I had a client call me this weekend that just received some alarming news. Their mortgage recently got sold to a different lender.  She had two different issues:1.) Their mortgage had sold to another lender and now the new lender was requiring flood insurance on the home, which WAS NOT REQUIRED BEFORE! She was startled, as the new insurance premium was said to be hundreds of dollars a month! So naturally, the homeowner didn't want flood insurance and wanted to find a lender that would refinance the home without needing it. So, here is my response....When you purchase a home, and it is financed, the lender will ALWAYS require that you get flood insurance if your home sits in a Flood Zone, the appraisal will show this through a National Database. This protects the lender, in the event tha... 01/16/2007

  I had a great sit-down today with a new client. She is a First Time Home Buyer that wanted to meet face to face with me...I love it! Back in the old days, transactions were only done in such ways. You could look a person in the eye, listen to their tone of speech and understand where they are coming from before you decide to do a transaction with them. With that being said, trusting a lender is everything in a Real Estate transaction! You open yourself up across all aspects of your life. For example:Have you filed for bankruptcy?Have you been in a divorce?Do you owe Uncle Sam back taxes?Your incomeYour assetsChild support?These are but a few of the topics that come up and must be addressed. It is easy to skate around them, but in all fairness, your mortgage broker is better off knowin... 01/16/2007

Hey Everyone,Virgil Cole is an awesome Real Estate Agent at Prudential Real Estate in Chico, California and he puts together a comprehensive market report of what has been taking place in the local Chico market over the past few months. He spends alot of time putting together the data and I'm sure that many homeowners and investors in our market will be interested in seeing the results. Feel free to contact either of us if you are looking to purchase or refinance your home. We're here to help you!             Virgil Cole                                        Scott Gormley Have a great day!Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.chicoloan.com/Blog: http://www.CALoanBlog.com"You f... 01/02/2007

Understanding the importance of Equal Opportunity Lending is very important to us in the mortgage industry. It's symbol is much more than an image, which simply represents happy thoughts. Rather, it represents the commitment to not discriminate against our clients and/or potential clients based on race,sex,national origin and a multitude of areas for which people are discriminated against on a day to day basis. Giving EVERYONE the opportunity to purchase a home and participate in the American Dream is what is so great about our country! Where families in many other countries would only dream at the thought of being able to own their own home, in the United States it is a dream come true for many individuals and their families. We see first generation famililies  and individuals that wor... 12/01/2006

We just finished our Financial Literacy Event on the Chico State campus and I feel that it was a success. We went through several topics, to include:Credit ReportsUtilizing CreditInvestingThe Time Value of MoneyStarting a BusinessWe conducted the seminar for the college students at California State University Chico as a way to help them understand these important topics to be able to make better decisions about what they do with their money. I figure if we helped just one of them make better decisions...then the event was a success! All too often in the mortgage industry, we come across clients that have done some tough damage to their financial futures. Not because they are bad people, but because they were never given the proper tools to succeed. I have been a strong advocate of teach... 10/21/2006

 "Grow A Future"ATTENTION CHICO, CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS!Are you interested in attending an awesome and FREE Financial Workshop?When: Saturday, October 21st 2006 between 11am - 2pmWhere: California State University, Chico Room: BMU 210This event is sporsored by Delta Sigma Pi, a Professional Business FraternityTopics will include:1. Managing your FICO Score2. Credit3. Debt: Secure and Insecure4. Personal Finance5. Savings and InvestmentPresenters:Scott Gormley, Broker/Owner-Oak Valley MortgageSteve Hoke, VP-Banc America InvestmentsMike Dailey, Branch Manager-Bank of America and City Council CandidateTo RSVP, please call me asap!Don't miss out, this should be an awesome event!Here is a piece of my presentation, so you can get an idea of what you may see!Have a great day!Scott GormleyBroker/... 10/17/2006

