Kathy Wall

Bank or Mortgage Broker? Who to Use?
October 5, 2009 · · 4 Comments

Where is the best place to get your home loan….a bank or a mortgage broker?   Over the course of my many years in real estate, I have waffled back and forth over this question.    Many times my decision on whom to refer would be based on the credit of my buyers.   If they were self employed, had a small down payment or not-so-good credit, I would usually suggest that they talk to a mortgage broker.    If they had excellent credit scores and a good down payment, I would usually suggest that they might be better off going directly to one of the major banks.

Now, after an incredibly negative experience with one of the largest banks operating here in California, I am leaning much more towards referring all clients to mortgage brokers, because I know that they will do the job and, most importantly, will actually care about my clients.  Read more

Nicole Machado

Are you even trying to close this deal??
March 5, 2009 · · 8 Comments

 string_phone1I recently entered escrow on an REO property (Foreclosure) representing the buyers. With any escrow you enter you want to make sure you have your ducks in a row, but when it comes to REO transactions make sure you read the fine print. Some include passive contingencies which mean that if you don’t pull contingencies in writing on the said date written in the contract, they will pull them for you. This runs the risk of potentially forfeiting your client’s good faith deposit, if for some reason you have to end up canceling the transaction. Read more