The Advisor

Physician’s Top 5 Home Loan Questions Answered:

1.    What exactly are the benefits of getting a "doctor's loan" vs. a regular home loan with a bank?

ANSWER:  The differences are HUGE. Every bank and Physician loan product is a little different, but typically a physician loan would

•    allow higher loan amounts
•    require lower down payment (if any)
•    exclude student loans from the debt to income ratios
•    require no mortgage insurance
•    allow closing on the purchase of your new home up to 30 days before your first day on the job
•    allow up to 75 days until your first payment is due  

These are just a few of the many benefits that a specialized Physician loan program can offer.  Since each Physician’s situation and needs are different so the Physician loan program is not always the best option for your situation. But we find that having these programs at our disposal, we virtually always find a solution for our Physician clients.

2.    Do my student loans have to be deferred for at least 12 months to qualify?

ANSWER:  No, the 12 month deferment rule is typical with most banks, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and VA, but are typically NOT counted against you with the Physician loan products we offer at Utah Physician Home Loans.   READ MORE

For 10 years running, HealthGrades has been revealing a list of the hospitals performing in the top 5% nationwide across 26 different medical procedures and diagnoses. 

A description of how the process works is as follows:

"As part of this study, HealthGrades evaluates each of the nation’s 5,000 nonfederal hospitals in 26 procedures and diagnoses, allowing individuals to compare their local hospitals online at www.healthgrades.com. HealthGrades hospital quality distinctions are independently created; no hospital can opt-in or opt-out of being evaluated, and no hospital pays to be evaluated. Mortality and complication rates are risk adjusted, which takes into account differing levels of severity of patient illness at different hospitals and allows for hospitals to be compared equally."

So how did you city stack up this year?  Click read more to find out!  READ MORE

By Barry Rabinowitz, CFP®, MBA, EA, IAR

We all know there are deals to be found in the shopping world. But do we ever consider the value we receive for the price we pay?

William Poundstone’s book, Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It) points out most of us are really suckers when it comes to shopping, and we’re often taken advantage of, and prone to paying just about any price (and sometimes more today than we would have yesterday).

In the investment world, it can be even more difficult to consider cost and value. And it’s understandable why that is when product prospectuses are longer (and more dull) than a textbook. Often, investors will rely only on hypothetical or recent returns equate to value, and costs — and by this I mean the total costs of a strategy — are never considered.

A few of my biggest concerns are with products that investors believe “guarantee” growth in “retirement income,” or products that shed sound, investment principles to employ strategies that you would like to have owned yesterday, but have no promises for tomorrow.  Furthermore, when annual management fees for a product go above 1.5%, alarm bells go off for me.  READ MORE

By Stacie Strassberg, California Mortgage Advisors, Inc

The good news–despite what the Mayan calendar may say–is that the world probably won't be coming to an end in 2012. But like 2011, this coming year may bring some significant challenges here in the US and around the world. Read on to learn more about what could be ahead for home loan rates.

First, let's take a minute to recap 2011. While home loan rates finished the year at historically low levels, the housing market did not see a major improvement in the second half of the year as some experts expected. The labor market did make some modest improvements, but it is still persistently weak and this is one area of the economy in particular that we need to see consistent improvement in to help our long-term economic outlook.

Also weighing on consumer confidence and thus the economy in 2011 was the first downgrade of US Debt in history, thanks in part to our very divisive government body. Finally, the worsening and spreading debt crisis in Europe capped a year filled with financial and political uncertainty. The situation in Europe is the perfect place to begin a 2012 outlook.

Eurozone Debt Crisis
What may happen with the US economy and home loan rates in 2012–not to mention with inflation, the housing market, the job market, and even the Presidential election–may be dramatically influenced by how the Eurozone handles their debt crisis. In the simplest of terms, the issue is that like much of the developed economies around the world, Europe has way too much debt. And a lot of this debt sits on the books of the banking sector throughout the Eurozone.

In good economic times, banks could potentially "grow" their way out of their recapitalization problem by doing a lot of business and writing a bunch of loans. But that is not likely to happen with the Eurozone slipping into a recession in the first half of 2012.   READ MORE

By Greg Walstra, Principal at Greg Walstra, Financial Concierge Services

It’s the conclusion that all busy and affluent people come to at some point in life: Once you have more money than you need, money is no longer the most precious resource you must save up and spend wisely. Time is the only resource for which there is an unchangeable limit.

