This is one of my favorite times of year with the days getting longer and the weather warmer.  As an avid Giants fan and the father of a Little Leaguer I’m looking forward to sun-filled days at the ball park.

Spring is also the time of new beginnings.  Accompanying the new year were some changes in my business life.  After 14 ‘seasons’ in the same location I relocated to our affiliate Guarantee Mortgage branch in Saratoga at the end of 2012.

Guarantee Mortgage provides access to a wide variety of mortgage products and sources.  As a Broker, I continue to have access to a wide range of banks and lending institutions.  This enables me the ability to continue to provide you the highest level of service and competitive pricing for a wide variety of individual situations.

As always, I welcome your call.  May it be to discuss your best strategies in home loans or just to talk baseball.

Why do they do that?

When your information is given out, it is called a “trigger lead”.  They know you are in the market for a mortgage, so you are a “hot lead”.  Some loan officers out there will pay a lot of money to get their hands on a long list of hot leads.

What do I do when they contact me?

Your best bet is to stay away from these cold callers.  Some unethical behavior, by users of trigger leads, threaten to tarnish the whole practice.  Knowing that no one likes cold calls, these people want to coax as much additional information out of you as possible, and they will simply lie to do it.  They may claim to be another broker working with us, or they’ll say they are from the underwriting department of a lender we are working with.

How can they get away with that?

The Federal Trade Commission recently said it lacks the authority to shut down this practice, but Congress is considering giving it that authority, or otherwise outlawing trigger leads.  To protect yourself, if you get a call from someone claiming to be affiliated with us, please call us to verify it before giving them any information.  These cold callers have to “strike while the iron is hot”, and so may use phony bait and switch tactics.  This can happen with any loan originator you work with.  However, it is not the loan originator, because no loan originator in their right mind would sell your private information to other brokers.

Is there anything I can do to stop it?

You do have options.  You can go to www.optoutprescreen.com or you can call 888-567-8688 to opt yourself out.  If you would like our help opting you out, we would be happy to do it for you.  You can opt out for five years online, or you can opt out forever by mailing in a form.  It can take five days to process an opt-out request, and up to 60 days for all “prescreened” offers to cease.

If a score decreases during a rescore there are many reasons. If the score does decrease, it can include any one of the following issues:

• A balance on a credit card went up – even a couple dollars can make a difference here.
• A new account was opened
• A new late payment showed up
• A new collection shows up – this includes medical collections which often take some time to report to the bureaus.
• If the rescore is being completed to remove a dispute remark – we do  not know ahead of time if a disputed account is being factored into the score because the bureaus are still developing their algorithm around this due to the use of disputes by credit repair companies. Once the remark is removed that could cause the score to go down depending on the status of the account meaning it was a collection, had a late payment , or is a credit card with a high balance. When an account is in dispute it may or may not be already being factored in, and sometimes it’s even that part of the acct is factored and part of it is not.  Sometimes it is already being factored in with one or two of the bureaus but not the other(s). Disputes are VERY tricky.
• The score factors changed – the factors are listed in order of importance; each once carries a different point valuation, and those valuations vary per bureau.  If any of those change in any way it can dramatically affect the scores.  This is something that cannot be predicted ahead of time nor can it be simulated.
• An account was closed.
• A credit limit was lowered.
• A reporting date on a collection, charge off, or bankruptcy account updated to a more recent date
• A new public record showed up
• A collection, charge off, or public record was paid – this seems like it would have a positive impact on the credit score, but in many cases while the balance moves to $0 it also updates the last reported date to current which can have an extremely negative impact on the score.

A score cannot drop simply because a rescore was done.  There are always other contributing factors; some can be predicted, and some cannot.

* Information provided by Advantage Credit.

RE: STERN MORTGAGE COMPANY

A new year brings a new beginning…  After 30 years in business, Stern Mortgage Company is closing its doors.    The  increased regulation in the mortgage industry made it exceedingly difficult for a smaller “mom and pop” mortgage shop to survive.

Although Stern Mortgage is closing, I still have a passion for doing loans.   After much deliberation about options I’ve found a place that will enable me to continue to provide the highest level of service and competitive pricing.

For the past several years Stern Mortgage has been affiliated with Guarantee Mortgage Corp., as our parent company.  This partnership facilitated access to a broad range of mortgage products and sources.  I’ve decided to relocate to the Saratoga Branch of Guarantee Mortgage,  which will enable me to continue to focus on providing expert advice and assistance in navigating the loan process.

I appreciate the support from clients and business partners over the years at Stern Mortgage.  Since 1999 this has been my home in the mortgage business.  Know that you can continue to turn to me for all your real estate finance needs.  My new contact information is:

P.S.  Rates are still at all-time lows.  I’d love to  hear from you, so give me a call!

post short sale or foreclosure

This is an all too common question.  Many folks wonder when they might be able to re-enter the real estate market.

The answer depends upon the type of loan and who’s guidelines must be met.   The guidelines are frequently updated and have become more stringent in the past three years.  The following are believed to be accurate as of 5/1/2012, but should be verified.

FHA Waiting Guidelines

Bankruptcy – You may apply for a FHA insured loan after your bankruptcy has been discharged for TWO (2) years with a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

You may apply for a FHA insured loan after your bankruptcy has been discharged for ONE (1) year with a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

Foreclosure - You may apply for a FHA insured loan THREE (3) years after the sale/deed transfer date.

Short Sale / Notice of Default – You may apply for a FHA insured loan THREE (3) years after the sale date of your foreclosure. FHA treats a short sale the same as a Foreclosure for now.

Credit must be re-established with a 640 minimum credit score

Conventional Waiting Guidelines (Fannie Mae)

Bankruptcy – You may apply for a Conventional, Fannie Mae loan after your bankruptcy has been discharged for FOUR (4) years.

Foreclosure - You may apply for a Conventional, Fannie Mae loan SEVEN (7) years after the sale date of your foreclosure.  Additional qualifying requirements may apply,

Short Sale / Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure -

TWO (2) Years up to Maximum 80% Loan to Value | 20% Down Payment

FOUR (4) Years up to Maximum 90% Loan to Value | 10% Down Payment – Subject to Private Mortgage Insurance underwriting guidelines.

SEVEN (7) Years above 90% Loan to Value | with less than 10% Down Payment – Subject to Private Mortgage Insurance underwriting guidelines.

Credit must be re-established with a minimum 660 credit score.

Fannie Mae has reduced waiting periods in cases of extenuating circumstances –

Preparing to Buy Again after BK, Short Sale or Foreclosure

Quite often there are things left over on your credit report that can delay your ability to qualify.  Checking your current credit report is a good place to start.  Dealing with any errors is easier to do before you’ve found a home you want to buy.

Three generations of the Flesner family were giving thanks for what they had, united by a cause, before sitting down for a meal together Thanksgiving day.

Milpitas Post 11/23/11

How Did Milpitas, CA Get It’s Name?