Born this week in 1945 iss one of the greatest financial planning minds in US history. This brilliant financial mind first appeared on late night TV spreading messages such as, “Don’t buy stuff you can’t afford”. OK, maybe Steve Martin is known more for his comedy but his memorable SNL skit still resonates for me. […]
Transcript: In this post and video, I will summarize the differences between a conforming loan and a jumbo loan. Loan Amount The first difference is the loan amount, which is ultimately what defines a conforming loan versus a jumbo mortgage. For 2018, here in Portland, Oregon, the threshold that determines a conforming loan and a […]
Seventy one years ago a wood raft carrying five people arrived at an island near Tahiti after a 101 day journey from Peru. The raft was captained by Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl and supported his thesis that Polynesia’s earliest inhabitants may have migrated from South America. The story was later made popular in the best-selling […]
Video Transcript: Hey, I’m Evan Swanson of Swanson Home Loans, a division of Cherry Creek Mortgage Co. Inc. In today’s video, I’m going to talk to you about getting mortgage insurance eliminated from a conventional mortgage. Back in February, I recorded a VIDEO which talks about the details of the Homeowner’s Protection Act, which is […]
Need another reminder to be on the lookout for wire scams? Check out THIS ARTICLE which describes how an Oregon couple nearly lost $379,000. Want a free, easy, and significant way to help prevent this activity? Set up two factor authentication! (see HERE) Mortgage Rates Steady On Friday the Commerce Department reported the US economy […]
Video Transcript: I frequently get asked how applying for a loan as a self-employed borrower or an independent contractor is different than for a traditional full-time W2 employee. First off, applying for a loan as a self-employed or independent contractor is not automatic, means to deny or not approve a loan application. We can […]
Sometimes our best ideas are formed when we least expect it. This is true for the guitarist Slash who during a band warm up played a string skipping riff that he initially disdained. However, the rest of the band asked him to play it again and later the riff formed the foundation of “Sweet Child […]
It all started with $6,000 in February of 1940 when the US Government granted that sum to a group of researchers who were curious about the potential for fissionable materials to be used for military purposes. The original $6,000 later ballooned to over $2 billion and on this day in 1945 the Manhattan Project first […]
On this day in 1846 the United States captured a small settlement called Yerba Buena located in a bay. This site is now home to one of the most expensive housing markets in the world. SEE HERE for a parody on some of the rental offerings in this city which was later named San Francisco. […]
If we celebrated the day that the Continental Congress voted on the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain then we wouldn’t be in the office today. It was actually on July 2, 1776 that the colonies voted to approve the Declaration of Independence. However, following the nearly unanimous vote Thomas Jefferson took the document, made […]