First Quarter 2022 Real Estate Status Report

    Inflation has soared to its highest rate in four decades. The Federal Reserve has responded by raising their overnight lending rate and indicating that they may do so at each of their seven meetings this year. Mortgage rates climbed the first quarter of this year from the low 3’s well into the 5’s. […]

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If You have Suffered Fire or Smoke Damage

      To our clients and business partners: If you have suffered damage and/or loss due to the wildfires, we are terribly sorry and wish for you a hasty recovery. We have been contacted by several of you requesting information related to mortgages and the processing of insurance claims. We will not re-iterate the […]

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State of California Real Estate UPDATE Summer 2018

      For only the second time in the last 8 years we are seeing hints of a cooling trend, or flattening out, in the pace of real estate sales and price appreciation in what has been a hyper competitive housing market. (The last breather occurred in the summer of 2013.) In the second quarter of […]

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How Do Lenders Decide If You Are Qualified For A Loan?

Understanding Underwriting Mortgage lenders will evaluate your credit-worthiness by examining four general areas of your financial life. In years past you had to meet the necessary criteria in one or more of these areas, but not necessarily all, to qualify for a loan. Changes began to be made in mortgage underwriting in 2006 and continued […]

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5 Things That Divorcing Couples and Family Lawyers Need to Know about Home Mortgage Underwriting

    Clearing up misconceptions and understanding just a few of the rules for underwriting home loans may help in drafting an agreement and planning more realistically for housing the future divorcee. Certainly one of the more important issues facing those crafting a separation or settlement agreement is where the parties are going to live. […]

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The New Real Estate World

NEW REAL ESTATE ENVIRONMENT COMING INTO FOCUS            The look and feel of the American residential marketplace has been pretty consistent over the previous three-quarters of a century. Young people join the workforce and shortly thereafter seek to buy their first home. Renters save up to do the same. In a few years with growing families and/or improved […]

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Many Suburban Homes No Longer Safe From Wildfires

Many Suburban Neighborhoods No Longer Safe from Wildfires… And Why! Danger from California’s wildfires were thought to be restricted to individual homes and neighborhoods located in, or on the edges of, undeveloped land.  Suburban tract homes located miles from brush or forest on a grid of streets and manicured lawns were thought to be burn-proof.  […]

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The Three Rules of Credit

Our clients often hear us say, “Credit score is everything!” In the world of mortgage lending, credit score can determine rate, loan amount and debt-to-income qualifying guidelines.  And if a borrower’s credit score is not high enough– no explanation, letter or circumstance matters, only the score. Fortunately, for those who do not have significant derogatory […]

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All About Appraisals

    Okay, not all about appraisals, but here are a few things you might find useful to know about appraisals:   TWO MYTHS Myth:  An appraisal will tell you the true market value of your home (what a buyer would pay to purchase your home). Truth:  An appraisal will tell you what someone paid […]

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