No one can create more than 24 hours in a day, but everyone has the ability to “trade” money for time. So how does one go about getting more time?

An hour and a half to pay bills. 20 minutes on hold with the mortgage company. Eight people in line at the bank on Wednesday. A 45 minute phone call with the realtor at the lake house about contesting the property taxes. Two hours trying to find a trustworthy dealer to appraise Grandpa’s shotgun. A half hour paying Mom’s bills for assisted living and balancing her checkbook. A few daily tasks add up to 10-15 hours each month.  And that isn’t counting the opportunity cost of all the things that you’re not doing, like comparison shopping for your insurance coverage’s, spending time evaluating the charity you are considering a major gift to and making sure that you are adhering to your financial goals on a monthly basis.

In 2006, CFA Magazine predicted that demand for concierge services among financial planning firms was about to soar. Since then, banks and credit card firms have hired concierges to make their offices more customer oriented, especially for wealthy and elderly clients. There's also been growth in small boutique firms dedicated to offering concierge services for anyone who needs them.  READ MORE

No clue what either of those are?  Read up here and then follow this link to let Congress know how you feel.  READ MORE

By Tom Larsen,
President, Larsen & Associates Ins. Agency Inc

You hear the squawking ads on TV, in your car, online – “Save 15%” or “We have the lowest rates” or “Nobody beats A*******” – their sole job is to make a sale, not protect you & your family correctly. They are under pressure to sell, sell, sell; regardless of the coverage’s you may require (they get fired for NOT selling enough).

The Matt Davis Story

Here is a story of Matt Davis (last name changed to protect our client) of Amherst, who was a homeowner client of our agency. In being proactive with our single policy only clients, Matt got a letter from us, letting him know it would be good to have us look at his auto insurance too.

To our shock, Matt had the bare minimum insurance liability limits NY State requires - $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $10,000 of property damage. Why were we shocked? Let’s say if Matt causes an accident with someone driving a 2009 Honda Accord and they then hit a 2008 Ford Fusion, causing $20,000 property damage to those 2 vehicles. What limits was he carrying before us? $10,000. Where would the other $10,000 of property damage come from?

 Matt would have to come up with the $10,000 he lacked in his insurance policy. And what if Matt didn’t have the $10,000 to pay? He would be taken to court by the injured parties and a judgment would be granted AGAINST Matt Davis.

Judgments in NY State & Real Property

Do you know what happens with judgments in NY State? They automatically attach to real property you own in this state – a lien. So Matt could never sell or refinance his home, without paying off that $10,000 lien first. Something no one was telling him but we did and he listened too.  READ MORE

The NON-Conforming Doctor Program provides financing for purchases of primary residences to medical doctors who have completed their medical residency within the most recent 36 months.  
This new program has a maximum loan amount of $850,000 and is available with the following NON-Conforming products:

•    30 year fixed
•    15 year fixed
•    ALB 10/1 ARM
•    ALB 7/1 ARM
•    ALB 5/1 ARM
 
This program will not allow interest only payments and mortgage insurance is not required we also will not allow Non-Occupant co-borrowers with this product.
 
Our Employment requirements for this product are that the Dr. must have completed their medical residency in the most recent 36 months and be a practicing medical doctor verified by obtaining a copy of their license.
 
Borrowers with less than six months left in their residency who have accepted a permanent position as evidenced by a fully executed employment offer letter are also allowed subject to the following requirements:
 
Income form the permanent position is to be used to calculate debt ratios and verified liquid funds must be verified and sufficient to cover PITI until residency is complete and new position is started.
 
All borrowers will be required to have 5% post closing liquidity where both retirement and non-retirement funds can be used.
 
A minimum credit score of 720 is required along with their housing debt ratio not to exceed 33% and their total debt ratio not to exceed 38%.
 
Eligible properties will be single family detached, single family attached, long with PUD's and condominiums.  Borrowers may already have only one other financed property and the maximum Loan To Value and Combined Loan To Value is not to exceed 89.99%.  READ MORE

Every month, you receive a mortgage statement that reminds you to make your regular payment against your loan, but did you realize that it can serve as a strategic financial tool?
It's true. Whether you receive your statement via regular postal mail, or get your statement online, there are various pieces of information on it that can serve as useful intelligence for better managing your home financing, and help you make well-informed decisions about your loan.
 
Let's take a look at four important pieces of information found on your statement each month:  READ MORE