What do JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, Michaels Stores, Target, Dairy Queen, and now Equifax all have in common? They’ve all been hacked and your info could have been compromised. If you missed the news Equifax released last week that 143 million people were impacted...
This is a bedrock of the 5th amendment that says private property can’t be taken without just compensation. So why did the federal government decide to take property at will in Texas with zero compensation. What tough choices were made that are now spawning multiple...
One home in Houston valued at 115k flooded 16 times in 18 years netting the homeowner 800k! Did you know that in highly damaged areas in Houston only 15% of property owners had flood insurance! How does Houston impact every real estate owner and taxpayer? Could the...
There are some new rules coming down the pipe for banks that will drastically alter the lending landscape and impact everyone in real estate. What are they and should you care? I’m amazed that there has not been more talk regarding a big change in banking...
Probably not although I doubt any closings happening. But, I did have to give a shout out to this guy who I will nominate as “best dressed” for the upcoming eclipse. I think the metal “hat” adds the little extra “pizazz” to the outfit. Hopefully no lighting...
Has Janet Yellen fallen victim to fake news? Interest rates have been predicted to increase this year but they have barely budged. Why? We keep hearing that rates will increase and inflation will continue to accelerate, but Janet Yellen has stated in various federal...
As a hard money lender, value is the most critical component of underwriting a loan. We don’t require appraisals so we are looking at thousands of loans a year. I wanted to share the tools I use to underwrite each time I look at a loan file and specific tools for...
Today it was announced that Libor will be phased out by 2021. Why is this such big news? According to a fed survey almost 45% of mortgages are linked to Libor and the vast majority of jumbo loans are Libor based. In total there is about 862 billion in short term...
If you haven’t seen the news Zillow has released a tool to provide “instant offers” to consumers on the purchase of their property via their website WITHOUT USING ANY AGENTS! Will this ultimately be the demise of the traditional residential broker? Why is Zillow...
Ready to start your engines for the summer driving season? Will our cars lead us into the next recession? Although auto sales declined substantially this year, the real story is that the subprime bubble in auto lending is now showing cracks. How will this impact...
I wanted to wish each of you and your families an enjoyable 4th of July. Most of us spend a little time getting ready for the 4th, but this guy took it a step farther preparing for years. I’m not sure why anyone would want to balance a running lawnmower on your...
With the “hot market” back in many cities throughout the country, fraud is also up substantially. It is not your typical fraud like we saw in the last recession but a new breed that is extremely sophisticated and can impact buyers and sellers of both commercial and...
Do you have the proper “accessories” to excel in real estate? Do brands matter to increase your sales? Will your clothes help you “close” the real estate sale? I’m talking about your actual real estate that is! Is your commercial or residential real estate...
Seems like rates are all over the place with predictions awash. Interest rates are driven primarily by future expectations of the economy along with geopolitical risks (flight to quality). What does this all mean for rates? What should you do? Speaking of...
It’s like getting a free scoop of ice cream 😊 According to Equifax about 11 million borrowers will have their credit scores increased by at least 20 points starting in July. Will you be impacted? What is the change? What information is now excluded? Is...
This weekend I was asked to lend on a file in Colorado. The borrower mentioned his zestimate was 250k. I was intrigued because the house was not in the nicest area. His zestimate value sucked…. Zillow also thinks it sucks since they are offering $1m to anyone who...
Are we partying like it is 2007 again? Hopefully everyone hasn’t forgotten the last real estate party and how badly it ended. With the market on fire in many locations throughout the country, there is increasing pressure to get transactions closed. According to a...
Want to close before you put on the bathing suit and attempt a cannonball or whatever "trick" the guy above is attempting? Annoyed by the games of other lenders promising the moon only to find out later that they aren’t really lenders and can’t close? Do you have a...
When investing in real estate there are a myriad of factors to consider. Should one of the factors be death rates? Ironically, I’m not talking about crime statistics. There was a recent article in a Ski town newspaper (Steamboat Pilot) highlighting the number of...
The above pic was the first photo on a listing in Colorado. I’m still trying to figure out what is for sale! With this in mind, we started an Instagram account to showcase our real estate adventures … from my windshield to yours At Fairview, we are private/hard...
Shh! There is a big secret going on in the banking community. Do you know what it is? About six months ago I started seeing an interesting trend. Many banks were starting to be a little more conservative on their underwriting. In essence, banks were tightening...
Jim Rogers, the famous investor and republican supporter who called the last recession, recently said “there was a 100 percent probability that the U.S. economy would be in a downturn within one year.” (see articles below). I’m not convinced we are 12 months out, but...
Anyone watching the markets recently has seen a marked reversal from the initial Trump Optimism. The recent “great healthcare” reform promised by the president imploded. Because of this implosion and implications on future tax measures. There are 4 immediate...
We lost an hour Sunday! I’m sure like most folks I’m not a big fan of losing sleep. I’m not alone in my dislike for time change. There is evidence that changing the clocks causes a spike in car accidents, strokes, and heart attacks. In general folks seem a...
What do JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, Michaels Stores, Target, Dairy Queen, and now Equifax all have in common? They’ve all been hacked and your info could have been compromised. If you missed the news Equifax released last week that 143 million people were impacted...
This is a bedrock of the 5th amendment that says private property can’t be taken without just compensation. So why did the federal government decide to take property at will in Texas with zero compensation. What tough choices were made that are now spawning multiple...
One home in Houston valued at 115k flooded 16 times in 18 years netting the homeowner 800k! Did you know that in highly damaged areas in Houston only 15% of property owners had flood insurance! How does Houston impact every real estate owner and taxpayer? Could the...
There are some new rules coming down the pipe for banks that will drastically alter the lending landscape and impact everyone in real estate. What are they and should you care? I’m amazed that there has not been more talk regarding a big change in banking...
Probably not although I doubt any closings happening. But, I did have to give a shout out to this guy who I will nominate as “best dressed” for the upcoming eclipse. I think the metal “hat” adds the little extra “pizazz” to the outfit. Hopefully no lighting...
Has Janet Yellen fallen victim to fake news? Interest rates have been predicted to increase this year but they have barely budged. Why? We keep hearing that rates will increase and inflation will continue to accelerate, but Janet Yellen has stated in various federal...
As a hard money lender, value is the most critical component of underwriting a loan. We don’t require appraisals so we are looking at thousands of loans a year. I wanted to share the tools I use to underwrite each time I look at a loan file and specific tools for...
Today it was announced that Libor will be phased out by 2021. Why is this such big news? According to a fed survey almost 45% of mortgages are linked to Libor and the vast majority of jumbo loans are Libor based. In total there is about 862 billion in short term...
If you haven’t seen the news Zillow has released a tool to provide “instant offers” to consumers on the purchase of their property via their website WITHOUT USING ANY AGENTS! Will this ultimately be the demise of the traditional residential broker? Why is Zillow...
Ready to start your engines for the summer driving season? Will our cars lead us into the next recession? Although auto sales declined substantially this year, the real story is that the subprime bubble in auto lending is now showing cracks. How will this impact...
I wanted to wish each of you and your families an enjoyable 4th of July. Most of us spend a little time getting ready for the 4th, but this guy took it a step farther preparing for years. I’m not sure why anyone would want to balance a running lawnmower on your...
With the “hot market” back in many cities throughout the country, fraud is also up substantially. It is not your typical fraud like we saw in the last recession but a new breed that is extremely sophisticated and can impact buyers and sellers of both commercial and...
Do you have the proper “accessories” to excel in real estate? Do brands matter to increase your sales? Will your clothes help you “close” the real estate sale? I’m talking about your actual real estate that is! Is your commercial or residential real estate...
Seems like rates are all over the place with predictions awash. Interest rates are driven primarily by future expectations of the economy along with geopolitical risks (flight to quality). What does this all mean for rates? What should you do? Speaking of...
It’s like getting a free scoop of ice cream 😊 According to Equifax about 11 million borrowers will have their credit scores increased by at least 20 points starting in July. Will you be impacted? What is the change? What information is now excluded? Is...
This weekend I was asked to lend on a file in Colorado. The borrower mentioned his zestimate was 250k. I was intrigued because the house was not in the nicest area. His zestimate value sucked…. Zillow also thinks it sucks since they are offering $1m to anyone who...
Are we partying like it is 2007 again? Hopefully everyone hasn’t forgotten the last real estate party and how badly it ended. With the market on fire in many locations throughout the country, there is increasing pressure to get transactions closed. According to a...
Want to close before you put on the bathing suit and attempt a cannonball or whatever "trick" the guy above is attempting? Annoyed by the games of other lenders promising the moon only to find out later that they aren’t really lenders and can’t close? Do you have a...
When investing in real estate there are a myriad of factors to consider. Should one of the factors be death rates? Ironically, I’m not talking about crime statistics. There was a recent article in a Ski town newspaper (Steamboat Pilot) highlighting the number of...
The above pic was the first photo on a listing in Colorado. I’m still trying to figure out what is for sale! With this in mind, we started an Instagram account to showcase our real estate adventures … from my windshield to yours At Fairview, we are private/hard...
Shh! There is a big secret going on in the banking community. Do you know what it is? About six months ago I started seeing an interesting trend. Many banks were starting to be a little more conservative on their underwriting. In essence, banks were tightening...
Jim Rogers, the famous investor and republican supporter who called the last recession, recently said “there was a 100 percent probability that the U.S. economy would be in a downturn within one year.” (see articles below). I’m not convinced we are 12 months out, but...
Anyone watching the markets recently has seen a marked reversal from the initial Trump Optimism. The recent “great healthcare” reform promised by the president imploded. Because of this implosion and implications on future tax measures. There are 4 immediate...
We lost an hour Sunday! I’m sure like most folks I’m not a big fan of losing sleep. I’m not alone in my dislike for time change. There is evidence that changing the clocks causes a spike in car accidents, strokes, and heart attacks. In general folks seem a...
