.   11/11/2009

Yes. Instead of doing the heavy lifting and figuring out how to work out loans for the folks still employed Fannie has decided to become a landlord. Instead of foreclosing they will lease to folks for one year then month to month there after. How they set the rent or how things get fixed in a timely manner or even how they evict people are details nobody knows. It is safe to say knowing our government Fannie Mae does not know but sounds good doesn't it?  Just like the other failed programs. Unfortunately if you live in an area where home sales are brisk there will be less inventory because Fannie isn't foreclosing on homes that perhaps should be foreclosed on. (I don't believe that will be a problem in most areas unfortunately) The real tragedy from where I sit is the government cannot ... 11/10/2009

I have just been resuscitated after the shock and awwweeee of the news I'm about to tell you. Our government.....the government....yes our government actually did something that will help stimulate the economy and keep this little thing we call a country breathing. Not only did they extend the tax credit for new homebuyers ($8,000) it now offers a $6500 tax credit for repeat buyers or buyers moving up (how do you move up when prices are down?). This tax credit will end in June 2010 and all contracts must be in writing by end of April. I wonder if the record number of foreclosures in a quarter in American history had to do with it....HMMMMM. Anyway that is good news and I have posted an excellent site that gives you full details. http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/ IRS Form 5405: htt... 11/09/2009

In his quest to appease the too big to fail banks making sure the CEO's get the bonuses promised so his campaign coffers remain flush Barney Frank is working hard to keep his promise of killing any and all competition for home loans leaving only the too big to fail banks to lend to the consumer. You know the TARP KIDS.     30 years ago the banks had their little monolopolistic operation - no competition and they were slow. The consumer was victimized because they were the only players in town until the local community based lenders (mortgage bankers/brokers) cropped up and what the consumer found was lower rates and better delivery of service. Community based lenders (non-bank) provide 40% plus of the origination's and 50% of all FHA (HUD) loans and the reason for that is the big banks ... 11/03/2009

 The highly touted and much patting on the back until it bruised (Thanks NY AG of NY Cuomo) occurred when loan originators were lectured about how badly they behaved. After all it was the loan originator that put pressure on the appraiser to pull values out of their 'pockets'. What do you know....a bizarre and simply unbelievable report has just come out stating that since the inception of HVCC (started in the 2nd qtr or 2009) the number of 'inflated value appraisal fraud" is up 46% compared to a year ago? Really? How can this be? The big banks as you recall were for this 'reform'. WHY? Because they (Banks) formed another entity under their umbrella called it an AMC (appraisal management corporation) to separate loan originators from appraisers generating more income for themselves (at ... 11/02/2009

History.... Anytime we turn in a claim to our insurance company pertaining to our home and damage that information is collected for all insurance companies to see. This information is stored in a 'repository'. Experian and Equifax are both repositories storing information about our credit. If you are looking at a home to purchase you should call your insurance agent and have them pull up the property to see what kind of claim history it has before you call your home inspector. Armed with that information going into an inspection can help you make an informed decision on what is the most important financial decision other than retirement you can make. It is kind of like a CARFAX for houses. I wish us all well. 11/01/2009

I am usually available to my clients (borrowers/Realtors) as they need me and on Saturdays it is not uncommon to get a phone call or two about qualification on a home a borrower may be interested in or a call from a Realtor to confirm the price range our mutual client can afford before the offer goes in. This past Saturday I sat in my office looking at two new purchase contracts on my desk. The tax credit certainly is playing a role and my sources tell me it will be extended into 2010 up through June. Perhaps congress would just extend it permanently since it is clearly a better stimulus program than the cash for clunker crap. It is imperative you call your representatives. Write too. I have found when writing (via email from their website) I get a standard formatted non-response respon... 11/01/2009

Nutty professors at HUD, the spoon fed (by lobbyist) congress and its agencies run around making speeches, proclaiming villains, pointing fingers yet right under the noses of all these knuckleheads bad players continue to play bad. Case in point is Lend America's Mike Ashley. Caught, arrested, fined, fired, rehired, fired, ordered to stay out of the business, restrictions ordered -  See link for the full story: http://www.housingwire.com/category/buzz-post/ The point is no regulation in the world will prevent stupid OR bad behavior unless of course there is oversight and enforcement. A drum I have been beating for the past 18 months and will continue to do so. The enemy is from within and that enemy is our very own government to include the 'pretenders' in congress (pretending to practi... 10/28/2009

The HVCC appraisal regs that went into effect thanks to the Attorney General of NY Cuomo (probably will run for Gov of NY and certainly at some point will run for president...oh yea former HUD secretary under Clinton...Cuomo was a disaster there too)... His response to serious issues is from the same handbook used in Washington DC and to reverse this or right this wrong you can sign and forward this petition. If you want to right the wrong this is your chance. If you as a consumer wish to be subjected to inaccurate appraisals that cost you money up front then don't participate. If you are an industry professional wishing to be subjected to inexperienced appraisers in one of the most difficult markets in history then don't participate. This is a very serious matter. See link below:  http... 10/26/2009

Rates are good now for the short term and one way to shed some light where our interest rates will be in the future is to look into our past. I have attached a link showing the history of long term rates going back to 1971.  See below: http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.htm In my old marketing stuff I found a chart reporting long term rates from 1799 up to 1992.  (That's right I started in this business back in 1799) It revealed long term interest rates were at or below 8.5% - 95% of the time. When you review the history of rates you can't help but notice the period when rates soared into high double digits. Rates moved higher during the Carter administration and after his administration ended in 1980 rates were almost at 15%.....Although Carter was an economic disaster he did appoin... 10/24/2009

HR 3126 deserves the support from the consumer, Realtor, obviously the lending industry, (the banks won't support it because it will save the consumer money and Banks lose revenue) and support is needed from all the other vendors supporting the real estate market place IF the amendment killing the HVCC (preventing originators from ordering their own appraisal) is included. America write your representative and senator and refer to HR 3126....and demand this amendment is included. It has some distance to travel before it gets to a vote however we all need to contact our representatives and tell them to get this on their radar screen and support it. I have to be frank (no pun intended) the government has continued to demonstrate its ignorance when dealing with the financial industry and t... 10/23/2009