Every few days, I get junk mail wanting me to buy Mortgage Life and/or Disability Insurance. Buy regular policies instead. These are not, in general, good policies of insurance, because the benefits go straight to someone else. Mortgage Life Insurance is straightforward enough. It’s decreasing term insurance – the insurance company’s favorite kind of policy. …
Monthly Archives: September 2025
Loan Quote Guarantees
Because most loan providers will not guarantee their Federal Good Faith Estimates or California MLDS forms, I’ve been telling folks that the best suggestion (other than doing their loans myself, of course!) that I can give them is apply for a back up loan. But some mortgage loan providers will guarantee their quotes, and this …
Loan Documents – Contracts of Adhesion
Got a search for “mortgage closing documents do not sign changes.” Unfortunately for this person, the documents you get at closing are what legal folks call a contract of adhesion. This means you can either accept it, sign, and adhere to all the terms as presented, or you can walk away. Basically your choice is …
Loan Cosigners in Real Estate – A Lot of Risk For Not Much Gain
Every so often I get questions about loan cosigners. The main borrowers do not qualify on their own, so they get someone – most often mom and dad – to cosign. Now this is a different thing, or so I understand, in the other major credit areas – automobiles, rent, etcetera. But this is about …
Continue reading “Loan Cosigners in Real Estate – A Lot of Risk For Not Much Gain”
Some Free Loan Advice About Real Estate Transactions
Most days I get loan wholesalers coming into my office. I’m always happy to talk with them, providing they want to talk about what I want to talk about. They usually want to talk about this gimmick and that gimmick and the other gimmick. They feed me lines about service and fast turn around and …
Continue reading “Some Free Loan Advice About Real Estate Transactions”
Prorated Property Taxes in California
July first marks one of the turning points in the year for California real estate, as property taxes are collected for a period running from July 1 through June 30. They are paid in two installments, the first due due November 1 (past due December 10) that covers the first six months, from July 1 …
Power of Attorney for Real Estate Transactions
I got a search for how one spouse could sign while the other was out of town, and act on their behalf. Since both spouses usually need to sign real estate papers, this is a real concern. Actually, almost anybody you designate can sign for your real estate transaction, whether or you’re available. The usual …
Continue reading “Power of Attorney for Real Estate Transactions”
What Are Points On Mortgages and How Do They Work?
I got a search hit for that and, amazingly enough after 150+ articles, I’ve never dealt with this subject head on. So here goes. One point, either discount or origination, is one percent of the final loan amount. After all of the loan amounts and fees and what have you are added, for a loan …
Continue reading “What Are Points On Mortgages and How Do They Work?”
Volatility: A Regular Investor’s Best Friend
Wall Street loves fear and greed. Every time some bad news hits, a lot of benighted investors sell investments that were basically solid. Causing the price they can get for their investments to drop (higher supply, lower demand). Every time a piece of unexpected good news hits, you can expect stock price to take a …
Continue reading “Volatility: A Regular Investor’s Best Friend”
The Issue With Eminent Domain is MONEY
A little over one year ago, the Supreme Court handed down the decision in Kelo, which held that the city of New London could condemn land to sell it to private developers in order to increase the tax base. At the time, it generated huge amounts of outrage – the formation of Life Liberty Property, …