Arizona Real Estate Blog

We are taking names to complete our survey and beging the lease/purchase opportunity in the Arizona area. This program will launch in Glendale and is already set to expand to the Gilbert, Mesa and/or Chandler area.

For the details and information about this rare opportunity, please see our lease/purchase page.

If this is something you are interested in, please complete the short survey on the lease/purchase page and fax it back to me. This will get your name on the list and be one of the first few to select your choice of properties available.

Sterling Home Mortgage forwarded this interesting information that one of their lenders sent out. They have contacted several lenders and expect most or all to do the same in the coming months. If you have buyers or refinance clients on the fence, this may help them off of it, especially if they need the highest loan to value in order to get the home refinanced or purchase a new home using FHA loans. The lender name has been removed.

"In regards to FHA declining markets:  

Lender will cut 5% from the max LTV on purchases and refis in declining market areas.  

Lender will not underwrite an FHA loan with a credit report older than 30 days.  

Lender will not underwrite a file that has been previously been turned down from another lender in FHA Connection

Lender will not underwrite files without DU/DO or LP findings. If DO/DU findings are use from another lender broker must supply Lender with their ID and Password for the DO/DU that was used.  

Attached is Lender's declining markets list.  

If you have files with us that you need to cancel due to this policy please email your list of files and names.  

I am very sorry for the hardship that this policy change will cause you."

State County

AZ Crittenden                     

AZ Coconiono                   

AZ Maricopa                     

AZ Mohave                        

AZ Pima                            

AZ Pinal                              

AZ Yavapai                       

AZ Yuma                         

CO Adams                          

CO Arapahoe                   

CO Broomfiled                

CO Clear Creek                   

CO Denver

CO Douglas

CO Elbert

CO Gilpin

CO Jefferson

CO Park

MN Anoka

MN Benton

MN Carver

MN Chisago

MN Dakota

MN Hennepin

MN Isanti

MN Ramsey

MN Scott

MN Sherburne

MN Stearns

MN Washington

MN Wright

CO Weld

WA Pierce

As Always, if you have a client looking to purchase a home in the Glendale, Peoria, Surprise or any area of Phoenix, please visit my site. Re/Max Integrity Realtors

Don't wait too long before you contact me. If you are in trouble with your home mortgage payments and facing possibe foreclosure, there are several ways I can help you. I work with pre-foreclosures in Arizona and can help save your credit rating from negative foreclosure. If you wait too long, it may be too late to help you.

Many homeowners don't realize a foreclosure is the worst thing you can do with your home. You will have a "radioactice credit history" with a foreclosure that will haunt you for 7-8 years.

A bankruptcy will not stop a foreclosure and will not prevent it from being placed on your credit. Don't just give up and let the house go back to the bank without trying to sell it. If you show the bank you are trying to sell it, they are more understanding. The bank knows if the foreclose on your home, they will lose money. If they don't sell you home at the auction, they will own the property. This is known as and REO property or bank owned property. Banks are not in the business to own properties.

I can work with your mortgage lender and arrange for a short sale if you owe more than the property is worth.

Together, we can list your property for sale and try to get as much as we can for the lender. We can do the same marketing as we would on any property listed. We can hold open houses, send out flyers, place the listing in the MLS, list it on my real estate website as well as Realtor.com and Remax.com. I will let every agent in my office know about it and possibly even get it on a home tour.

Together, you, I and the power of RE/MAX, can help save your credit rating from a foreclosure.

For more information, email Mike or make a phone call. All I ask is to be upfront and honest with me. I do not judge people going through a tough time and honesty will be the best policy when dealing with the banks. They will find out anyways so let's be honest and make something positive happen.

I am a Realtor with RE/MAX Integrity Realtors in Glendale Arizona and a Mortgage Planner with Sterling Home Mortgage in Phoenix Arizona. I have a good knowledge of both real estate and mortgage in AZ.

I just sifted through many different lenders rate sheets and guideline changes taking effect. Many lenders are taking a proactive stance on the recent buzz about mortgage brokers disclosing the yield spread premiums paid to the broker by the lender. This is not law in AZ yet but I would look for it to be passed soon in order to make the mortgage loan process more transparent. Even though it is not law yet, you will see or hear about lenders requiring the actual dollar amount of the (YSP) be disclosed in a new and separate disclosure. This required disclosure is already mandatory with some of the top lenders and others will follow suit.

