Blog - JVM Lending

2 Reasons the Current Realtor/Agent Model Is Here to Stay (And Won’t Be Replaced by Tech)

October 21, 2021/in Our Blog, Real Estate

BOUGHT CAR ON INTERNET IN MINUTES – IN 1999 (BUT NOT NOW) In 1999, I needed a new car and a friend of mine (a “car guy”) suggested I buy a Lexus GS400 – and he gave me all of the specs. I typed all of the specs into a car-buying website that was available […]Read More

The Real Reason Zillow Stopped Buying Homes & Why It’s Good For Housing

October 20, 2021/in Our Blog, Real Estate

Zillow announced yesterday that they are no longer buying homes (through the end of the year). It was all over the headlines, and numerous people sent me links to the announcement. At first, I thought: “oh, no… I wonder if their algorithms are predicting a softer housing market…” But, then I started to see links […]Read More

What Happened to ALL Those Borrowers in “Forbearance?”

October 18, 2021/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

There were approximately 4.5 million mortgages in forbearance when the number peaked during the COVID crisis in 2020. This scared the bejeebers out of a lot of market-watchers, as they feared it portended another massive foreclosure crisis (like we saw after the 2008 meltdown, which collapsed the market). BUT – not so much. WHAT IS […]Read More

DANGER! Home Equity Lines & Inflation

October 15, 2021/in Our Blog, Refinance

A borrower reached out to me for a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) recently, and I referred her to a local bank that we work with that offers the best service and rates. She came back to me the next day and said: “my friends say I should consider a cash-out refi instead…” And […]Read More

4 Reasons Why Real Estate Is One of The Best Inflation Hedges!

October 14, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

INFLATION ON THE HORIZON Major inflation seems all but inevitable in light of our burgeoning supply chain issues, massive government spending, enormous money supply infusions (printing), climbing CPI numbers, and skyrocketing PPI numbers. Because of this, I want to remind everyone why real estate is one of the best inflation hedges available. By “inflation hedge” […]Read More

Appraisers Ain’t A.M.C’s (Explained); Subjective vs. Objective Too

October 13, 2021/in Appraisals, Our Blog

“Hey Rich, I need a $500,000 appraisal to make this refi work; there’s an extra $300 for you if you can push the value to $500,000…” That was the entire schtick of a loan officer I knew back in the day (prior to the 2008 meltdown). He was friends with an appraiser who would push […]Read More

WSJ: “Low Appraisals Upend Home Sales”

October 11, 2021/in Appraisals, Our Blog

The WSJ had this front page headline recently: Low Appraisals Upend Home Sales. And, I thought – where have you been, WSJ? Then, I thought… I should blog about this because it is a great way to warn homebuyers about potential appraisal issues. “IT’S ALL SO SUBJECTIVE” So said a seller whose house appraised for […]Read More

DANGER: Non-Warrantable Condos! Financing Options?

October 8, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

WHAT IS A NON-WARRANTABLE CONDO? A non-warrantable condo is one that does not meet the requirements of most conventional (Fannie, Freddie, and jumbo) lenders, and is thus ineligible for the most competitive financing options. To be “warrantable,” a condo must meet a long series of requirements set out by Fannie, Freddie, and jumbo lenders. I […]Read More

The 6 Forces Driving Interest Rates

October 7, 2021/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

THE THREE FORCES DRIVING RATES The mortgage industry’s primary voice/blogger, Rob Chrisman, recently wrote this: “There are three forces driving mortgage rates these days: uncertainty about the effects of the pandemic drives money to the safety of fixed income securities (mortgage bonds) moving rates lower; inflation fear backed by data moves rates higher, and an […]Read More

Conforming Loan Limit Up to $625,000? Jumping the Gun and Why It Matters

October 6, 2021/in Homebuying, Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

HIGHER CONFORMING LOAN LIMITS ANNOUNCED EVERY YEAR Every year, usually in late November, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announces the new conforming loan limits for every geographic area for the following calendar year. Shortly thereafter most every mortgage lender follows suit and starts to offer higher conforming loan amounts as well. Two quick reminders: […]Read More

