From the category archives:

Random

Why Are Mortgage Documentation Standards So Strict?

by Alex Stenback 12.09.2011

A favorite question from many clients these days goes something like this: “Help me understand why we need to document every deposit on our bank statements – I mean, we have the money, clearly.  What gives?  Are we being singled out for special treatment here?” I find a speed limit analogy helps. Today, it is [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Does this count as a Testimonial?

by Alex Stenback 09.16.2011
Thumbnail image for Does this count as a Testimonial?

Been a busy week with little posting.  Mortgage rates are still most excellent, so you should really call someone about that. In other news: I returned to my office to find this waiting for me. Best “Thank You” note (from a client who recently purchased a new home) ever.

0 comments Read the full article →

Found on Craig: Fixture or Not?

by Alex Stenback 05.25.2010

HT to Pioneer Press reporter Chris Snowbeck on this one: Standard mortgage language dictates that fixtures and appurtenances shall not be removed by the homeowner. But as you can see from this post, there’s a lot of gray area, and based on the posts we’ve seen offering antique doors, windows, fireplace mantels etc. these rules [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

Reason #8 Shanghai Real Estate is the Most Obvious Bubble Ever

by Alex Stenback 01.19.2010

Whether you are still smarting from the after-effects of the middle 2000′s real estate binge or you saw The Bubble coming from a mile away but did not get your once-in-a-lifetime billion-dollar short-bet down in time, take heart. There is still Shanghai.  Which has such an obviously nutty real estate bubble going that people are literally burning themselves (!!) (!!!!) [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Housekeeping: Excuse the Dust

by Alex Stenback 03.16.2009

Apologies in advance for any whacked out formatting, appearance, etc. over the next few days.  Just a little tidying up is all.

0 comments Read the full article →

SNL Clip on Treasury Secretary Geithner

by Alex Stenback 03.09.2009

p> When Saturday night live is reaching into the cabinet to ridicule the Treasury Secretary, you know there is a financial crisis. I am especially fond of the part where he falls for a Nigerian 419 scam. That was awfully good.

0 comments Read the full article →

Great Moments In Journalism: Windows Are Exploited

by Alex Stenback 03.03.2009

Behold the splendor of the following hit-piece on the (apparently) growing blight that is the Fake Window.  From the Downtown Journal: CVS [Pharmacy]…is taking the anti-pedestrian environment to an extreme….the window has been exploited in its crudest and emptiest form — as an image, not as an experience. It is window as wall, not window as [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Minneapolis Home & Garden Show: Cheap Tix via Behind The Mortgage

by Alex Stenback 03.02.2009

As a gesture of reader appreciation, Behind the Mortgage is offering discounted tickets to The Minneapolis Home and Garden Show. The Minneapolis home and garden show starts this week, and runs March 4th – 8th at the Minneapolis convention center. Adult tickets are $12.00 at the door, $9.00 if you buy online, and $7.00 if [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Schrödingers Bank: It is Either Alive or Dead

by Alex Stenback 02.27.2009

0 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries