Spring 2023 CMA
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2022 Metrics that Matter
Inflation, interest rates, and commodity prices came roaring back in 2022 and caused market turmoil in many asset classes. Inflation peaked mid-year in the US at circa 9%, housing and food prices rose strongly, and many Wall St. instruments dropped precipitously. Despite volatility in these capital markets, Trust Deed Portfolios continued to generate consistent results,…
Mortgage Fund vs. Fractional Trust Deed Debate
(Glenn Goldan, Brock Vandenburg, Mayumi Bowers (Moderator), Sandy MacDougall and Ken Thayer face off at the CMA Summer Conference Mortgage Fund vs. Fractional Trust Deed Debate) The California Mortgage Association (CMA) held its first ever “Debate” at the 2022 Summer Conference in beautiful San Diego. On one side, Team Fund espoused the benefits and opportunities…
All about ADU’s (Accessory Dwelling Units)
More and more property buyers and Real Estate Investors want to find and buy a property where they can add an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). An ADU is a secondary dwelling unit with complete independent living facilities for one or more persons. ADU’s generally include: Detached: The unit is separated from the primary structure Attached:…
Interview of Sandy MacDougall by Michael Hammond of Fintech Hunters Podcast
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Hey Google!
We live in the age of Search. I’m amazed at how we can now Ask Alexa, Siri, Cortana, or Google for the weather, a joke, the game score, or an answer to an obscure question. I am constantly amazed by the correct answers I get to obscure questions. As the behemoth in Search, Google also…
The Sharing Economy – Debt Sharing Best Practices
Welcome to the Sharing Economy. We now share office space where we used to have our own desk or office. We share cars using Uber or Lyft. We now are even forced to share bathrooms. In Real Estate, Time Shares have survived for many years. The new Pacaso.com offers shared equity ownership in 1st or…
Cash out and Capitalize
Now may be the time to Cash Out and Capitalize on the steamy housing market. Home prices continue to reach record highs in the United States. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released data showing that average home prices in June 2021 reached $363,300 — a 23.4% increase over the average of $294,400 in June 2020, as…
10 Reasons to Buy an Investment Property
The Bloom is not off the Rose. Orange County’s homebuying binge continued in February with sales up 13% and prices increasing 9.6% over 12 months to a record high according to the Case-Shiller Index. These price increases zoomed through the Spring of 2021. While some have accurately predicted future occurrences, few have predicted the future with an associated…
Rates are Rising – How can a Mortgage Broker Grow 2021 Commissions?
The U.S. 10 Year Treasury continues to march higher daily and is making conventional loan interest rates tick up. This rise in interest rates will eventually slow refinance activity. Today’s Blog highlights proven methods for a Mortgage Broker to increase their revenue as the refinance market softens. What other loan products should a Mortgage Broker…
3 A.M. Wakeup
Trust Deed Investments and the secured, equity protected, non-correlated monthly cash flow should create peaceful and blissful sleep filled nights. Sometimes, however, I wake up at 3 in the morning wondering about this hard money lending business and our loan originations. Usually, these sleepless encounters result from an upcoming decision or circumstance that causes angst. …
Fractional Trust Deed Investing 101 – Learn the Basics
Confused on how Fractional Trust Deed Investing works? Learn the basics below: The Law: A Fractional Trust Deed Investment is a transaction that pools together investor money to jointly lend on a California property with a compliant loan purpose. “Fractionalized” Promissory Notes and Deeds of Trust, when negotiated by a Mortgage Loan Broker (MLB),…
Sacramento Foreclosure Legislation Update
Elections matter and votes for our current Sacramento elected officials have consequences. My last Blog discussed AB 2501 which was a proposed Foreclosure Law that would create moratoriums on Foreclosures. Our voices, calls, letters and emails to elected officials quelled AB 2501, however the Super Majority in Sacramento took many of those same destructive ideas and passed…
Short to Close, Now What?
What does it mean to be short to close? Property sellers, brokers and borrowers cringe when they hear the phrase, “Short to Close”. This Escrow alarm sent out to all stakeholders in the transaction means that the loan amount is not sufficient to cover all the costs necessary to close the loan transaction. Unfortunately, the…
AB 2501 Update – Not So Fast Sacramento!
Thank you to all the Mortgage Vintage and CrowdTrustDeed related parties who contacted California Assembly members asking for a “NO” vote on AB 2501 earlier this month. With your help, AB 2501, the disastrous California Foreclosure Prevention Bill, appears dead for 2020. This outcome to defeat AB 2501 was the result of an enormous coalition effort…
What is a Preliminary Title Report ?
