Entries from Searchlight Crusade tagged with 'loans'
They Told Me Not To Make My Loan Payment
I've heard this story, in all of its variations, at least hundreds of times. Someone will send me an email and say "They told me not to make my loan payment because I was going to skip one. So...
Bridge Loans
One of the things I'm seeing a lot of these days is blanket advice on bridge loans. A bridge loan is a loan that you take out with the explicit intention of having it be short term. The most common...
Loan Rates for Low Income Families
What is a good interest rate for a house that is for someone with low income? Well, if you make enough to afford the property, your income isn't a factor on the interest rate you get! You either qualify or...
There Is No Fairy Godmother for Loans
Really. I know that most people who read that title are replying "no kidding" but you would be amazed at how many people act like there is such a fairy godmother. I got an email yesterday that said, basically, "Help...
Mortgage Foreclosure and Taking of Other Assets
if our house is being foreclosed, can they take our retirement or make us sell our cars? we both have (1-2 year old) cars that are paid off. Can they take our cars or make us sell them to...
Economics of Housing in High Density Areas
Here are the facts of the situation, whether you're talking about San Diego or Manhattan, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, or any of the other densely packed, high cost areas where all the employment and career opportunities are. Fact 1:...
When You Should Not Buy Real Estate
Okay, I did an article called Why Renting Really Is For Suckers (And What To Do About It). Fairness demands that I do a companion article on situations where buying is not a good idea. There actually are some. First...
Wanting a More Expensive Property Than You Can Really Afford
This is one of the biggest issues with my local real estate market. Because the San Diego market has very high demand and limited supply of property, prices are high. A reasonable two bedroom condo runs around $200,000. A 1200...
Don't Rely On Reputation - There Are No Silver Bullets
On a regular basis, I get emails that ask me what I think of a particular company. When I check out public forums, I see questions about particular companies every time. "What do you think of X Realty, or Y...
What if Your Partner Refuses to Pay Their Share of a Loan or Mortgage (or Won't Pay on Time)?
what happens if partner refuses to pay his half of the mortgage? The lender will hold you each responsible for payment in full. That's the long and the short of it. You both agreed to the loan contract, and...
Can Someone Be Added to an Existing Mortgage?
Got a search for that, and it occurred to me that it is a valid question. The answer is yes. The degree varies. You can simply contact the bank to make yourself responsible for payment. They are usually happy to...
Efforts to Rehabilitate the Negative Amortization Loan
The negative amortization loan is a very popular loan with certain kinds of real estate agents and loan officers. It has two great virtues as far as they are concerned. First, it has a low payment, and despite the fact...
Restricted Sale Property: Very Difficult to Find A Loan (Even harder to find a good one)
This is a warning to those who purchase restricted sale property. I've gotten a couple of calls for refinancing these in the past couple months, and I've never covered this subject. A restricted sale property is one where the...
Low Equity (or Worse!) Relocations in a Buyer's Market
Hi, Dan! I just came across your website and you strike me as the type of guy who has answers for our situation: My husband and I built our home 2.5 years ago. We took out a second mortgage...
Inducements to Use A Builder's Lender for a Purchase
One of the things I'm seeing more of in MLS listings and developer advertising, among other places, is the phrase "$X in closing cost credit (or "$X in free builder upgrades") given for using preferred lender" Sounds like a bargain,...
Realtor and Loan Officer Responsibility: Can the Client Afford The Property?
Every so often, I write about professional responsibility. Every month I get a couple of magazines because I'm a Realtor. There was a letter from someone who was proud of the fact that he had never asked someone if they...
Shopping For The Best Loan In The Changed Lending Environment
It shouldn't be any surprise to anyone with the headlines of the last few years that shopping for a mortgage loan has radically changed. Indeed, a lot of the regulatory changes seem directly aimed at what were the best...
Option ARMs and Cash Flow
One of the standard arguments I hear about Negative Amortization and Option ARM loans is that they "give the client the option to make a smaller payment if they need to." This so-called "Pick A Pay" benefit is a real...
What if Your Partner Refuses to Pay Their Share of a Loan or Mortgage (or Won't Pay on Time)?
what happens if partner refuses to pay his half of the mortgage? The lender will hold you each responsible for payment in full. They don't care who pays; only that they get the full amount every month. That's the...
The Home Valuation Code of Conduct (Appraisal Standards)
Since May 1, 2009, we've been having problems with appraisals like never before. It's an interesting case study how the attorney general of one state used threats to blackmail a nationwide industry, installed personal controls and opportunities for graft into...
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