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Tulsa Mortgage Lenders – Featured On Channel6New.com – 918-459-6530

February 24, 2009

At Zeshu Financial we realize that trying to find the right home loan can be difficult and that finding the right company to help you get your loan can be even more confusing. With literally thousands of lenders to choose from it can be a confusing process. However when you choose to work with ZFG Mortgage, it will not be a confusing process.

At Zeshu Financial Group our mission is to set the standard in the Tulsa mortgage industry by exceeding our customers’ expectations, one transaction at a time. At ZFG we are committed to offering phenomenal customer service to all of our customers. If you have grown frustrated with the loan-pre-approval process by the endless unreturned voicemails, the long on-hold times, and the overall lack of a “personal touch” that you have experienced thus far in the loan securing process, rest assured ZFG Mortgage is different and ZFG Mortgage is the best. Quickly connecting you to multiple sources of potential funding to help you achieve your dreams is what we do. Take advantage of our expertise in the residential lending industry by calling us now (or shortly after now), or by applying online today. You will find that the skill, professionalism, and consideration we give to each of our clients will make getting your loan a successful endeavor.

Give us a call today at 1-877-205-7266 for a free, personalized consultation. You can also apply online. It is fast, secure, and easy.

Why wait? Let us go to work for you!

Home Loans F.A.Q.s (Frequently Asked Questions)

What Documents Will I Need for My Loan Application?
When preparing a loan, the lender will ask for substantial documentation. Here’s a list of what is usually required.

Personal Information

Address and telephone numbers of each borrower
Previous address(es) over the last seven years
Social Security number(s) of inquirers
Age of inquirer(s) and dependent(s)
Name and address of landlord(s) or lender(s) for the past two years and proof of payment
Current housing expense details (rent, mortgage payments, taxes, insurance)

Employment/Income

Name and address of employer(s) for the past two years
Pay stubs for the past 30 days · W-2 forms for the past two years
A written explanation of any employment gaps
If you’re self-employed you’ll need:
Complete, signed Federal Income Tax Returns for the past two years (personal and corporate) ·
Year-to-date Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet

Other Income

If you receive Social Security, a pension, disability or VA benefits you’ll need:
A copy of your awards letter (or tax returns for the past two years)
A copy of your most recent check

Child Support

If you pay child support you’ll need:
A copy of the divorce or separation agreement
Evidence of payment for the last 6-12 months (cancelled checks of pay history from the courts)

Rental Income
If you receive rental income you’ll need:

A copy of the lease

Debt Disclosure – Credit Cards, Loans and/or Current Mortgages

Name and address of each creditor
Account number, monthly payment and outstanding balance for each
Proof of recent payment or current statement for each
Documentation of alimony or child support you are required to pay
Written explanation of any past credit problems

Loan Application for Home Purchase

A complete, signed copy of sales contract · Mailing address and property description (if it’s not in the contract)
A copy of your cancelled earnest money check Loan Application for Refinance
A copy of the deed
A copy of your hazard insurance policy
A copy of the property survey
Proof that your home has passed a termite inspection

Evidence of Funds for Downpayment

If the downpayment is a gift you’ll need a signed gift letter, the giver’s bank statement showing sufficient funds, a copy of the check and a deposit slip
If you have any recent large deposits or new accounts you’ll need to show documentation

Other

If your loan is for new construction the lender will need to see plans and specifications
If there’s a bankruptcy in your financial history you’ll need complete documentation

What should I know before buying a home?

Plan ahead. Establish good credit and save as much as you can for the down payment and closing costs and get pre-approved before you start shopping for your new home. If you do not get pre-approved you will find that most real estate agents will not be willing to help you find your new home. Not only do real estate agents prefer working with pre-qualified buyers, but you will find yourself having more negotiating power and an edge over homebuyers who are not pre-approved.
Set a budget and stick to it. Realtors get paid a % of your total sales price, and some of them will pressure to spend the full extent of your budget and if you do not know what this budget is, you will definately spend more than you should. Know what you really want in a home. How long will you live there? Is your family growing? What are the schools like? How long is your commute? Do you want to live Home Owners Association? Consider every angle before diving in.
Make a reasonable offer. To determine a fair value on the prospective home that you are looking into buying, ask your real estate agent for a “comparative market analysis” listing of all of the sales prices of other houses in the neighborhood.
Choose your loan (and your lender) carefully. For some tips, see the question in this section about comparing loans.
Consult with your lender before paying off debts. You may qualify even with your existing debt, especially if it frees up more cash for a down payment. Keep your day job. If there is a career move in your future, make the move after your loan is approved. Lenders tend to favor a stable employment history. Do not shift money around. A lender needs to verify all sources of funds. By leaving everything where it is, the process is a lot easier on everyone involved. Do not add to your debt. If you increase your debt by financing a new car, a refrigerator, a sports performance boat, a large sod purchase furniture or other large purchase, it could prevent you from qualifying.Timing is everything. If you already own a home, you may need to sell your current home to qualify for a new one. If you are renting, simply time the move until the end of the lease. Bottom line, you want to have as much “cash on hand” as possible before you apply for your new home loan.

