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Name: Rhonda Porter
Nickname: Rhonda Porter
Member since: 2006-12-28 21:54:14
Website URL: http://www.mortgageporter.com
About me: Rhonda Porter began her mortgage career on April 1, 2000 at Mortgage Master Service Corporation, a family-owned correspondent lender that has been lending in the Pacific Northwest for over 30 years. Prior to mortgage, she was in title industry for 14 years where she managed an escrow branch and gained an invaluable insight to the real estate industry. Rhonda Porter has a CMPS designation and is a Licensed Loan Originator 510-LO-32047. Rhonda is also the Chairperson for the Social Media Committee for WAMP (Washington Association of Mortgage Professionals). She was recognized in Seattle Weekly's Best of 2009 issue as the Best Twitting Mortgage Broker (check at her Twitter @mortgageporter) and Sellsius 2007 Top 12 Women Real Estate Bloggers and 2007-2008 Maginficent 7 Consumer Articles. Rhonda originates mortgages for homes located in Washington State. You can reach Rhonda at rhonda@mortgageporter.com or by calling (206) 718-9488. NOTE: Rhonda Porter and Mortgage Master Service Corporation are not affiliated with any real estate brokerages.

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User comments

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 16th, 2009 at 8:17 pm

Homeowners confuse HARP and HAMP–what the want is HELP. He called his mortgage servicer/bank who holds his first and second mortgage…waited for months and didn’t get HELP in the form of HARP or HAMP.

Reserves and Prepaids on the Good Faith Estimate

November 16th, 2009 at 7:33 am

Willie, you don’t “maintain them” unless you qualify and opt to pay your taxes and insurance separately. This requires an minimum loan to value of 80% and lenders typically charge 0.25% of the loan amount for you to waive your reserve account.

In Washington state, taxes are paid in April and October. The home owners insurance is paid annually (once a year). The mortgage servicer manages the reserves and makes these payments on your behalf.

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 15th, 2009 at 2:59 pm

Ray, there is a huge difference between having friends or sitting by people in mortgage vs being in the trenches. I was in the title/escrow biz for 14 years before becoming a mortgage originator and had many friends in the mortgage industry–I was stunned at the difference between what I thought I knew and what was reality.

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 15th, 2009 at 12:59 pm

Ray, in your 20+ years in real estate, have you ever been employed in the mortgage industry?

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 15th, 2009 at 12:17 pm

Ray, I’m not saying that people who used conforming mortgages and who actually qualified for their mortgages are at fault for buying. Where have I said that?

People who put 20% or more down on their homes lost more than those who put 0 down.

Elusive Value: Title and Escrow

November 15th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

Jo, I do think everyone in the RE industry should have to “do time” in escrow ;) I remember when I was a brand new receptionist for Safeco Title in 1986, I asked the county manager what escrow was…he said something along the lines of “Escrow is where we try to do everything right but because we’re at the end of the transaction, if anything goes wrong, we get the blame”. I knew then I would never become an escrow officer. I did manage escrow branches for various title companies I worked at and did many signings to support our escrow officers. Some agents and LO’s you enjoyed working and with and others not so much.

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 15th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Well said, David. I look at this more as a credit crisis…largely created by the banks making it far too easy for consumers to make bad decisions with their debts.

I just heard somewhere (need to do more research) that the Fed is going to require consumers have over-draft protection on their checking accounts–just want the consumer doesn’t need–to be trained it’s okay to write checks for more than what they have in their accounts, be hit with fees and have the shortage of funds drawn against a credit card from the bank attached to their account at 28% interest. Nice.

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 15th, 2009 at 11:56 am

I’m not talking about buyers not having a crystal ball to know where their home values would be in the future. I’m talking about buyers/borrowers who obtained mortgages with payments they could not make–KNOWING they could not make them (stated income/niv).

