http://www.themortgagereports.com/2008/05/the-first-ever.html

 Cheers!

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The seller agrees to convey marketable title and the buyer agree to pay for the search, including cancellation fees, if any.

The mortgage contingency clause contains similar language. If the buyer can’t get a mortgage, the buyer agrees to pay for the title commitment/search, etc.

I have a dead deal - a purchase - that died due to a low appraisal. It cost me $135 to have a full title search completed and I paid $10 to the tax authority for certifications. My staff spent a lot of time on the deal but we didn’t invoice for our time, we invoiced for out of pocket costs.

I look at it this way. Going in the hole is just plain stupid. I really should’ve charged for our time but I didn’t. We are not a non-profit enterprise. This isn’t a charity.

The consumer called me to say how very unfair it was that we were charging her for work when she did not get the property. I suggested that she wouldn’t think twice about not paying if we were a home inspection company and she agreed, saying that at least we would have provided a service.

I reminded her that we did provide a service and that she had in hand a copy of the title insurance commitment which is the end product of a professional full title search and examination.

Funny that the real estate agent called me to ask for an update and said she supports our position completely, she pointed out the clauses in the contract and told the consumer she owes for services rendered.

What’s killing me is the loan originator caving and not understanding that the consumer is responsible or the invoice.

A mortgage loan applicant gives permission to the loan originator to order certain services on their behalf such as the appraisal and perhaps the title work. The consumer had already signed a contract agreeing to pay for the service.

I just hate to see someone bullied and I guess that’s why I’m posting this here on Lenderama. Perhaps the post will help a loan originator faced with a similar circumstance to stand firm and not just eat fees because someone is whining.

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What I have noticed from a real estate agent’s perspective is how mortgages being marketed to me has changed.  Big time changed.  A few observations;

• I no longer receive, on an almost daily basis, solicitations from mortgage generators looking for more business.
• A couple of the loan officers I know say business is still good.  But that the drop off is noticeable.  Sure enough, they stay in close contact with me.  (Seems like a good idea.  Personal marketing is still the best.)
• A few loan officers I know have simply disappeared.  While KC isn’t tanking it’s still not a market for the feint of heart. 
• The investment loan portfolio I can choose from (well, more-rather my client’s choice) is getting smaller and more homogenized all the time.

I know many an agent that has backed off, disappeared and a few that have taken jobs.  So the shakedown has left it’s mark all over real estate.  Including some inspectors I know that are no longer “full time”. 

To those that are surviving I say “hats off”.  To those that are thriving I say “congratulations!”  And to both I say keep your nose to the grindstone.  I expect more of the same before any kind of turn-around comes.  Just my opinion. 

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Ok, now that I have your attention.  Let me tell you what the call capture companies don’t want you to know. 

You know how call capture works; you’re assigned an 800# that is owned by the call capture company and you pay a monthly fee plus a per-minute fee for the usage.  You then record valuable/helpful information as extensions from the 800# and advertise the 800# with extension and a ‘call for recorded information’ tag. 

The beauty of the call capture system is that as soon as the inquiring prospect calls the number, you are sent an email or text message with their phone number, even if their phone number is non-published.  At that point you’re calling back a great warm lead.  Oh, and my advice is to call them right away – not the next day.

Personally, I advertise the call capture number with $5 corrugated signs throughout the state of Florida.  My $5 cheapo signs sit alongside my realtor partner’s nice fancy signs in their pre-foreclosure listings.  Curious buyers tend to call the ‘recorded message’ sign instead of the real estate agent’s sign because they don’t want to talk to a salesperson.   

But now for call capture’s dirty little secret.  And this is something that they won’t tell you unless you ask.  There is a direct connect feature with call capture.  If you answer the phone when the call capture rings through  or ‘direct connects’ to your cell phone, then no problem, but if you let it go to voice mail, then most call capture companies set the default to stay on the line (and use up minutes) long after the party hangs up the phone.  Mine was staying on there for exactly five minutes even when the caller’s message was a short ten-seconds.  Trust me that can get costly when you’re dealing with hundreds of signs.

In any regard, if you ask the call capture company about the default for direct connect upfront, you will have less of a battle to fight down the road and in addition, you will have proved to the call capture company that you know their dirty little secret.

Posted by Paul – Seller Helps Buyer

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The subject of back-up loans came in a Google alert this morning and since I’m wearing my special RESPA reform hat lately, it played through my mind as yet another problem solved by the proposed reform.

[As an aside Todd has me all freaked out about scarfing pics on the web so just for Todd, I am using only original material on Lenderama. This is the only “hat” picture I could find on the fly. It’s from our family blog and yes, I am the one in the “hat”—–YOI!]

OK, back to biz……….

You know, I just can’t stop laughing and now the subject seems really boring.

