Mortgage Blog

Yes, the business was pretty good. All 5 loans were purchase loans. Those purchases were from Miami FL, Austin TX, San Francisco, Fremont and San Diego. And also for most cities of California, the house prices went up. There are a few reasons:

1)Most of owners locked very low interest rates. They do not have incentive to move up(sell the current property, and buy a big one).So the inventory is low.

2)Labor and Material cost went up

3)The stock market went up(people has lots of money in the market)

4)People's salary went up around 15% to 25% for the past two years.

5)Because of the tight job market, not much foreclosure yet.

Recently, there has been a significant increase in the volume of loans I've been handling. Despite the seemingly modest nature of this growth, it's a cause for satisfaction considering the sluggishness of the business and the high interest rates. I am genuinely pleased with the progress of my business.

At present, I have seven loans in my pipeline, and if you're interested, we can discuss pre-approval for a purchase loan. Here is a list of the properties involved:

1. Purchase of a second home in Miami, FL.
2. Purchase of a primary residence in Austin, Texas. The remote engineers will be working from home, while their employer is located in the bay area.
3. Acquisition of a second home in San Diego, CA.
4. Purchase of a primary residence in Davis, CA.
5. Refinancing for a rental property in the bay area. The interest rate has increased from 3.x% to 7.5% for an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).
6. Purchase of a rental property in Folsom, CA.
7. Purchase of a primary residence (condo) in Seattle, WA.

The offer prices for these properties vary, and in some cases, the purchase price exceeds the asking price. If you're interested in discussing the real estate market in California, Washington, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Arizona, or any other related inquiries, please feel free to contact me via email efloans@gmail.com or phone 650-483-9278.

After comparing the current mortgage interest rate with the lows we saw in February, it 
appears that rates are still slightly higher. While we anticipate that rates may decrease 
if the Federal Reserve lowers them in the second half of the year, it's possible that any 
trend towards lower rates could be gradual.

I wanted to update you on some pre-approvals I've prepared for my clients. Although listing 
prices have dipped slightly recently, we're still seeing multiple offers and even some cash 
offers for particularly attractive properties. In one recent case, the cash offer was even 
15k higher than the listing price.

Some of my clients have been curious about why we're not seeing more significant decreases 
in house prices. The main factor is likely the strong job market, which has prevented 
foreclosures from flooding the market. It remains to be seen what will happen towards the 
end of this year or next year, when the economy may enter a recession.

Running the Rome Marathon was truly an unforgettable experience. As I pounded the cobblestone streets, I could feel the weight of over 2000 years of history beneath my feet. The energy and excitement of the crowd were palpable, urging me on as I weaved through the ancient city's winding streets. The sights and sounds of Rome surrounded me as I ran, from the majestic Colosseum to the ornate fountains and bustling piazzas. With each step, I felt a sense of awe and gratitude for the opportunity to experience such a breathtaking city in such a unique way. The Rome Marathon was truly an adventure of a lifetime, and I will never forget the rush of adrenaline and joy that filled me as I crossed the finish line.

We will expect the licenses be approved within one month. 

And also, I think the interest rate will be lower the 2nd half of this year.

Berlin Marathon in Oct, Napa Marathon in March and California International Marathon in Dec 2023. It will be a busier year for the race.

And hopefully I will focus on the mortgage business in 2024. So glad that I ran my fastest half marathon and marathon in the year 2022.

The conforming loan limit is changed to $726,200. High Balance limit to: $1,089,300.

And the interest rate lowered to 5.25% (APR 5.25%) for 15 yr fixed, 5.75% (APR 5.75%) for 30 yr fixed.

I ran my fastest Marathon the past weekend with the following splits:

Though I ran slower than 2017, actually I ran better this year. I ranked 138 of the total 2181 runners of my age group.