When the consumer sees the proposed mortgage payment is the same (or more) as what they clear on payday–what the heck were they thinking? I turned away many buyers like this (probably lost a few RE agents in the process) and I’m sure they didn’t have to go far to find a mortgage originator all too happy to put them in a home they couldn’t afford BACK THEN (even before their values declined).

I feel bad for them–they made a very terrible financial decision–but it was theirs to make. No one had a gun to their head.

Friday's Rates: Welcome Back Jumbo!

November 15th, 2009 at 11:50 am

Thanks, Chuck! I’m glad to see higher end financing returning to our market too…not a moment too soon.

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 15th, 2009 at 11:15 am

Ray, in my comment I did say that it is different for those who have lost their jobs or incomes–yet they have some responsibility as well with terrible unforeseen circumstances.

The buyer who’s trying to get approved just based on one income instead of pushing it to the max with both (if there’s a couple buying together) is rare. Most consumers live well beyond their means and I think that is their choice–their responsibility.

Banks are merely dealing credit to consumers not much differently than a drug dealer to a crack addict. It is up to the consumer to “just say no”.

The Statutory Warranty Deed: What You Should Know as the Seller

November 15th, 2009 at 10:41 am

Craig, is it pretty common for a seller to have to defend themselves from the implied warranties of the Statutory Warranty Deed in Washington state?

Elusive Value: Title and Escrow

November 15th, 2009 at 10:39 am

“The Escrow Agent and the lender will want all addendums to the Purchase and Sales Agreement, not just the ones that the Realtor woiuld like to share.”

That’s my favorite, Nancy :)

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 15th, 2009 at 10:35 am

Consumers who take out any debt (mortgages, car loans, etc) beyond what they can afford are responsible for their situation. It’s different if someone has lost their job or have had their incomes cut back… but when you freely spend more than you earn you’re asking for financial trouble.

Just because the bank gives you a credit card with a $20k limit doesn’t mean that you have to max out the card… same thing is true with your mortgage–just because you’re approved to purchase a $500,000 house, doesn’t mean that you should.

It seems like personal financial accountability flew out the window during the “subprime years”. I understand SBOD’s frustration regarding that point.

I’ve this a lot — it’s not the mortgage product or program that created the issues–it was how they were abused and used in the wrong applications.

Elusive Value: Title and Escrow

November 15th, 2009 at 8:36 am

Tim, what if the consumer decide where the title and escrow went to? Sometimes when I’m reviewing a GFE for a buyer and I tell them the title and escrow fees are estimates because the providers have not be determined yet… I let them know that this process generally takes place with the agents via the purchase and sales agreement. I’m wonder with the new GFE, if consumers will get more involved in making a choice in their third party providers.

Elusive Value: Title and Escrow

November 15th, 2009 at 8:30 am

True, Tim…it could help instill some compassion for each other… but in reality, if someone is a jerk to the core, they really don’t care what we (escrow, title or mortgage) do in our jobs…and they’d probably gladly tell you so.

I have no problem letting an agent know that we’re not a good match to work together if they are a #1 type from your post vs the true professional…it makes my job easier and more enjoyable. I wonder if our current climate will help weed out those agents and LO’s who are not professional?

I think sometimes the “#1’s” think they’re doing it (being a bully or unprofessional) “for” their client…it’s still unprofessional IMO and reflects badly on them and adds additional drama to an all ready potentially “high stress” moment.

Elusive Value: Title and Escrow

November 15th, 2009 at 8:23 am

Nancy, I recently had a RE agent tell me it wasn’t my business if the buyer was receiving a portion of her commission at escrow. She also forgot to provide me with the addendum which was an additional credit to the buyer for a roof repair.

We found out two days before the buyers appointment to sign at escrow…only because I was reviewing an updated Good Faith Estimate with my client before her signing and she asked where those credits were…otherwise this would have been discovered at the signing table.

Hard to say if this agent (not someone I’ve worked with before) would have blown up and tried to be bully his way to get the issue resolved or calmly cooperate and be a true professional.

