Blog - JVM Lending

Why Humor Is Necessary To Advance Your Career & Life

March 5, 2021/in Our Blog, Self Education

DOGS NAMED STEVE & MIKE I have a dog named Steve, and we just got a friend for him that we are going to name “Mike.” We are naming our new dog “Mike” b/c I think it is hilarious to give dogs people names, particularly middle-aged boomer names. I can’t wait to be at the […]Read More

DANGER! Don’t Waive Contingencies For Condo Purchases! 12 Condo Considerations

March 4, 2021/in Our Blog, Real Estate

We sometimes have very strong buyers waive contingencies when they make offers on condos. But, no matter how strong a buyer might be from a credit, asset, and income perspective, deals can still readily die if the condo or the Homeowners’ Associations don’t pass muster. For example, litigation, too much commercial use, ownership concentrations, and […]Read More

Correlating to Borrower With Lower Score; Paying Over Appraised Value; Not Referencing Inspections

March 3, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

Here are a few quick reminders. CORRELATING TO BORROWER WITH THE LOWEST CREDIT SCORE We received negative feedback from a frustrated borrower last week b/c we correlated our interest rate quote to her husband’s lower credit score (low 600s) when her score was in the 800s. We of course had no choice, as almost all […]Read More

Why CA Is So “Hot;” Median Home Prices

March 1, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

MEDIAN HOME PRICES If the CA housing market was not appreciating at all, but every buyer suddenly decided they would only buy 4,000 square foot, $1 million homes in 2021 after only buying 2,000 square foot, $500,000 homes in 2020, the median home price would double. And this would lead many people to mistakenly believe […]Read More

2021 Predictions: Rates, Inflation, Housing & Affordability

February 26, 2021/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

I often point out how difficult, impossible and/or ineffective it is to make predictions for anything nowadays. This is because we are in uncharted waters when it comes to this much Fed and government involvement in our economy, making it impossible for anyone to predict accurately b/c there are no precedents to rely on. BUT […]Read More

How Do Higher Rates Affect Buying Power?

February 25, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

RATES BACK TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS We are officially back to pre-pandemic rate-levels, and it looks like rates will continue to climb in the short run at least. Whether or not they ever come back remains to be seen. HOW DO 1/2% HIGHER RATES AFFECT BUYING POWER? The answer is “not that much,” but because so […]Read More

Pre-Qual Letter vs. Pre-Approval Letter; Difference, When & Why

February 24, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

TEXAS DISASTER CERTIFICATIONS This is a brief notice to all of our Texas clients that many lenders are now requiring a Disaster Certificate before they will fund a loan. This usually entails another interior inspection by an appraiser – to certify that properties are free of storm-related damage on a Form 1004D. PRE-QUAL vs. PRE-APPROVAL […]Read More

Rates Up Again! Why Nervous Appraisers Sometimes Appraise Lower Than We Expect

February 22, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

RATES 3/8% HIGHER NOW Interest rates continue to climb in response to positive economic reports (strong retail and home sales numbers), inflation concerns relating to both price signals and massive increases in the money supply, and President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID Relief package. Rates are now a solid 3/8% higher than where they were in […]Read More

5 Key Credit Reminders & Misconceptions; Albert Einstein On Interest Rates!

February 19, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

Albert Einstein On Predicting Interest Rates (true story) When Einstein died and went to heaven, the doorman told him his room was not ready, and that he had to wait in a dormitory with others. So, he was led to a dorm and introduced to his roommates. The doorman said, “Here is your first roommate. […]Read More

Will Mortgage Rates Fall Again? What Are The Variables?

