Bella Terra (Huntington Beach, CA)
By Kurtis Kooiman
(Straightline Group, Inc.)
Just a little story about something that happened with me this week.  Being that I have taken on more of an educational roll in my career as of late, I found out that I'm entitled to some pretty reasonable insurance rates on my homes and car because of my chosen profession.   Well, I've had one insurance agent that I've worked with for years...someone I'm loyal to and go to every single time I have an insurance need (except health insurance...for that, I go to myself being that I'm licensed to provide it).  I called on the other insurance company last week because I wanted to find out for sure if they were able to lower my insurance rates and sure enough, they were able to lower the rates and by quite a bit. What am I to do NOW? I've been loyal to my agent for years but, here's a chanc...
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By Kurtis Kooiman
(Straightline Group, Inc.)
Quote of the Week:"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Albert Einstein PhysicistWill Homeowners and Buyers Lose $45,000?Ann Arbor, MI August 13, 2009 – Federal Reserve officials met yesterday and issued a statement saying that their program to purchase $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed securities will be winding down by the end of year.  “The Fed is the single largest buyer of mortgage bonds in the market today,” said Gibran Nicholas, Chairman of the CMPS Institute, an organization that certifies mortgage bankers and brokers.  “The way mortgage companies set their interest rates is by figuring out the price that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are willing to pay them for the mortgage.  Fannie and Freddie set their price by figuring out what investors on the bon...
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By Kurtis Kooiman
(Straightline Group, Inc.)
  So the question is, do you qualify for the any of the new mortgage programs? Since last week, I have been contacted repeatedly by clients, friends and family wanting to know if they qualify for any of the mortgage relief programs that have been signed into law over the past few weeks. More details have been released by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on how they will handle refinance transactions authorized by the Home Affordable Refinance program. The complete details of both programs can be found by accessing the program guides from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but I will point out some of the highlights below to help answer your questions. Lenders and investors are in a holding pattern as they determine if and when and how they will accept these transactions. Even though this legislation...
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By Kurtis Kooiman
(Straightline Group, Inc.)
FHA Launches New Program to Help Lenders Refinance Troubled Loans Carrie Bay | 10.03.08 The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) rolled out the new Hope for Homeowners (H4H) program on October 1. The program was created as part of the larger Economic Recovery Act of 2008 passed by Congress this summer, and is aimed to help struggling borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing into more affordable, sustainable, FHA-insured mortgages.H4H lets lenders and servicers with homeowners at risk of default or foreclosure turn "beyond-their-means" home mortgages into new government-backed 30-year fixed rate loans with lower payments. FHA said that given their fiduciary responsibilities and financial obligations, lenders should assess their portfolio and perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine...
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By Kurtis Kooiman
(Straightline Group, Inc.)
Only Successful People Fail       "When you make a mistake, don't look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power." ~Phyllis Bottome1884-1963, Novelist and LecturerGood Afternoon!Well, what can I say?  These times are difficult and we all know it.  While I see amazing opportunity in every downturn for those who have prepared for it by seeking pro-active advice from their team of experts, I'd rather take a moment to share with you exactly what has happened that has created the need for a 700 BILLION dollar "bailout."  It's not really a bailout by the way, it's just what the media is calling it.   I would like to give full credit to Barry Habib for the expe...
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By Kurtis Kooiman
(Straightline Group, Inc.)
Good Afternoon and Wow, What a week!THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS E-MAIL WILL MAKE YOU MONEY AND WILL MAKE YOU LOOK GOOD! I heard a startling statistic yesterday and the numbers don't lie.  It's a fact that approximately 54% of buyers/sellers will NOT use the real estate agent that they used on their last transaction.  Even worse and it comes as no surprise given the reputation of most lenders and brokers as of late, 83% of lender / broker clients will NOT use the mortgage person they used on their last transaction for their next transaction. So, what separates the good agents and brokers from the not so good?  Answer:  VALUE BASED SERVICES. Is the broker or lender that you are currently referring your clients to providing second to none value based services such as monthly Rate Wat...
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By Kurtis Kooiman
(Straightline Group, Inc.)
Good Afternoon and Happy Friday, I've been getting several emails this week regarding WAMU.  The main question is "What will happen to my loan?"  Well unfortunately, your loan won't be forgiven or swiped away....you get to keep making payments.  Regardless of the lender who holds your loan, you will either continue to make payments to their servicing company or if that bank is bought or merged with another entity, you will start to make payments to a new servicing company.  Another important note.  If your lender goes under and/or you start to make payments to another bank, none of the terms and conditions of your loan will ever change. I read this important article this morning written by Barry Habib and wanted to pass it on to you. There are some important things going on that you sho...
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Huntington Beach, CA Real Estate Professionals