Hi I’m Rich Iacovetta your mortgage broker in San Jose, CA with RMI Lending. Perhaps you or someone you know is planning to buy a house in San Jose soon. You may be excited and also a little bit nervous because a lot needs to done usually over the course of 30 days in order to make sure your loan closes on time. Oftentimes the house you love will get multiple offers on it. But if you can leverage your offer as the best one, chances are the seller will accept yours over all the rest. One of the ways you can do this is by closing in the shortest time possible. What if you could guarantee that your escrow closes in 18 days or less from start to finish? What this means, is that by being proactive and organized prior to putting in your offer, I can ensure your loan closes in 18 days or less. Here’s how I do it. Once we connect either by phone or email , you’ll get a list of all the documentation the bank will want to see when they underwrite your loan file. This is standard with any bank or mortgage company you decide to work with. The reason why the typical mortgage broker in California take 30 to 60 days to close is because they don’t take the time to review your credit report, tax returns or bank statements thoroughly enough to ensure a clean loan submission upfront to avoid having to provide additional conditions later on in the process. I’ll make sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed up front so that we don’t need to chase down last minute items that could jeopardize your closing. If you want to know exactly what documentation you will need before making an offer on a home in California, and for more information about the perfect 18 day close, click on the Perfect 18 Day Close link below. Thanks for watching.

Click HERE to see what you need to close escrow in 18 days

California is offering free money for mortgages while making a push to get homeowners into a 2 billion dollar foreclosure prevention program, and as a result, you could see a principal reduction on your mortgage if you qualify. The program is called Keep Your Home California, and it’s been around since last year but most lenders didn’t participate in it because the program required the banks to match taxpayers funds when homeowners received a mortgage reduction through the program. That requirement has been eliminated and now Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac are all aboard, and they own 62% of the mortgages in California. The changes to the program should be available in June, and eligible homeowners can receive up to $100,000 in principal reductions or money to pay their mortgage. If you want more information to see if you qualify, just go to the link below.

Ikea has announced that it may start selling prefab homes in the United States to go with their furniture. An 800 sq foot, 1 bedroom home was recently debuted at a Portland home show with a suggested retail price of 86k. If you’re worried about putting this baby together with that 2 inch allen wrench they give you, you don’t have to worry about that because it comes fully assembled delivered to your empty lot. The house has no hallways, which will make it a heck of a lot easier to leave than an Ikea store
If it’s built like most of Ikea’s furniture, it should remain standing for at least 2 years. Listen, for 86k, you could probably get a 1300 sq ft house in Stockton, CA. The only drawback being that you gotta live in Stockton, CA. No thanks Ikea, I’m gonna wait, because sure enough it won’t be long before Apple comes out with the iHouse, and then we’re all gonna get in line.

Would you be surprised to know that you can buy a house in San Jose with as little as 3.5% down, and not have to pay any closing costs? And with interest rates like we have this week, it’s pretty likely that you or someone you know could by a $300k house with a little more than $10k of your saved money and a principal & interest, taxes and insurance payment still under $2000 each month. If you want to know why  2012 is the best time to buy a house and stop renting, give me a call, leave me a comment below and share this video with your friends and family. Thanks for watching, See you next time.

Are you one of the 11 million homeowners that are underwater on your mortgage. Are you familiar with the Mortgage Debt Relief Act? Why not? It’s been around since 2007, but it’s set to expire at the end of this year. What this means, is if you get a loan modification, or do a short sale, or even get foreclosed on your primary residence, you are not responsible for paying taxes on the forgiven amount, in other words that which was left over or forgiven, cannot be counted as income to you by the IRS, and you don’t have to pay taxes on it. And that offer is about to be taken off the table at the end of this year. So if you are upside down on your mortgage and have thought about doing a short sale, call your real estate agent right now and get that house sold before the end of the year.

If you’ve ever tried to buy or refinance a house, you know that appraisals are the number one problem killing mortgage loans in California. Well, Leave it to Bieber, Justin wants you to know that the housing crisis is hurting him too. His business manager told him to buy a house for 7 million. See Bieber fans, this is the house your imaginary boyfriend wants to buy, but the appraisal came in at 6 million, and now Justin can’t get the mortgage his business manager wants. I think more than a good business manager, you need a fashion manager. Who wears a jacket made out of space invader bed sheets? Take a lesson from the celebrities that came before you. Pay cash for your house, so no one can come throw you out of it when the well run dry and those girlish looks fade away.

Fannie Mae conducted a survey in March where 73% of all respondents believed it’s a good time to buy a house. With California interest rates dropping back down under 4% this week, I would have to agree. Who’s the next person that comes to mind that’s most likely to buy a house. Maybe a couple getting married this summer, or a family expecting a baby and needs a larger home. Please share this video with them and if you know anyone upside down on their mortgage, feel comfortable sharing my number with them, so they can get the help they need. Thanks for watching, see you next time!