JVM’s Blog

Why 5 Day Loan Contingency & Then 15 Day Close?

August 6, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

A Realtor asked us yesterday why it takes us an additional 10 days to close if we can release loan and appraisal contingencies in 5 days. This is why: Within 5 days, we make sure we get the appraisal done as a rush, and we make sure we get an underwriter to formally review the […]Read More

“Overlays” Lurk Everywhere; Why They’re Bad For Realtors/Buyers

August 4, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

We interviewed a loan officer last week who had to “give away” three loans over the last 60 days to other lenders b/c her own internal mortgage bank could not fund them. This was painful for the loan officer (b/c she had to give up commissions and a lot of work), and shocking to us […]Read More

School/College = Employment History; 30 Days on Job Is Enough

August 1, 2014/in Our Blog, Self Education

Lenders generally require a 2-year history of employment, as most people know. One exception to this involves borrowers who just graduated from college or trade school. If a borrower just got out of school, all we need to qualify for a mortgage is a diploma (or transcripts), a valid offer letter and 30 days of […]Read More

Zillow/Trulia; Digital Age; Social Media; Yelp: Are You Ready?

July 31, 2014/in Marketing, Our Blog

Last week alone, we had four borrowers say that they prefer to work via email alone (instead of face to face or via telephone). Yesterday, we had a borrower and a Realtor tell us they prefer to communicate via text. All of these borrowers vetted us (checked us out) via our website and/or YELP before […]Read More

Bankruptcy Seasoning Requirements; 0, 2 & 4 Years

July 30, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

We are revisiting Bankruptcy (BK) seasoning requirements b/c we are asked so often: For Chapter 7 (liquidation) BKs the seasoning is 2 years from discharge for FHA financing and 4 years from discharge for Conventional Financing. For Chapter 13 (reorganization) BKs, the seasoning is 4 years from discharge for Conventional Financing. But for FHA financing, borrowers […]Read More

24/7 Availability; Sunday Night Emergency Pre-Approvals

July 28, 2014/in Homebuying, Our Blog

One of our favorite Realtors texted me last night and asked if I could do a fast, Sunday Night pre-approval so they could make an offer this morning. The borrowers were a Google employee and a Smith College Neuroscience professor. They told me that they had high incomes, no debt and perfect credit. I have […]Read More

90% LTV Commercial Financing via SBA Financing

July 25, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

We have a borrower looking to buy a warehouse in Oakland to house his film production company. We do not do commercial loans of this nature, but we do know somebody who specializes in them. Borrowers looking for commercial or mixed use properties should always consider SBA (Small Business Administration) Financing. The SBA only requires […]Read More

Many Things Affect “The Rate:” Fico; LTV; 80/10/10; Condo vs. SFR

July 24, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

We have a borrower with a 703 FICO bidding on condos with the intention of using 80/10/10 (1st and 2nd combo) financing. He needs a high balance loan too. There are four factors that increase this borrower’s rate (with ALL lenders): 1. Property type (condo vs. SFR): 3/4 point 2. FICO (703 vs. 740+): 1 […]Read More

Alternative Credit: Phone Bill, Insurance; PG&E; etc.

July 23, 2014/in Our Blog, Self Education

On Monday, we mentioned a borrower who closed out all of his credit accounts to improve his credit which in fact hurt his credit. The only way the borrower can obtain mortgage financing now is by building what is called “Alternative Credit.” Alternative credit includes payment histories that are not normally shown on credit reports. […]Read More

Do Not Close Out Credit Cards; Just Pay Them Down

July 21, 2014/in Our Blog, Self Education

We recently pulled credit for a borrower (a Realtor no less) who had closed out all of his credit cards as part of his effort to clean up his credit and live a debt-free lifestyle. He is now probably six months to a year away from buying a home b/c having no credit cards not […]Read More

Salary + Commission: Need History of Commissions

July 18, 2014/in Homebuying, Our Blog

We have a borrower who averaged $160,000 over the last two years in a commission sales job. He just started a new job with an $85,000 base salary, but with much more commission potential. We may be able to use the average of his previous years’ commissions even though they were earned at a different […]Read More

When Is 203k/Construction Financing Necessary?