How Much House Can I Afford?

How much house you can afford depends on how much cash you can put down and how much a creditor will lend you. There are two rules of thumb:

You can afford a home that’s up to 2 1/2 times your annual gross income.
Your monthly payments (principal and interest) should be 1/4 of your gross pay, or 1/3 of your take-home pay.

Why Should I Refinance?

If you have a low, 30-year fixed interest rate you’re in good shape. But if any of these Five Reasons applies to your situation, you may want to look into refinancing.
1. Decrease monthly payments.
If you can get a fixed rate that’s lower than the one you currently have, you can lower your monthly payments.

2. Get cash out of your equity.
If you have enough equity you can get cash out by refinancing. Just decide how much you want to take out and increase the new loan by that amount. It’s one way to release money for major expenditures like home improvements and college tuition.

3. Switch from an adjustable to a fixed rate.
If interest rates are increasing and you want the security of a fixed rate, or, if interest rates have fallen below your current rate you can refinance your adjustable loan to get the fixed rate you’re looking for.

4. Consolidate debt.
You can refinance your mortgage to pay off debt, too. Simply increase the new loan amount by the amount you need and the lender will give you that cash to pay off creditors. You’ll still owe the lender but at a much lower interest rate – and that interest is tax-deductible.

5. Pay off your mortgage sooner.
If you switch to a shorter term or a bi-weekly payment plan, you can pay off your home earlier and save in interest. And if your current interest rate is higher than the new rate, the difference in monthly payments may not be as big as you’d expect.

The downpayment and closing costs – how much cash will you need?

Generally speaking, the more money you put down, the lower your mortgage. You can put as little as 3% down, depending on the loan, but you’ll have a higher interest rate. Furthermore, anything less than 20% down will require you to pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) which protects the lender if you can’t make the payments. Also, expect to pay 3% to 6% of the loan amount in closing costs. These are fees required to close the loan including points, insurance, inspections and title fees. To save on closing costs you may ask the seller to pay some of them, in which case the lender simply adds that amount to the price of the house and you finance them with the mortgage. A lender may also ask you to have two months’ mortgage payments in savings when applying for a loan. The mortgage – how much can you borrow? A lender will look at your income and your existing debt when evaluating your loan application. They use two ratios as guidelines:

Housing expense ratio. Your monthly PITI payment (Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance) should not exceed 28% of your monthly gross income.
Debt-to-income ratio. Your long-term debt (any debt that will take over 10 months to pay off – mortgages, car loans, student loans, alimony, child support, credit cards) shouldn’t exceed 36% of your monthly gross income.

Lenders aren’t inflexible, however. These are just guidelines. If you can make a large downpayment or if you’ve been paying rent that’s close to the same amount as your proposed mortgage, the lender may bend a little. Use our calculator to see how you fit into these guidelines and to find out how much home you can afford.

Why Should I Refinance?
If you have a low, 30-year fixed interest rate you’re in good shape. But if any of these Five Reasons applies to your situation, you may want to look into refinancing.

1. Decrease monthly payments.
If you can get a fixed rate that’s lower than the one you currently have, you can lower your monthly payments.

2. Get cash out of your equity.
If you have enough equity you can get cash out by refinancing. Just decide how much you want to take out and increase the new loan by that amount. It’s one way to release money for major expenditures like home improvements and college tuition.

3. Switch from an adjustable to a fixed rate.
If interest rates are increasing and you want the security of a fixed rate, or, if interest rates have fallen below your current rate you can refinance your adjustable loan to get the fixed rate you’re looking for.

4. Consolidate debt.
You can refinance your mortgage to pay off debt, too. Simply increase the new loan amount by the amount you need and the lender will give you that cash to pay off creditors. You’ll still owe the lender but at a much lower interest rate – and that interest is tax-deductible.

5. Pay off your mortgage sooner.
If you switch to a shorter term or a bi-weekly payment plan, you can pay off your home earlier and save in interest. And if your current interest rate is higher than the new rate, the difference in monthly payments may not be as big as you’d expect.

Is refinancing worth it?

Refinancing costs money. Like buying a new home, there are points and fees to consider. Usually it takes at least three years to recoup the costs of refinancing your loan, so if you don’t plan to stay that long it isn’t worth the money. But if your interest rate is high it may be smart to refinance to a lower interest rate, even if it is for the short term. If your mortgage has a prepayment penalty, this is another cost you will incur if you refinance.

Use the reasons above as a guideline and determine whether or not refinancing is the right thing to do. You can also use our refinance analysis calculator to help you decide.

What Are the Costs of Refinancing?