Many mortgage brokers are haunted by this as it is common for a broker to charge a point origination on the front of a loan as well as get paid 1-4 points on the back. Even though this is paid by the lender, it still costs the borrower more money. When the rate is sold to the borrower at a higher than wholesale cost, the broker makes more money. This is the way it is and the way it has been. I think it is this way with insurance and financial planners as well as other fields I suppose.

This will only hurt the unscrupulous mortgage broker trying to make a nice salary on one unsuspecting, unknowledgable borrower who puts trust in you to help them out. I personally have never hidden my yield spread premium and have always informed my clients what I make on the rate as well as what I charge up front. I even give them 3 or 4 choices to see how placing the money differently can make significant differences in the long run. This allows the customer choices to select the best fit for them both now and in the long run.

One more thing I should point out. I am unaware if this change will make the banks disclose the premiums as well. When I was at a previous company that was a broker and a lender in one, when I submitted a loan to the lender side of my company, yield spread was never disclosed on the application nor on the final HUD1. I do not understand why the lenders can hide what they make and the broker can't. It should be clear for the client no matter who or where they go. After all this can only help bring the costs down by borrowers being able to actually see who has the better rates and who is trying to sell a padded rate.

It is all good from the stand point of a mortgage planner and can only benefit those who are honest and truly care about the clients best interest. This will help the client as well.

If you need to compare interest rates or want to check the estimate you just received, please call Sterling Home Mortgage

Of course FHA is a good program if the buyer has 3% down or as a 3rd party or new home builder willing to contribute. Then it is a good thing. Many new home communities are offering incentives for the home buyer including 3% towards the down payment. Some of these builders are advertising $500 total move in. I have seen some of these communities ranging from Surprise, to Glendale, to Peoria to Queen Creek and more. If you are interested in one of these new homes, contact Mike for details and participating communities.

If you were planning on purchasing a new home that is over the conforming limits of $417k, you probably know the rates for Jumbo loans are a bit higher than conforming rates. Well now lenders have adjusted the guideline to reflect the new temporary conforming-jumbo loan limits. In Arizona the limit is $729,750. I have seen rates around the 6.5% range, give or take, for these limits. Contact Sterling Home Mortgage for current mortgage rates on jumbo loans and current guideline requirements.

If you are looking to buy a home in the Arrowhead Lakes or Arrowhead Country Club area, this blog may be of importance to you. Other areas in Arizona that may benefit from these temporary guidelines are...

• Scottsdale Homes
• Gilbert Homes
• Paradise Valley Homes
• Litchfield Park Homes
• Waddell Homes
• Verrado Homes
• Vistancia Homes
• Peoria Homes
• Tempe Homes and many others...

Jumbo loans have always had higher rates so take advantage of this new temporary jumbo loan limit increase and lower your mortgage payment.

This is a non real estate related blog but a worthy one for sure. For those who do not personally know me, I love to cook and am a self proclaimed chef. I do not do much baking of the sweet stuff even though I have a sweet tooth. This is one sweet baked dish that is great and super simple. This will make you think you are eating fresh, hot, apple pie alamode.

You will need....

• Lemon Juice
• Apples
• Sugar
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Clove powder
• Nutmeg
• Apple Cider
• Walnuts and or raisins
• Butter

Start with squeezing the lemon juice of one lemon into a dish or use the bottled lemon juice to keep the apples from turning brown during preparation. Take a melon baller and hollow out the core but don't go through the bottom of the apple. Do this to each apple. Take a peeler and remove the skin of a little more than half of the apple, leaving the bottom portion alone. Brush each apple with lemon juice after peeled and set in baking dish. Once all apples are peeled and coated with lemon juice, mix equal parts of white and brown sugar in bowl, add a little cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of clove powder. Rough crush the nuts and put into hole of apple, add raisins if you like them. Press the peeled apple part into the sugar mixture to get a nice even coat around apple. Take the apple cider and pour into hole of apple and pour remaining cider into baking dish. Take softened butter and fill up the rest of the hole and make apple hole flat. Bake in oven at 350 for 25-35 minutes or until apple is soft and cooked. 

Place hot apple, with a little of the juice from the baking dish into a bowl. Add 1-2 scoops of ice cream and get ready to fully enjoy a hot fresh apple pie alamode, almost!

Try this and you might not ever want to bake another apple pie again. I have served these at a few dinner parties and there is never a left over apple. They are ALWAYS A HIT!

I don't usually write recipes so please bare with me on this one.

With mortgage rates near all time lows and house prices lower than they have been in quite some time, I would say now is a buyers market and a great time to purchase the home of your dreams.

Now is a good time to buy a home in Arizona. View my web commercial I created for my viewers.

Arizona Realtor Web commercial