The screen below wasfor 2017:

I am doing a few loans for TX and FL now. And I talked to one client about the reason why he would like to purchase in FL(he sold his primary in CA). Here is his logics:

1)Though the current interest rate is high, he can still refinance lower in the next a few years. And he can negotiate a better deal(that's true, I have one client purchased a property with almost 10% price cut).

2)He can save the same money back from property tax, and income taxes.

3)FL is closer to his daughter in NYC. And also it is easier to fly to Europe in east coast

4)And they can get lot of equity from the sale of the current primary home.

What do you think? Actually we also plan to move there a few years later, if my daughter will not move back CA.

The interest rate stays very high now. So I spent a lot of the time for the training. Just finished London Marathon about a week ago(Oct 2, 2022) with the finish time of 3:28:00. 

The limit was increased another 68k. 

Not much changes for the interest rates. So I will still focus on the marathon training. I decided to run Jungfrau marathon in Switzerland(Sep 2023) and Athens Marathon Nov of 2023. I think I will give up the race for Berlin, which I deferred from this year to the next year.

It was such a great achievement for me. This was the best race I have ever ran. I finished 4th of 112 of my age group of 55-59. A great achievement in a major marathon. I controlled my heart rate so well during the race, around 150 most of the time:

I will run it easy. Any finishing time below 3:30 is good enough.

Plan to run around 7:40 for the first 6 miles. 7th mile will be uphill, the pace will be around 8:20. Then 
pace back to around 7:40 until mile 11, pace around 9:00 for 1.5 miles uphill. Back to 7:20 to 7:40 until mile 15.

Will be around 8:30 until mile 18-19. Then run as fast I can. Hopefully I will not be that tired then.

Please check out my progress here www.ericfang.com/PRtime.

I think I might have my PR at one of the marathons this year. Hopefully to run between 3:16 to 3:18.

The stock market is down(a lot), and the interest rates are up too much and too fast. At least for the interest rate part, I never experienced such a big jump in the 6 months period of the time. And for the last a few hikes, the ARM rate is slow. But for our generation, no one experienced the inflation rate of over 8%.

So under this kind of market, the best thing for me to do is spending most of time to exercise. And I started running the fastest races starting this year. On April 3rd 2022, I ran Sactown 10 miler race with a finish time 1:09:53, the very first time with pace under 7:00. Then on May 15, 2022, I finished the Elk Grove half marathon with the finish time of 1:33:04(9 seconds faster than 5 years ago), and on 06/05/2022, I crushed another 1:22 with the finish time 1:31:42, the half marathon pace under 7 as well.

Here is the pace splits:

First, here is the link for the article. https://www.npr.org/2022/05/12/1097979009/home-prices-could-fall-in-some-u-s-cities-heres-where-and-why

My summary is below:

1)For some areas, It is over-valued. Places like Boise, Idaho; Sherman-Denison, TX ;Muskegon, MI  etc. "Boise, Phoenix, Austin and Miami have been particularly hot "

2)There is no crash of the RE market yet for the following reasons

a)"One is supply — there's a shortage of homes available," we are about 4 million homes short of what the country needs
b)New federal rules have put an end to the reckless mortgage lending that led to the housing bubble 15 years ago
c)I added this one: inflation of the labor cost and the material cost.

Conclusion: We might not see a crash at this level. For some areas, the price will go down; and other areas, the price will not go up too much.

Now I can help you for the properties purchase in WA and TX now. Other states will follow.

Still running at a good pace after Tuesday's workout. The pace split today:

The pace for 3X1.5mile Tuesday:

Completed a sactown 10 miler race with the pace of sub-7. Here are the splits:

Then good news is that my license for WA was accepted. The bad news was the higher interest rates weeks after weeks. But I believe the rate should be eased after 6 months. So the current buyers might be able to refinance a few months later.

Had a few good trainings for the half marathons now. I can run 4 miles under 7:00 now.

See part of my training log at Eric Fang's Running Blogs. It is more important to have more excise when I am getting older. We will see whether I can get another PR within the next 2 months.