See ya. LOL

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There wasn’t much data last week, and as such, traders look for anything to grab onto, and last week’s Initial Jobless Claims played a much larger role than normal.  Inflation fears were fueled again by Fed speak, which put pressure on bonds as well.  Overall, though, bonds ended the week basically flat.

Fueling bonds move higher was more news, in the form of earnings, of a continuing mortgage crisis.  Stocks also moved lower many times this week, letting money flow over and benefit bonds.  Bonds managed to break through some resistance layers by Thursday and things were looking like the sideways pattern would break.  Then came Friday and oil prices and other news, including the Fed comments in speeches during the week, brought inflation back to the forefront and let the air out of the bonds’ kites.

The week ahead should promise to be another wild ride.  The battle between recession and inflation will be heating up this week with Retail Sales and CPI data hitting the airwaves.  We will also see some news on the housing front, as well as an unprecedented number of Fed speeches scheduled this week (fourteen to be exact).

Here is the scheduled data releases for the week…

• Tuesday:  Retail Sales (8:30)
• Wednesday:  CPI (8:30), Crude Inventories (8:30)
• Thursday:  Initial Jobless Claims (8:30), Empire State Index (8:30), Industrial Production (9:15), Capacity Utilization (9:15), Philadelphia Fed Index (10:00)
• Friday:  Building Permits (8:30), Housing Starts (8:30), Consumer Sentiment (10:00)

The big events are Retail Sales and CPI, setting the battle front up for the week.  Bonds are already on a rollercoaster ride today having moved higher and then beating back down, currently flat as a pancake.  I am going to recommend locking until we see a real direction as bonds are still stuck in that “squeeze play” (moving averages converging).

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Even though most people are overpaying when it comes to property taxes, almost no one is willing to go through the appeal process — even though it’s relatively easy. Simply contact your local county assessor’s office, and obtain the paperwork. Make sure to ask them what formula they use to do their calculation. This is important because many counties use a percentage of market value. That means that you could still be paying too much in property taxes even if your assessment is already below current market value. Also make sure to ask for a copy of your property card so that you can check it for errors. You want to make sure that the number of rooms and square footage are correct, for example.

When my wife was a young girl, she followed her father and an appraiser around the new home that her father had just built for their family. Her father is a funny guy, so he kept the appraiser amused. The appraiser allowed him to hold the opposite end of the tape measure, so he pulled it out past the edge of the house in an effort to inflate the square footage of the home. Because the appraiser was so far away, he couldn’t tell that he was being duped. This is a good example of why it’s important to check your property card for errors. Needless to say, my father-in-law isn’t totally honest. I find it sort of ironic that my father-in-law is also one of the only people I have ever known who faithfully files property tax appeals.

You may also be able to find comps in your neighborhood to support your case, although that will take a bit of digging into the public records. Also realize that one of the best times to appeal is when you have just gotten a mortgage — the reason being that you have a fresh appraisal in your hands. A lot of counties will allow you to use a recent appraisal as evidence in disputing your assessed value.

Wade Young is a Colorado mortgage broker.

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The Plaintiffs’ attorney maintains that State Street breached its “fiduciary duty” to investors. State Street will no doubt play the investments-carry-inherent-risk card. Angry investors say that the investments were marketed to them as low risk — akin to a money market fund when they were actually highly leveraged mortgage-backed securities.  It comes down to a marketing question. Were the investments packaged such that the packaging didn’t jive with the contents inside the box?

The fact that State Street has set aside $625 million to cover damages shows that the company expects significant exposure. The Plaintiffs’ attorney is claiming that a “prudent expert” … well, should have known … well, to the extent that they had knowledge.

The end result is that the ratings agencies need to do a better job. Investors need to do a better job. And State Street … well, everyone could have done better. Yet here we are, and it will be interesting to see how things play out.

Wade Young is a Denver mortgage broker.

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Sometimes I ask myself why so many people listen to me. The only honest answer is that I bothered to say something in the first place. You can tell people you’re an expert all you want. Once you start proving it, that’s when people start to listen. Blogging platforms give good real estate agents and mortgage brokers the ability to PROVE they are experts. More importantly, the average agent or LO can use blogs without the help of an IT guy, or a web designer. Blogs bring the digital soapbox to the masses.

In an environment where the prestige of being an agent or originator is no better than a used car salesman, there’s no better time to use blogging and new media as a platform for proving to your clients that you are different. I’ve seen it from my own efforts.

Now, I’m taking everything I’ve learned in three years of blogging and packaging it up into RE BlogWorld. This three day conference and trade show is part of the largest new media event in the world. We’ll have over 70 seminars to pick and choose from over three days in Las Vegas. Are you just getting your feet wet? We’ll get you right on track. Are you an experienced blogger with nothing to learn? That’s what I thought before I went to this event last year. I walked away with cramps in my hand after taking so many notes. We have something to offer for everyone.

Over the next few months, I’ll be banging away here with updates and news about RE BlogWorld. If you’re smart enough to find lenderama, I know it will benefit you.

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