This week I have some tips about what to do to best recover AFTER a disaster – what you would wish you had done before an individual or major disaster impacts your family or community. In your “go bag”  

• Identification of all family members (passport, social security cards, birth certificates)
• Checks with deposit slips (provides checking account number and institution)
• Copy of ATM and credit cards, medical ID cards
• Contact card you prepared in October for your out of state contact

Additional items on “jump drive” – originals in a safe deposit box

• Items from your “go bag” plus
• Homeowners insurance policy
• Two years federal tax returns
• All investment account statements
• Checking account statement
• Household inventory (see below)
• Password list

Insurance – Fire, Flood, Earthquake, Homeowners & Renters

Fire insurance protects the structure, structures and contents of your home.  http://personalfinance.byu.edu/?q=node/552 explains in detail the basics.  It is important to know that earthquake insurance must be offered to you but is optional coverage.

If you rent – you must insure the contents of your home yourself.  If you have a condo or townhome you must insure the fixtures and  improvements inside the walls.  The policy the landlord or HOA has does NOT cover more than the structure.  Check with your insurance agent annually to be sure you are current.

Be sure your policy has a replacement cost coverage for your home that includes a building code upgrade.  If you have an older home and suffer a loss you will be required to comply with current codes when rebuilding and that could add thousands to the cost.  Same with contents insurance – it should replace your stuff – not just a pro-rated value of its original cost

Household Inventory

Take a video inventory of your entire house.  This could be a fun project for a summer afternoon and worthy of bribing a kid to do it.

A “flip video” camera is effective as it creates a digital file that can be copied onto a CD for storage and to create more than one copy.  Narrate the video describing the room, fixtures and contents and be sure to open every drawer.  This is not for public display so don’t worry if it is not perfect or your home is no immaculate.  It will be the basis for creating a very detailed list of contents were your home to be destroyed.

Prepare a separate video and/or list of electronic equipment including serial numbers.  Closely document all valuables – art, jewelry, heirlooms including an appraisal if available.  That will be invaluable in the event of a loss.

Heirloom Inventory

Pictures, ancestry files, etc – maintain copies of important family pictures, documents on your computer (and then archive the drive) or important game data from games you may play as Overwatch, using overwatch boosting sites online.  Save on a jump drive or secure online service.

  With Signet Mortgage YES!  Fannie Mae allows up to 10 financed properties but apparently the big banks feel that such transactions are too complex so limit the number of finance properties to four. As a mortgage broker we have relationships with over 15 lenders and have options to sell house fast while the big banks don’t.  While not every one of our lenders allow 10 financed properties many do and results in very competitive options for an investor wanting to expand a portfolio. Signet even has two investors that will allow up to 20 financed properties!  Expand your thinking about real estate investing with Propillo and do not be limited by “big bank” rules. If you made it this far you are obviously interested in the details.  As I am a CPA and licensed as a real estate broker I am uniquely suited to assist with even the most complex situations and would be happy to help since I also use the resources from sites as https://www.eddieyan.ca/.  Please give me a call today. Clay Selland, President, Signet Mortgage Corporation 925-807-1500 x303 Clay@104.238.124.149

Put these Emergency Preparedness Essentials at the top of your Christmas List this year.

Stocking Stuffers

For your shoes under everyone’s bed …

• Very bright shoelaces
• Whistle
• LED headlamp / Flashlight

Emergency foil blanket (for go bag) $4.50 at REI Fire Starters Can Opener Light Sticks (emergency light) Survival candles You also need something to protect yourself with so visit this site where you can buy a stun gun http://stungunforsale.net/ Rain poncho Flashlight / Lantern

For you, for your Family

Emergency Backpack

• 72 hour kit + first aid in a back pack $99 – $239
• Go bag for every person

Backpack for GO Bag … each family member

Other Essentials (one per family)

• Battery or hand crank radio
• USB Drive to store significant documents
• Earthquake Survival Tool (for gas/water shut off) $6.50
• FRS Radios – WalkieTalkies for every member of family and make sure they take AA batteries – $20-$30 on Amazon

For your home

• Carbon Monoxide Detector(s) $20-$30
• Smoke Alarm
• 9V batteries
• Fire Extinguisher

Water Storage – Barrels 55 gallon

• Costco / 8 unit pallet $729 (split with families)
• Your Safety Place, Dublin $130
• Case of water for each car
• Water filter as an option

