Hard to believe only 11 days until my birthday. But DON’T PANIC – that’s 11 solid shopping days you have to get me a present (if you’re unsure what to give me, cash always makes a nice gift). And I have a gift for you: The spring market is taking off! I think I’ve done more purchase loans in April and May than what I did all of last year. So keep your heads high and gear up for what is becoming a busy year in tough times.

Do you want to be discovered?
Your road to fame and fortune start with our weekly podcast! You can talk about the current market, pitfalls to avoid, why it’s a great time to buy, and why people looking to list or buy should call you. Feel free to contact me or Sandy if you want to be on a Perl Mortgage podcast. How does it work, you ask? You’ll sit down with us, we’ll go over a list of questions that we’ll ask you (you can even write the questions), we’ll record 15 minutes of material and edit it down to half of that for the podcast. We have a huge listening audience so it’s a great opportunity to pick up leads and be heard! (and if you didn’t like something you said, we can edit it out. On one we taped last week, I accidentally admitted that I own a Backstreet Boys CD – but I got Sandy to remove it before it went public!)

New condos and Melrose Place:
Condo conversions and new construction condos remind me so much of Amanda Woodward – nice to look at, but boy can they can cause trouble. Out of our 300 banks across the country, we have exactly one that will do a loan for first in. The rest of the banks are following Fannie and Freddie guidelines which say at least 70% must be sold or under contract before they will let a deal close. Other issues that can come up: if there are at least 70% under contract, how many of those are going to be rentals? Are there any pending lawsuits/ litigation (this is for existing condos too)? Is there any commercial space, and if so – what percentage of the building is it? Major Excedrin headaches, but we can work thru it. Please call me if you have any questions at all about condos! Banks are lending, but just more red tape to weed thru.

Interest Rates:
Are holding steady despite ten year bonds getting hammered last week. The 30yr fixed still remains in the high 4’s. Rates can swing either way depending on credit scores and equity in the home.

Trivia
Last week’s answer – George Clooney. This week’s question: Who am I? “I turn 58 today, and I’m a Motown favorite. Marvin Gaye played drums on my first hit. I wrote Tears of a Clown for Smokey Robinson. I played harmonica on hit songs for the Eurythmics, Elton John, The Beach Boys, Barbra “I love myself and you should love me too” Streisand, and Julio “My son is even more overrated than me” Iglesias. In 1986 I appeared on the Cosby Show in an episode that involved Denise and Theo crashing into my car.” Guess who this is and win a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. Email me with your answer. Good luck!

5% down purchases:
These are getting sticky, Mortgage Fans – especially on condos. The MI (mortgage insurance) companies are only taking on a certain amount of 5% loans on condos per month. So it’s possible today to have it available for your buyers, and then tomorrow it can be gone. And it’s possible it’s not available today, but tomorrow it’s back. The MI companies are only allotted a certain amount each month. I wish I had better news to report, but those are the facts as of right now. So if you do have a borrower who says they only have 5% to put down, its pretty much a 50-50 chance it can get done. The other option is FHA, but with FHA…

FHA Spot approvals:
These are getting sticky too – not because of FHA – but because of the banks that lend on spot FHA approvals. I won’t bore you by going into too many details, but condos are getting tougher and tougher to get approval on when they are spot FHA approved. We will talk about this more the next time we meet, but keep in mind getting the condo approved for FHA is only half the battle.

Pondering Life:
Do you ever lay awake at night and wonder how interest rates go up and down? Me too! In a nutshell when the stock market is doing great, rates will be high. This is because investors are taking their money out of the bonds and putting it into stocks. When the stock market is doing bad, investors will put their money somewhere safe – like into 10 year treasury bonds. Rates rally (read: go down) when bonds are the place to go for safe money.

Pondering Life, part 2:
Do you ever lay awake at night and wonder why Twinkies have such a long shelf life? Me too! This is because Twinkies are made without dairy products and thus spoil slower than most bakery items. I don’t know about you, but I’m craving some chemically risen, fake-cream filled cakes right now!

Trivia:
Someone famous is turning 48 today. Guess who he is and win a $5.00 Starbucks gift card. Email me your answer, and good luck:

Who am I? I tried out for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977 and got cut on the last day. On South Park I was the voice of Sparky the Dog – even though all I did was bark and grunt as there was no dialogue in the script. I had reoccurring roles on Facts of Life (1985-87) and Roseanne (1988-91). You would think those two sitcoms would be the highlight of my life, but let me tell you I was also voted Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine – twice. Barry Schwartz was voted Sexiest Mortgage Broker Alive by People Magazine as well, but that has nothing to do with this question.

