To better serve local Mortgage Professionals, this corner of the vast lenderama empire is focused on the real estate and mortgage industry here in Colorado. If you are a locally based professional who has a tidbit of news or event you would like to share, please let me know at todd@lenderama.com

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Last Day to Register!

September Denver Luncheon

Featuring ANDREW ROMANOFF Speaker, Colorado House of Representatives

Speaker Romanoff is leading efforts to pass Referendum C&D. Supporters look to C&D as an effective means to fix the Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) while opponents view the effort as a means for larger government through increased taxation.

Join us for an informative luncheon presentation to hear from Speaker Romanoff to make up your mind about this important issue and to hear from him about his experiences as Speaker during the 2005 general session.

REGISTER TODAY!! Reservation Deadline extended to close of business August 30, 2005
Meetings & Events

Monday, August 29, 2005

Making Boulder homes affordable

From the Rocky
Rocky Mountain News
I love how writers are always talking about "risky loans". Risky to who? The lender, far more than the borrower.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

FBI eyes Longmont broker

LongmontFYI reports that the FBi is looking at a former Longmont mortgage broker accused of stealing a client’s identity.

New Colorado Tri-Party Agreement

Sent to me by CMLA
Colorado allows funding lenders, title companies and warehouse line providers to enter into a Tri-Party Agreement ("TPA") by which checks from the mortgage company can be used as "Good Funds." This funding option can provide greater flexibility when closing loans and allows consumers, real estate agents and other parties to a loan transaction to receive funds at the closing table.

Over the past eighteen months, the Colorado Division of Insurance ("DOI") has worked with the Land Title Association of Colorado ("LTAC"), the CMLA and other interested parties to amend the Tri-Party Agreement ("TPA") to better accommodate the interests of consumers, title companies, lenders and warehouse line providers.

DOI has published a new TPA as part of a 23-Page regulatory bulletin available at their web site. Lenders, title companies and warehouse line providers who have interest in the TPA should consult Pages 14 - 16 of DOI bulletin # 3-5-1 for information about the TPA and the "Good Funds" Statute.

It is also important for all lenders, title companies and warehouse line providers who utilize TPAs and checks to close loans to begin the process of converting to the newly amended TPA as soon as possible. The new form is provided on Pages 18-23 of the DOI bulletin.

Click here to download DOI Bulletin # 3-5-1 and the New Tri-Party Agreement

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Real Estate Prices, A New Record?

Denver area prices are setting yet another record. However, many Realtors question the math in this article from the Rocky
Rocky Mountain News: Real Estate
"Record prices set this month
• Average condo price: $198,614
• Single-family median price: $255,000
• Single-family median price, year to date; $245,000
Source: Gary Bauer"

Broker & Loan Officer BootCamp

WMC is having a free seminar. It's the same week as the CAMB trade show.
WMC Mortgage Corp is proud to sponsor a dynamic three-hour seminar designed to help you succeed in today's market. FREE to Loan Officers and Brokers! In three hours, learn four business strategies that will help you increase your pipeline over the next 12 months. And, to ensure your success, step- by-step guides to planning and implementation are included. Key Strategies include: -Leveraging 1031 Exchanges -Profitable Partnerships -Realtors -Title Companies -CPA's -Identifying Niche Clients And more!

Denver, CO Wednesday, September 7, 2005 Denver Marriott City Center 1701 California Street Denver, CO 80202 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
To RSVP today click here. Please include your name, company name, phone number and your location of preference. For more information, please contact WMC Marketing at (877) WMC-BC4U or go to WMCMortgage.com Sponsored by WMC, your partner in nonprime lending."

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Suspected Mortgage Loan Scam Suspect Arrested

Colorado Mortgage Broker Wins Corvette

a la mode, developer of multi- market real estate software and online services, has announced Blake Justus of Clear Creek Mortgage in Golden, Colo., as the winner of a brand new 2005 Corvette convertible. More than 5,000 mortgage brokers entered the giveaway, which was held to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the launch of Mortgage XSites.
Full Press Release

Land-Lease projects coming to Colorado

I'd like to know which lenders can actually do these deals.

"With the land-lease model, homeowners pay one monthly fee - similar in price to condominium dues or homeowner association fees in master- planned communities - to cover the land lease, property taxes, common area maintenance and landscaping fees."
DenverPost.com - Full Story

Monday, August 22, 2005

The real costs of foreclosures in Denver

Tom Locke, of the DBJ, via MSNBC, reports on a recent study from UC-Denver. It estimates that at $480,000 is spent on vacant, foreclosed properties in Denver alone.
Foreclosures costly to city, study reveals - Denver - MSNBC.com

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Broadway Mortgage Prez buys Rocky Mtn Seed CO & Building

It was just a few weeks ago, I was sitting on the patio of P.F. Changs LoDo, wondering why that seed company hadn't sold out.
"Denver investor Steve Angelo, president of Denver-based Broadway Mortgage Corp., and J. Scott Barraclough, managing director of equity trading for D.A. Davidson & Co., paid about $3 million for the real estate and the business."
Rocky Mountain News: Real Estate

Friday, August 19, 2005

Denver... better than Detroit!

Denver got hit harder than most cities in the mini recession of 2002. But the next time you neighbor bemoans the local state of affairs, remind them, "It's better than Detroit!"
"There are more than 12,000 abandoned homes in the Detroit area, a byproduct of decades of layoffs at the city's auto plants and white flight to the suburbs. And despite scores of attempts by government and civic leaders to set the city straight, the automobile capitol of the world seems trapped in a vicious cycle of urban decay."
Full Story - Yahoo! News

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

CMLA Newsletter - August 2005

Lot's of good stuff this month including an article on employment laws, and how they affect mortgage professionals.
CMLA Newsletter - August 2005

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

The lenderama Mortgage Forum is open!

With two sections, just for Colorado. See the main post:
Mortgage Blog - Industry insights from lenderama: The lenderama Mortgage Forum is open!

Capital! program to provide loans to Hispanic small businesses

Here's an interesting opportunity on the commercial front.
"'The Capital! program demonstrates U.S. Bank's strong commitment to the growth of the Hispanic business community in Denver,' Jeffrey Campos, president and CEO of the Denver Hispanic chamber said..."
Denver Business Journal

Monday, August 15, 2005

Evaluating the Self-Employed Borrower

Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association presents "Evaluating the Self-Employed Borrower" featuring Beryl Johnson of MGIC

Attend this seminar and learn how to evaluate self-employed borrowers. Program specifically covers commission/expense, sole proprietor, rentals, and K1s.

Other topics include:

* Review of the AGI method of cash flow
* Review of personal tax returns and schedules
* Information about cash flow through case studies
* Examination of the advantages and disadvantages of different business structures
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Marriott DTC • 4900 S. Syracuse Street • Denver, CO
Check-in 8:00 AM / Seminar begins: 8:30 AM / Seminar ends 11:30 AM

CMLA Meetings & Events

Credit Re-scoring

Phil Leto, a local blogger and broker, has a great post about credit re-scoring from last week.
DENVERFINANCING.INFO: Credit Re-scoring

Friday, August 12, 2005

Land Title's "Close Green'' Gives a Blue Spruce Sapling to Buyers and Sellers

Forget the environment, just the number of paper-cuts avoided is more than enough to legitimize this program.
"Environment, Recycling and Reduction in Paperwork Concerns Prompt Denver's Oldest Title Insurer to Launch First-Ever Linked Documents Online"
Full Press Release

Thursday, August 11, 2005

Colorado No. 5 in foreclosures

Put this next to our top ten finish in mortgage fraud and wonder how soon a new round of proposed regulation to our industry will be percolating the teapot.
LongmontFYI - Colorado No. 5 in foreclosures

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

The phantom casino workers case continues.

I posted on the main blog about this story when it broke last month. Look's like it's moving forward with grand jury indictments for all three of them.
"The Jefferson County district attorney's office on Tuesday announced grand jury indictments of three people - a Lakewood Realtor, a loan officer and an unlicensed salesperson "
Rocky Mountain News

Colo. spammer to pay $7 million

I don't like spam, mortgage spam most of all. Anyway, this is not mortgage related but I thought I would post it out of shear joy.
"Colorado's 'Spam King' agreed Tuesday to pay Microsoft Corp. more than $7 million to settle charges that he sent thousands of illegal e-mails to the company's Hotmail service"
DenverPost.com

Meet Speaker Romanoff at the next CMLA luncheon

This could be interesting. Persoanlly, I'd like to sneak John Caldera in to liven the dabate a bit. :-)

Speaker Romanoff is leading efforts to pass Referendum C&D. Supporters look to C&D as an effective means to fix the Colorado Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) while opponents view the effort as a means for larger government through increased taxation.

Join us for an informative luncheon presentation to hear from Speaker Romanoff to make up your mind about this important issue and to hear from him about his experiences as Speaker during the 2005 general session.

Thursday, September 1, 2005


CMLA Event Details

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Colorado one of the nation's top 10 hot spots for mortgage fraud

OK, the story is about Florida, but Colorado get an honorable mention as well!
Mortgage fraud huge in Florida, FBI report says

Monday, August 08, 2005

HousingMaps- the alternative to MLS

It's just so cool, like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! Housingmaps.com took the home listings from craigslist and combined them with Google Maps. Two great tastes that taste great together. The best part is, Metro-Denver is one of the cities included.
HousingMaps

Friday, August 05, 2005

Other Colorado blogs of note

Blogging in Denver is nothing new. There are quite a few in the Mortgage and Real Estate fields that are worth noting

DENVER FINANCING, a mortgage blog serving Denver.
Highlands Ranch Real Estate Information
Denver and the 'burbs.
Metro Denver Real Estate
Vail Valley Real Estate.

In addition, there's several of Political Blogs. To get started, check out the Rocky Mountain Alliance and for just about every thing else, you can visit the Colorado Bloggers Web Ring .

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Alpine Fax

Denver may have it's own Business Journal but the rest of the Colorado Rockies has The Alpine Fax. I'm not sure if anyone gets it by fax anymore, but Alpine Bank's daily business memo is still the premier source for what's happening on the Western Slope.
Alpine Fax

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

A House That Pays

The Denver Post has a good article on the latest emerging market for mortgage brokers.

"Reverse mortgages go through the roof as seniors cash in on financing technique that harvests home equity" DenverPost.com - Full Story

Colorado Brokers can learn more about marketing reverse mortgages though Jeffrey Moulton at Wells Fargo

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Colorado's Identity Theft Prevention Symposiums

An interesting press release. Wow, Colorado is fifth per capita in indentity theft. Yikes!

"Colorado ranks fifth in identity theft victims per 100,000 population, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Colorado state officials and law enforcement personnel are anxious to curtail this epidemic crime and so have partnered with the NNA to offer next month's Identity Theft Prevention symposiums in Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs (August 2, 3 and 4, respectively)."

PRESS RELEASE Colorado's Identity Theft Prevention Symposiums: a Significant Step to Deter and Detect Fraud

Monday, August 01, 2005

Happy Birthday Colorado! :-)

Today is my birthday. It's also Colorado's. When I was a kid, I used to think they had parades just for me! Anyway, I thought I'd take this opportunity show my thanks for living in the greatest state in the union.

Colorado.com - Home Page