Here’s what you can expect to pay when you refinance:

The 3-6 Percent Rule
Plan to pay between 3% and 6% of the amount of the new loan amount (if want cash-out, the loan amount will be larger). Yet some lenders offer no-cost refinancing in exchange for a higher rate.

Getting to the Points

Points play a big part in how much it’ll cost to refinance – the more points you pay, the lower your interest rate. Points are a good idea if you’re planning to stay in your home for a while, but if you’ll be moving soon you should try to avoid paying points altogether.

What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage?

With Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARMs) interest rates are tied directly to the economy so your monthly payment could rise or fall. Because you’re essentially sharing the market risks with the lender, you are compensated with an introductory rate that is lower than the going fixed rate.

Convertible ARMs:

Some adjustable-rate mortgages allow you to convert to a fixed rate at certain specified times. This mitigates some of the risk of fluctuating interest rates, but there will be a substantial fee to do it. And your new fixed rate may be higher than the going fixed rate.

Two-Step Mortgages:

This is an ARM that only adjusts once at five or seven years, then remains fixed for the duration of the loan. Not only will you benefit from a lower rate for the first few years, but the new fixed rate cannot increase by more than 6%. It may even be lower, depending on market conditions. Then again, you also run the risk of adjusting to a much higher rate.

Convertible Loans:

Another ARM choice, the convertible loan offers a fixed rate for the first three, five or seven years, then switches to a traditional ARM that fluctuates with the market. If you strongly believe that interest rates will fall a convertible loan might be a smart move.

Balloon Mortgages:

These short-term loans begin with low, fixed payments. Then, in five, seven or ten years a single large payment (balloon) for all remaining principal is due. While this saves money up front, coming up with a large payment at the end of the loan may be difficult. Some lenders will allow you to refinance that payment, but some won’t, so be sure you know what you’re getting into.

Graduated Payment Mortgage (GPM)

With a GPM you pay smaller payments that gradually increase and level off after about five years. Lower payments can make it possible for you to afford a bigger home, but they’ll be interest-only payments, adding nothing to the principal. This could put you in a negative amortization situation.

How often does the interest rate change?

That depends on the loan. Changes can occur every six months, annually, once every three years or whenever the mortgage dictates.

How much can my rate change?

Your ARM will stipulate a percentage cap for each adjustment period, which means your interest may not increase beyond that percentage point. If the market holds steady, there may be no increase at all. You may even see your payment decrease if interest rates fall.

How Can I save on a Fixed Rate Mortgage?
Short Term Mortgages
You don’t have to finance your home for 30 years. Granted, the payments will be lower, but you’ll be paying them longer. You could, instead, opt for a period of 20, 15 or even 10 years, pay your home off sooner and save in interest.

Furthermore, lenders offer much more attractive interest rates with short-term loans, so your payments may not be as much as you’d think.

The table below shows you the interest savings on a $100,000 loan at 8.5% interest:

Term	Monthly Payment	Total Interest Accrued
30 yr	$768.91	$176,808.95
20 yr	$867.83	$108,277.58
15 yr	$984.74	$77,253.12

By paying $215.83 more a month on a 15-year mortgage, you’d save $99,555.83 in interest over a 30-year loan – and own the house in half the time.

What is Private Mortgage Insurance?
Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI, is insurance purchased by the buyer to protect the lender in case the buyer defaults on the loan. PMI is generally applied when you put down less than 20% of the home’s purchase price. The reason is this:

With 20% down, you are considered a low risk. Even if you default the lender will probably come out ahead because they’ve only loaned 80% of the home’s value and they can probably recoup at least that amount when they sell the foreclosed property.

But with 5% or 10% down, the lender has a lot more invested in the loan and if you default, they will almost surely lose money. This is why lenders require buyers to purchase PMI if they put down less than 20%. It’s insurance that, no matter what happens, the lender will recoup its investment.

How does PMI increase your buying power?
In simplest terms, PMI allows you to put less money down, and the benefits are as follows:

If you have good credit but are short on cash for a downpayment you can put as little as 5% down.
It doesn’t take as long to accumulate a 5% or 10% downpayment so you could buy a home much sooner than you anticipated.
A smaller downpayment allows you to purchase a larger or nicer home.
For repeat buyers, a smaller downpayment on the new home can free up cash from the sale of their previous home to use for other debts or expenses.
Your interest will be higher if you put down less than 20%, but that interest is tax-deductible.

What does PMI cost?
A Good Faith Estimate will be provided to you within a few days after we received your loan application. This disclosure will provide you with an estimate of your monthly PMI premium as well as the initial premium you’ll need to pay at closing. Additionally, we will be providing you a disclosure on your rights (if applicable) to cancel the PMI.

How are the changes determined?

Every ARM loan is tied to a financial market index, such as CDs, T-Bills or LIBOR rates. Your rate is determined by adding an additional percentage (known as a margin) to that index’s rate. When the index rises or falls, your rate rises or falls with it.

