Mortgage Brokers Hitting the Books

Colorado has announced that mortgage brokers licensed to do business in the State of Colorado will have to complete 40 hours of education by the end of 2008. Until now, any one that was registered/licensed could originate mortgage loans with little or no knowledge of the industry.

This is great for the industry and consumers, as consumers can now be assured their mortgage brokers is knowledgeable about the industry and not some one who was selling cars yesterday. However, I would like to see it go a step further and require all mortgage professionals, even those who work for banks, be required to complete education courses. If we really want to protect consumers we need to make sure every mortgage broker and loan officer is required to complete classes that will provide them with the knowledge to originate mortgage loans.

What Your Lender Should be TEACHING YOU!!!!

A majority of the public has very little understanding of the mortgage industry, heck, 70% of Realtors (and a lot of mortgage professionals) I speak with have very little knowledge of the mortgage industry. Even though purchasing a house is the largest financial transaction most of us will ever be a part of and, a mortgage is the largest debt we will ever have there is no LIVE resource to educate the masses.

Yes, you can go online and do research and HUD does have a hot line that can provide general advice, but most sources are general and impersonal or WRONG.

Due to the lack of education sources, your mortgage broker should be providing you with the information you need and want (and what you don't want to hear). Many mortgage brokers often only provide information to their clients that they believe they want or when asked. However, as professionals in a business that is often rarely comprehended beyond the basics, mortgage brokers have a responsibility to educate their customers beyond the scope of "must need" information for their specific loan.

Educating the borrower on program and real estate risks/benefits, how their mortgage fits in with their financial plan, using credit, and how they can become a "better borrower" for lenders should be information discussed with ALL borrowers. Mortgage brokers usually believe borrowers don't want this information unless they ask. The problem is a lot people either don't think about these issues or believe the myths they have heard and don't bother asking because they "know" the answer.

How much do you know? Answer these questions through comments or email.

What are the major factors that determine your credit?

Is it better to have an adjustable rate mortgage or fixed mortgage?

How much money do you need to put down to purchase a house now?

What is a "good" credit score?

What do lenders look at to determine if they will approve your for a loan? How do they determine what interest rate you will receive?

Is it better to payoff your mortgage? Why or why not?

gselters@myprosperityfinancial.com


Prosperity Financial - Your Mortgage Manager and Teacher
Lafayette, Colorado

http://www.colomortgages.com/ http://www.myprosperityfinancial.com/ http://www.3bed2bath.net/

Home Ownership at it's Highest Levels

We have all heard the criticism and negative consequences of the subprime sector and the relaxed guidelines many lenders used to approve loans over the last few years. However, I have not once seen a report on the news regarding the record levels of home ownership. The fact is, that more people own their home now than ever before, about 70% of Americans.

As shown in the cartoon on this blog, lenders can never escape criticism for their underwriting guidelines, they are either too strict or too lenient. Obviously many lenders went a little to far approving high risk loans, but I believe we have once again over reacted and many well deserving people will miss out on home ownership.

Consider this, many experts are stating that 20% of subprime loans are failing or will fail, that would mean that 80% are NOT. Even if their projections are off at worse we are still looking at a 70% success rate, not bad. These are people who otherwise would not have been able to purchase a house or would have lost their house in foreclosure due to a job loss or another life changing event.

I believe if we can approve our financial literacy and regulation in the mortgage industry, we can then afford to take chances on people and avoid the credit disaster we are in now.

Prosperity Financial - Your Mortgage Manager

Lafayette, Colorado

http://www.colomortgages.com/ http://www.myprosperityfinancial.com/ http://www.3bed2bath.net/

Why Can't They Report the Full Story?

The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain news both had an article published online from the AP about Denver's foreclosure ranking. The headlines stating Denver is ranked 9th in the nation for foreclosure filing in 2007.

The article has two small paragraphs about the Denver market and then reports on other markets around the nation. However, in the brief mention about the Denver market they fail to mention that foreclosures were down in the 4th quarter compared to the 3rd quarter and from December to November.

The average reader is going to read the article or just the headline and believe that our market is still in shambles, when that is not the case. I understand free press, but shouldn't publications be held to some type of standard to report the full story?


Prosperity Financial, LLC - Your Mortgage Manager

http://www.colomortgages.com/ http://www.myprosperityfinancial.com/ http://www.3bed2bath.net/

What Happened to Service?

A friend was telling me a story the other day about the terrible service he received from his cable provider. The customer service agent was rude, unable to fix the problem and even told him that a previous problem was fixed by "magic" and she didn't what else she could do.

When did poor service become the norm?

In an effort to try to save money companies not only outsource factory jobs, but also customer service jobs. There is nothing more frustrating than when some thing doesn't work and you call customer service and you have to struggle to understand the service agent. I know they are probably hard workers and great people, but that doesn't help me fix the problem. I know a few times I have recommended my cell phone provider just becuase the customer service agent speaks English that I can understand??? Not becuase the service was outstanding, but they had customer service I could use.