Tim did a great job covering the two types of agents I’ve dealt with as a mortgage originator and a title/escrow person. I’m very fortunate that I’m in a position in my career where I can just work with the professionals. :)

Elusive Value: Title and Escrow

November 15th, 2009 at 8:15 am

Jillayne, you know I have a hard time relating to your “retail sales person” view of mortgage originators. I have never viewed myself in that light. Well before our state’s legistlation, I put my clients needs first and have had compassion for my clients.

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 15th, 2009 at 8:11 am

SBOD I don’t think people who obtained 100% financing or used ARMS are deadbeats, as implied in your handle.

It’s hard to say how many more buyers were added to markets with this type of finanicing–many of them would have qualified for FHA loans instead.

I believe housing prices were more impacted more by stated income and NIV loans when a buyer would dramatically inflate their incomes to buy any home they wanted. I’ve had people contact me (not my original client–I did not do “over-stated income loans”) wanting help who bought their home with a stated income product — I’ve asked them if they were informed of the mortgage payment during the process (before closing) and they were…typically the payments are around their net income…when I ask them what they were thinking when they bought a home with a mortgage payment clearly out of their range, they reply “I wanted the home”.

Stated income, no-income verified and no-ratio loans were the real killers to the housing industry when used with the wrong scenario/client (which happened a lot IMO). I did do a few no income verified where the income was there, just not documented to the program guidelines standards or the borrower did not want to provide all the documenation–it was the consumers choice.

Elusive Value: Title and Escrow

November 14th, 2009 at 6:15 pm

I wonder if something that helps people be in “camp 2″ is having compassion for all parties. I think it should be a requirement that we all walk in each other’s shoes–even if it’s just a week long “job shadow” to help fully understand the process.

Subject: Need Your Help...Making Home Affordable Program

November 12th, 2009 at 10:23 pm

Gene, please do… I’m afraid that a majority of the “good news” stats we hear of thru the media of how many saved home owners there are via the refi’s or loan mods…. are those who have been “cherry picked” by the lenders.

Folks with a second mortgage and/or lender paid mortgage insurance (LPMI) are in a tough spot.

Seattle: Characters Welcome...

November 12th, 2009 at 12:57 pm

I think it’s because it’s sunny in Seattle, Ardell! :)

We have a neighbor (really nice guy) who walks his two pugs pretty much just like this… he’ll get a shirt on if it’s really chilly but I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything but shorts.

Friday's Rates following the Jobs Report

November 10th, 2009 at 11:46 am

I have not heard any stories like that–but I’m not in the end of the biz.

Fannie Mae Announces Deed for Lease Program

November 9th, 2009 at 5:30 pm

Jerry are many “shoulds”… I’ve been thinking of a program along these lines but instead of the home being immediately deeded back to the bank, it’s put on hold for about 12 months where the “home owner” has a chance to get it back… I did not picture Fannie putting these homes immediately on the market but it is there right to do so.

Fannie Mae Announces Deed for Lease Program

November 9th, 2009 at 11:08 am

Danny, I believe your credit will be treated the same as a “deed in lieu of foreclosure” which is what would be required for you to participate in this program.

Have you tried the loan mod program?

Fannie Mae Announces Deed for Lease Program

November 9th, 2009 at 7:32 am

Jerry, here are two potential downsides I see right off the bat:

1) the homeowner no longer owns the home and they are now a renter living in what used to be theres while the government/FNMA has it listed to sell. It’s not really an incentive for the previous owner to cooperate with the selling of their home now that they’re a tenant.

2) who will do the repairs on the home now that Fannie/Gov is the landlord? We’re facing winter…let’s say a pipe freezes–the former owner is not responsible for fixing this…FNMA/Gov–IE TAXPAYERS will be. Perhaps the Gov will create a department within FEMA to handle repairs on all their rentals.