What will my closing costs be?
At closing, you’ll be required to pay a number of fees such as transfer of title, origination and appraisal, attorney services, credit report, title insurance and inspections. Your lender is required to provide an estimate of these costs within a few days after your application is received, but you can always ask for an estimate sooner.

Is there a limit to how much interest I’ll be charged?

Yes. It’s called a ceiling, or lifetime cap. This is a guarantee that your interest rate will never exceed a designated percentage. For instance, if your introductory rate was 5% and you have a lifetime rate cap of 6% (meaning that your interest rate can never increase more than 6% during the life of the loan) then your ceiling would be 11%.

Negative Amortization:

Administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, these special loans make housing affordable for U.S. veterans. To qualify you must be a veteran, reservist, on active duty, or a surviving spouse of a veteran with 100% entitlement.

A VA loan is simply a fixed-rate mortgage with a very competitive interest rate. Qualified buyers can also use a VA loan to purchase a home with no money down, no cash reserves, no application fee and reduced closing costs. Some states allow a VA loan for refinancing as well.

Many lenders are approved to handle VA loans. Your VA regional office can tell you if you’re qualified.

What is a FHA Loan?
FHA loans are designed to make housing more affordable for first-time homebuyers and those with low to moderate income.

Both fixed- and adjustable-rate FHA loans are available, and in most states, an FHA loan can be used for refinancing. The difference is, they’re insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). With FHA Insurance, eligible buyers can put down as little as 3% of the FHA appraisal value or the purchase price, whichever is lower. Qualifying standards are not as strict and the rates are slightly better than with conventional loans.

Will I be charged points?
Sometimes you’ll have to pay points (one point = 1% of the loan amount) in order to get the interest rate the lender has quoted you. Before proceeding with your loan application find out if there are any points attached to your loan.

What items must be prepaid?
Some expenses, such as first year’s property taxes and insurance, must be paid at closing. Your lender will let you know what’s required.

How long will I be guaranteed the quoted interest rate?
This is called “locking in” a rate and most lenders provide this service. When you apply for your loan, the lender will lock in the agreed interest rate for an agreed period of time. But there may be a fee for this, so ask.

How long will it take to get approval?
It varies, so make sure you get an estimate of how long approval will take, especially if you have a deadline for closing on a new home.

Does the loan have a pre-payment penalty?
If you even think there’s a possibility you may pay off your loan early (this includes refinancing) find out if there’s a penalty for doing so.

Is there a call option attached?
A call option allows the lender to require you to pay off your loan balance before it’s due. You don’t want this, so make sure it’s not in the contract.

What are the benefits of an ARM?

With a lower initial interest rate (usually 2% to 3% lower than fixed-rate mortgages), qualifying is easier and the payments are more manageable at first.

You may qualify for a larger loan than you would with a fixed-rate mortgage.

If you’re only planning to stay a short time the interest rate is likely to stay lower than that of a fixed-rate mortgage.

If you expect regular pay increases that would cover the increase in your interest, or if you believe interest rates will fall, an ARM might be the wiser choice.

Listed below you will find some of the cities in Oklahoma that we currently serve. If you area is not listed below call us for more information and to see if we can meet you lending needs.

Tulsa Mortgages, Tulsa Mortgage Lenders, Tulsa Mortgage Companies

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Tulsa Mortgage Lender Announces Record Low Rates

January 9, 2009

ZFG Mortgage Tulsa

5807 S Garnett Rd Suite I
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146
Toll Free 1-877-205-7266 | Fax: 918-459-6535

Three Tips to Help You Find the Perfect Fixer Upper

Many real estate investors enjoy “flipping houses,” or buying and selling houses quickly for profit. Not all flips are fixers. However, rehabbers make millions turning ugly houses into dollhouses. On the other hand, some inexperienced investors lose money buying houses that just don’t turn a profit.

If you’re looking to get started investing in real estate by fixing and flipping houses, you’ll want to know what type of property to buy.

THREE TIPS TO HELP YOU FIND THE PERFECT FIXER

1. Know Your Market

Your first task, exploring your market, helps you know a bargain house when you spot one. Look at many houses for sale in your area. Keep track of sales and how long the houses take to sell. Ask selling real estate agents about the terms of these sales because this helps you understand how sellers market their property (some of this information is public record). For instance, if a seller paid closing costs for the buyer, did the price rise from the listed price accordingly? Or, did the seller come down on the price and also pay the buyer’s costs?

Examine the sales that sell quickly. What home features and financing options prompted the fast sale?

Also, look at model homes. Buyers often buy resale homes because they can’t wait for a new home to be finished. However, these buyers like the distinctive features new homes offer. Visit model homes and take notes on how details like a water fountain or a new state-of-the-art appliance makes a house sell itself. When you remodel your fixer, you’ll know what attracts buyers and you’ll make smart redesign choices.

