August 31, 2008 – 8:51 am
I don’t think my radar is any more tweaked than usual, but I did pick up quite a few quotes in today’s NYTimes.com which point to the American Dream of homeownership and the “intangible benefits” of same.
I have long said that you simply cannot put a number to quantify the intangible benefits of homeownership. [...]
August 28, 2008 – 8:42 am
I did it again last night: I wrote a loan application to save a purchase where the Buyers had gone to two other mortgage companies. Those companies couldn’t find a way to approve their loan request.
The mortgage biz ain’t rocket science. Why is it so difficult for mortgage people to get their act [...]
August 27, 2008 – 9:00 am
Holy Cow! You would think the market was still red hot the way Sellers are (still) behaving! Either they have no patience with the new (difficult) paradigm of mortgage financing or they still think their homes are worth $42Million!!!
Really, of late I’m seeing this ridiculous attitude from Sellers threatening to kill deals and [...]
August 20, 2008 – 7:36 am
I learned early on one fundamental of buying a home: it’s all about the monthly payment. If you can’t afford the payment, you don’t buy the house. Pretty darned simple math, really.
February 24, 2008 – 12:38 pm
Do something spectacular and unusual this year when you visit your tax professional: tell her you don’t want a refund next year more than $1,000!
Yes, you read correctly, NO REFUND next year more than $1,000.
Wow, this is a radical concept.
Everyone knows that we Americans love our tax refunds. That late winter/early spring windfall of [...]
October 4, 2007 – 8:32 am
The methods used to determine asking price on any given property are so wildly varied as to defy clear definition. Especially as emotion plays such a large part in the ultimate decision.
In this market, in my opinion, the Buyer should set their own price.
A Buyer who worries while shopping about asking price and list price [...]
September 27, 2007 – 9:49 pm
You know, there was a time in the mortgage business when you had to actually use your brain to qualify your clients and work your loan applications. It took a certain amount of intelligence and dedication to read and understand the underwriting guidelines for any given loan program.
I remember when we would conference with [...]
August 14, 2007 – 9:34 pm
There is long-standing folklore about those interesting people who walk around with a divining rod searching for water and the best place to dig for a well. Those folks call themselves “dowsers.”
“Dowsing is as strictly defined the claimed ability to discover underground sources of water or metals by means of a ‘dowsing rod.’ Another [...]
Is there a “best” time of year to buy a home?
Is there a time of year when Sellers are more willing to negotiate because they are more desperate?
When is that time? When?
If you trust your fundamentals, if you know that buying a home is the right thing to do for your own [...]
August 3, 2007 – 12:27 pm
So you know you definitely want to buy your own home. No matter the market conditions, interest rates, or status of A-Rod’s quest to hit Home Run #500, you have your reasons.
If that’s the case, how then to find a house at a price you’re willing to pay?
There is a glut [...]