  Well, I'm pretty much through my first year as a BIG for Big Brothers Big Sisters and it has been an amazing experience so far! I knew growing up that it was something that I wanted to be involved in and I'm happy that I just decided to go for it. My little is a great kid and we've been able to do some great things together so far! If you are considering being a big, I highly recommend it! There are so many children out there today for all different backgrounds that could benefit from a positive role model! In Chico, California, we have the BIG EVENT! The BIG EVENT is hosted at the Sierra Nevada Brewery (Best beer in the world by the way!) in the BIG ROOM! Close to 1/3 of the entire years revenue stream comes from this great event and it should be a blast! They will do dinner,music,da... 10/06/2006

Ok, so twice a year, the "Affiliates" of our local Board of Realtors host a mixer for the Realtors and Affiliates. After a few months of preperation, tonight is the night that I'm on the spot. I'm the Chairman of the Affiliate Committee and I'm in charge of the nights events. There should be somewheres between 100-150 people at the event, so I'm crossing my fingers for a good turnout and "vibe." It is being held at Market Cafe at 1387 East 8th Street. Phone: 530-892-2332 We have hired a band (lead is also a Realtor, Mike Wiegert) and we worked out a wine tasting. We will be charging $5 for an unlimited tasting. The wine provider merely wants to make money on the bottles he sells for the types of wine he is pouring. Finally, we have presold tickets for our raffle and will be selling raff... 10/05/2006

I live in Chico, California, which is the home to thousands of college students. From time to time, I have high school and college students call me up to ask me questions for a class project that they are doing. I LOVE these calls! To have a child or young adult that has enough in them to call and actually do their homework is inspiring to me. I know many professionals that can't  make such inquiries on the phone! Anyhow, I received a phone call today and I was asked if I knew what "disintermediation" was. Plain and simple! I was honest and said that I didn't, but I like to learn and I could google it and we could learn together. To that she responded, "Well I can do that myself!" and she wanted to end the conversation, so I said "ok, feel free to call me if you have any other questions... 09/23/2006

I'm the Chairman of the Affiliate Committee for our local Association of Realtors and we conduct a Fall and Spring Mixer for the local Realtors. During the mixers, Realtors and Affiliates network with each other and we usually throw a theme behind each one. For our Fall Mixer in October, we are having a wine night theme. We will have a wine tasting and appetizers. We decided to raffle off wine coolers, filled with bottles of wine that were donated by the Affiliates. Each Affiliate had the opportunity to decorate their bottles the way they wanted and everyone had a lot of fun doing so! Tickets are selling for $20 and we plan on raising up $4,000 to $5,000 for Ability First and the Chico Challengers. Both groups support children with physical disabilities and are very important causes in ... 09/21/2006

Kiss private mortgage insurance goodbye California! I've received new announcements today from multiple investors, stating that they are doing 100% first trust deed loans with NO MORTGAGE INSURANCE. In the past, investors were doing maxed 80% first trust deeds and 20% seconds to avoid PMI. Now you can avoid those higher interest rate seconds by refinancing or purchasing with a single 100% loan with NO PMI on your Primary Residence, Second Home or Investment Properties!Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll find the perfect loan!" 09/18/2006

 Are you looking for a great place to live? I'll tell you about  a hidden gem in California, but don't tell too many people! Chico is located 90 miles north of Sacramento, California and home to 105,000 Chicoans. Boasting a "home town college feel to it", Chico is the home to California State University,Chico and a variety of amazing things. Chico is one of the only places I have lived in the world where residents take a strong pride in their community and speak so gracefully about it. So what makes Chico so unique? Here's a few things:Bidwell Park (This is where the original Robin Hood was filmed and it is the third largest municipal park in the United States, boasting 3,670 acres!),One Mile (A large public swimming pool in Bidwell park) ,Bidwell Mansion (First home in NorCal to have r... 09/17/2006

One of my favorite things about being a member of the Active Rain Real Estate community is the network I'm growing for my clients' benefit. Think about it, having not necessarily more...but better directions to send your clients is a great thing, adding value to what I do for them. Now I can feel comfortable with learning about professionals within the network and sending my clients in the correct direction. There is a great peace of mind that comes with such opportunities. My hats off to the AR community and I look forward to sending business in your direction when the time comes!Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll find the perfect... 09/16/2006