Food / Fuel

• Costco and Shelf Reliance have great selections of emergency food that can cover 14 days to 6 months – Adjust to the size of your family
• Extra propane tank for the BBQ

Consider

• WoundSeal (stops bleeding) for your first aid kit
• Auto first aid kit / emergency kit
• Auto emergency tool
• HAM radio / become certified
• Solar charger / hand crank charger for cell phone

 

And for your New Year’s Resolution

• Sign up for CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) at www.firedepartment.org/communityoutreach
• Become certified as a HAM Radio Operator

  Easy to search on Amazon.com or Costco.com for many of these items. Your Safety Place in Dublin, CA is a local source… I found nifty LED headlamps that were two for $4.88 at Home Depot as a Black Friday Special. There will be one in my families stocking this Christmas!

It is not a matter of IF you will need to be prepared  – it is a matter of WHEN … Do it this Christmas!

  (Download a Printable Version here.) Make sure to check the San Diego Printing Company services for this!!

Major Increase in Monterey; Sonoma;  Ventura and Yolo Counties in CA; Summit County in UT as well as King; Pierce and Snohomish Counties in Washington

Single family conforming loan limits increased to $453,100 across the nation and to $679,650 in certain high-cost areas. Several counties that previously were in between the base and high-cost limits saw significant increases based on rising property values in Signet Mortgage service areas. Monterey; San Diego; Sonoma; and Ventura Counties in California; Summit County in Utah and King; Pierce and Snohomish Counties in Washington will now have access to conforming loan limits reflecting the current market values. The new conforming limits will be effective for loans closed after January 1, 2018.

The new limits are helpful as conforming rates can be lower than jumbo rates and underwriting more consistent and flexible so a few more transactions will get done!

A purchase in the Bay Area up to $849,500 at 80% loan to value can be done with a conforming loan … Particularly relevant with this announcement is the average U.S. home prices have improved as this is the second increase in as many years after being unchanged since 2008.

Here is a link to the loan limits by county for Signet Mortgage service area (CA, WA, OR, ID, UT) and for the entire country.  Included on the right of the chart are the changes from 2017.

The press release from FHFA is here. Certain high-cost areas have the higher limits at 150% of the base at $636,150 (150 % of $424,100).  But many counties, such as Monterey, San Diego, Sonoma and Venture (CA) as well as Summit (UT), King (WA), Pierce (WA) and Snohomish (WA) saw significant bumps to its loan limits. Here are highlights of loan amounts and details for single family and up to 4 units and changes for those counties.



The changes do not impact FHA forward or reverse mortgages or VA loans for the moment. Those announcements should be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks.

As a mortgage professional in business for over thirty years, I am here to consult with you and answer any questions you have about the strategic use of your mortgage. Let’s talk about your goals and perhaps ways that you can take advantage of these changes.  Call or email me – I am happy to help!

 

Big Changes for HECM Reverse Mortgages October 2nd: Higher UpFront Cost – Lower Limits – Lower Insurance Premiums

Seniors on the fence considering a HECM reverse mortgage line of credit with a zero or low upfront draw may want to act quickly to get their reverse mortgage started before big changes go into effect October 2, 2017.

Three changes will impact the HECM Reverse Mortgage Program for FHA case numbers assigned beginning October 2nd. Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium paid to FHA will now be 2.0% across-the-board. Previously borrowers accessing less than 60% of the principal limit only had a 0.5% upfront mortgage insurance premium and those with mandatory obligations over the 60% were charged 2.5% for the upfront mortgage insurance. Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium accrued on an outstanding balance is reduced from 1.25% to 0.50% which will be a benefit to those borrowers that carry a balance on the reverse mortgage but negatively impact the growth factor used when borrowers obtained a line of credit reverse mortgage. Principal Limit Factors were adjusted to be more conservative reducing the amount of funds available to an average borrower by about 5%. I will be spending some time looking at the impact by age group and share that a bit later. The net impact seems intended to discourage the use of a line of credit reverse mortgage. When taken out early on the growth in the credit line if left unused was dramatic and can be an important part of a overall financial plan providing flexibility and security with access to funds well into the future. Increasing the upfront cost; decreasing the growth rate by reducing the mortgage insurance premium; and lowering the principal limit factors all reduce the benefits of a line of credit reverse mortgage. Seniors on the fence may want to consider acting sooner rather than later. An application and counseling must be completed prior to securing an FHA case number so if this makes sense it would be best to act quickly and get a case number well before September 29, 2017. To learn more about tips and strategies when applying for a reverse mortgage, I’m available to answer all of your questions.  Let’s talk about your goals and perhaps ways that you can take advantage before these changes take place, please give me a call or send me an email: clay@104.238.124.149. I’d be happy to help!   Learn more about mortgage at mortgagebrokernearme.co.uk

