Marc Brinitzer's (merlin) Blog

It’s not that I want to keep beating the mortgage fraud drum, it just keeps falling into my lap.  Furthermore, I figured that as a mortgage broker with almost two decades of experience, I could easily steer clear of trouble.  After all, if I can’t recognize mortgage fraud, who can?   But today I...

I am frequently asked these days about buying “short-sales”.  Seems like a good buying opportunity.  After what happened this week, I’m not sure anymore. Nearly everyone knows what a short-sale is by now.  But just in case, a short-sale is a home listed for sale that, when sold, will not yield e...

The benchmark 30 year fixed rate mortgage climbed  higher again this week, ending at 6.125% with 1 point. Behind the Numbers The week was a bag of mostly positive economic news, further eroding hopes of a Fed rate cut anytime soon.  After briefly crossing 4.9% for the first time since August, th...

What effect will “short sales” have on a borrower’s credit and ability to secure another home loan?  Without the public Notice of Default that precedes a foreclosure and notifies the credit bureaus, will “short sales” slip under the automated underwriting radar?     In my earlier post Short Sale...

Nice to see a lender take such pro-active measures to help borrowers avoid going into default. I’ve been waiting to see how various lenders would respond to this market. You would to call this the most enlightened response yet. From the Sacramento Bee this morning: Lender counsels those in troub...

The benchmark 30 year fixed rate rose slightly to 6.00% with 1 point. Behind the Changes It’s been an active week in the bond market, with a number of significant economic reports.  All pointed toward a stronger economy, eroding hope for a Fed Rate cut this Spring.  The closely watched 10 year N...

Mortgage fraud is no longer the playground of two bit, school yard con artists.  The pros are in the game  If he were here today, Vito Corleone might have found it irresistible.   I find it frightening.  Apparently, there was an FBI conference in Las Vegas on the subject in December. I ran into ...

Rachel Dollar is Santa Rosa attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles fraud recovery and litigation for lenders and capital market investors.   She is current President of the Sonoma County Bar and in 2005 was voted one of the 100 most influential people in real estate. However, she is ...

Okay, in our effort to create affordable payments, we laid a foundation with the 15 and 30 year fixed rate loans in Part I.  We stretched the repayment term out to 40 and 50 year loans in Part II, and then looked at shorter term intermediate arms—the 3/1, 5/1 and 7/1–-in Part III.  In Part IV, w...

You may have seen Bob Shallit’s recent Sacramento Bee article highlighting Sacramento Area Flippers in Trouble.  This is a local real estate blog that lists 470 area homes purchased in the last two years and now relisted at prices much lower than those paid.   I’m familiar with this blog, so Sha...