Over the years, I have heard many questions about how to prepare for an appraisal. I thought it might be to your advantage to know what your appraiser is looking for, and what you can do to get the most out of your appraisal. Here are a couple of hints:Make a ListIf you are refinancing it is likely that you have owned your home for a couple of years and you have made improvements,additions,upgrades and general maintenance. Make a list of anything you have done to the home over the past few years. Report roof,appliances,floor coverings,water heaters,window upgreades, etc..Do this before your appraiser arrives!PicturesYour appraiser will need to take pictures of the home front,rear,outbuildings and view. The underwriter who approves your loan will never see your home and will depend on th... 09/16/2006

Do you have any ideas of what the banks and investors will come up with next in product innovation to get homebuyers into homes? We've seen mortgage loan types that my dad would not have even imagined 25 years ago, but now they are a reality...Zero Down,Interest Only,100% Financing,6% sellers concessions,No Mortgage Insurance,Stated Programs,40 and now 50 year terms,Option Arms with 1% start rates (Neg Am loans), I've now seen loans with start rates of 25 basis points...Think about that...If you have a 30% equity position in a home, they will loan you up to 70%! On a $1,000,000 home with a $700,000 mortgage, your payment would be a little over $2,000 a month!So what's next in store for the year 2010? I propose a 100 year loan with a $100 monthly mortgage payment on a $1,000,000 home, so... 09/15/2006

I've lived and conducted Real Estate business in two types of areas/markets. In one you feel like a little fish in BIG pond and in the other you feel like a BIG fish in a little pond. I'm curios to see what AR members feelings are about being in each kind of market and which scenario offers greater opportunities in the Real Estate business. In the small pond, you feel like you can have a faster and more impactful message, but the business seems slower. In the big pond, it feels more impresonal and competitve, taking you longer to penetrate the market with a dominant presence.... 09/14/2006

 In an article recently posted by James R. Hagerty at RealEstateJournal.com, James explains that African-American and Hispanic borrowers are "much more likely than whites to pay high interest rates on mortgage loans", according to a Federal Reserve study released recently! My first reaction was, WOW! I would not figure that this would even be a topic to write about and I think it is a sad fact. In my business, I bring forward the need for Equal Housing Lending. Obviously, the ability to make on time mortgage payments has nothing to do with race. This is my mind bottling thought of the day...Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll find t... 09/14/2006

In a competitive market where there are many choices for buyers, agents must bring the topic up of "curb appeal" to their clients. Questions such as, "what does the home look like from the front?", and "what will potential buyers first reactions be from the outside?" are VERY IMPORTANT! The home may be beutiful from the inside, but potential buyers won't give it the time of day if the outside is scary. Trimming you lawn, pulling weeds, sweeping the porch and getting rid of spider webs can make a lasting first impression! When it comes down to it, how long do you want your listing on the market?Scott GormleyBroker/OwnerOak Valley Mortgage2006 Chico Assoc. of Realtors Affiliate ChairmanDirect: 530.592.8362Fax: 530.267.5555Website: http://www.CALoan.com"You find the perfect home, we'll fin... 09/13/2006

One of the most important decisions that Real Estate professionals need to make is who will do their website hosting. There is a large range of offerings that are out there and comparing and differering their services can be time consuming, but I assure you that it is worth every second! Why? It is estimated that close to 70% of all home purchases started with the consumer's "research phase". If a potential buyer goes to your website and it takes 1 minute to load up, YOU'VE LOST THEM and their potential business! It is human nature to want things immediatly at our fingertips and if you don't offer it, I will find someone else that does. Find out what type of server your hosting company is going to put you on and find out what the benefits and setbacks are of that server. You may find th... 09/13/2006

With the influx of homes on the market, things have switched to a buyer's market! So, what does that mean? Well, from the sellers perspective, you need to offer incentives that will differentiate your home from the rest of the flock. You can do so with offering a credit towards the buyers closing costs to ease the burden of coming up with "on hand cash", or you could do seller carryback financing, offering a rate that is lower than the prevailing rate on the open market to induce a purchase. Coming up with creative ways to market your home can make all the difference. For buyers, this is a great time to buy with interest rates at a yearly low and more choices. It seems like just a short while ago, you had to take what you could find. Now, you have the opportunity to look around and true... 09/13/2006