The Fast and the Flawless
Closing on time, with little or no red tape, saves you money, time and worry.
That’s why W.J. Bradley has put together a team of the best processors, underwriters, closers and funders in the business. They’re fast, they’re accurate, and their goal is to make sure you get your loan when you need it. In fact, we have some of the fastest turn times in the mortgage lending industry, measuring the time in hours, not days.
Our entire team is charged with the task of ensuring you have the best customer experience every step of the way. Our Operations team is just as committed to providing you with excellent service as I am! Together, they do the work so you don’t have to worry.
WJB also employs state-of-the-art technology to ensure speed and accuracy when processing your loan. We will keep you apprised of the progress of your application throughout the process and we’re here to answer any questions you have, at any time.
If you’re ready to discuss refinancing a current loan or purchasing a new home, call W.J. Bradley today. We’re building a secure future: yours.
Time for Your Mortgage Review
Your mortgage is one of the cornerstones of your financial foundation, so it’s important that you take some time each year to ensure your fiscal “house” is in order. Each year’s financial planning should include an annual review of your home financing to make sure that your loan is in line with your short- and long-term financial goals, as well as with what’s happening in the marketplace.
Some people call it a mortgage checkup, some people call it a mortgage review, but whatever you call it, ensure that you take some time each year to take a look at your home loan. This is especially true right now. Given the current financing market, now is the perfect time to review your mortgage. Rates are low and you could benefit from a decreased monthly payment as a result.
A mortgage review is especially important if you’ve run into some life changes that could impact how your mortgage fits into your personal finances, such as:
Recasting – A New Way to Cut a Mortgage
Whether you have a jumbo loan or a conforming loan, you might be able to use a little-known strategy called recasting to lower your payments for a small fee. Recasting or re-amortizing allows a borrower to lower their monthly payment on an existing fixed-rate loan without having to apply for a new loan and without having to pay a reappraisal fee. Here’s how it works:
The borrower asks the loan service if he/she can put a large sum of money against the existing mortgage. Ordinarily, this allows a borrower to pay down the loan, but he/she would still have the same monthly payment. With recasting, the mortgage payment would be reduced to match the new lower principal balance. Each lender sets their own fees and requirements to recast. The loan must also be in good standing and permission must be secured from the loan service.
Mortgage recasting resembles a “cash-in” refinancing, which is a newly popular strategy in which a borrower pays down principal on an existing loan in order to qualify for a new loan with a lower interest rate. In recasting, the borrower pays down the principal, but the interest rate and number of payments remains the same.
So, what is the advantage to recasting? Unlike a refinance, there are almost no fees or costs.
Home Staging Color Challenge
After five years in the home staging business I can tell you that almost every house presents itself with a unique design challenge. It might be a difficult floor plan, an outdated appearance or a color challenge that leaves me particularly perplexed. My job, after all, is to accentuate the best of a home’s features and downplay its worst. With 92% of buyers previewing homes on the internet, having a beautifully staged home for a virtual tour is essential in a home marketing plan.
Now, in many cases of home staging I can paint beautiful colors on the walls, update kitchens and bath or replace old flooring, as seen in some of my other projects. However, in some cases, such as the one on 809 Pinon Ave Millbrae I am left to design around an existing color challenge.
Color challenges of a home might be a rustic brick fireplace surround in an otherwise contemporary space. The dark red brick color against creamy neutral walls with white crown moldings appear in sharp contrast to one another and draw the eye toward the stronger color. Or, a color challenge might be a strong accent wall color that cannot be painted over for a variety of reasons.
As you will see in the before and after pictures of the 809 Pinon Ave house one wall in the living room as well as the entry were painted a strong salmon color. At the opposite end of the room is a sunroom, which was painted a soft, green. My color challenge in this home staging was to incorporate both of these colors into one harmonious design. I want to downplay the stark contrast between the dark salmon and the white wall by placing either color on the contrasting wall. The secret to the success of the design was color balancing the space with a rug that incorporated all of the colors as well as the black of the fireplace surround. A lighter colored rug would have left the space “floating” and off kilter. This darker rug draws the eye away from the wall and into the seating area.
An additional color challenge was in the dining room with the terra cotta tile floor. The color balance was achieved with the art and floral arrangement complimenting all three colors.
Sometimes in my home staging I need to purchase a specific design element to successfully complete my project. In this home staging color challenge I purchased the art and rug, both of which had the salmon color as well as the green tones.
Color increases the memory of a property by 60%. People viewing this property will remember it by it’s living room color. Professionally home staging this property helped neutralize a strong accent color by blending the color around the room. It also created more appealing photographs for a virtual tour.