Appraisers Can’t Ignore “Bad” Comparable Sales; Agents Shouldn’t Either

October 4, 2021/in Appraisals, Our Blog

AGENTS WERE LIVID WHEN APPRAISAL CAME IN LOW We recently had an appraisal come in $25,000 under contract price – and the agents were irate! They sent us comps that they insisted the appraiser should correlate to – but: (1) the comps were in another development a few miles away; and (2) the comps were […]Read More

Why Homebuyers Need To Use A Real Estate Agent

October 1, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

WHEN BUYERS REPRESENT THEMSELVES IN REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS – BAD THINGS HAPPEN 😊 Many years ago when I was new to the business, I wrote a purchase contract for one of my borrowers for a property in the hills of Oakland, CA. I thought it would be an easy way for her and I to […]Read More

Why Lenders HATE Jumbo & Why JVM’s Jumbo Rates Are SO LOW

September 30, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

JVM FHA OFFER ACCEPTED OVER CASH OFFER As a brief aside – one of our clients recently had his 14-day-close FHA offer accepted over an all-cash offer – at the same price. Why? The listing agent knew our reputation and knew the appraisal would not be an issue (b/c of comps and b/c our buyer […]Read More

The Coaches Are Coming! Beware!

September 29, 2021/in Our Blog, Self Education

30-YEAR-OLD OFFERS TO TAKE ME TO THE NEXT LEVEL! A 30-something mortgage broker reached out to me last week and offered to “take my business to the next level” with his coaching. Always curious, I asked him what “the next level was” and he said he could “double my business in three months with his […]Read More

Record Equity + Certain Inflation + Uncertain Economy = Cash-Out Now (4 Reasons Why)

September 27, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

TOTAL HOME EQUITY SURGES TO INSANE RECORD Prior to the 2008 meltdown, total home equity (the value of all homes minus all mortgage debt) in the U.S. peaked in 2005 at $14.4 TRILLION. Last year, total home equity hit $21.1 trillion – crushing the 2005 record (here is a table showing total home equity from […]Read More

Rates Shot Way Up Yesterday; Why? Will They Come Down Again?

September 24, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

Interest rates shot way up yesterday – catching most of the industry by surprise (again). This is b/c rates have held amazingly steady for the last several months – but now rates are back up to levels we have not seen since early July. WHY DID RATES GO UP? The primary reason is a “Taper […]Read More

Jumbo Rates – Almost 1% LOWER Than Conforming; Going For Jumbo!

September 23, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

ACTUAL CONVERSATION AT FANNIE MAE Fannie Mae Bob: “Hi Mike, I just remembered we have no competition, so let’s charge a lot more…” Fannie Mae Mike: “Hmmm, great idea, but what about Freddie Mac?” Fannie Mae Bob: “Freddie always follows us, and we are so much bigger that we can do whatever we want anyway.” […]Read More

WSJ: Real Estate Agents Fight Gov’t to Save Commissions; Why Now? Welcome to Our World

September 22, 2021/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

THE FED CAPPED MORTGAGE COMMISSIONS IN 2010 In 2010, the Fed was desperately trying to blame the entire 2008 mortgage meltdown on mortgage brokers and loan officers – as opposed to the Fed itself (way too loose of a monetary policy) and Congress (affordable housing laws; Fannie Mae, etc.). As a result, the Fed imposed […]Read More

Are China’s Woes Good for Mortgages and Real Estate? Yes, and No

September 20, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

CHINA LOWERED OUR INTEREST RATES Rates opened up lower today, partially b/c of the issues China is having with some of its more debt-laden companies such as Evergrande (the huge Chinese Developer teetering on bankruptcy, that was all over the news last week) – according to Barry Habib of MBS Highway. Mr. Habib reminds us […]Read More

Great Incentives VS. Incentives Gone Wrong (& Cobras Too)

September 17, 2021/in Our Blog, Self Education

INCENTIVES ARE EVERYTHING/INCENTIVES GONE WRONG ARE FASCINATING! Great incentives create great outcomes. But unfortunately, humans are astonishingly bad at establishing incentives – a point investor, entrepreneur, and writer, Sahil Bloom recently made in a fascinating Twitter thread. Many people, myself included, have suffered from an inability to create the right incentives, which often lead to […]Read More

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