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Blake has been been originating loans since 2005, is licensed by the CA Department of Real Estate to provide mortgage loan services, and is endorsed by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) to originate loans in California. All loan officers in America must have a NMLS ID number to legally originate loans. Before working with any loan officer, always ask for his or her number. To determine if a loan officer is NMLS endorsed go to www.nmlsconsumeraccess.com, enter either the loan officer's NMLS ID number or name, and follow the prompts. Do not conduct business with anyone who isn't NMLS endorsed because your loan could very well not close.

To get valuable information about mortgage related topics, read Blake's blogposts. If you have credit issues and need assistance fixing them, contact Blake. He has many years of experience helping his clients improve their FICO scores 25 to 100 points in short time periods, and charges nothing for this service. By doing this successfully, interest rates and loan costs can be lowered significantly. To reach Blake by email send to blake@divitahome.com.


Well, it's about time! The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) finally got some smarts and made a decision that was not only great for all homebuyers and homeowners, but also for the preservation of the FHA....
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If you have had an FHA mortgage loan for a year or more, and are tired of paying its expensive mortgage insurance (MI), perhaps you should consider refinancing now. Believe it or not, your home may have a high enough fair...
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Last Wednesday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that in March a .10 basis points, or .10%, increase in the G-fees, aka Fannie's and Freddie's guarantee fees, or in just plain talk "fees," is scheduled to...
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If you are one of the fortunate homeowners who has a FHA loan that was originated before 6/3/13, according to FHA guidelines you are able to cancel your mortgage insurance (MI) when your home's loan-to-value ratio (LTV)...
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The FHA is about to make some monumental changes to its mortgage insurance (MI) requirements, and the duration of mortgage insurance. So, if you are contemplating getting a FHA loan this information is most definitely for...
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Now that HARP 2.0 (H2) has been with us a few months, some clarifications about it need to be made. I know, I know, almost everyone has access to the internet so they can get all the information they need there, right?...
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When it comes to getting a mortgage loan, borrowers are often unsure about whether to go directly to banks, or work with mortgage brokers. On the surface, it would seem that doing business with banks is the wisest decision to...
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When you purchase a home, be very cognizant of what the property taxes will be. Here in California, most realtors and loan officers calculate annual property taxes at 1.25% of the purchase price. While that may be a safe...
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When it comes to getting a mortgage loan, borrowers are often unsure about whether to go directly to banks, or work with mortgage brokers.  On the surface, it would seem that doing business with banks is the wisest decision to make because they have the money, and, consequently; will offer the best interest rates at the lowest loan costs. 

Unfortunately, because many borrowers believe that brokers are nothing more than middlemen, or liasons, to those with the money, aka the banks, they must charge "mark-ups" for it to their borrowers, so; obviously, working with brokers would be costlier than working with banks, right?  Actually, the answer to that question, way more often than not, is a resounding "NO."  However, it all depends upon the mortgage brokers that borrowers select.
 
If these brokers are partnered with enough quality lenders that have a variety of loan programs (we have 39 with 1,000+ loan programs), the borrowers' chances of getting loans that are ideally suited to their particular needs are far greater than they could ever get with any one bank that may offer just 25 to 50 loan programs.  It's really all a numbers game.
 
The more options borrowers have, the better their chances are of getting the best loans.  In addition, because of the conservative nature of banks, many excellent, more aggressive loan programs that are available through brokers are not even offered by banks, eliminating the possibility for borrowers to be exposed to these programs, much less have an opportunity to choose them. 
 
One of the primary reasons that banks' interest rates and costs are, typically, higher than those offered by brokers is because of their overheads.  They have to pay for their buildings, all the furnishings in them, and dozens, if not; hundreds of employees on a daily basis.  Where do you think the money comes from for all of these expenses?  The answer, of course, is from interest rates and loan costs.
 
Mortgage brokers, on the other hand, normally don't have high overheads so the savings they realize because of this can be passed along to their borrowers in the form of lower interest rates and loan costs.  I personally did a refinance for a client who was a week away from closing her loan with Chase Bank when we started talking, and the loan I structured for her saved her about $300 monthly compared to the loan from Chase.  Quite honestly, that even surprised me.
 
Granted, it is very feasible that borrowers may get their banks' best loan programs, interest rates, and lowest costs, but these loans most certainly will not be the best ones for them.  That can only be accomplished by working with professional, competent, knowledgeable loan officers representing reputable and honest mortgage brokers.  Borrowers should seek them out in order to find the most advantageous loans for them and their families.

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