Blog - JVM Lending

What is “Gross Living Area” For A Home (Not Finished Basements)

August 12, 2022/in Appraisals, Our Blog

When I was a kid growing up in Southwest Minnesota, everyone had basements. Basements initially served as “root cellars” to store potatoes and carrots all winter (which we actually did) and as protection from tornadoes (something we needed often on the prairie). But the basements were also necessary to prevent homes from shifting during freezing […]Read More

Foreclosures Up 440% Year Over Year! (Total Bullshit)

August 11, 2022/in Our Blog, Real Estate

Black Knight is reporting that foreclosure starts were up 440% in June – year over year! They were up almost 27% month-over-month too! So – should we panic???? Is a foreclosure crisis upon us? Not even close. Foreclosure starts (the start of foreclosure proceedings) are through the roof, year-over-year, because there was a moratorium on […]Read More

Inflation Cools & Rates Plummet; More Inventory ≠ A Housing CRASH

August 10, 2022/in Our Blog, Real Estate

CPI Inflation numbers came out surprisingly cool this morning – indicating it was flat month-over-month and down year-over-year (it was 9.1% in June but 8.5% in July). 8.5% inflation is still sky-high and probably under-reported too, but the bond market loved it and rates plummeted (because the reports were much lower than expected). Rates plummeted […]Read More

Homebuyers: Be Aware of Fraudulent Mailers!

August 8, 2022/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

Desperate Mortgage Bankers Resort To Fraud After the 2008 meltdown, a prominent mortgage banker, who was accustomed to living very extravagantly, started a “Loan Modification Consulting” business as a way to bolster his company’s waning revenues. The only small problem was that it was 100% illegal, as his firm was collecting large fees (thousands of […]Read More

Income Needed to Buy $450,000 and $1 Million Homes?

August 5, 2022/in Homebuying, Our Blog

Per a request from an agent, here are some estimates of the income necessary to buy a $1 million home in California and a $450,000 home in Texas. We used $1 million for California because that is close to the median home price in all too many towns and cities (and interestingly, it is much […]Read More

History Of Interest Rates Part II (50 Years; 1 Year); Perspective Again!

August 4, 2022/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

Several agents have recently requested updates to the History of Interest Rates/Perspective blog I wrote in early May. They of course want to show clients that today’s 4%-ish (jumbo) and 5%-ish rates are really low by historical standards – which is a point I make often. There are two charts below: one shows mortgage rates […]Read More

Why Major Inflation Is Inevitable – At Some Point (What To Do About It)

August 3, 2022/in Our Blog

The world is facing massive energy and commodity shortages due to a lack of investment over the last several decades, and it will take decades more to replenish supplies and/or to find alternatives.Read More

What Is The Optimal Down Payment? Hint: It’s Less Than You Think

August 1, 2022/in Down Payment, Our Blog

All too many homebuyers mistakenly believe that they need to put down as much as humanly possible for several reasons: (1) they want to minimize their housing payment; (2) they want to minimize their debt load; and (3) they want to make their offers appear stronger. We, however, often advise buyers to put down less, […]Read More

Cash Reserves After Closing – How Important Are They? Inflation…Or Not

July 29, 2022/in Homebuying, Our Blog

Four of our borrowers starved to death shortly after moving into their homes last year. This is because our poor borrowers had no money to buy food because most loan programs do not require any cash reserves in a buyer’s bank account after their loan closes. In other words, most loan programs allow borrowers to […]Read More

Rates Went Way Down Because Rates Went Way Up (AGAIN)

July 28, 2022/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

The Fed raised the Fed Funds rate by 0.75% yesterday as expected, and long-term rates have been falling ever since. I would not beat this dead horse again but for the fact that rates are continuing their slide downward as I type, and because of how important this all is for housing and mortgages. As […]Read More

China’s Banking System Collapse Is Terrifying; Why It Matters

July 27, 2022/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

EVERYONE IS FOCUSED ON “FED DAY” – which is the day of the month (today) on which the Fed announces its latest increase in the Fed Funds Rate (expected to be 0.75%, and the market has “priced it in” already). BUT – there is an economic issue brewing overseas that is 100x more momentous and […]Read More

Car Shortages to Surpluses Overnight; Things Change VERY QUICKLY

July 25, 2022/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

I saw this tweet over the weekend: “The auto industry collapse has just begun and this would be one of the worst times for you to buy a vehicle. In a normal market (pre-2020), Auto Loan delinquencies hovered at 2 to 3%. Today, that number is exploding with nearly 1 in every 4 loans in default in Washington DC.” The author of the tweet is Graham Stephan, a young investor and car enthusiast, and he may or may not be right.Read More

Why Bill Gates Is Buying Up ALL of America’s Farmland?

July 22, 2022/in Our Blog, Real Estate

Bill Gates is now America’s largest owner of farmland, by far - alarming many people and making others simply wonder what the heck he is up to. I set out a few possibilities below, before delving into what I think the real reason is.Read More

“Departing Residence” Rental Income – More Important Than Ever!

July 21, 2022/in Homebuying, Our Blog

“Housing Crash In Austin!” Somebody posted that on Twitter last week, citing climbing inventory, price reductions, and fewer buyers. That same day, however, Heejin and I had dinner with a very successful agent in Austin, and I asked him about the tweet. This was his response: “What, seriously? Nobody told me. All of my investor-clients […]Read More

Why Appraisers Adjust So Little For Size Differences

July 20, 2022/in Appraisals, Our Blog

If a 2,000 square foot house sells for $800,000, the price per square foot is $400. So, if a nearby house is 2,200 square feet, it should be worth an additional $80,000 (200 sq ft x $400), right? Nope. Not even close. I blogged several years ago about Why Appraisers Don’t Like “Cost Per Square […]Read More

If High Rates Bring Down Housing Prices, Will Low Rates Push Prices Through the Roof Again? Inflation Too!

July 18, 2022/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

If higher rates are the sole reason the housing market is softer, will the soon-to-be-here lower rates push prices through the roof again? If that is the case, it is one more reason to buy now to take advantage of today’s slower market, knowing that a refi into a much lower rate is very likely.Read More

Minimum Number of Tradelines & Why We Have To Pull Credit

July 15, 2022/in Homebuying, Our Blog

Buyers often come to us and say something like this: “I have a 780 credit score; I make $275,000 per year; and I want to put $500,000 down against a $1.5mm home – what is your best rate?” We can quote a rate, but more often than not, it won’t be accurate because there will […]Read More

In Defense of FHA! Misconceptions Persist!

July 14, 2022/in FHA, Our Blog

FHA financing is ideal for first-time homebuyers or borrowers with low credit and limited savings. FHA loans have lower rates than conforming (Fannie/Freddie) loans. This is especially the case for borrowers with low credit scores (under 680).Read More

A Tale Of Two Businesses; One Rising and One DYING!

July 13, 2022/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

I had experiences recently at two different businesses that were so contrasting and so fascinating that I had to blog about them. And yes – this much applies to mortgages and real estate! The Good Business I took my mountain bike to a bike shop that I had not been to for almost 9 months, […]Read More

Why A Strong U.S. Dollar Is TERRIFYING! (and what it means for real estate)

July 11, 2022/in Interest Rates, Our Blog

The mighty U.S. dollar has been hitting 20-year-highs over and over recently – and I was so proud that I booked a flight to Europe and ran around yelling: “USA! USA! USA!” and “We’re Number 1!” We’re Number 1!” until… … someone slapped me and explained that the strong dollar has little to do with […]Read More

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