Brian's Blog
Buying A Home "Non Contingent" On The Sale Of Your Current HomeTuesday, January 31st, 2012
In some real estate markets, the close-in DC Metro area being one of them, the market is strong enough that sellers will not accept an offer contingent on the sale of the potential buyers current home. Sellers figure in a strong market, why should they accept an offer based on a buyer that has a house to sell, and who knows if the buyers are realistic, will price it to sell, and will do all the right things to market and sell it quickly. So sellers wait to get a non-contingent offer, because they know one will come along soon enough.
As a result, I get some buyers who ask me to get them qualified to buy a new home, without the new loan being contingent on the sale of the current home they own. (more…)
It Got Dark!Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Going dark. All salespeople have experienced this, no matter how good. You educate a potential client, you spend hours and hours with them answering questions, you create a relationship, and you truly seek to help them to earn your commission. And then it happens, they go dark. No contact. No return calls. No email reply. No nothing. It is eerie. You start to wonder what you did wrong. (more…)
Lenders May Be Less Than Honest On Their Good Faith Estimates?Monday, January 23rd, 2012
The Good Faith Estimate (GFE) is one of the worst ways to compare lenders. I must get asked for a GFE 10 times a week, and 10 times a week I try and explain that using a GFE is the wrong way to compare lenders. Below are a few reasons why: (more…)
Past Due Bills Can Get You In TroubleTuesday, January 17th, 2012
One thing that gets a lot of people in trouble with their credit scores is a past due account, also known in the industry as a collection or a collection account. These collection accounts stay on your credit report for 7 years. That is bad enough as it is, but it gets worse. Let's assume you have an outstanding five year old collection (more…)
The Government Giveth And The Government Taketh Away, All At Once? So Where Is The Gain?Friday, January 13th, 2012
I just heard that FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) has implemented a hike to the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac guarantee fee. This is the fee that the GSE's (Government Sponsored Enterprises) which are now actually GOE's (Government Owned Enterprises) pays to the government for their backing. They raised this fee to pay for the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut, signed by President Obama! The announcement said specifically: (more…)