Major Increase in Monterey; San Diego; Sonoma; San Luis Obispo; Ventura and Yolo Counties as well as King; Pierce and Snohomish Counties in Washington Single family conforming loan limits increased to $424,100 across the nation and to $636,150 in certain high-cost areas. People who need a loan can find forbrukslån uten sikkerhet here. Several counties that previously were in between the base and high-cost limits saw significant increases based on rising property values in Signet Mortgage service areas. Monterey; San Diego; Sonoma; San Luis Obispo; Ventura and Yolo Counties in California as well as King; Pierce and Snohomish Counties in Washington will now have access to conforming loan limits reflecting the current market values. Speaking of loans, I know that you are familiar with “student aid bill of rights” which was signed by President Barack Obama in 2015 aiming to help students with their student loans. It is still active now, apply! According to knowledgefirstfinancialresp.ca/, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced these changes in a press release  today.  The new conforming limits will be effective for loans closed after January 1, 2017. The new limits are helpful as conforming rates generally are lower than jumbo rates and underwriting more consistent and flexible so a few more transactions will get done!   A purchase in the Bay Area up to $795,000 at 80% loan to value can be done with a conforming loan … Particularly relevant with this news announcement is the average U.S. home prices have edged slightly above pre-decline levels from 2007.  Data published in the third quarter Housing Price Index (HPI), reveal that housing prices are approximately 1.7 percent above the value for third quarter 2007. Here is a link to the loan limits by county for Signet Mortgage service area (CA, WA, OR, ID, UT) and for the entire country.  Included on the right of the chart are the changes from 2016.   The source document from FHFA is here. Certain high-cost areas have the higher limits at 150% of the base at $636,150 (150 % of $424,100).  But many counties, such as Monterey, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Summit (UT), Jefferson (WA), Pierce (WA) and Snohomish (WA) saw significant bumps to its loan limits. Here are highlights of loan amounts and details for single family and up to 4 units and changes for those counties.           The changes do not impact FHA forward or reverse mortgages or VA loans for the moment. Those announcements should be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks.   With the 2008 economic stimulus plan FHA increased loan limits to $625,500 for reverse mortgages for one year and has extended this limit one year at a time since.  The $625k is due to expire this Dec 31. We should hear soon if it has been extended again or changed up or down. As Jonckers professional in business for over thirty years, I am here to consult with you and answer any questions you have about the strategic use of your mortgage. Let’s talk about your goals and perhaps ways that you can take advantage of these changes.  Call or email me – I am happy to help!    