February 18, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

I received numerous questions in regard to mortgage rates yesterday, e.g. Will they come down again? Should I lock now or wait? What do I think will happen? As always, my answer was don’t wait to lock in your rate b/c nobody has a clue what will happen. VARIABLES AT PLAY I responded that way […]Read More

Mortgage Rates Way UP; Refi Now… Or Forever Hold Your Peace

February 17, 2021/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

Remember last year when I said rates could either go up, go down or stay the same? Well, I was right. 😊 OK – I was actually right about the rates going up part. And I was just repeating what Barry Habib was saying. Habib thought rates would go up early this year and then […]Read More

How Long Does It Take To Get Pre-Approved And Apply For A Mortgage?

February 12, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

Agents frequently ask us how long it takes to apply for a loan, and how long it takes to get pre-approved (so they can share the info with their clients). Our answer is always that “it depends” b/c there are so many variables, but that it takes much less time than it did in the […]Read More

New “URLA” (Loan Application) & Why It Matters; Compliance, Salability & Delays

February 11, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

Agents and brokers alike have been asking me about the new Uniform Residential Loan Application or “URLA” and how it might affect them and their clients. This surprised me b/c I didn’t think agents paid that much attention to the mortgage side of the equation, but they should b/c these things definitely affect everyone. In […]Read More

Borrowers Can’t W2/Pay Themselves To Qualify; Complexity of Loan Process

February 10, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

If the owner of a company pays himself $300,000 per year while the company itself is losing $300,000 per year, that owner effectively has no income. I am oversimplifying this somewhat to illuminate a situation we see often. Borrowers will tell us that they make $300,000 per year and “qualify easily,” but then when we […]Read More

5 Business-Related Super Bowl Observations

February 8, 2021/in Our Blog, Self Education

Super Bowls are always interesting for reasons not having to do with football, such as high stakes, enormous hype, antics of the players, enormous ad costs, and much else. Yesterday’s game was no exception, and I have to share a few observations that I found particularly interesting. 1. LEADERS SHOULD NOT TAKE TOO MUCH CREDIT […]Read More

Domino’s $8 Pizzas & Reduced Commissions; The Future of Real Estate & Mortgages

February 5, 2021/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

DOMINO’S PIZZA REIGNS SUPREME When I was in college almost 40 years ago, Domino’s Pizza was a lifesaver b/c poor college kids could get large pizzas delivered for only $6!! What is truly amazing though is that Domino’s is still going strong with the same model, and pizzas only cost $2 more than they did […]Read More

Point Of Sale Or Online Loan Application Systems; Why They Matter

February 4, 2021/in Marketing, Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

I have an acquaintance who sometimes refers to individuals he really disdains as “POSs,” and I always find it odd that he would call someone a “Point of Sale” b/c that is all that POS means to those of us in the mortgage industry. 😊 While the first POS system goes back to 1879 with […]Read More

Appraiser Shortage Makes 14 Day Close Impossible; “Exterior Only” And “Desktop” Does Not Help

February 3, 2021/in Appraisals, Our Blog

The shortage of qualified appraisers is worse than ever for several reasons: Demand exceeds supply. The continued surge in both refinance and purchase transactions has created a situation where the demand for appraisers far exceeds the supply. COVID concerns. B/c of COVID concerns, many appraisers are justifiably reluctant to accept orders requiring physical (interior) inspections. […]Read More

Closing Cost Credits; Agent Credits Allowed; Reminders

February 1, 2021/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

I frequently blog about using “Lender Credits” to help cover closing costs, including this blog from September. Closing cost credits are often necessary to help cash-starved borrowers close transactions, as total closing costs can easily exceed $10,000 for even inexpensive homes, depending on transfer taxes and other fees local to a particular county. AGENT CREDITS […]Read More

Mortgages For DACA Status Recipients (FHA & Conforming); Honey vs. Vinegar

January 29, 2021/in Homebuying, Our Blog

FHA now allows DACA recipients to obtain FHA mortgages. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. You can read more about DACA here, but it mostly refers to people who immigrated to the United States as children without legal immigration status. As adults, these DACA status recipients can now obtain both FHA and CONFORMING […]Read More

JVM’s Blog