Finance

Turmoil and challenges generally result in change and there sure have been some significant changes in mortgage lending over the past year! I’ve been working in this business for over 15 years and have never witnessed anything like it. However, it’s not all bad. Sure some loans are not being made that [...]

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The government may actually do something here that’s actually going to help us! We can all agree that one of the reasons why the real estate market is so soft right now is excess inventory. Foreclosures are only adding to this problem as banks list and sell distressed properties below market prices. Slowing foreclosure rates [...]

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There has been so much talk this year about foreclosures and it seems like most people really don’t understand the foreclosure process.  There is also an alarming mindset right now in that a lot of people seem to be willing to just throw up there hands and say “I’ll just give it back to the [...]

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I don’t know if it was naivete or wishful thinking. Yesterday I had a call from a consumer who was looking for homes for her mother. She had found something she thought was suitable and she wanted to see it that night. I had never met her before, so part of my [...]

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I doubt that there has EVER been a better time to make an investment in Michigan real estate. Opportunities abound, and smart investors will be rewarded.
Not long ago, I heard about an out of state “investor” who made his first real estate investment in Michigan. He was sold a high end home in [...]

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The Federal Reserve Board met today and reduced the Federal Funds rate by ½ % but what does that mean for mortgage rates? The Federal Funds Rate is the rate of interest that banks are charged for short term loans and has a direct impact on the Prime Rate. Many variable [...]

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Right out of college I worked as a commercial loan officer for First of America Bank in Kalamazoo. Every loan decision in every area of the bank was made manually, by a human being or a committee of human beings if it were large.
One spring, the residential mortgage department was buried in applications [...]

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It’s not often that I comment on anything being done in Washington on this blog. I am not apolitical, but I keep this place as local as I can, and usually Washington isn’t doing too much that I want to talk about. Take that comment as you like.
When the news popped up in my [...]

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Ken Mascia, the mortgage guru from Oxford Financial, is back today with the lowdown on Good Faith Estimates.
Comparing Lenders, rates and closing costs can be as confusing as driving in a foreign country where you can’t read the road signs. It’s sad but true. Many lenders actually like it that way because they got you [...]

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Just came across this YouTube video of a news cast about a mortgage broker who was sold bogus leads from an on-line lead generation company. Lead generation might be one of the dirty little secrets of real estate and home finance. Or, depending on your opinion, it might be just another [...]

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Ken Mascia, the mortgage guru from Oxford Financial, is back today with the lowdown on Good Faith Estimates.
Getting a mortgage loan can be very confusing and a lot of Lenders like it that way. They get you lost in the numbers and make you believe that you’re getting a better deal when they are [...]

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