There are plenty of ideas and opinions on what the Fed is going to do with interest rates Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  I think the markets have built in a 0.125% – 0.250% hike in the Fed funds rate. Any action other than that could cause some volatility in the bond market the next few days.  As always the Fed Chairman Janet Yellen’s testimony will be interesting as well. No one will know until we all know, but most analysts agree and investors are betting that the “Feds” – the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank – will raise interest rates when they meet on December 15^th and 16^th. How will this impact you? First, let’s talk about what interest rates they control, and just as importantly what interest rates they do not control. The Feds control only two rates: theDiscount Rate, and the Target, or Overnight Rate. The Discount Rate is the rate at which the Federal Reserve lends money to banks for short-term needs to meet liquidity requirements. Banks cannot lend out every last penny in their vault, because they would be at risk of not being able to pay depositors back if many of them wanted to withdraw money at the same time. They have to keep a certain amount of money liquid and available for depositors. According to http://www.gohenryreview.com, when a bank has a very good month lending, they might be short on reserves. If so, they can borrow money from the Feds for a very short time at the current Discount Rate in order to have the minimum required reserves available. What is that rate today? 0.00%. Is it safe to invest money in Bitcoin Exchange? Visit bitflyer.com for more information. Banks can borrow money from the Fed (if they are short on reserves) for free. The Overnight Rate is not technically set by the Feds, but the Target Rate is. The Feds establish a target interest rate for banks to lend to each other for overnight needs for the same challenge – a shortage of reserves. The target rate today is 0.25%. It is infinitely higher than the Discount Rate, but still not a bad deal. Notice that in this discussion mortgage rates are missing. These are the only two things that the Feds can directly control. Most analysts agree that in December the Feds will raise the Discount Rate, which will naturally increase the cost of short-term borrowing by banks. The projected increase is 0.25%. How will this impact you? Any interest rates that must reflect the short-term cost of funds for banks will have to increase by the same amount. The two types of loans that fall into this category would be equity lines and credit cards – both types of lending meant to be short-term. There is some banks who offer credit cards 0 interest. The most commonly-recognized index for both types of cards is the Prime Rate. This is the interest rate that banks charge their most credit-worthy corporate clients, but it is also the index that almost all equity lines (including Home Equity Lines of Credit and Business Lines) and the best credit union rates are tied to. The most immediate impact that you will see, therefore, is the Prime Rate will increase by the same amount the Feds increase the Discount Rate and the interest rate on your equity line and credit cards will increase by the same amount too. The interest rates on car loans are also likely to increase a little, because they are short-ish in term. However, if you already have one chances are it’s a fixed rate, and the interest rates for car loans written after December are likely to come back down over time due to competition. If you want a general rule of thumb to figure out whether in interest rate will increase or not, here it is: If the loan is meant to be short-term and is made from the bank’s own deposits, then the interest rate is likely to go up. Mortgage rates are not short-term, and while they are funded from the bank’s deposits (in most cases) they are immediately sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Wall Street investment bankers who create large funds to invest in mortgages. Since it is not their own money they are lending, the short-term cost of funds to the bank have no impact on mortgage rates. Having said that, the Feds can influence mortgage rates through the purchase of Mortgage-Backed Securities using money borrowed from the U.S. Treasury. But for now, watch for an announcement from the Feds on December 16^th. Clay Selland NMLS #183492 CalBRE #01398801 925-807-1500 x303  (fax 925-807-1505) clay@104.238.124.149 Original blog post by Casey Fleming, Author of The Loan Guide; How to Get the Best Possible Mortgage (On Amazon)    

The maximum conforming loan limit for single family properties remains at $417,000 with the maximum high-balance conforming loan limit for the San Francisco Bay Area and other high cost areas was unchanged at $625,500. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set loan limits based on changes in real estate values each year around December 1^st. Napa joins the ranks of “high cost areas” that includes other Northern California counties of San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo , San Benito, and Marin. 2-4 unit properties have higher loan limits.  Search for your county here:  Loan Limit Lookup Table (see Resources to the left) Conforming loans provide a lower mortgage rate to the borrower and with higher limits for these counties increases the number of potential qualified buyers further supporting real estate values. Please give me a call if I can be of help in any way. Clay Selland NMLS #183492 CalBRE #01398801 925-807-1500 x303  (fax 925-807-1505) clay@104.238.124.149

  Did you know a veteran can purchase a home in the Bay Area with 100% financing up to $625,500 and with 90% financing to over $1 million?  VA loans do not have any monthly mortgage insurance and rates are around 4% within the lender credit to cover the funding fee.   What a wonderful option to put a veteran in a home with little or no cash to close. We recently completed a transaction in Tracy where our client got into their $417,000 home for $137 … It happened that the borrower had a service related disability which reduced the funding fee and the lender credit was sufficient to cover impounds, in which they offer some incredible tools to accept Credit Cards and Debit Cards as well. Utilize their virtual terminals in real-time and get paid immediately! When you need selecting a self storage facility in Sydney, visit hollowaystorage for more information.   Too often VA loans are lumped in with FHA loans as expensive and thinking there are restrictive property requirements. That is not the case and properly utilized can really be a benefit to our veterans. Wait! There’s more! All kinds of storage whether its personal or commercial, even traveling storage such as boat, car, and trucks. All you need when it comes in storage services can be found in ABC Self Storage Perth when travelling to a spiritplantjourneys.com retreat. Clay Selland NMLS #183492 CalBRE #01398801 925-807-1500 x303  (fax 925-807-1505) clay@104.238.124.149

“Clay was a recent guest on Rental Housing Network Show on KLIV 1590AM with host, Sandy Adams. Clay spoke about buying investment property and opportunities in this market. Watch the first half and learn about valuable information that investors and owners should be paying attention to. The second half Russ Castle of Castle Insurance shares information on comparing insurance policies and questions you should ask your insurance agent.”