Please see my race splits here: Eric Fang's Running Blogs

The exciting other races would be: Berlin Marathon in Sep; New York Marathon in Nov.

30 yr fixed rate is higher now. But if you have loan amount , the rate can be as low as 3.875% to 4%. Please email me if you have similar scenario. 

I finished the courses for NV license. It will take a few months for the license ready. For WA and TX licenses, it should be ready some time in March.

Running is pretty good. I finished 18 mile run Feb 6, 2022, it was called spicy long run with 12 miles tempo run in the end. Finished pretty strong. 

See the splits here: http://ericfang.blogspot.com/

The interest rates went another quarter higher last week. Please just get refinance whenever the rate is good. The trend will only be higher.

1)Out of State Loans.
I am working to get the loan licenses for the State of WA, TX and Nevada now. For all the other states, I can only do investment loans. Wait for the approval for WA and TX. Working on the courses for NV.

2)Rate Updates.
Conforming loan rates went up a lot recently. The best loan rate/program is 7 yr fixed or 5 yr fixed. The rate is around 2.625% to cover all or most of the closing costs. The APR is around 3.75% now.

3)Marathons
I still at the best fitness level. I ran 2021 California International Marathon for the finish time of 3:21:13. I would try to see whether I can run a few minutes faster for March 2, 2022 Napa Marathon. My 3:21:13 finish was within 
one minute of my best time of 3:20:18.

I will the following exciting races this year:
Napa Marathon in March
San Francisco Marathon in July
Berlin Marathon end of Nov.
New York City Marathon beginning of Nov.
CIM(California International Marathon) Beginning of Dec.

I will run a few half marathon with my wife. The interest one would be: Avenue of Giants on May 1st, 2022.
I will run though the redwoods, which was in the northern California. And We will celebrate of our 29 years marriage that day.

4)No docs loans, Assets based loans.
We can do those loans in California. But the rates are high.

Could not believe the low rates this days, especially for the ARM.

APR below 2.75% for the above loans. And the rates are for no closing cost at all.

Hi, the best rate would be 1.875% for 5/6m ARM. The rate is fixed for first 5 years, and then adjusted every 6 month after that. This program is good for those who want to take advantage this low rate , and comfortable with ARM.  The loan rate will be slightly higher for smaller loan amount.

Got the 2nd dose done for vaccine. Had a little bit side effect the 2nd day.  Had some warning sign from the aging body. Could not run much recently because of the achilles tendinitis. I might need to stretch more after future runs. Never had this before. I might have to wait for 2 months before another steady longer distance running.

Today's ARM rate is around: 10/1 ARM 2.625%; 7/1ARM 2.375% to 2.5%; 5/1 ARM 2.375%. Those are the rates for the loan amount around $548k. The rate will be higher for the lower loan amount.

My frozen shoulder is getting better after a massage. I will try to get another one next week. Hopefully it will get better after 2-3 months.

It is Boston Marathon registration week. I do not think I will register and run Boston this year. Still prefer local races.

Finished the book: Breakfast with Buddha. Should I try : Dinner with Buddha, and Lunch with Buddha? Not sure yet.

The rate is as low as 15 yr fixed 2.25% to 2.375%(APR 2.25% to 2.375%); 10 yr fixed 2.0% to 2.125% (APR 2.25% to 2.375%). This is the best rate we can have. 30 yr fixed rate still high.

Finished the book: Think Again by Adam Grant.  Almost finished the book: Van Gogh: The life. I think I can finish the book by this weekend.

Still pretty busy with the loans. I actually hope I can have more time for the reading. Purchased two books: The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America and Nomadland. I plan to finish them by this summer.

Registered a few marathons this Fall. Hopefully I can run those marathons again. Most likely I will skip Boston this year, not sure whether I can get Tokyo. Plan to run Berlin next year. Too late to register Berlin.

A little bit lazy recently, mainly might be because of my frozen shoulders. I hope life be back to normal. And I got the fisrt vaccine yesterday from Pfizer.