$$$$$ A SUITCASE FULL OF CASH FOR ERIC AND TAMARA TODD $$$$$

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In tough economic times like these, CASH IS KING!

And who said cash-out refinancing is dead?!

It's not. And we just proved it!

Eric and Tamara Todd wanted to take advantage of the great bargains in bank-owned properties and purchase a couple of investment properties to fix up and rent out.

The Todd's purchased their house many years ago and never withdrew any equity. So even in this depressed market, they still had a lot of equity.

The challenge, however, was the current mortgage market. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are drowning in red ink. They DO NOT want to buy loans where people have pulled-out their equity and the rates and points they charge are absolutely outrageous!

Thank Heavens for FHA! With FHA we were able to get them $126,000 in cash. That's $32,000 more than the maximum we could have gotten them with a conforming loan AND we saved them over $8,000 in points!

With all that cash they were able to pay-off about $20,000 in credit cards and installment loans, leaving them debt-free except for their home mortgage. And they had the $100,000 + to buy a couple fixer-uppers.

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NEW HOME FOR FIRST-TIME HOME BUYERS MICHAEL & ROCIO GALVAN

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This is a great story!

Michael and Rocio Galvin were trying to purchase their first home using Michael's Veteran's Administration (VA) eligibility.

Michael had been discharged from the Marines, worked at various jobs for approximately two years, then decided to re-enlist in the Marines.

He tried to get VA loan approval with a couple different "Big-Bank" lenders. They denied his loan application because of his previous two-year spotty employment history. Michael and Rocio thought that was it. They thought they would have to give up on their dream of owning a home for at least another couple years.

Luckily for them, a friend of a friend recommended they contact Ken Hall and Jon Sheehan before giving up.

Great Advice!

Why?

Because we have nearly 100 lenders whom we have great relationships with. We know how to do complicated loans. FHA, VA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, we know them all.

Our lenders know and trust us because we do loans the right way. Always have, always will. We have so many years experience we don't even like bragging about it any more because it means we're getting old:)

We obtained a VA loan approval with a lender who applied "common-sense" when underwriting the loan. A lender who did NOT have an issue with his past employment history because he was re-enlisting in the Marines with a secure income for the next four years.

Escrow closed today. Everyone's happy. Congratulations Michael and Rocio!

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CROOKED BANKERS

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A client asked me about my blog posting from December 3, 2008.

Her question was very relevant and deserves further explanation. I should have realized it when originally making the post but in the rush of the day it escaped me until she brought it to my attention.

The post was about a bank that had royally screwed-over a mentally and physically disabled woman.

Here's the exact wording of the paragraph in question:

"Patrick Paster's Mom, Barbara was in a horrible subprime loan with a balloon payment coming due on January 1, 2009. Barbara is disabled and was really taken advantage of by the loan officer for a bank that will remain nameless."

The question was, "Why should the bank remain nameless? If they took advantage of a disabled woman, why not call them out on it for all the world to see?"

The answer is: I've been down this road once before and was threatened with a massive lawsuit by the corporate attorneys of a very, very large bank whose name you are very familiar with if I were to name it here.

It was back in 2005 and involved my clients Jose and Andrea Sandoval. Long story short, they were receiving threatening and illegal letters from - yet another large bank whose name you would know - and I called them on it. I actually went to their local Temecula branch, confronted their branch manager and told him my client was going to sue them if they didn't back-off.

In the testimonial letter Jose and Andrea wrote me, they actually named the bank and I posted it on my website. About four months later, I not only received a letter but also a phone call from the banks corporate attorneys.

They threatened to sue my pants off if I didn't remove it from my website. I consulted with my attorney and he basically said their pockets were much deeper than mine. In other words, don't bring a knife to a gunfight.

So I reluctantly removed the name of the bank from the testimonial letter on my website, tucked my tail between my legs and moved on.

Likewise, that's why I didn't name the bank that took advantage of Barbara Paster.

I must say, though, that I'm tempted to do it again, given the nature of today's ongoing news headlines. After all, now everyone knows that they're all crooked. I bet I'd get a sympathetic jury!

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BONGIORNO'S NEW YORK PIZZARIA IS COMING TO TEMECULA!

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Closed escrow Friday on the Bongiorno's bank-owned purchase in Crowne Hill, Temecula.

The Bongiorno's own a couple of absolutely incredible New York style pizzarias in San Diego. AND ... they'll soon be opening a new one here in Temecula. Can't wait:)

The Bongiorno's decided they wanted to take advantage of Temecula's great prices and buy the giant home of their dreams plus take advantage of the great schools and wonderful lifestyle that Temecula offers.

Congratulations to the Bongiornos! It was a pleasure working with you and we're all looking forward to your grand opening.

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