Blog 5 | Fairway Independant Mortgage Corporation

Are We Headed for Another Housing Bubble?

Blog, Lynnwood Lynnwood Mortgage Lender July 23rd, 2013 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

Driven by the recent bond market activity, mortgage interest rates saw a sharp increase in the month of June. Some people fear that this is going to send the housing market into yet another bubble, much like we experienced last decade. However, the forecasts are not all grim.

In order for another bubble to happen, we would have to see a significant drop in the affordability of homes. As long as the national median-income household can afford the national median-priced home, we won’t be plagued with the same wave of risky credit ventures that brought about the economic downturn of the past decade. Though housing affordability was at a low point in June of 2006, forty-eight states currently enjoy an affordable housing market today.

With home prices as low as they are, we would have to see quite the substantial jump in rates in order to hurt their affordability. Meanwhile, the recent rise in mortgage rates can serve to slow the current pace of appreciation, which can actually help to prevent another bubble from forming.

Much of what ultimately happens will, of course, depend upon the unpredictable attitudes and expectations of the public, but there’s no reason to believe that we’re about to see another significant downturn anytime soon. With that in mind, keep your chin up and contact David Haley for all of your mortgage and home loan needs in the Lynnwood area.

VA Home Loan – Purchase or Refinance

Blog, VA Loan Lynnwood Mortgage Loan Officer August 22nd, 2013 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

VA Home Loans, for me personally, are a true pleasure to work with, as they allow me the opportunity to meet all types of service men & women who acted on a core principle belief — honor! My father had served over twenty-one years in the Air Force, and it is a pleasure to have a way to thank military personnel like him for their years of service.

I am so passionate about helping our Military Personnel with a VA Home Loan because it allows the active, retired or veteran military personnel receive one of the most stable loans with no monthly mortgage insurance.

Depending on your eligibility for a VA loan, there could be no funding fee. This means you have or are receiving some disability benefit from the Department of Veteran Affairs.

Many times I have heard from a person who is wanting to refinance a home loan, and I will find out that he or she had served in our Armed Forces. I then ask them if they would like to do a VA Loan, and they say that they used it already. Well, I am here to tell you that you can use it again! While it is true that you can only have one VA loan active at a time, you may have another opportunity to use it again. We will need to dig further on this, but it can happen. Each person’s level is different.

These are rewarding loans for me, personally, as I had stated before. Should you need more information, please feel free to contact me or you can click this link for one of the best Mortgage Calculators for a VA Home Loan: Calculator. Please note the pull down bar as this will allow for several options pertaining specifically for our veterans.

Here is more added info pertaining to VA Rules: https://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/documents/docs/vap_26-4_online_version.pdf

Thank you for reading this. I hope it has been a big help to you.

The Back to Work Program Helps Home Buyers with Financial Problems

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan Officer August 22nd, 2013 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

Have you been having trouble buying a new home due to a financial hardship? If so, the Federal Housing Administration also known as “FHA” may have some good news for you. The Back to Work program, effective as of the fifteenth of August 2013, is providing struggling home buyers with the aid they need to get back in the housing market and secure the home of their dreams.

Under these new guidelines, the usual waiting periods that follow a derogatory credit event has been reduced. Recent events have inspired the FHA to acknowledge that a bad credit history is occasionally out of an individual’s reasonable control, and doesn’t necessarily reflect your ability to make mortgage payments. Therefore, if you’ve experienced any of the following over the past few years, you may be eligible to get a new FHA-insured mortgage to become a homeowner again:

Pre-foreclosure sales
Short sales
Deed-in-lieu
Foreclosure – was 3 years – now only 1 from release of lien on title.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy – was 2 years – now only 1 year from discharge
Chapter 13 bankruptcy
Loan modification
Forbearance agreements

These timelines have been shortened for people who have suffered such hardships should be prepared to demonstrate that their ability to make payments was caused by a loss of employment or other such significant loss of income that was beyond their control by 20% or greater. The potential borrower must then demonstrate a recovery from the hardship, and complete housing counseling with an HUD-approved agency. If the FHA is satisfied, you will once again be able to buy a home with the current market interest rates and home prices.

For more information on the Back to Work program, you can contact Lynnwood mortgage lender / broker David Haley.

Veteran – GI Bill – VA Info

Blog February 15th, 2014 David Haley

To our Veteran’s looking to go back to college – The Veterans GI Bill is a wonderful program and assistance to help with college tuition. Most Veteran’s had problems to meet the required residency – this has been removed.

