North Sound Property News

It really is a fascinating time to be working in the real estate industry–being a young-ish pup, I wasn’t in the industry during the 1992 S&L crisis, so it’s interesting seeing how the industry responds to major changes.  I follow everything that is happening with a great deal of interest because by doing so I can get a better understanding of how to advise my clients. 

One of the better pieces of advice I’ve seen so far comes from Jack Guttentag, who covers mortgages on Inman News.  According to Guttentag (you may need a subscription to view this, but I’ve included the pertinent bits here):

In a normal market, borrowers can assume that all loan providers have access to pretty much the same wholesale prices. This means that it is safe to focus on the loan provider’s markup. But when wholesale prices for the same deal vary all over the lot, this strategy no longer works. Borrowers need to consider the range of wholesale sources to which a loan provider has access, and that information is very hard to come by.

In today’s market, if the (broker) has a wholesale source for your loan, your interview should include information about his range of wholesale sources in general, and about how many other wholesale price quotes the broker had for your loan in particular.

Just remember that this is sensitive information to brokers. You have a right to ask for it; the broker has a right not to provide it; and you have a right to walk out the door.

Asking these kind of detailed questions is great advice at any time and critical in the current environment. 

Here are some other great resources for buyers:

Advice for buyers in mortgage market meltdown

Blown Mortgage - Morgan Brown reports the latest mortgage industry news in a cool new videoblog format

Mortgage Porter - Local mortgage blogger Rhonda Porter dispenses advice about what owners should do if their mortgage company goes out of business (upshot–keep making payments and you’ll be fine).

About the Author: Sandy Kaduce is Associate Broker of Gallery Homes Real Estate. She serves buyers and sellers in North King and South Snohomish counties. She is 2009 Board President of the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce, as well as Vice President of Site Selection for Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County. For more information, visit Sandy on the web at www.sandykaduce.com! Read more from this author