We’d like to thank all who participated in our 7th Annual Food Drive…many thanks to our Realtors, Lenders, local Chamber offices, community members and PNWT employees…check out the results below – AMAZING!
TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS COLLECTED FOR FOOD BANKS:
FOOD: 6,696 LBS. CASH: $590.06
Results by area are:
255 lbs. + $17.00 cash to Helpline House on Bainbridge Island
80 lbs. to ShareNet Food Bank in Kingston
375 lbs. to North Kitsap Fishline in Poulsbo
587 lbs. + $20.00 cash to South Kitsap Helpline
400 lbs. + $50.00 cash to Bremerton Foodline
4,999 lbs. + $503.06 cash to Central Kitsap Food Bank
Thank you for your generous support and donations!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Pacific Northwest Title to hold their Annual United Way fundraiser
by Paula Pazooki on November 11, 2011
We will be holding a Gently Used Book/dvd/cd sale to benefit theUnited Wayof KitsapCounty, where 100% of the proceeds will go to our local United Way. Suggested donation prices for the items are very reasonable and cash donations are gladly accepted as well.
WHEN: Saturday, November 19th
TIME: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
WHERE: Kitsap Mall ~ store front across from the Sheriff’s office by the West Main Entrance
We’d love to have your support and appreciate everyone’s participation. Thank you in advance for helping support the communities where we live and work!
We are teaming up with local real estate and lending offices once again this year for our 7th annual food drive to benefit the Kitsap County food banks. The food drive runs from October 24 – November 11. In addition to non-perishable foods, the food banks are also in need of toiletries/hygiene items such as unscented soaps, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes. Cash donations are gladly accepted as well.
Last year our collaborative efforts brought in a total of 3,964 lbs. of food and $170 in cash. The results by area were:
190 lbs. were delivered to North Kitsap & Bainbridge Island
704 lbs plus $45.00 cash was delivered to the South Kitsap Helpline
156 lbs. was delivered to the Bremerton Foodline
2,914 lbs. plus $125.00 was delivered to Central Kitsap Food Bank
We hope to exceed those amounts this year so we can continue to support our communities where we live and work.
There are a few different ways you can deliver your donations for the food drive:
1. Look for drop off locations at various real estate and lending offices in Kitsap County (you can call us at 360-692- 4141 for a list of participating offices)
2. Drop off donations at your local area Chamber of Commerce
3. Bring your donations directly to one of our 3 offices – Silverdale, Port Orchard or Bainbridge Island
4. Stop by our donation table at the Silverdale Safeway store on Saturday, November 5th from 9:00am – 4:00pm
and Sunday, November 6th from 10:00am – 3:00pm.
We’d love to have your support and appreciate everyone’s participation. We’ll be updating posting updates of the results, so stay tuned!
February 2, 2011
By Julie Evalt
As the effective date for loan officer compensation guidelines approaches, mortgage brokers and loan officers are searching for clarity and guidelines for compensation. The rule announced last August did not specifically defined a formula for payment, but rather said there would be more to come I guess 2 months in advance of the April 1, 2011 compliance drop dead date is better than never.
Back in the day, loan officers and brokers (Loan Originators) were paid based on rate and/or loan type and which investor the loan or servicing was sold to. For instance, a conventional mortgage priced at 5% by the investor to the loan originator may have been sold to the consumer at 5.5% with a 1% or more origination fee. It could be negotiated that the extra one-half percent interest rate and the origination fee would be split between the loan originator and the investor or paid entirely to the Originator.
Additionally, a yield spread premium may have been paid by the investor to the loan originator. A yield spread premium is the money or rebate paid to a loan originator for giving a borrower a higher interest rate on a loan. Sometimes, this premium or a portion of it was extended to the borrower as a discount to closing costs.
In August of 2010, The Feds decided to revamp and regulate this system to protect consumers from what they described as “potentially unfair, abusive, or deceptive lending practices.” Lending Industry leaders and trade professionals were instrumental in assisting in getting this legislation passed.