Veterans will soon have more choices for attending college on the GI Bill.

They’ll be able to pay in-state tuition at any public institution in the U.S.,

no matter where they live and regardless of the usual strict residency requirements.

Congress will add that huge sweetener by next spring.

The GI Bill now covers the cost

of in-state tuition, with veterans picking up any out-of-state difference and fees.

The move solves a problem many prospective student vets encounter: They aren’t able

to fulfill residency requirements because they are stationed in another state or overseas

at the end of their military service. The extra expense causes them to skip college

or defer enrolling. Schools that don’t comply will be tossed from other GI Bill programs.

Economic Ways to Improve Your Property’s Appeal

Blog Property, Renovation Tips March 24th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

Are you looking to give your property a good spit-shine in order to attract high-paying tenants? For many landlords, a few well-placed renovations can go a long way towards increasing revenues and occupancy. Mortgage loan broker David Haley offers the following tips for planning a profitable renovation for your units:

The Kitchen: It has been observed that the kitchen is one of the most important things that potential tenants look at when considering a rental property, and is therefore one of your best investments. Even small improvements, like replacing the faucets in your sinks, installing new track lighting, or throwing down an inexpensive laminate countertop can do wonders.
The Bathrooms: Bathrooms are high on the list of what renters look at when considering a unit, right up with kitchens. Re-grouting or replacing old tiling keeps the room from looking unsanitary, and replacing old towel racks or toilet seats are easy ways to improve on the look.
The Front Door: One of the first things a potential renter will notice is the door they enter through. This door represents a big part of how secure their home will be. If you cannot afford to replace an old door, consider repainting it or replacing the handle and lock.
Flooring: A good floor can make or break a home’s aesthetic. If you have carpeting, consider putting in laminate flooring. It’s a cheap alternative to hardwoods, and can save you thousands in maintenance over the years. If you prefer to keep your carpeting, you should at very least have it professionally cleaned.
The Exterior: Curb appeal is a big factor. Sometimes, it just takes a bit of cleaning and basic maintenance. Manicure the lawn, get rid of any rusty furniture or garden tools, and give the walkway a good sweeping.

House-Flippers Gain Confidence in the High-End Market

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan Officer August 22nd, 2013 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

For a long while, the luxury real estate market has been a no-man’s land for investors. It was hard enough to unload a cheap home without losing money, and the prospect of buying a mansion to fix up and flip for a profit simply was not in the cards. However, recent years has seen an improvement in the market, and ambitious property investors are once again working to buy, sell, and make out like bandits in the world of high-end houses.

The up and coming players in this recovering field have been the money lenders. While banks remain reluctant to provide house-flippers with the short-term, quick financing that they need, private lenders like Jan Brzeski have been stepping up to fill the need. Thanks to her loan, realtor Scott Ryan was able to buy a house for $1.5 million, improve the property for $600,000, and put in on the market for $3.3 million. In all-too recent memory, this house might have sat on the market for several years and several cuts in the asking price, but the current market is giving them optimism to secure a sale within a week.

According to Brzeski, he was originally wary of the high risk associated with high-end real estate investments. However, after pouring roughly $2.5 million into a venture back in 2011, he was pleased to discover that the realtor was met with a line of all-cash offers as soon as it was placed on the market. The property sold for $3.5 million, and Brzeski was sold on mansion-flipping immediately.

The causes behind this recent recovery in the high-end housing market seem to be based in the freshly robust stock market. With a slew of wealthy individuals suddenly flush with extra money, many of them are gaining confidence in buying the houses of their dreams. House-flippers are therefore gaining confidence that their riskier investments will pay off more quickly and more profitably.

Since 2011, flips of houses valued at upwards of $1 million have increased by about forty percent across the country. Between 2011 and 2012, such flipping jumped 456 percent in Phoenix, 867 percent in Orlando, and 730 percent in Las Vegas, according to RealtyTrac. These figures are based off of high-end homes that were bought and sold within six months.

Read the original article here.

Home Prices Continue to Rise, but Should Level Off

Blog Mortgage Brokers May 5th, 2014 David Haley

For the past two years, mortgage brokers nationwide have been seeing increasingly greater increases in home prices. In February, the average price of a home was up 12.2 percent over February of 2013. This was also .8 percent over the previous month.