2. Know When “Ugly” Means “Gold”

When you first start out in your real estate “flipping fixers” business, you’ll want to look for houses needing only cosmetic work. Look for houses that just need cleaning up, painting, and new flooring. Use your imagination when viewing these homes. Try to visualize the finished dollhouse as you look at structural features and the surrounding homes. Make offers on the ugliest houses in decent neighborhoods.

Don’t be afraid of stinky houses that show horribly. Search for fixers with peeling paint, holes in the wall, stained carpeting, and trash in the yard. Remember, these houses won’t look good to most buyers, but other real estate investors see them as gold mines.

3. Know When “Ugly” Means “No thanks”

When you’re new to real estate investing, always remember your limitations. Use caution when considering houses that need structural repairs. Some rehabbers replace walls, plumbing, structural beams, sub-flooring, and electrical systems. These experienced real estate investors acquired those skills after years of experience or they have the money to pay for professional help.

If you find a house with structural problems, get estimates from reliable contractors to do the work. If the walls have too many cracks and bumps, you may need to hang new sheet rock or hire a professional plaster refinisher. Check for signs of plumbing problems such as water stains under sinks and loose flooring, and get estimates for professional repair. Take professional estimates into account before deciding whether or not to purchase an investment property. Any big expense decreases your eventual profit.

Turn Yucks into Bucks

Why would anyone want to do this hard work? How much does the average rehabbers make? In Oklahoma, real estate investors buy houses expecting a profit of about $20,000. In Southern California, many investors make $50,000 to $100,000 on each house.

When you find a garbage-filled, flea-infested house in a family neighborhood, take your bug spray, hold your nose, and get ready to make a difference, in the neighborhood and in your bank account.

You can make a fortune fixing nasty houses. Know your market. Know when “ugly” means profit in your pocket, and when to keep looking for the house with the hidden gold mine.

Listed Below is an expert from our blog:

www.zeshutulsamortgages.wordpress.com

ZFG Financial

“Be courageous. I have seen many depressions in business. Always America has emerged from these stronger and more prosperous. Be brave as your fathers before you. Have faith! Go forward!”
Thomas A. Edison

(December 11th 2008)

At ZFG Mortgage we acknowledge that the American (and the Global) economy is currently undergoing a painful market correction, however we are optimistic about the future for Tulsa and the future of the Tulsa home market. The American economy has always had up and downs in its history, but the leaders of our country have always remained optimistic about our future because America is a land of opportunity. To help build your morale and your confidence, we have decided to post Warren Buffet’s thoughts on the American economy in his vintage “non-sugar-coated” and “tell-it-how-it-is” style.

(Fortune Magazine) — If Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting, scheduled for May 3 this year, is known as the Woodstock of Capitalism, then perhaps this is the equivalent of Bob Dylan playing a private show in his own house: Some 15 times a year Berkshire CEO Warren Buffett invites a group of business students for an intensive day of learning. The students tour one or two of the company’s businesses and then proceed to Berkshire (BRKA, Fortune 500) headquarters in downtown Omaha, where Buffett opens the floor to two hours of questions and answers. Later everyone repairs to one of his favorite restaurants, where he treats them to lunch and root beer floats. Finally, each student gets the chance to pose for a photo with Buffett.

In early April the megabillionaire hosted 150 students from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School (which Buffett attended) and offered Fortune the rare opportunity to sit in as he expounded on everything from the Bear Stearns (BSC, Fortune 500) bailout to the prognosis for the economy to whether he’d rather be CEO of GE (GE, Fortune 500) – or a paperboy. What follows are edited excerpts from his question-and-answer session with the students, his lunchtime chat with the Whartonites over chicken parmigiana at Piccolo Pete’s, and an interview with Fortune in his office.

Buffett began by welcoming the students with an array of Coca-Cola products. (“Berkshire owns a little over 8% of Coke, so we get the profit on one out of 12 cans. I don’t care whether you drink it, but just open the cans, if you will.”) He then plunged into weightier matters:

Before we start in on questions, I would like to tell you about one thing going on recently. It may have some meaning to you if you’re still being taught efficient-market theory, which was standard procedure 25 years ago. But we’ve had a recent illustration of why the theory is misguided. In the past seven or eight or nine weeks, Berkshire has built up a position in auction-rate securities [bonds whose interest rates are periodically reset at auction; for more, see box on page 74] of about $4 billion. And what we have seen there is really quite phenomenal. Every day we get bid lists. The fascinating thing is that on these bid lists, frequently the same credit will appear more than once.

Here’s one from yesterday. We bid on this particular issue – this happens to be Citizens Insurance, which is a creature of the state of Florida. It was set up to take care of hurricane insurance, and it’s backed by premium taxes, and if they have a big hurricane and the fund becomes inadequate, they raise the premium taxes. There’s nothing wrong with the credit. So we bid on three different Citizens securities that day. We got one bid at an 11.33% interest rate. One that we didn’t buy went for 9.87%, and one went for 6.0%. It’s the same bond, the same time, the same dealer. And a big issue. This is not some little anomaly, as they like to say in academic circles every time they find something that disagrees with their theory.

So wild things happen in the markets. And the markets have not gotten more rational over the years. They’ve become more followed. But when people panic, when fear takes over, or when greed takes over, people react just as irrationally as they have in the past.

Do you think the U.S. financial markets are losing their competitive edge? And what’s the right balance between confidence-inspiring standards and …

… between regulation and the Wild West? Well, I don’t think we’re losing our edge. I mean, there are costs to Sarbanes-Oxley, some of which are wasted. But they’re not huge relative to the $20 trillion in total market value. I think we’ve got fabulous capital markets in this country, and they get screwed up often enough to make them even more fabulous. I mean, you don’t want a capital market that functions perfectly if you’re in my business. People continue to do foolish things no matter what the regulation is, and they always will. There are significant limits to what regulation can accomplish. As a dramatic illustration, take two of the biggest accounting disasters in the past ten years: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. We’re talking billions and billions of dollars of misstatements at both places.

Now, these are two incredibly important institutions. I mean, they accounted for over 40% of the mortgage flow a few years back. Right now I think they’re up to 70%. They’re quasi-governmental in nature. So the government set up an organization called OFHEO. I’m not sure what all the letters stand for. [Note to Warren: They stand for Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.] But if you go to OFHEO’s website, you’ll find that its purpose was to just watch over these two companies. OFHEO had 200 employees. Their job was simply to look at two companies and say, “Are these guys behaving like they’re supposed to?” And of course what happened were two of the greatest accounting misstatements in history while these 200 people had their jobs. It’s incredible. I mean, two for two!

It’s very, very, very hard to regulate people. If I were appointed a new regulator – if you gave me 100 of the smartest people you can imagine to work for me, and every day I got the positions from the biggest institutions, all their derivative positions, all their stock positions and currency positions, I wouldn’t be able to tell you how they were doing. It’s very, very hard to regulate when you get into very complex instruments where you’ve got hundreds of counterparties. The counterparty behavior and risk was a big part of why the Treasury and the Fed felt that they had to move in over a weekend at Bear Stearns. And I think they were right to do it, incidentally. Nobody knew what would be unleashed when you had thousands of counterparties with, I read someplace, contracts with a $14 trillion notional value. Those people would have tried to unwind all those contracts if there had been a bankruptcy. What that would have done to the markets, what that would have done to other counterparties in turn – it gets very, very complicated. So regulating is an important part of the system. The efficacy of it is really tough.

At Piccolo Pete’s, where he has dined with everyone from Microsoft’s Bill Gates to the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, Buffett sat at a table with 12 Whartonites and bantered over many topics.

How do you feel about the election?

Way before they both filed, I told Hillary that I would support her if she ran, and I told Barack I would support him if he ran. So I am now a political bigamist. But I feel either would be great. And actually, I feel that if a Republican wins, John McCain would be the one I would prefer. I think we’ve got three unusually good candidates this time.

They’re all moderate in their approach.

Well, the one we don’t know for sure about is Barack. On the other hand, he has the chance to be the most transformational too.

I know you had a paper route. Was that your first job?

Well, I worked for my grandfather, which was really tough, in the [family] grocery store. But if you gave me the choice of being CEO of General Electric or IBM or General Motors, you name it, or delivering papers, I would deliver papers. I would. I enjoyed doing that. I can think about what I want to think. I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. It might be wonderful to be head of GE, and Jeff Immelt is a friend of mine. And he’s a great guy. But think of all the things he has to do whether he wants to do them or not.

How do you get your ideas?

I just read. I read all day. I mean, we put $500 million in PetroChina. All I did was read the annual report. [Editor’s note: Berkshire purchased the shares five years ago and sold them in 2007 for $4 billion.]

What advice would you give to someone who is not a professional investor? Where should they put their money?

Well, if they’re not going to be an active investor – and very few should try to do that – then they should just stay with index funds. Any low-cost index fund. And they should buy it over time. They’re not going to be able to pick the right price and the right time. What they want to do is avoid the wrong price and wrong stock. You just make sure you own a piece of American business, and you don’t buy all at one time.

When Buffett said he was ready to pose for photographs, all 150 students stampeded out of the room within seconds and formed a massive line. For the next half hour, each one took his or her turn with Buffett, often in hammy poses (wrestling for his wallet was a favorite). Then, as he started to leave, a 77-year-old’s version of A Hard Day’s Night ensued, with a pack of 30 students trailing him to his gold Cadillac. Once free, he drove this Fortune writer back to his office and continued fielding questions.

How does the current turmoil stack up against past crises?

Well, that’s hard to say. Every one has so many variables in it. But there’s no question that this time there’s extreme leveraging and in some cases the extreme prices of residential housing or buyouts. You’ve got $20 trillion of residential real estate and you’ve got $11 trillion of mortgages, and a lot of that does not have a problem, but a lot of it does. In 2006 you had $330 billion of cash taken out in mortgage refinancings in the United States. That’s a hell of a lot – I mean, we talk about having $150 billion of stimulus now, but that was $330 billion of stimulus. And that’s just from prime mortgages. That’s not from subprime mortgages. So leveraging up was one hell of a stimulus for the economy.

If that was one hell of a stimulus, do you think the $150 billion government stimulus plan will make an impact?

Well, it’s $150 billion more than we’d have otherwise. But it’s not like we haven’t had stimulus. And then the simultaneous, more or less, LBO boom, which was called private equity this time. The abuses keep coming back – and the terms got terrible and all that. You’ve got a banking system that’s hung up with lots of that. You’ve got a mortgage industry that’s deleveraging, and it’s going to be painful.

The scenario you’re describing suggests we’re a long way from turning a corner.

I think so. I mean, it seems everybody says it’ll be short and shallow, but it looks like it’s just the opposite. You know, deleveraging by its nature takes a lot of time, a lot of pain. And the consequences kind of roll through in different ways. Now, I don’t invest a dime based on macro forecasts, so I don’t think people should sell stocks because of that. I also don’t think they should buy stocks because of that.

Your OFHEO example implies you’re not too optimistic about regulation.

Finance has gotten so complex, with so much interdependency. I argued with Alan Greenspan some about this at [Washington Post chairman] Don Graham’s dinner. He would say that you’ve spread risk throughout the world by all these instruments, and now you didn’t have it all concentrated in your banks. But what you’ve done is you’ve interconnected the solvency of institutions to a degree that probably nobody anticipated. And it’s very hard to evaluate. If Bear Stearns had not had a derivatives book, my guess is the Fed wouldn’t have had to do what it did.

Do you find it striking that banks keep looking into their investments and not knowing what they have?

I read a few prospectuses for residential-mortgage-backed securities – mortgages, thousands of mortgages backing them, and then those all tranched into maybe 30 slices. You create a CDO by taking one of the lower tranches of that one and 50 others like it. Now if you’re going to understand that CDO, you’ve got 50-times-300 pages to read, it’s 15,000. If you take one of the lower tranches of the CDO and take 50 of those and create a CDO squared, you’re now up to 750,000 pages to read to understand one security. I mean, it can’t be done. When you start buying tranches of other instruments, nobody knows what the hell they’re doing. It’s ridiculous. And of course, you took a lower tranche of a mortgage-backed security and did 100 of those and thought you were diversifying risk. Hell, they’re all subject to the same thing. I mean, it may be a little different whether they’re in California or Nebraska, but the idea that this is uncorrelated risk and therefore you can take the CDO and call the top 50% of it super-senior – it isn’t super-senior or anything. It’s a bunch of juniors all put together. And the juniors all correlate.

If big financial institutions don’t seem to know what’s in their portfolios, how will investors ever know when it’s safe?

They can’t, they can’t. They’ve got to, in effect, try to read the DNA of the people running the companies. But I say that in any large financial organization, the CEO has to be the chief risk officer. I’m the chief risk officer at Berkshire. I think I know my limits in terms of how much I can sort of process. And the worst thing you can have is models and spreadsheets. I mean, at Salomon, they had all these models, and you know, they fell apart.

What should we say to investors now?

The answer is you don’t want investors to think that what they read today is important in terms of their investment strategy. Their investment strategy should factor in that (a) if you knew what was going to happen in the economy, you still wouldn’t necessarily know what was going to happen in the stock market. And (b) they can’t pick stocks that are better than average. Stocks are a good thing to own over time. There’s only two things you can do wrong: You can buy the wrong ones, and you can buy or sell them at the wrong time. And the truth is you never need to sell them, basically. But they could buy a cross section of American industry, and if a cross section of American industry doesn’t work, certainly trying to pick the little beauties here and there isn’t going to work either. Then they just have to worry about getting greedy. You know, I always say you should get greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy. But that’s too much to expect. Of course, you shouldn’t get greedy when others get greedy and fearful when others get fearful. At a minimum, try to stay away from that.

By your rule, now seems like a good time to be greedy. People are pretty fearful.

You’re right. They are going in that direction. That’s why stocks are cheaper. Stocks are a better buy today than they were a year ago. Or three years ago.

But you’re still bullish about the U.S. for the long term?

The American economy is going to do fine. But it won’t do fine every year and every week and every month. I mean, if you don’t believe that, forget about buying stocks anyway. But it stands to reason. I mean, we get more productive every year, you know. It’s a positive-sum game, long term. And the only way an investor can get killed is by high fees or by trying to outsmart the market.