Please give me a call or send me a message if you have any questions about home staging and/or color challenges.
The Right Professionals Makes the Difference!
Property type: Two-bedroom, two bath in Burlingame
Appraised value: $480,000
Loan amount: $369,000
Loan type: 30yr fixed
Rate: 4.5%
Back story:
This one, while ending with happy clients, was a lesson in working with the right professionals to get the job done. This client and their realtor had troubles with their appraiser and actually had to have a few different discussions with them to get them to reconsider comps in the area in the overall home value. Being sure that your Realtor, Mortgage Lender, Appraiser, Insurance Agent, and every other person involved in the process is on top of their job and able to troubleshoot situations is so important!
And, as always, it closed in less than 30 days!
You keep talking about your team, how did you find them and why are they the best?
The first person on my team is Jerry Hsiang and we have been working together for almost 5 years now. We started working together at Citibank, briefly moved to Chase, and are now here at W.J. Bradley. He is my right hand and does a lot of client interaction covering the details of processing and underwriting.
Then there is Clare Nishikawa who is my processor and we’ve been working together for about six months now. She is extremely attentive to detail and makes sure our clients stay fully up-to-date with what is happening on their loans.
Our underwriters are thorough and by-the-book, but are always looking for ways to approve clients, where at other companies I’ve seen underwriters trying to find any reason not to approve a client!
And lastly, there’s Renee Pelton, who handles my marketing and online communications and we’ve been working together for almost a year now. She keeps the website current, helps with social media, and makes sure that the blog is kept up-to-date with useful information.
All together my team and I bring together the skill, knowledge, and experience to make sure your financing needs are met, your expectations exceeded and the process happens smoothly and efficiently!
You’ve been in the mortgage business for over 20 years. You obviously like your job, how does it make you feel to help your clients?
Honestly, I could not see myself doing anything else. I love using my expertise and knowledge to help provide financing solutions to my clients, because financing a home is so important to them and the process can be very confusing! Every client has a special story on why the home they are buying is important to them and no two stories are alike.
I try to understand each client’s personal situation and I make sure to explain every aspect of the process they are embarking on, and not just my side of the it, but also what everyone else is doing too! Understanding this can make the entire process less daunting and makes sure that my clients are fully satisfied.
I think most clients appreciate the extra effort that my team takes to ensure that they have a smooth process and know they can always call to ask any questions at any time.
I truly do love my job and look forward to working with my clients daily!
How important is the choice of mortgage lender when buying a new home or refinancing? How do they affect the transaction?
There has never been a time when it’s more important to choose the right mortgage lender. The recent foreclosure and mortgage crisis we’ve experienced has caused regulators to react with more and more stringent regulations which in turn has caused the lenders to become more cautious. Even overly cautious at times!
The opportunity of borrowing at today’s extremely low rates is nothing short of fantastic! There are also many pitfalls for the borrower that need to be watched. Getting involved with the wrong mortgage lender who is unaware of the demands of the regulators, zealous loan underwriters, and other requirements for closing can cost you!
My recommendation is to get reviews from friends, co-workers, and other sources on who they worked with, take the time to really interview your mortgage lender because they will be handling a transaction that will affect you for the next 30 years! Working with the right person who has your best intentions in mind can make all the difference.
Health Reform Timeline
June 2010: Medicare beneficiaries pay less for preventive services, Tax credits for certain small employers begin
July 2010; Uninsured people with health problems eligible for state insurance program
Sept 2010; Insurers required to cover sick children, Lifetime limits on insurer payouts prohibited, Children allowed to remain on parents policy until age 26
January 2011; Seniors who exceed medicare drug coverage limit receive $250 rebate, Voluntary payroll deduction for long term care coverage starts
January 2013; Medicare taxes rise on incomes above $200,000 per year
January 2014; Medi-Cal eligibility expanded, Insurers barred from denying coverage, Individual requirement to obtain coverage begins, insurance exchange opens for business, Subsidies for buying coverage available
2016; Long term care benefit available
2018; Federal tax on high value benefit packages begins
*data from California Healthcare Foundation
What is one deal that fell through in the tough economy that you are able to do now?
The mortgage guidelines tightened up a lot, but recently they have begun to loosen – but not too far. The biggest change is that we are able to do 10% down on a high balance loan, not jumbo, without having to use FHA as our only financing option. It’s been quite awhile since we were able to do that!
We still have mortgage insurance on those deals, but no upfront FHA/MI fees. It’s nice to see that the market is improving, but the rates are already fluctuating and will be climbing soon so be sure your financing, and re-financing, is covered now!
