Okay, teaser lead…literally. In our mail tonight we received a “Letter of Intent to Purchase
Doctor, I have this weird …
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Author Archives: Rhonda Porter
This is why you move to Seattle
I took this photo while walking my old pug, Orson, this morning. There is nothing prettier than a sunny Seattle day!
I was going to just add this to my blog album…but after reading recent comments on Dustin’s post: 10 Things You Need to Know Before Moving to Seattle … I thought the photo might be more appropriate here.
Your Private Information is For Sale
This subject totally irks me…it is just so completely wrong. The three major credit bureaus are selling personal 
information to hundreds of mortgage companies throughout the country as soon as a credit report is pulled from a mortgage lender. You visit your preferred lender to get preapproved for a mortgage, and whammo…within hours you may start getting calls from other unscrupulous lenders who will even go so far as to pretend to be working with the preferred lender. You’ll also start noticing mailers appearing in your mailbox offering special rates and programs, too. You’re going to feel very popular and probably very annoyed.
Private information is being sold without your consent or knowledge. These mortgage companies buying these trigger list (also referred to as prescreening) are generally “fly by night
Too Close to Home
Ardell’s recent blog, Agent FIRED! Lender Fraud, reminded me of one of my first transactions almost seven years ago. I can’t remember how I came across this 
client or how he was referred to me because I have deleted him from my database. I don’t ever want to provide a mortgage for him or anyone he’s associated with.
This person had contacted me wanting a mortgage for a home just a few doors down from his current residence. He had told me it was for his family members and that it should not receive a non-owner occupied rate. I informed him that currently, there are no special rates and programs for family members (it would be great if…but there’s not) and therefore, the loan is considered a non-owner occupied. He, of course, really wanted the lower rate that an owner occupied home would feature. A week or so later into the transaction, he asked me “What if I move out of my home and into the new home. My family can move into my home.
Licensed to Loan
This New Year brought significant changes to the mortgage industry. Loan Originators who provide residential loans in Washington State are now required to be licensed. This legislature applies primarily to Mortgage Brokers and not LOs who are employed by banks or credit unions. As I am employed by a Mortgage Broker (technically, we are a Correspondent Lender…I’ll save that for a later article), I thought I would share some tidbits of what I’ve found so far during the first two weeks into the licensing period.
I completed my online application with DFI, submitted my MU4 forms and 2 sets of fingerprints all prior to the due dates so that my background check to determine that I am not a felon and do not have any gross-misdemeanors can be performed. DFI is inundated with applications and they are posting the list of licensed loan originators on line. I’ve been checking the list daily for my name and license number. As of Tuesday, DFI is showing 9,913 licensees from 123 Cash to Zippy Cash. Loan Originators must display their license number on their business cards, loan applications, marketing and websites. This seems kind of odd to me. Realtors and Escrow Officer’s (L.P.O.) do not have to attach their number to their name for the public to see…don’t they trust us?
Currently, Loan Originators who have completed the required steps of the online application, MU4 and fingerprints are operating under an “interim license
Puget Sound's Market Conditions Update
Every New Year, my husband’s family makes a trip to Ocean Shores with most of his brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. It is a tradition that we look forward to which includes as much bowl games you can cram into a weekend, razor clamming, go karts and I get to read the newspaper from front to back while everyone else in our hotel room is still sleeping.
To my delight in the Dec. 30, 2006 issue of The Seattle Times, there is an article forecasting the local 2007 real estate market called “Looking ahead: The sky isn’t falling for the Puget Sound market
Investigating Preapproval Letters
(Editor’s Note: Today I get to introduce yet another contributor! Rhonda Porter is a successful mortgage broker from the Eastside who has been a frequent and much appreciated commenter on RCG as of late. I’m definitely excited that we get to learn more from her years of experience in the industry… She was formally a title representative before getting into mortgage. You can learn more about Rhonda on her personal blog or her website. She can be reached via email or by simply leaving a comment below!
Yesterday, I received a phone call from a Listing Agent regarding a preapproval letter I had prepared for one of the buyers I’m working with. She wanted to confirm that my clients are indeed approved and to find out a bit more information about me since, if she did accept their offer, we would all be working together. She informed me that she calls on all preapproval letters she receives and that often times, lenders may seem not to have all the facts straight on their borrower or respond as if it’s the only transaction they have in their pipeline. Regardless, she gets a better idea of who the lender is that might be involved with her Seller’s transaction. I am really surprised I don’t receive more phone calls from Listing Agents to check out preapproval letters.
[photopress:j0403639.jpg,thumb,alignright]When I sold my house last year, I actually called on one of the preapproval letters we received. The Selling Agent who was presenting the offer thought it was “highly irregular