Tag Archives: class

Home Buyer Education Seminars

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I am teaching two Home Buyer Education Classes this month sponsored by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.  Anyone who is interested in buying a home can attend – our class is not limited to first time home buyers.

Home buyers who are interested in programs offered through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, such as the Home Advantage Program with down payment assistance, are required to take a WSHFC sponsored class.

If you’re interested in attending a class where I will be teaching, you have two opportunities this month:

  • Saturday, July 13, 2013 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm in West Seattle at the High Point Library. My co-instructor is Ira Sarachoff.
  • Saturday, July 20, 2013 from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Greenlake Library in Seattle. My co-instructor is Jim Reppond.

Lunch is being provided at both of these classes… however, if you have dietary restrictions (or you’re a picky eater 🙂  you may want to bring your own sack lunch.

Both classes are FREE. If you’d like to attend, you can rsvp here.

I’ve always felt that an important part of a mortgage originators job is to educate their clients and make sure their questions are answered before they get to the signing table. I’m very excited to be a part of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission’s program.

Question from today's short sale class

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Realtor: “Jillayne I have nine short sales going on right now and,”

Jillayne: “Wait a sec, did you say NINE short sales?”

Realtor: “Yes, and here’s my question. One of my clients refinanced her Redmond home and took 89,000 cash out. Then she bought another home in another state with that cash. Now she wants to do a short sale on her home here in Redmond. It looks like she’s going to be short about 100,000. The lender on the Redmond home can’t go after her new home out of state, right?”

Jillayne: “Short sales are for homeowners in financial distress with no assets. The lender being shorted will ask your client to sign a new note/deed of trust in the amount of the shortfall and this new deed of trust will be recorded against your client’s new home.”

Realtor: “Yes, but their home is out of state. The shorted lender can’t do that, can they?”

Jillayne: “Yes, the lender can do that.”

Realtor: “But the home is in another state.”

Jillayne: “Your client is going to have to prove that they do not have any other assets. Just because a piece of real property is not located in Washington state doesn’t mean it’s not an asset. Washington state is not that special.”

Readers, why should lenders just randomly “forgive” the shortfall for all homeowners wishing to sell short? Especially homeowners who took cash-out equity loans to buy other real property. Surely there are some hard luck, true financial distress situations going on nationwide, but this is not one of them.

Besides, I thought homes in Redmond were holding their value.

Reminder: Homeowners selling short and/or in foreclosure should always obtain legal counsel. Google your state bar association to get started.

DRIP DRIP DRIP

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The snow is[photopress:snow_picture.jpg,thumb,alignright] finally melting off the tree branches in my yard today. One foot of snow fell last Wednesday afternoon turning my normal 45 min commute to Issaquah into 4 hours. I’m really impressed with how well the agents are doing maneuver on these slick streets. I had a showing Friday night, Saturday and Sunday on one listing, even though the roads are still slick and hard to navigate out here in Issaquah.

Nice to be back to RCG. I’ve been buried in an investment class for the last 3-4 months and haven’t been keeping up with the post reading or writing. Came up for breath today and I see that a Welcome to all the new contributors is in order! We’re honored to have you on board. 

Given that it’s tax time, I want to remind everyone to be sure you’re aware of all the tax advantaged investment programs out there for real estate. Who knows how long these will last. There’s a great new program called a solo 401K to go along with the Roth IRA programs investing in real estate.  I’ve blogged about this before and hope you check it out especially if you’re paying taxes on any real estate gains this year. 

I’m building a good retirment by investing this way and it will all be tax free.  A key player in the IRA game is the custodian.  I’ve been waiting for the new custodian in Seattle, Viking Bank with Jim Winder in charge of the Self Directed IRA department to get their website up and running so that RCG readers can get information on line. Jim Winder is a well known guru of self-directed IRA’s and he is respected local celebrity and has taught many many classes in the past.  He promises the Viking Bank site will be functional soon.  But it is tax time so until then, I’ll direct you to Pensco Trust to learn all you need to know about some really great tax strategies using some of the money you’ve already socked in retirement plans. Pensco Trust is a national leader in IRA education so I hope you find these articles helpful.  

Once Jim’s fully in the game I’ll post you his site and when he’ll be teaching live classes.  LTD will be hosting one, soon, I hope, and by the way, I met Jim here on RCG!

The Day After

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[photopress:Ardell_attica.jpg,thumb,alignright]Choosing some lofty goals. You don’t climb a mountain, simply because “it is there”. You climb a mountain to get the strength of conviction needed to move mountains “The Day After”.

Taking the necessary steps to make changes that benefit both consumers and the industry at large, so others have a working model to follow, is my lofty goal. Telling everyone how I really feel is not about telling everyone how I feel. It’s about targeting some of the ways I can improve the system, one step at a time.

Climbing a mountain (See Quote #19) is of no use whatsoever, if you don’t do something differently the day after, and the day after that, and the day after that. When you run out of steam, or feel like you’ve hit a brick wall, or simply lose the courage to proceed…you find another mountain to climb and start the process again and again. C’est la vie for those who choose for it to be so…or not.

1) Every buyer should know the cash amount they need to bring to closing before they make an offer to purchase and not “after the loan docs come in”. We can change that in 5 seconds. I am changing that today.

2) There should be a training class for agents, that is actually a training class for agents. I need 10 agents to volunteer as guinea pigs for the class, so I can structure the curriculum. I’m hoping Seattle Eric will be one of the ten to volunteer, but he is the only “new agent, used to be investor”, that will be permitted in the class of 10, for “balance” purposes. Eric, agents should never be caricatures…too many are.

3) I decided to run for Club President of my Toastmaster’s International Club at next election in 8-10 weeks.

4) I’m giving my second speech on “Three Simple Steps to Effectively Managing Your Life” tomorrow night, and will continue to give that same speech, until I perfect the handouts to the point where everyone in the room “gets it”.

I’d like to have eight “lofty” goals, and add one every time I accomplish one. So if anyone out there has any suggestions for Changing the World one step at a time, I’ll consider picking the next 4 from your suggestions.

I need 4 more by Monday, so your thoughts appreciated.

Free classes

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On the fourth Thursday of every month, I offer a free one-hour class at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, where I offer my attorney-perspective on the purchase and sale of real estate.  The classes are interesting, and everyone always thanks me after the class for taking the time to do it.  Of course, I’ve got a little self interest: I do it to promote my law practice, which is focused on the purchase and sale of residential real estate.  After my last post, I promised Dustin I’d post on some of the questions I have heard and answered.  Unfortunately, a brief summary is not possible.  Questions run the gamut, from ultra-basic to super-sophisticated, addressing every stage of the process from beginning to end. 

For you real estate service providers out there — agents, attorneys, inspectors, mortgage brokers, title insurers, escrow providers, etc. etc. etc. — consider investing the two hours per month (and about 40 bucks) as a marketing endeavor.  Attendance at my class runs about 5-7 people.  So over the course of a year, I’m able to introduce myself to 60-80 potential clients (some of whom have become actual, paying clients), and all of them will hopefully mention my name to their friends, family, etc.  Small, but then again Rome was build one marble block at a time…

Free Class!

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If anyone is interested, I am offering a free class tonight at the Phinney Neighborhood Center (Blue Building Room 6, 6532 Phinny Ave. N. in Seattle) from 7:30-8:30. I’ll be addressing legal issues relating to the purchase and sale of a home, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of buying or selling without an agent. I hope to see you there!