Burlingame, CA

1. Forget to mention that you just bought a new car or stereo system.
2. Forget to mention that you have to pay child support or alimony.
3. Forget to mention that you will be going on maternity leave during the escrow.
4. Forget to mention that the money you are using for the down payment and closing costs are coming from a gift from family and there is not way to document it.
5. Forget to mention that one of the borrowers (husband/wife) hasnt recieved green card yet, or greencard is expiring.
6. Forget to mention that the borrower is married (applied as single man/woman), and let the lender discover it when you sign loan papers.
7. Have the money needed to close escrow come from the sale of another property that hasnt closed yet, and you need to close this escrow first.
8. Apply on line with one of these online companies and have your credit report run 10 times in a row, guaranteed to change your fico scores to qualify.
9. Create your own paystub, bank statement or w-2, tax return.
10. When the lender audits your loan file before coe by calling your employer to verify your employment, make sure you have quit or are on unpaid leave.

In the real estate business non of us get enough credit for all we do to make it look easy!

This is good and bad.....good for the customer (they appreciate how smooth the process went), bad for us in that they think we are over paid for doing what a monkey could do.

I am amazed how little some agents thank the loan officer and the escrow officer for all the last minute things they do to make the deal close on time (e.g. Lender:drawing docs at the last minute, changes to closing costs, credits, changing coe dates, two week closes. e.g. Title/Escrow: preparing docs for signing in 1-2hrs of reciept of the loan package, doing signoffs on evenings, weekends, and when they should be at lunch, rushing the prelims out, waiting for the client/agents/loan officers for the apt when they are 15-30min or more late,etc.).

In real estate (I have been doing lending for over 25 years), it never ceases to amaze me how little we acknowledge the excellent work most of us do day to day. When is the last time you gave your loan officer or escrow officer a hug, a box of chocolates, a thank you card......just for being there for you and working as such a great team? If you havent done it lately...take a moment today to give them a call, an email, a note just letting them know how much you appreciate them and all they do for you.....you might be surprised how it will come back your way.

I know how much rejection realtors get every day, every hour ( I am the in house lender with Wells Fargo in a local high end real estate office in Burlingame, CA)....I know how hard they work and how some times the client goes with another agent after all the time and money is has been invested by you. As a lender I know rejection too....how many times I am rushed to get the preapproval letter out to find out the client never intended to use me for the loan just use me for the offer getting accepted (sometimes the agents are full participants in this......shame shame).......so in a business racked with curve balls, disappointments, glory, miracles, wonderful clients and escrows, happy memories, first homes, new babies, growing families......lets not forget to say THANK YOU!

Roger Hunt

Private Mortgage Advisors (an affiliate of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.)

650.796.0326

www.rogerhunt.com

Many homeowners and home buyers in California have probably heard of a bridge loan but do not know what it is or who should obtain one.

A bridge loan is usually a short-term loan (usually written for three months to three years) that provides funds to buy real estate from a piece of real property that an owner has an intention of selling, but will not close before escrow closes on the new property.

This transaction is called a bridge loan because these funds "bridge the gap" between the closing of two transactions.

Let's look at an example of a bridge loan. Bill and Betty Buyer would like to purchase their California dream home for $800,000. The down payment required is 20%. They have enough money saved for the closing costs and cash reserves, but little else saved.

Their current home is worth $500,000. The existing balance on their mortgage is $50,000. They have $450,000 in equity.

Bill and Betty would like to make an offer on the new home non-contingent on the sale of their current home. How, they wonder, can they make this offer?

Enter Bob the Bridge Loan Guy. He tells Bob and Betty that he can help them obtain a $210,000 loan on their current home ($160,000 for the down payment plus $50,000 to pay off their current mortgage). Bob the Bridge Loan Guy has figured out that the Buyers can qualify for both the bridge loan and the purchase loan because their debts on both the current home with the bridge loan and the new purchase loan are less than the maximum amount of debts to qualify.

The Buyers successfully make their offer and close escrow 30 days later. Another 30 days later they close escrow on the home they listed for $500,000. They use $210,000 from the proceeds of the sale to pay off the bridge loan, and use the other $290,000 in proceeds to pay down the new mortgage.

A few important tips you should know if you are considering a bridge loan:

• You must be able to qualify for the bridge loan and the loan to purchase the new home.
• There is no guarantee that your current home will sell quickly. How long can you afford to pay mortgages on two homes?
• A bridge loan is usually more expensive than other types of loans. Consider other types of financing (do you have an equity line of credit available, for example?)
• A bridge loan may be available with stated income under the new Reg Z guidelines as of October 1, 2009.

Life is what happens when you are making other plans!

Who better than the "skipper" from Gilligans Island would know that?

He started off his 3 hr cruise one day like any other day, and what happened?

He was stranded with two rich people, a movie star, a professor, Gilligan, Maryann.

Maybe he should have stayed home that day!

Ten Things to do to make sure your escrow doesn't close on time!

1. Don't get the signed purchase contract and addendums to the loan officer/bank right away.
2. Don't meet the appraiser at the property asap to complete buyers appraisal.
3. Take your time getting the HOA docs to Lender on condo and townhome.
4. Provide a seller credit to the buyer without letting the lender know and have the credit be for things other than the non recurring costs (wait till the signing of the loan papers to let lender know).
5. Mention in the purchase contract a pest inspection, and that the buyer is purchasing the property as is, without providing pest clearance if Section 1 noted in inspection.
6. Don't have the utilities (water and gas/electric) in working condition when the appraiser does appraisal.
7. Have the purchase contract list only the husband or the wife (not both), but have the lender do the approval on both of them.
8. Change the close of escrow date to 2 wks earlier, without letting the lender know.
9. Change Title/Escrow companies without letting the lender know.
10. Don't stay in contact each step of the way with the lender.

I know you have never done some of these things, but you would be surprised how many times they still happen and to seasoned agents......

Moral of the story?

Team work.......the escrows that move the smoothest and are the least stressful to your clients are the ones where everyone (Title, lender & Agents) work together to get the escrow closed. All are irreplaceable!

I attend every signoff and sign my clients off at 3 days before coe, and usually 1 wk......in 25 years, this has been the single most significant thing I do....it allows for murphys law, and time to make corrections well ahead of time...many times without the borrowers having to be aware of the hick ups! Teamwork is critical!

Roger