ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. will be closed on Monday, July 5th in observance of Independence Day. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, July 6th. We look forward to serving all of your mortgage needs… enjoy the holiday weekend!

At ABBA First Mortgage we’ve been hearing a lot of mortgage bankers disparaging mortgage brokers lately.  Just yesterday I heard I heard a couple of mortgage bankers on a local radio show spouting the same old tired arguments that we’ve heard before- bankers can get it done and brokers can’t.  Bankers are more qualified than brokers.  Etc., etc., etc.

The strange thing is that this is more than just trying to sell yourself or your institution… it is simply untrue.  Mortgage brokers are without question the most educated, qualified mortgage providers in the country.  Don’t just take my word for it though.

One of our very favorite “Tweeps” had this to say on her blog:

If a non-licensed mortgage originator (registered mortgage originator/banker) tries to tell you that mortgage brokers are licensed because they are the cause of the mortgage crisis, please remind them that it was the mortgage banks that created and underwrote the mortgage programs AND it is the mortgage banks who hired their reps to call on mortgage brokers to push their programs.

If Congress truly wanted to serve the people, they would have created the same standards for all mortgage originators regardless of campaign contributions, lobbyist, the type of institution they’re employed by.  Consumers should not have to sort out the differences between a Licensed or Registered mortgage originator.  ALL MORTGAGE ORIGINATORS SHOULD BE LICENSED.

Couldn’t have said it better myself!  At ABBA First Mortgage we often jokingly say, “Why would you work for a bank?”  “Because you can’t cut it as a licensed mortgage broker.” Yes, its funny. But its also true.

Give one of our mortgage experts a call to discuss how we may be able to save you money today.

ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. will be closed on Monday, May 31st in observance of Memorial Day. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, June 1st. We look forward to serving all of your mortgage needs… enjoy the holiday weekend!

We are pleased to announce the arrival of Randy Harmon as ABBA First Mortgage, Inc.’s newest team member. Randy comes to us with an extensive background in real estate and as a result of his expertise, we are even better equipped to help you navigate the waters of purchasing a home in this difficult market. Randy brings a high level of integrity and enthusiasm to our business and we value his contributions as we continue to expand our operations to better serve you.

Feel free to contact Randy at 866-676-3349 or Randy@AbbaFirst.com.

Finally, the decision to choose a mortgage company for home financing has been made easy again- choose ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. for all your mortgage needs. Please contact us today to discuss how we can save you money on your next mortgage.

At ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. we are busy preparing for the upcoming mortgage rule changes in 2010.  Needless to say, many other mortgage professionals around the country are busy doing the same as well.  Our friend and colleague Rhonda Porter shared this poem today.  In the spirit of the season, I thought it was great and worth sharing with all of you too!

T’was the week before Christmas

When all through the lands,

LO’s and Closers were wringing their hands.

RESPA Changes are coming,

They all started to worry,

We’d better get trained, and trained in a hurry!

We all kept on hoping

There would be a delay.

But HUD said, “No Way,” it’s all here to stay.

“We love our new HUD

And our new GFE,

Don’t fret, don’t worry, it’s as simple as can be.”

We all shook our heads,

Threw our hands to the sky.

What were you smoking?  You must have been high!

You took a one page doc

And changed it to three.

Easier?  More simple?  How can that be?

The Regs don’t match up,

So now what do we do?

HUD says, “No comment, It’s all up to you.”

No info on TILA,

HMDA, REG B.

We are totally screwed, why can’t they see??

In a time when some borrowers

Think lenders are scary,

You’ve given 3 pages to make them more wary.

This doesn’t make sense,

Not one little bit.

We are all trying hard to not throw a fit.

So we all do our best

To put borrowers at ease.

But make more reform, please, please, please!

Please bring someone in

Who knows what to do.

What is best for both borrowers AND lenders too.

We are all still waiting,

Though not holding our breath

And hoping the government doesn’t “Reg” us to death.

So on this week before Christmas,

I’d like to wish you

Good luck with RESPA, I need it too!

