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Twin Cities lender

New Real Estate Trend: Buyers’ Lenders Who Market to the LISTING AGENT (Huh!?!)

Savvy Strategy for Getting Realtor Referrals Smart Realtors know that the most important people coming through weekend open houses aren’t necessarily checking out the house. Rather, they’re checking out them. Specifically, the open house visitors — often neighbors — want to see if the agent is doing a good job marketing the home, is knowledgeable, easy to talk...
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Battle of the Portals: “Please Use My Portal. No, Use Mine!”

Stepped-Up Security Side Effects Sometimes, you just want to know if the lender has scheduled the appraisal. Unfortunately, in today’s environment of heightened online security, that can mean formally registering at the lender’s “portal”; waiting for a temporary password via text; then navigating an unfamiliar format to find the document(s) you’re looking for. Or, if...
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Multiple Offer Tiebreakers

Hot Housing Market Multiple Choice Quick!  Guess which of the following variables — besides price — can be a tiebreaker for Sellers weighing multiple offers: A. The Buyer’s type of financing. B. The size of the Buyer’s down payment. C. The Buyer’s lender (local, name brand > out-of-state and/or online). D. The closing date. E....
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Famous Excuses (or, The Many Guises of CYA)

Lender-Speak, Translated What they said:  “the check’s in the mail.’ Translation:  “I’m late paying the bills.’ What they said:  “The dog ate my homework.’ Translation:  “I didn’t do the assignment.’ What they said:  “I have been holding off on submitting the file until we are within 60 days of closing (for both the rate lock and because the...
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Picking a Mortgage Lender: Confusing the Forest and the Trees (Fees??)

Thanks, Keith!** From my Realtor’s perspective, credit consumers — specifically, home Buyers looking for a mortgage — place FAR too much emphasis on fees, and WAY too little on service, and the very real financial value of same. Call it, “missing the forest for the trees.” So, on average, to originate a $200k mortgage, a top...
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Higher Interest Rates = Stronger Economy (Usually)

Is Apprehension About Rising Rates Misplaced? Conventional wisdom is that higher interest rates would be disastrous for a still-recovering economy. Is that mindset right? Maybe not. Whither Interest Rates? If rates are rising because the economy is stronger, that’s a positive, not a negative. As one loan officer I work with said, “If you’re hoping for dirt-cheap...
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