Danell Merren's (danelliccf) Blog

When I started working as a housing counselor for the non-profit side of my company, ICCF, over ten years ago, we advised clients that closing typically took about 45 days. It seems we've come full circle and that it is taking that long again. Then I started doing mortgages about five years ago, ...

I have this wonderful customer, Kelly, that has done a world of good for my business! She's the kind of person you just wish you could clone! Her positive energy and ability to network make her an awesome part of my "team". She's an awesome hair stylist, and I'd like to return the favor. So, I am...

To Protect Yourself During The Mortgage Process: DON'T: Stop paying on any current mortgages Don't pay your bills via a debt management company Quit or change jobs Cancel your lease Apply for new debt Make any large purchases on credit Pay off any debts or close any loans (unless instructed) Have...

I recently wrote a post http://activerain.com/blogsview/908519/Do-As-Youd-Tell-A-Customerabout taking our own advice in the industry. In it I joked that even I forget sometimes that we have to Source (show where the monies come from) all of the monies a customer has in the transaction. I'd like t...

Sometimes all one can do is laugh at themselves! So, I decided with rates having gotten so low again that I would take a HUGE leap of faith and lock my husband and I into a 15 year mortgage at 4.625%! After all, someone has to have some faith that the mortgage industry is tightening, but there is...

Good afternoon. At Providence Home Mortgage, we do our best to assure that our clients have fully funded escrow accounts, and that they never have a shortage. We truly believe that it is extremely important to set up tax escrows based on the Assessed Value rather than the Taxable Value because we...

I am excited to announce that ICCF will be hosting a Web cast/Pod cast of the Inauguration ceremony of Barak Obama in the ICCF Auditorium (located on the 3rd floor of ICCF which is located at 920 Cherry SE in Grand Rapids) on Tuesday. Coverage will start at 11:30 a.m. The event should last until ...

Well anyone still in the real estate/mortgage business knows that times are tough. For most, commissions are down and any vacation must be on a budget! That being said, my husband, Mike, and I just returned from New Years in New York City, and we had a ton of fun on a beer budget! First, we bough...

Just when I think I've heard it all in the mortgage and real estate world, my mouth about hit the floor a few nights ago when I returned a call to an agent I had never worked with before. The agent had been referred to me by other agents in his office. The agent had left me a message earlier in a...

Have you or your clients been stressed that down payment assistance went away in September?! Stress no longer! It is true that seller funded down payment assistance went away, but seller funded down payment assistance was only one kind of "DPA". I am sure that it had its place and was used often ...