The greatest rises in price were experienced in California, which saw an appreciation of 19.8 percent, Nevada, with 18.5 percent, Georgia, with 14.2 percent, Oregon, with 13.8 percent, and Michigan, with 13.5 percent. Meanwhile, there were no states reporting a negative annual appreciation.

According to CoreLogic president and CEO Anand Nallathambi, “The consistent upward movement in home prices should ultimately prove to be an important stimulant for higher levels of sustained market activity and growth in the housing economy.” With this in mind, and considering the continued lack of home inventory, CoreLogic is expecting prices to continue to rise throughout the year, but at a more moderate pace.

Source: https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/04012014_corelogic_hpi.asp

Rises in Home Prices Slowing Down

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan Officer August 25th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

Recovery in the real estate market has been marked with increased home prices and mortgage rates. June was no exception to this trend, but the news is not all bad; according to the Home Price Index released by Black Knight Financial Services, the rate of price growth has been gradually dropping.

Month-over-month price changes have varied, with December of 2013 seeing price increases of 0.1 percent and February hitting 0.7 percent. However, the annual rate of increase has been moderating steadily throughout the country. While home prices in September of 2013 were up 9 percent over the previous year the year-over-year price increase seen last month was only 5.5 percent. The year-to-date increase has been at 4.3 percent. Nationally, prices are currently 10.4 percent below June of 2006’s peak of $268,000.

Source

Mortgage Rates Return to 2014 Lows

Blog Lynnwood Mortgage Loan December 15th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

Mortgage rates have been edging slowly downward this month, enough to bring the average rate to one of the year’s lowest levels. As of December 10th, the most prevalently-quoted 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down to 3.875. Aside from some fleeting instances of particularly low rates that were seen during the turbulent morning of October 15th, these are the lowest rates we have seen for over half a year.

The strength in the current mortgage market can be attributed to weak activity in oil and the stock market. Though neither of these are directly connected to the housing market, there does tend to be a correlation between low stock activity and low mortgage rates. Generally speaking, when the stock market lags, the bond market picks up a bit. The bond market then sees some improvement, which raises prices and pushes rates lower.

Slow Recovery Ahead for Six-Month Low in Mortgage Rates

Blog Mortgage Loan Lynnwood May 12th, 2014 David Haley Mortgage Loan Officer

Back in January, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist Frank Nothaft projected mortgage loan rates to reach 5.1% by the end of 2014. However, as we approach the middle of the year, the market is not quite living up to expectations.

Mortgage interest rates are currently at their lowest level in six months, with rates on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 4.21% in the first week of May. This represents a drop from the prior week’s 4.29%. Further, Nothaft is not expecting rates to recover quickly; during an economic forecast event at the US Chamber of Commerce, he projected a very slow and gradual rise throughout the rest of the year. With these new trends in mind, January’s forecast is being revised to a rate of 4.65% by the end of the year.

Hopefully, this new trend will translate to a boost in the housing market. Since mortgage interest rates jumped by over a full percentage point in 2013, home sales took a hit during the past fall and winter. Nothaft is expecting home sales to speed up and match last year’s numbers by the close of 2014, with new construction potentially beating out 2013.

Source

						David and Jan are amazing! They did such a great job and kept us in the loop the whole time. They are rock stars! Thank you!			
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K. U.		11/17/2025
						The level of Care and Attention to your individual situation is outstanding!			
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F. C.		11/11/2025
						If I could give David 10 stars, I would. He was there for us with any questions we had and was very transparent with everything he did. He went above and beyond at every turn and he got us to closing in record time, especially since we switched lenders halfway through the process due to issues with Zillow. We feel so lucky to have found David and he helped make our dream a reality.			
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K. T.		10/25/2025

						David and his team have provided, by far, the best mortgage experiences of our lives.  Their patient explanations and thorough understanding of our situation instill confidence in our decisions every time.			
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M. S.		10/22/2025
						I had a great first experience working with this mortgage lender. The whole team was friendly and easy to work with while still keeping everything professional. My loan officer was very knowledgeable and always quick to answer any questions I had. The process went smoothly from start to finish. I’d highly recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable and professional lender!			
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T. N.		10/20/2025
						David and his amazing team made my home buying experience something that wasn’t overwhelming but enjoyable and easy.He was there every step of the way, answering any and all questions from early in the morning till late at night. If you call, he answers. I would recommend David and his team to any and all looking to purchase a home, he will go above and beyond for you. Thank you David, Jan and L.J.			
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J. N.		10/19/2025

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