Month: June 2014

Don’t underestimate PMI insurance

One of the biggest unexpected expenses when it comes to getting a new mortgage is often the PMI insurance. PMI insurance, or Private Mortgage Insurance, is necessary to getting a loan. It insures that the lender is protected in case you stop making your loan payments. It is required by lenders if your down payment is less than 20% of

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Buying Now vs. Buying Later

When Regan Hagestad and Alex Abad look at how home loan math translates to a monthly mortgage payment for one of Regan’s (hypothetical) clients, the future becomes clear: it’s going to get more expensive if interest rates rise as predicted in 2014 and beyond…So buy now if you can. Watch to learn why!

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The South Bay’s Home for Home Loans

While other lenders focus on feel-good services, I focus on the financing. In an industry that hasn’t had a great reputation over the past few years, I take pride in knowing that I’ve gained the trust and respect of my clients. Transparency and solutions are the foundation of my success, and I promise both to each and every client. In

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Watermark Home Loans: Service & Experience

Regan Hagestad would like to challenge those who claim that 30 years of experience in the Mortgage Lending Industry is inherently better than 10 years of practice. He claims that anyone who is truly great in the mortgage industry will be retired in 20 years, and there are few who can stay in the Mortgage Industry for that long without

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Watermark Home Loans: Knowledge & Relationships

In this video, Regan Hagestad challenges the idea that data is knowledge and expands on the importance of building strong relationships in the lending industry. The goal is to give the client such a great experience that they return with referrals to his realtor partners.

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Mortgage Rates Rise… Again

For the second week in a row, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was up. This week, the average is 4.2%, while last week it was around 4.14%. 15-years are up, too. It was exciting when rates dropped for five weeks in a row starting in May 2014, but now it seems that rates are on there way back

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The Number One Reason People Move

While I mostly like to discuss mortgages and rates on this blog, I also like to stay tuned to the real estate market in general. Keeping track of the local  fluctuations in inventory, neighborhoods, home values, and building trends makes me better able to understand my customers and what they need. I was reading an article the other day titled

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Why I recommend buying now

I get asked all the time whether a buyer should buy now, or wait and buy later. It’s not a simple answer, but with the help of myself and my colleague Alex Abad of Palm Realty Boutique, we’ll look at the math involved and show you how that translates into a monthly mortgage payment. Our prediction?  It’s just going to get

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