I love Ken "Yes You Can" Cook's tag line, but I also loved this post he wrote about the mortgage industry and interest rates in general. Very wise advice in this post, so I am reblogging it for your enlightenment!
Anyone who thinks they know the mortgage industry - especially well enough to predict it - is like someone saying they know which star has a planet in orbit that can support human life. Seriously, everything anyone knew about the mortgage industry just six months ago is completely different today.
Yesterday, May 27, 2009, interest rates at par went from about 4.75% to a par at about 5.25% between lunch and five PM eastern. Did anyone see it coming? Well, the indicators were there that's for sure so some people did call it. Many completely blew it like Dan Green who wrote on his blog on May 14, and I quote, "I am predicting that rates will decrease over the next 30 days." Oops.
Not to make an example of Dan but if you read his blog you would think he is a pretty sharp individual and his website certainly gives the impression that he is a consummate professional worthy of trust.
Well - he missed it. Either way I would have never predicted rates decreasing over the 30 day period between May 14 and June 14 and I don't know of anyone in my national mortgage professionals groups who would have. But this is an example to show you that even people who look, sound and act like they know exactly what they are talking about. (Insert big honking buzzer sound here.)
Recently there was a big flap over some things Lenn Harley wrote about pre-qualifying her customers. I can see how she riled a few and ruffled a few feathers but I still believe what she was saying was she doesn't want to waste her time with people she believes to not be qualified. On the broad spectrum that may be okay but when it gets down to actually getting an approval from a lender there are multiple factors examined and weighted algorithms applied. In fact I am often surprised when certain borrowers are approved and flabbergasted when others are not approved.
Every day, literally every day, something changes in underwriting guidelines or lender overlays. Even the underwriting engines, the automated decisions making software, are tweaked and changed every day. Nobody - not one person - whether they have 3 days or 30 years in the mortgage industry can know for certain if an apparently qualified median borrower will be approved or denied until they have exhausted the correct protocol. Just having 800 plus credit scores is not all you need, just having the right income or reserves is not all you need. Even combining 800+ scores, good income and good assets is not all you need.
Now you can even factor in the HVCC and the wild results overstressed, underpaid appraisers are likely to bring to the table. And who knows when that will change? Not me and not you.
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Janna Rankin Scharf provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.com to search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho.
No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!
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I was minding my own business doing an MLS search of high end homes for a prospective luxury buyer client. There are some nice homes on the market, and in the million dollar plus range there is high inventory and some great deals to be had in the Coeur d'Alene area real estate market. 
big, beautiful homes and estates. LOVE to market them, promote them and strategize with their sellers on the profile of the most likely buyer, and how to go about reeling him in. My associates laugh at me, say they would much rather have 5 homes priced at $200K than one home priced at a million, because their five homes will sell before my one. Well, yes, they do have a point. But I just laugh back and tell them that I can't help myself. 
marketing photo? And how can a seller, sharp enough to own a $2,700,000 house, not be aware of how incompetent his agent is and how bad his marketing photos are. HELLO????????? These photos would be unacceptable no matter the price of the home, but for a multi-million dollar listing it is OUTRAGEOUS!
Yes, that is a guy sitting in the chair....
This seems like a good place to mention that I am a specialist in new construction sales, and I'm proud of earning my 
I signed up for VFlyers about a month ago and created a flyer for a beautiful timbered homesite I had just listed. One of the things I wanted to do was be able to do a quick and easy cut and paste of the HTML from VFlyer into Craigs List a couple of times each week. I also like the cute customizable widgets like the one on the right of my blog with listings scrolling through. I installed (sorry, I don't know the right techie word) one to my blog that same day. 
Fast forward a couple of months and a few conversations, and I decided to go get a close-up look at the lovely Appalachian style log home that Rich had built with his own two hands. I knew from the photos I'd seen that it was meticulous and wonderful. 
through a post card, because I might as well could have been! Finally, almost to the border, Bonners Ferry.
The backdrop of those beautiful, rugged mountain peaks in every direction. Framed by tall timbers, with no sight or sound of civilization to interfere! 
stress relief therapy at a spa, but I felt like a new person! I resolved that I MUST make myself and Mr. Scharf pause from the daily grind more often to simply enjoy this magnificent place that we are so very blessed to call home!
Driving south, I snapped a few photos from the driver's seat of my topless car. Here are a few, including my favorite - Tulips vs. Balloons. I did a double take as I drove through an explosion of color, made a U-turn and went back to get that wonderful photo! A fitting cap to a day I will long remember.
