You would think that with the mortgage mess still unsorted, the last thing we would see is another exotic home equity product from a financial institution. The Rex Agreement has to be one of the most abusive instruments I can image. It’s just like taking your home equity to the pawn shop. According to the Sunday Seattle Times article: 1. …
Know The Cost Of Your Commute
As we face the prospect of $4.00/gallon gas, and the likelihood that we will soon be paying tolls to drive around King County, take the time to calculate what your commute actually costs, relative to your home’s value and location. This nifty tool will answer questions that perhaps you hadn’t thought of asking before. While we have historically sought to …
What $1 Million Buys In Homes Across The U.S. by Forbes.com
Honestly, most of the news surrounding housing has me a little depressed lately. Actually, it’s not so much the housing, but the credit debacle that has caused banks across the country to lose their collective minds as evidenced by arcane C.Y.A. policies implemented in the last week: cancelled “HELOC’s” [home equity line of credit], and second position lenders refusing to …
More Waiting For True Jumbo Relief Required…..
Further exasperating the jumbo loan picture is the idea that Wall Street is going to segregate the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans that exceed the former conforming limits. This is going to limit the interest rate relief originally sought by the increased conforming loan limit initiative. Read this article from the Associated Press.
Fed Help Not Really Enough For King County….
Daniel Billett of Response Mortgage in Seattle plans to refinance as soon as the new loan limits are confirmed. The Saturday Seattle Times featured a cover story by Katie Hafner of the New York Times concerning the Federal stimulus packagerecently signed into law. (For some reason, the Seattle Time’s on-line version is not available, so this link takes you to …
Where is the Economy Headed?
Ben Bernanke looked about as comfortable as Roger Clemens at a Congressional hearing on the economy yesterday. In case he didn’t know, all the help the Feds are talking about is HAPPENING TOO SLOW! The credit crisis is actually a crisis when banks won’t lend to banks, never mind to you and me. The credit crunch is real! Be very …
This Guy Is Smart, But I Could Have Saved Him The Time………;->
Having built a home in unincorporated King County a few years ago, I was introduced to the quagmire known as the building permit process at the King County Department of Development and Environmental Services [“DDES”]. The fees, the time, the various departments and their processes, was enough to ensure that I would not try it again. Having worked with several …
Watch For Miscellaneous Fees i.e., Check Your HUD Statement
I mentioned in a previous post that home buyers/borrowers will need to be on their toes as lenders will be trying to maximize profits from each transaction, at least in the foreseeable short term. The only way to know what you are being charged is by carefully reviewing your HUD [“Housing and Urban Development”] statement that you receive from your escrow …
Where is the Pride of Ownership?
Maybe it’s just because I’m getting older, but it has become increasingly evident that sellers do not possess the same pride of ownership that they have in years past. Used to be that sellers would scrub, vacuum and clean every nick and cranny of their home in preparation for a new homeowner. As the sale was already completed, this was …
Should Sellers Do A Pre-Inspection?
There was a brief and nominally informative article in the Sunday Seattle Times: Sellers should consider paying for inspection early in process One of our most important responsibilities as listing agents is carefully reviewing the “Seller Disclosure Statement“, also referred to as “Form 17“. It is a requirement in the State of Washington that this form be completed by just about every …