Brett 's Blog

It's a commonly held belief in today's world that a self employed borrower can't get a home loan.  While it is significantly harder today for the self employed to get a loan than in the past few years, it certainly isn't impossible.  The disappearance of "stated income" and "no-doc" loans has def...

We just closed a transaction for a young couple this last week.  She is a part time worker in the medical field, he is a full time student, about a year from graduation.  They have a couple of young children.  What's interesting about this transaction, is that on her limited income, they could bu...

I read this morning a blog post from a Realtor in Los Angeles, advocating the higher QRM standards that are proposed under the Dodd Frank bill.  QRM stands for Qualified Residential Mortgage, and requires lenders to hold back as "Capital", 5% of the loan amount on any loan made with less than 20%...

Many people will tell you that an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)  is horrible, and something a borrower should never take out.  A friend recently stopped by worried that his ARM was adjusting and that his payment would go through the roof.  We analyzed his paperwork and found out that his interes...

So.... you might find this hard to believe, but yesterday morning, I was a little down.  You know, feeling a little sorry for myself.  Tough market, tough deals, blah, blah, blah.... But I had a wake up call at noon.  At noon, I had to to attend the funeral of a Realtor I knew who died at 33.  33...

It's been an incredible year in Portland, Oregon so far.  One of the local TV News Teams reported today that we've had 47 inches of rain so far this year!  Usually, we only get 37 inches A YEAR!  Now we all feel justified in our complaints about the weather!  In 4.5 months, we've had a full years...

So, as of today, one of my pre-approved borrowers has made 4 offers on houses in the $150,000 price range and been outbid by other buyers! His offers have not been low-ball offers, several have been made above the asking price. Another agent told me today a buyer for a Happy Valley (aka Death Val...

Homes with a little bit of acreage, a barn or two, and/or some type of small farming operation can be tough to finance.  If your property owner files a "Schedule F" for farm income with their federal income taxes, you might have a BIG problem.  In our area, there are a lot of "Hobby Farms" where ...

Another client just left my desk who's decision on buying or selling has been influenced by climbing rents!  Usually, it's someone who realizes that they can buy for the same or cheaper than renting, but this guy realizes he can rent out his house for his payment and then go buy another! So....fi...

So as the saying goes....that and a couple of dollars will buy you a cup of coffee....but, it's kind of cool to make it.  Now I feel like a real Active Rain-ite.... I can only imagine the commitment it's taken some to get to such astronomical numbers.  Way to go to you!  I'll just keep plugging a...