However, it's not like we deliver great service ourselves. From utility companies to waiters/waitress to retail workers service is typically horrible. I went to a rent a movie last week and it took 30 minutes to check out!!! It wasn't busy (my wife and I were the only people in the store), but the cashier had better things to do than help us and when she did decide to do her job she was incompetent and slow. And her manager sat their and watched it all happen?

I wish I knew what was the source or reason for the lack of service in our society and how to fix it, but I don't have that much time on my hands. So instead of crying, I have decided to celebrate good service on my website and blog and will be creating a working list of "GOOD" service that I have experienced. And I'm not talking about just people/companies providing service (which often passes as good service these days), but actual people/companies that go above and beyond.

If you have any nominations or stories, please feel free to let me know.

Prosperity Financial, LLC - Your Mortgage Manager

Lafayette, CO


Purchase - Refinance - Cash-Out - Home Equity - Debt Consolidation - Great Rates

Are we Falling in to Recession?

Some experts believe we may already be in a recession, the 1st time since late 2001. Check out this article about our current economic state.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/09/news/economy/recession/index.htm?postversion=2008010915

What do this mean for the mortgage rates? Typically, during recessions the Federal Reserve lowers rate in attempt to stimulate the market and help pull the economy out of it's declining state. Some experts the believe the Fed Reserve will lower rates to 2.5%, it currently sits at 4.25%. Which means you will definitely see a drop in your HELOC rates and payments and will see a decrease in first mortgage rates.

Prosperity Financial -Your Mortgage Manger

Lafayette, Colorado

http://www.colomortgages.com/ http://www.3bed2bath.net/

Are you Kidding Me?!?!?!

Let me begin by saying, I'm a huge sports fan and while baseball is not my favorite, I understand and follow the game. But, why in the world is our government wasting their time and efforts to probe in to the steroid/HGH debacle in baseball? Don't they have better things to do? Don't we have troops fighting overseas? Are we not in the middle of a foreclosure crisis that could force our county in to a recession? Immigration? Social Security reform? Health care reform? The bottom line is, there are more important issues for the government to focus their attention and our money on.

For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, there will be a 2nd congressional hearing on the steroid problem in baseball later this month. The House Oversight Committee has invited a few players and others that were recently named/involved in the Mitchell Report (the investigation in to steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in baseball).

What I don't understand (besides the obvious question of why are they wasting their time on this issue), is what they expect to come out of this hearing? Are they going to fix the steroid problem in baseball? I understand that baseball players are role models for our youth, and some one needs to fix this problem. However, I don't think our government should be spending time on this problem. Is this why we voted for these people to represent us? I don't ever remember once in a debate a politician discussing their solutions to the steroid problem in baseball? Is this why we pay taxes? Where are their priorities?

Hopefully, they don't spend too much time on this issue and get back to work solving American's real problems.

Prosperity Financial, LLC - Your Mortgage Manager
Lafayette, CO

http://www.colomortgages.com/
http://www.myprosperityfinancial.com/


Purchase - Refinance - Cash-Out - Debt Consolidation - Homey Equity - Great Rates

Don't Refinance to Pay for Gifts

Isn't this the greatest time of the year? The holidays are around the corner, decorations are on houses every where, and people are full of joy. However, this is also the most expensive time of the year. Your making your list, checking it twice, and trying to figure a way to pay for all these gifts. Here are a few ideas on how to ensure that you still won't be trying to pay off your credit cards in July.

Make a Budget: Before you make a list of all the people that you will be buying gifts for this year decide how much money you can afford to spend on gifts. Once you know how much you can spend for the gifts, make you list and assign a MAX dollar amount you can spend on each person.

It's the THOUGHT THAT COUNTS: It's easy to forget what this time of the year represents, it's not about buying expensive gifts to show those we love that we care about them. There are a lot of inexpensive gift ideas that will show the people close to you that you love them. Baking holiday cookies, a picture frame with a picture of you and the person you are giving the gift to, other crafts (there is a lot you can do even if you failed art and crafts in elementary school, like I did. Search the web and there are many sites that will help you with ideas and how to do it. Here is a good site to start your search http://www.thriftyfun.com/). Your kids artwork is also a great gift for grand parents. Frame the artwork with an inexpensive frame and add a quick poem or scripture or picture to the frame.

Give your time: Ahh, we all made coupon books for our parents or brothers and sisters when we were children. Coupon books are great way to show people that you care about them and they allow you to spend more time with people you love throughout the year.

Search for Bargains: For those people on your list that you HAVE to buy some thing for, look online. The Internet is the best tool you can use for holiday gifts, you can shop thousand of stores looking for the best deals from the comfort of your own home.

Good luck with your budget, and Happy Holidays!!!


Prosperity Financial, LLC
http://www.myprosperityfinancial.com/
Lafayette, CO

Managing your Mortgage

Purchase - Refinance - Cash-Out - Home Equity - Great Rates