I read a nice article in Sunday’s Tribune about Realtors getting busy again. (yes, there is still someone who reads newspapers). I feel that April was just the tip of the iceberg, and that you will be pleasantly surprised by the rest of the spring (and summer and fall) market. More good stuff:

Interest Rates:
Like my college girlfriend they have been moody lately – up one day, down the next. Right now a 30yr fixed is at around 4.875% - give or take depending on equity and credit scores. They are still beautifully low though, and unlike my high school girlfriend - they will not stalk you. 5 year ARMS are around a quarter less.

ARMS:
Adjustable rate mortgages are starting to make a comeback. How quickly the banks forget that it was these ARMS adjusting that started this whole mess! Rates on a 5 year ARM ranges from low to mid 4s. Only get these if you plan on owning the home for a short period of time.

Trivia
Last week’s answer was Tony Danza (Who’s the Boss). Today we celebrate the birthday of an actress who was brought up as a Buddhist, graced the cover of Rolling Stone in 1989, played an assassin named Beatrix Kiddo, and married/divorced an actor who has a last name of a bird. After the divorce she went on Oprah and said she was betrayed by him, but remains strong. Her kids might say of the divorce, “Mama unhurt,” which took me two hours to come up with this morning (its an anagram of her name). Email me who you think it is and win a $5.00 Starbucks gift card.

What do the real estate market and the Hot Pocket in my microwave have in common? They are both heating up – big time! Lots of people are calling for pre-approvals and getting ready to make offers. While both coasts are still weak, here in Chicagoland things are looking up. So brace yourselves for a great spring and summer – today is the first day of the rest of your real estate life!

What’s cool about me – part one:
Just a reminder that besides waiving all lender fees on purchases, we are also waiving every fee on refinances. And on refinances we can do the whole thing – including the closing – thru the mail. This is for you, your friends, your family, and your clients. Take advantage of this now while rates are still low.

What’s cool about me – part two:
Ever wonder what your credit scores are? It’s good to check your credit once a year to make sure it’s clean. I am more than happy to do this for you – I do it for free and I will give you my analysis on how to raise your scores/ fix anything that needs fixing. Just give me a call –773.413.6242.

What’s cool about me – part three:
On my flight from Florida to Chicago last week Justine Bateman was on the same plane. At one point she got up to go to the bathroom and I was coming back from the bathroom. As we passed I gave her a nod as if to say, “Hey, wussup?” and she said, “Hi.” I told my wife we had a much longer conversation to make her jealous.

Did’ja know?
We can still get loans for your clients that are only putting 5% down when purchasing condos or single family homes. Everything you read in the press will say 20-25% down to purchase a condo, but it simply isn’t true. I don’t know how much longer this 5% will last, but it’s with all the major banks we deal with so let your clients know this is an option if they don’t have a lot of money for a down payment.

Trivia
last week’s answer: John Hughes. Answer this week’s question and win a $5.00 gift card from Starbucks: Who am I: This actor turns 58 today. He starred in a successful sitcom in the late 70s as well as a successful (but crappy) sitcom in the 80s that might make you think it starred Bruce Springsteen.

I am back from Florida and ready to roll (and I would like to obliterate all rumors of me wearing a Speedo on the beach; simply not true). Okay, lots to talk about so let’s get to it:

Rates
Are still cooperating. They are fluctuating this week between 4.75%-4.875% depending on credit, ratios, and equity in the property. My feeling is that rates will stay low all year; however, once we see signs of the economy rebounding, rates will be driven up quickly. Do you have any clients sitting on the fence waiting to see if rates will go down more? Most people in the industry think we are scraping bottom now, so you need to let the fence-sitters know – in a nice way – that they are on drugs if they are waiting for lower rates before buying a property.

Rush Deals
If you have any clients that need to close fast, or if it will help in negotiations with a mortgage contingency date – keep in mind that Perl has 3 in-house underwriters, and all it takes is for me to buy one of them lunch and we can have an approval in a day! This would be on deals that have a loan size of 417k or less and contingent on the appraised value.

Trivia
Happy 27th birthday to Seth Rogen. He wrote last year’s movie Drillbit Taylor starring Owen Wilson. However, the screenplay was adapted from a 70 page treatment written by what famous director/writer who had many hit movies in the 1980s? Email me your answer, and if correct you will win a $5.00 Starbucks gift certificate. Good luck!