When purchasing, selling or refinancing a property, the Preliminary Title Report (Prelim) shows critical elements of a Properties Chain of Title that must be verified and or cleared to transact. A Preliminary Title Report can be obtained from a Title Company with a local County presence where the property resides. While managing the prelim is…
COVID 19 Impacts on Hard Money Lending
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family as we all navigate this unprecedented time together. Our hearts go out to the people who have been affected by this health crisis and we appreciate everyone who is on the front line working to contain COVID-19. Now more than ever, we want to communicate with you and stress that Mortgage Vintage…
California Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Opportunities Update
What are the 2020 opportunities in ADU lending? This Blog is an update to our Additional Dwelling Unit (ADU) Blog published in Sept. 2018. Many new developments have happened in the last 1½ years relating to ADU’s that influence ADU requirements, development, construction, laws and financing. Recently I organized and spoke on a California…
How “E” Can You Be in Private Money Lending
It’s never been clearer that there’s been a major pivot in the race to achieve the best hard money lending experience. It is clear the Digital Mortgage experience is more important than ever to lenders’ and loan officers’ production, profit and customer satisfaction. I recently joined Brian Boike, VP of Product Management at Simplifile, to…
The Payment is in the Mail and The Dog Ate My Homework
Reading between the lines on Borrower loan scenarios and excuses – how it affects underwriting and loan preparation Originating and Servicing Hard Money Loans requires active listening to a Story. There is typically a reason why the loan is not being funded conventionally. Each hard money loan’s unique scenario potentially stretches guidelines as oftentimes…
10 Influences on Hard Money Loan Rates
What are the influences on hard money loan rates? With conventional mortgage rates near historic lows, I often get the question about: “What factors impact Hard Money Loan Rates (HMLR) and the subsequent yield on Trust Deed Investments?” The influences on conventional rates funded by our Government vs. hard money rates funded by private parties…
Habitat Restoration in Progress
How can you tidy up your workplace and home? On a local Corona Del Mar Buck Gulley nature walk this last weekend, I encountered this breathtaking spring flowery hillside and a sign that said, “Habitat Restoration in Progress.” A few days before this walk during a routine property visit in Riverside County, I noticed cars…
Hard Money and the Digital Mortgage – One Piece at a Time
Whether a Hard Money Lender (HML) uses a monolithic Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and/or Loan Origination System (LOS) or has cobbled together a variety of Systems to facilitate their loan origination, the lender should migrate towards a Digital Mortgage (DM) one piece at a time. Like how my 10 and 12-year-old Children use a fruit…
A Look Back to 2018 and a Look Forward to 2019
I want to thank you for your continued support of Mortgage Vintage and CrowdTrustDeed. When we founded Mortgage Vintage in 2009 and CrowdTrustDeed in 2015, our vision was to use technology, data and relationships to help us make better loan origination decisions and to simplify, provide clarity and online access to Trust Deed investing. We are…
Why Does Hard Money Need a Digital Mortgage?
I recently teamed up with Joe Tyrrell, EVP at Ellie Mae, to speak at the California Mortgage Association Conference in Las Vegas. Joe and I discussed “Understanding the Digital Mortgage” from the Hard Money Lender (HML) perspective. This is an important topic and it will be broken up into two parts. This month we will…
California Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) Opportunities
What are the current opportunities in ADU Lending? New California laws effective in 2017 and 2018 provide clarification and fee assistance for the creation of ADUs. These new regulations clarify and improve various provisions of the law to promote the development of ADUs, including allowing ADUs to be built concurrently with a single-family home, opening…
To Be Unclear is to Be Unkind
How straight talk clears confusion Transparency remains one of the many aspects I enjoy in the Hard Money Loan and Trust Deed Investment Marketplace. In some recent reading, I read a Quote, “To Be Unclear is to be Unkind”. I wanted to spend a few moments to delve into this Quote to clarify exactly what…
What Can Possibly Go Wrong When Lending on After Repair Value?
What are the risks to lending on After Repair Value (ARV)? The After-Repair Value (ARV) estimates the future value of a distressed property after it’s been repaired. ARV is not a property’s current value when purchased but rather the estimated value of the property once improvements are made. ARV is commonly used by fix and…
Gaps, Cracks and Whacks: A Hard Money Lenders Guide to Identifying and Preventing Poor Quality Contractors and Construction
What to look for when evaluating the quality of construction? Many hard money loans in Orange County involve a borrower rehabbing or repositioning a property before a sale or rental. The resulting property sale or rental will happen faster when the rehabber deploys proper project management and quality construction. A well-run project will facilitate a…
Se Habla Español
Mortgage Vintage and CrowdTrustDeed offer full Spanish speaking capabilities to all stakeholders Mortgage Vintage provides hard money lending guidance in both Spanish and English. As a fluent Spanish speaker, I easily communicate with our Hispanic borrowers. The opportunity to speak in Spanish allows the Hispanic borrower to comfortably review the loan scenario without concern…