Ed's Blog

There's a ton of news in the mortgage market these days but here are three quick items for you.

1) Ed Now State President of CAMP- Effective July 1, I became the new statewide president for the California Association of Mortgage Professionals. One of the things I'm passionate about is helping consumers get a fair shake in the mortgage process. At CAMP, we fight hard to help educate legislators and regulators to understand, and hopefully change, some of the unintended consequences of well-intentioned but poorly crafted reforms.

Let me know what kinds of changes you would like to see.

2) Loan Limit Reduction Coming- So-called “High Balance” loan limits will be dropping from the highs of $729,750 to $625,500 in high-cost counties like San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara, and Contra Costa. The change will be effective September 30. If you are thinking of refinancing or buying a property that has a loan in the $630,000 to $900,000 range, your choices will be affected by this change.

3) Appraisal Changes Coming-Again! Ughh! #8*@%- Yes, it's hard to believe, but there will be even more appraisal changes coming soon. I've been told that the new format "won't be recognizable"! Very reassuring (not!) Given all the appraisal problems we already have. Stand by for more news on this.

Tidbits:

Interest rates continue to be awesome. Especially for jumbo loans, which are nearly as well priced as conforming loans.

Underwriting is still exasperating. I can tell you stories that would make your hair curl. Or straighten it if it's already curly. Nevertheless, we continue to defy odds and get our loans closed!

As always, keep those referrals coming. We appreciate them.

Hope you're having a great summer.