A special thank you to Rhonda Porter at The Mortgage Porter for her permission to re-post this!  If you are on Twitter, you can follow Rhonda by clicking here.

ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thank you for the opportunity to help you obtain your mortgage financing objectives this year.  The trust that you place in us every day is not something that we take for granted!  We look forward to serving all of your mortgage needs in 2010.

- The ABBA First Mortgage Team

ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. is pleased to announce that we now offer Veterans Administration Home Loans or VA loans.

The VA loan was designed to offer long-term financing to American veterans or their surviving spouses (provided they do not remarry). The basic intention of the VA direct home loan program is to supply home financing to eligible veterans in areas where private financing is not generally available and to help veterans purchase properties with no down payment.

Some of the benefits of a VA loan include:

• 100% financing without private mortgage insurance.
• VA loans allow veterans to qualify for loans amounts larger than traditional Fannie Mae / conforming loans.
• VA will insure a mortgage where the monthly payment of the loan is up to 41% of the gross monthly income vs. 28% for a conforming loan assuming the veteran has no monthly bills.
• VA allows the seller to pay all of the veteran’s closing costs as long as the costs do not exceed 4% of the sales price of the home.
• The maximum VA loan amount with no down payment is $417,000 and can be as high as $625,500 in certain high cost areas.

We are thrilled to be able to bring our level unparalleled customer service to the brave men and women that have so selflessly served our country.  If you would like to take advantage of this program, please apply online right here on our website- be sure to complete the Full Online Application. Once we receive your application, one of our experienced loan officers will contact you to review the application and discuss the next steps.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Thank you for the opportunity to EARN your business and your trust- we do not take it for granted!

ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. will be closed on Monday, September 7th in observance of Labor Day. We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, September 8th. We look forward to serving all of your mortgage needs… enjoy the holiday weekend!

ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. will be closed on Friday, July 3rd in observance of Independence Day. We will resume normal business hours on Monday, July 6th. We look forward to serving all of your mortgage needs… enjoy the holiday weekend!

At ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. we hold the integrity of your information in the highest regard. We are keenly aware of the growing problem of Identity Theft in America and we make every effort to protect you, our most valuable asset from this ever-growing threat.

During the course of processing your application, we accumulate non-public personal information about you from the following sources: information we receive from you on applications or other forms, information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others, and information we receive from a credit reporting agency.

We restrict access to your personal and account information to those employees who need to know that information to provide products or services to you. We maintain procedural, physical, and electronic safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your non-public personal information.  We do not disclose any non-public personal information about you to anyone, except as permitted by law.

Here are some examples of the actual steps we take on your behalf…

Procedural Safeguards:
• Every new employee signs an agreement to follow our security policies;
• We check references thoroughly prior to hiring;
• We regularly remind all employees of our company’s policy and legal requirements.
• We have a policy in place to notify customers promptly if their non-public personal information is lost, stolen or damaged.

Physical Safeguards:
• All doors, windows and entries are kept locked;
• Our office is protected by a monitored alarm system;
• Central storage areas are kept locked;
• Access to central storage areas are limited and closely monitored;
• Firewall system is used;
• Fire protection is maintained;
• We dispose of all customer information in a secure manner;
• We maintain a close inventory of our computers.

Electronic Safeguards:
• We encrypt sensitive customer information when transmitting;
• We use strong passwords on all computers;
• We use updated anti-virus software;
• We maintain up-to-date firewalls.

We do not take the trust that you put in us for granted and we hope that this gives you confidence about the caliber of service that you can expect from us.  Navigating the waters of our ever changing times is no small task- but we want you to know that we are here to walk through these changes with you as trusted advisers.

Remember, “Finding the right HOME is hard enough… choosing the right LENDER doesn’t have to be.”  Choose ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. for all of your home financing needs.

ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. will be closed on Monday, May 25th in observance of Memorial Day.  We will resume normal business hours on Tuesday, May 26th.  We look forward to serving all of your mortgage needs… enjoy the holiday weekend!