Items by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: The 2010 Good Faith Estimate (Page Three)

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  Today we have the final installment in the series on the new Good Faith Estimate formThe 2010 Good Faith Estimate (Page Three). Your government that should be protecting you from the worst sort of mortgage provider lies is now actively enabling those lies by allowing/making a false statement that [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 09, 2009, 10:15am EST
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: The 2010 Good Faith Estimate (Page Two)

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The second installment in the series The 2010 Good Faith Estimate (Page Two) is now up. Read it and weep - for consumers nationwide who were hoping the government would provide the solution to their troubles. Didn't happen. Instead, it's same old game of low-ball the consumer to get' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 08, 2009, 10:00am EST
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: The 2010 Good Faith Estimate (Page One)

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  It's been a while, but the most recent Transaction From Hell (seller's tenants didn't want to move out - or even let inspectors in) is finally over and I've had a little bit of chance to recover. Today's new consumer article is The 2010 Good Faith Estimate (Page One). [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 07, 2009, 12:00pm EST
  by Dan Melson

• Project VALOUR-IT

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  (This will remain on top through Veteran's Day. Scroll down for newer posts) I think that one charitable fund raiser per year is both reasonable and an absolute limit, so I have to be very picky as to which one I choose. I could choose the San Diego Zoo, American [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:11am EST
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Changes In The Mortgage Market And Transparency Since 2005

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  It's been a while because I've been both busy and depressed over dis-improvements in the market and their effects upon consumers, but yesterday I found time to write a new article Changes In The Mortgage Market And Transparency Since 2005. It explains a lot of changes in the mortgage' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 28, 2009, 10:20am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List October 22nd, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. Be aware that Freddie Mac does not remove properties from this list (even though they may be Pending) [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 22, 2009, 7:00pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People September 18th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW Based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates! Conforming Rates Thirty Year Fixed Rate Loans 4.875% 30 Year fixed rate loan, with one total point (that covers both discount and origination) to the consumer and NO PREPAYMENT PENALTIES!. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 18, 2009, 4:30pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List September 10th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. Be aware that Freddie Mac does not remove properties from this list (even though they may be Pending) [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 18, 2009, 3:30pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List September 10th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. Be aware that Freddie Mac does not remove properties from this list (even though they may be Pending) [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 11, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Low Asking Price on Unfinanceable Properties

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Low Asking Price on Unfinanceable Properties. Almost always, the reason for an asking price well below other equivalent properties is the presence of some factor that means you cannot obtain a regular real estate loan on the property. If you have the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 08, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People September 1, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW Based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates! The lenders and investors seem to be sending a strong signal that they expect rates to rise. The cost curve to buy down loan rates is steeper than [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 01, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List August 27th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. Be aware that Freddie Mac does not remove properties from this list (even though they may be Pending) [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 27, 2009, 2:40pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Automated Underwriting In Pre-Qualification or Pre-Approval Letters

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Automated Underwriting In Pre-Qualification or Pre-Approval Letters. Not to put too fine a point on it, automated underwriting is useless until all details of the transaction have been finalized. If you're selling a property and want to know how qualified a given' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 17, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People August 14th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW Based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates! Conforming Rates Thirty Year Fixed Rate Loans 4.875% 30 Year fixed rate loan, with one total point (discount plus origination) to the consumer and NO PREPAYMENT PENALTIES!. Assuming a $400,000 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 14, 2009, 12:15pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List August 13th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. Be aware that Freddie Mac does not remove properties from this list (even though they may be Pending) [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 14, 2009, 11:20am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Two Things Sellers Need To Understand About Buyers

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Two Things Sellers Need To Understand About Buyers, a discussion of two things both important and basic that sellers do not seem to understand about buyers, and judging by the available evidence, most agents aren't telling them. ' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 10, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List August 6th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. Be aware that Freddie Mac does not remove properties from this list even though they may be Pending I [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 06, 2009, 8:40pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Asking Price Versus Sales Price

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Asking Price Versus Sales Price, a short discussion of what they are and the relationship between them. Many agents have forgotten this stuff, but it really is very basic stuff everyone should keep in mind. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 05, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: State of The San Diego Real Estate Market August 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is State of The San Diego Real Estate Market August 2009 I've been letting this website go for a couple weeks. I'm now in a position to pay a little more attention to it, so expect the regular articles to start back up. I've' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: August 04, 2009, 5:00pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Assuming Seller Concessions On Loan Quotes

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Assuming Seller Concessions On Loan Quotes, which discusses why lenders do this: To make an expensive loan look not so expensive. But there is no way to get seller concessions (Seller Paid Closing Costs) without paying for them in the purchase price. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 20, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List July 16th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. I also have a list of upcoming HOMESTEPS properties not on the market yet Yes, I'm a day and' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 17, 2009, 8:46pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People July 14th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW Based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates! Conforming Rates Thirty Year Fixed Rate Loans 5.00% 30 Year fixed rate loan, with one total point (discount plus origination) to the consumer and NO PREPAYMENT PENALTIES!. Assuming a $400,000 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 14, 2009, 12:45pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Some Offers Are More Equal Than Others

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Some Offers Are More Equal Than Others, talking about how to evaluate two different purchase offers even though they may be for the same or similar amounts of money. This is primarily important for property owners looking to sell, but those looking [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 13, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List July 9th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. I also have a list of upcoming HOMESTEPS properties not on the market yet If you have questions, Contact [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 09, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Expanding "Upside Down" or "Underwater" Refinance to 125%

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  I almost Forgot to mention that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been pleased with the success of their 105% refinance program. It's keeping them from losing money, and converting adjustable loans into fixed rate loans so the consumers can refinance and keep their property when otherwise they would [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 07, 2009, 2:15pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People July 7th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW Based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates! Conforming Rates Thirty Year Fixed Rate Loans 5.00% 30 Year fixed rate loan, with one total point (discount plus origination) to the consumer and NO PREPAYMENT PENALTIES!. Assuming a $400,000 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 07, 2009, 2:00pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: The Loan Shopping Koan

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is The Loan Shopping Koan, talking about the contradiction offered by dueling interests: The fact that while consumers want the best possible loan, against the opposing fact that it's very easy for loan providers to talk a good game while fully intending to [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 07, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: How To Keep Listing Agents From Filtering Out Offers

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is How To Keep Listing Agents From Filtering Out Offers. This is a real, major, and once again increasing problem within the real estate industry. You need to take steps to prevent it from happening to you before you sign the listing contract. And [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 06, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Short Sale Negotiators and the Interests of Potential Buyers

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Short Sale Negotiators and the Interests of Potential Buyers. An awful lot of nonsense gets tried with short sales, most of it for the benefit of lazy listing agents who shouldn't have taken the listing rather than any of the principals in' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: July 01, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: They Told Me Not To Make My Loan Payment

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is They Told Me Not To Make My Loan Payment. Ladies and Gentlemen, that's one of the top ways to get yourself in trouble when you're refinancing. What if your new loan cannot be done for some reason? In some cases I may' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 29, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List June 25th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. I also have a list of upcoming HOMESTEPS properties not on the market yet If you have questions, Contact [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 25, 2009, 2:20pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People June 24th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW Based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates! Conforming Rates Thirty Year Fixed Rate Loans 5.25% 30 Year fixed rate loan, with one total point (discount plus origination) to the consumer and NO PREPAYMENT PENALTIES!. Assuming a $400,000 [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 24, 2009, 11:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Why Sellers Should Counter All Reasonable Offers

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Why Sellers Should Counter All Reasonable Offers. It really isn't rocket science. If your agent advises you otherwise, something is wrong. ' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 24, 2009, 10:15am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Real Estate and "Priced for Perfection"

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Real Estate and "Priced for Perfection" talks about the house that is too beautiful to pass up - but that you should. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 22, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: There Is No Fairy Godmother for Loans

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is There Is No Fairy Godmother for Loans. To avoid becoming a government statistic, ask prospective loan providers the hard questions before you sign on the bottom line - or better yet, before you sign up. "What happens later on?" is a very [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 16, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• By Way of Apology For My Skepticism

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  I have a problem with shaving. Specifically, the fact that I have extremely tough facial whiskers, combined with facial skin that's the classic easily cut baby face. Put it all together, and not only do I hate shaving, I quite often emerge from shaving looking like I've lost a' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 16, 2009, 12:38am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: "I'm Working With Someone Else, But Could You Just Help Me With..."