The concern was that these costs were arbitrary and not regulated. No uniform system existed to make sure the Yield Spread Premium was passed onto the borrower or that the borrower was not being gouged or paying a higher interest rate merely to pad the loan originator’s compensation.
The Feds have now published guidance on L.O. compensation briefly described at: http://www.dsnews.com/ (January 28, 2011)
and more fully set forth in the Regulation Z Supplement at: http://www.federal reserve.gov/bankinforeg/regzcg.htm (January 28, 2011)
I am encouraged by the mid-week news I am hearing! According to the sources available to me, the word on the street it that not everyone has refinanced. While we are not seeing the volumes when interest rates were hovering in the 4.5% zone, applications are up! I am attaching an article by the MortgageProfessional.com that goes into further details about refinance volumes.
Enjoy -
Application Volume Rises by Five Percent Over Last Week in Latest MBA Survey
Wed, 2011-01-19 11:40 — NationalMortgageProfessional.Com
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Jan. 14, 2011. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased five percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 6.4 percent compared with the previous week.
The Refinance Index increased 7.7 percent from the previous week. This is the third consecutive weekly increase in refinance applications and is the highest Refinance Index observed since the beginning of December. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1.9 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3.1 percent compared with the previous week and was 16.0 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates have moved somewhat lower since the beginning of the year, as mixed data on the job market continue to cloud the outlook for the economy,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics. “Refinance applications have picked up, as borrowers take advantage of lower rates, but purchase applications remain quite low, indicating that home sales are unlikely to pick up any time soon.”
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 1.4 percent. The four week moving average is down 0.8 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 2.3 percent for the Refinance Index.]The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 73.0 percent of total applications from 72.1 percent the previous week. This is the highest refinance share observed since the week ending December 10, 2010. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to five percent from 4.9 percent of total applications from the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.77 percent from 4.78 percent, with points increasing to 1.20 from 0.91 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.16 percent from 4.15 percent, with points decreasing to 0.90 from 1.01 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week.
WIRE YOUR FUNDS!
With new banking regulations and fraud procedures, “Good Funds” or “Collected Funds” may take longer to clear and become unrestricted funds. The State of Washington law regarding funds deposited into an escrow reads:
“An escrow agent shall not make disbursements until the next business day after the business day on which the funds are deposited unless the deposit is made in cash, by interbank electronic transfer, or in a form that permits conversion of the deposit to cash on the same day deposit is made.”
Escrow can only authorize recording of closing documents when all funds on deposit have been “collected” or cleared. Escrow cannot accept the following types of deposits:
- Money Orders stop payments can be placed on these after issuance.
- Cash – escrow has no way to securely handle large sums of cash
- Foreign Currency – escrow cannot be responsible for exchange rates
- ACH (Automatic Clearing House Transactions) Deposits into an escrow trust account must be associated with a specific escrow number and a specific branch’s account. ACH transfers do not make this possible.
To help avoid a delay escrow will give you instructions for making your final deposit. Most escrow companies follow guidelines similar to these:
If deposit for closing is less than $500,000.00:
Payment may be made in the form of a Cashier’s or Official Check drawn on a Washington bank.
These funds must be on deposit 24 hours before escrow can authorize recording of the documents to close your escrow. If funds are not received in this form, your closing could be delayed at least one day and as many as ten days* while the escrow company confirms that the funds are “good” or cleared. (*possibly longer on investment account checks)
If your deposit for closing is $500,000.00 or more:
Your funds MUST be deposited by wire transfer. Wired funds are not subject to the clearance procedures that can delay a closing. This form of deposit is by far the most efficient for all parties involved in the transaction. Escrow will provide you with proper wiring instructions.
The law is very clear on what the requirements are for good funds. Be reminded this also covers a deposit such as Earnest Money that may need to immediately be refunded if a transaction fails. Again, escrow must comply with the Good Funds Law.
Please talk to our escrow staff members if you have questions about deposits.