July 17, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

203k renovation loans are available with both FHA and Conventional financing. 203k loans allow buyers to borrow more than the purchase price in order to finance repairs and improvements, as we have discussed in previous blogs. We were asked yesterday, when is a 203k loan absolutely necessary? We were asked by a borrower who preferred […]Read More

Why Realtors Need to Know Mortgage Basics; JVM Training

July 16, 2014/in Our Blog, Self Education

We discussed borrowers who own over 25% of their company being effectively “self-employed” on Monday. This issue came to light with one of our borrowers recently b/c the borrower let his Realtors (a team) know about his ownership interest; b/c the Realtors know lending guidelines, they had the borrower immediately contact us. This literally saved […]Read More

Own Over 25% of Company? You’re Self-Employed; Need 2 Yrs History

July 14, 2014/in Our Blog, Self Education

A borrower of ours, who has been a W2 wage earner for years, told us over the weekend that his current employer, where he started three weeks ago, is 50% owned by him. He was unaware that this would be a problem b/c he is still paid a wage-earner salary, with taxes withheld, in the […]Read More

3 Phrases to NEVER Say – Cause Stress Every Time

July 11, 2014/in Our Blog, Self Education

Here is a great stress management tip from a Forbes article I liked b/c I am so guilty of violating the tip. Never utter the phrases: (1) “I’m swamped;” (2) “I’m so busy;” and (3) “I don’t have time for that.” According to the author, we strive to validate our perceptions of reality, even if […]Read More

2nd Home Market = Opportunity

July 10, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

A “2nd Home” or “Vacation Home” is a property that is more than 50 miles from a buyer’s primary residence and is also located in a “typical vacation area.” In other words, a homeowner living in Walnut Creek cannot buy an investment property in Union City and call it a “2nd Home” in order to […]Read More

Three Options For Eliminating PMI

July 9, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

Here are three options for eliminating the private mortgage insurance (PMI) obligation associated with a conventional loan (elaborating on Monday’s Comments). Option #1 – Refinancing: If your property appreciates to the point where we can garner a new appraisal to support a value high enough to reduce your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio to 80% or less, […]Read More

Dow Hit Record High; Getting Out of PMI

July 7, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

A borrower recently called us to discuss his refi options. He had a 30 year fixed rate loan at 3.5%. He also had PMI that he wanted to eliminate b/c he now has substantial equity in his Bay Area home. As much as we wanted the refinance business, we told him not to refinance but […]Read More

Happy 4th Of July from JVM Lending

July 3, 2014/in Marketing, Our Blog

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY FROM EVERYONE AT JVM LENDING! Jay Voorhees, Alex Chan, Chingchi Yu, Jenna Armstrong, Neetu Machaiah, Sean Yates, Tiffany Nordgren, Diandra Prutton, Erin Piper, Denise Truono and Lindsey Hansen Jay Voorhees Founder/Broker | JVM Lending (855) 855-4491 | DRE# 1197176, NMLS# 310167Read More

Fat Down Payment – Equity Line After Close To Reclaim Liquidity

July 2, 2014/in Mortgage Industry, Our Blog

We had two borrowers this week have to drain every penny of their substantial stashes of liquid funds in order to make their offers more competitive. Large down payments of course allow us to push files through underwriting faster, and they often make appraised value (and appraisals) a non-issue. We reminded both borrowers they would […]Read More

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JVM’s Blog

Why 5 Day Loan Contingency & Then 15 Day Close?

“Overlays” Lurk Everywhere; Why They’re Bad For Realtors/Buyers

School/College = Employment History; 30 Days on Job Is Enough

Bankruptcy Seasoning Requirements; 0, 2 & 4 Years

24/7 Availability; Sunday Night Emergency Pre-Approvals

90% LTV Commercial Financing via SBA Financing

Many Things Affect “The Rate:” Fico; LTV; 80/10/10; Condo vs. SFR

Alternative Credit: Phone Bill, Insurance; PG&E; etc.

Do Not Close Out Credit Cards; Just Pay Them Down

Salary + Commission: Need History of Commissions

When Is 203k/Construction Financing Necessary?

Why Realtors Need to Know Mortgage Basics; JVM Training

Own Over 25% of Company? You’re Self-Employed; Need 2 Yrs History

3 Phrases to NEVER Say – Cause Stress Every Time

2nd Home Market = Opportunity

Three Options For Eliminating PMI

Dow Hit Record High; Getting Out of PMI

Happy 4th Of July from JVM Lending

Fat Down Payment – Equity Line After Close To Reclaim Liquidity

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