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is "I'm Working With Someone Else, But Could You Just Help Me With..." talking about requests for free work from real estate agents. I'm perfectly happy to give general information to non-clients and even talk about general options, but when it comes down [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 15, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Caught Doing Good!

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  Meant to upload this a few days ago, but I had been having internet difficulties so it got delayed. This year, my elder daughter got Presidential Awards for both the English and Mathematics portions of the big test the state of California does every year. Here's a picture of her [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 14, 2009, 10:30pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• General Consumer Articles: Week in Review June 1st to June 14th 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  Newly Written Articles Segmented Real Estate Markets And Taking Advantage of Them The current response to certain kinds of property is very different from that to other types. This discusses how to take advantage of it. The Sperm Donor Theory of Buyer's Agents. The real estate business is built around the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 14, 2009, 1:00pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List June 11th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. I've been inside a couple good ones below. I also have a list of upcoming HOMESTEPS properties not on' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 11, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People June 10th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW Based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates! I am sorry to have to report that we've had a spike in rates available and costs to get them this week. We may see a small decline' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 10, 2009, 2:30pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: The Sperm Donor Theory of Buyer's Agents

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is The Sperm Donor Theory of Buyer's Agents. The real estate industry is built around the listing of property. Okay, it's actually built around the care and feeding of real estate brokerages, but the activities of real estate brokerages center around the listing [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 09, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: Segmented Real Estate Markets And Taking Advantage of Them

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is Segmented Real Estate Markets And Taking Advantage of Them. I've written about how hot the current market is in San Diego. But if you break it down into market segments and micro markets, some market segments are much hotter than others. This' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 08, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List June 4th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. I also have a list of upcoming HOMESTEPS properties not on the market yet If you have questions, Contact [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 04, 2009, 9:30pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People June 4th, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW (based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates) Rates appear to have mostly fallen off a bit from last week in conventional conforming land, but they are showing no signs of returning to levels of the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: June 04, 2009, 10:00am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• General Consumer Articles: Weeks in Review April 20th-May 10th

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  I've been letting this slide for several weeks due to one thing or another, during which time I've done a few important new articles and republished quite a few important older ones. Therefore, I'm going to limit the review to three weeks and do so more catch up next' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 24, 2009, 3:00pm EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New HOMESTEPS Property List May 21st, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  This is the new list of HOMESTEPS properties from Freddie Mac for the areas I specialize in. These properties qualify for special financing. I can get the list for other areas. I also have a list of upcoming HOMESTEPS properties not on the market yet If you have questions, Contact [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 22, 2009, 12:45am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Real Loans for Real People May 21st, 2009

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The Best Loans Right NOW (based upon "average credit", not absolutely perfect credit. People who do have better credit get even better rates) Conforming Rates Thirty Year Fixed Rate Loans 4.75% 30 Year fixed rate loan, with NO points (discount or origination) to the consumer and NO PREPAYMENT PENALTIES!. Assuming a $400,000 loan, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 21, 2009, 11:30am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• New Consumer Article: The Measurement Unit For Desirability Is Dollars

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  The new consumer article for today is The Measurement Unit For Desirability Is Dollars. It really is that simple. A good agent can make a difference, but a property that has more will cost more. It isn't rocket science, but it is easy to lose sight of. ' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 10:15am EDT
  by Dan Melson

• Debunking the "Record Wave of Foreclosures Coming" Myth

  —Dan Melson's San Diego Real Estate and Mortgage Website

  Articles like this one: Foreclosures: 'April was a shocker' have gotten an awful lot of play in the media these last couple weeks. Here's what they're not telling you - or not explaining why it's important: This particular article actually mentions it in passing "That's due, according to Saccacio, to the many'" [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: May 19, 2009, 1:30am EDT
  by Dan Melson