Mark Aalto's (maalto) Blog

During the previous administration FHA enacted a poorly conceived program entitled Hope for Homeowners.  It was originally estimated that it would help up to 400,000 households in the United States.  When all the dust was settled the program fell short by roughly 399,999.  As pathetic as it might...

Right now the Keebler elves are busily striping cookies with fudge, running around with wheelbarrows full of tiny concoctions of snack goodness, frolicking in cocoa streams and in general, being cute little industrious spritely creatures. While the rest of us are slaving away in our various jobs,...

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss." Those words, penned and then sung by The Who, were an embittered retort toward an era and a series of administrations in which authority continuously made the same mistakes over and over again. It didn't matter the political party, the politician or the ...

Everyone seems to know what a short sale is these days, but few know about some important changes in Oregon law with respect to Short Sale Negotiation.  Oregon's House Bill 2191, which became law in 2010, says the following: Residential Short Sale Negotiation is a regulated Debt Management Servic...

The majority of the blogs or articles I have read about new mortgage regulations are boring and the message is lost amidst confusing jargon and an endless collection of acronyms. Most people don't buy a home or refinance a mortgage every day so the topic itself is not on the radar screen very oft...

I am frustrated with the current Good Faith Estimate (GFE) but not for the reasons that most people rant about.  The flaws of the new document are well documented and I won't bother with reiterating what many have already adequately and eloquently addressed. My frustration is with the timing of t...

I caused the housing crisis. So did you. So did the crazy neighbor down the street with 15 cats. So did the politician that voted for many things you agreed with - and sometimes things you didn't agree with. Your crazy nephew that has jumped from one multi-level marketing idea to another was also...

We in the lending industry take most things fairly literally.  I'm not sure if it's a personality quirk we all seem to share or just years of rigorous training.  Whether it's our clever acronyms, our job titles or our myriad of forms and ever changing regulations, we tend to view the world from a...

President Barack Obama signed legislation April 15 reinstating the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) after a two-week lapse. The extension is effective until May 31, 2010. What this means The NFIP extension means:    New flood policies can be written. Existing policies can be renewed. Exist...

Ok I admit - the title of this article was intended to get your attention.  Ignorance is likely too strong of a word.  But, let's clear the record here a bit:  there is a ton of confusion when it comes to HVCC and inaccurate information about HVCC may be hitting you and your clients in the wallet...