ZFG Mortgage: “If You Need A Home Loan or Mortgage, You Need ZFG Mortgage.”

5807 S Garnett Rd Suite I
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146
Toll Free 1-877-205-7266 | Fax: 918-459-6535

**Note**

At ZFG Mortgage we have been and will always be here to serve qualified Tulsa residents who are sincerely interested in purchasing a new tulsa home, buying an existing tulsa home or expanding their Tulsa-based business with a Tulsa business loan. Call us today and we will work tirelessly to help you turn your dreams into a reality by getting you access to the funds you need.

Refinance Your Today Mortgage Today!

December 21, 2008

ZFG Mortgage: Toll Free 1-877-205-7266
5807 S Garnett Rd Suite I
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146

Simply put, there has never been a better time to refinance your existing mortgage. Call us today to see if refinancing your mortgage is right for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y7V5trYmik

Additional Information: How lenders set rates.

Generally speaking, the most commonly asked question in the mortgage industry is this, �How do lenders set mortgage rates?� And the answer is simple, �Lenders do no set mortgage rates?�

Well, if lenders don�t set the rates, who does?

And here is how it works my friends. Your mortgage lender will determine whether they will approve you or not for a loan and on what terms your loan will be approved (based on your credit score, reputation etc�), however the actual mortgage rates and interest rates are determined based on a variety of market factors on the secondary market (and fun place where mortgages are bought and sold).

As disturbing as this may sound, the Federal government setup 2 incredibly infamous organizations (as of 2008) known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (I don�t know why they didn�t name on them Bernie Mac). Fannie and Freddie were created many moons (decades) ago to help really stimulate the lending process through increased government efficiency (which is a contradiction in terms). Fannie and Freddie and a few other major Wall Street Mortgage Investment companies would then actually go around buying up the loans that your lender has made to people like you and me. These mortgages and loans were then bundled together into this exciting things called �tranches.� These tranches were then either held as part of an investment portfolio orthey were sold to Wall Street, mutual funds, and other financial investment organizations where they were then traded just like Treasury bonds and securities.

Are you following me here?

Government set up Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to increase the efficiency of the private mortgage industry (government and efficiency just don�t mix well together)
Freddie and Fannie then bought these mortgages, bundled them together and sold them to Wall Street where they were bought up my mutual funds and various other investment groups. Thus when foreclosures began happening, Mutual Funds nose-dived. When scared investors began pulling their cash out of the Mutual Funds the other companies� stock held by these Mutual Funds nose-dived as well resulting in �real� people get layed off from �real� jobs as their companies became cash strapped without their investor�s capital.

Back to the story�

Zeshu Financial Group
5807 S Garnett Rd Suite I
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146
Toll Free 1-877-205-7266 | Fax: 918-459-6535

Thus my reader friends, interest rates go up and down based on those exciting fluctuations of the secondary market, not based on the lender�s emotions or feelings on any given particular day. Essentially when the economy is going down (and is tanking like a �Sherman�) rates will drop to get people like you and me motivated to refinance our homes, and to buy things with this �cheap money.� When the economy is bullish (and is moving upward like Lebron James jumping up for a monster dunk) the investors and various other humans who stand to benefit from this bullish economy will raise their rates to maximize their investor�s profitability during an economic upswing.

Basically patterns for interest rates almost always follow the economic cycles that we have all grown accustomed to. When the market doing well, rates go up. When the market is doing poorly rates go down. Thus, the best time to get the best rate is when the market is down (which just happens to coincide with the best time to buy the most property for the least amount of money).

Written by Clay Clark

SBA Entrepreneur of the Year and Founder of DJ Connection

ZFG Mortgage: 5807 S Garnett Rd Suite I
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146
Toll Free 1-877-205-7266 | Fax: 918-459-6535

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There Has Never Been A Time To Refinance Your Mortgage

December 21, 2008

Zeshu Financial Group
5807 S Garnett Rd Suite I
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146
Toll Free 1-877-205-7266 | Fax: 918-459-6535

Dec. 21st 2008

Attention Tulsa Home Owners:

The Federal Reserve has once again cut the target interest rate as of this Tuesday. However, this time the target is the lowest that we have ever seen (or will ever see). The Federal Reserve’s new rate is between zero and a quarter of a percentage point. What does this mean to you? This means, that if there ever was a good time to lower your interest rate, THE TIME TO REFINANCE IS NOW.

After taking nearly 2 full days to discuss the potential rate cut with various federal officials, the fed reserve has decided that the time to cut the rate is now as the Fed desperately tries to use every weapon in its financial arsenal to pull the American economy out of temporary recession.

In other news…famous Omaha-based investment mogul Warren Buffet keeps right on buying undervalued stocks. Given that he lives by the phrase, “Be greedy when the market is fearful. Be fearful when the market is greedy” it appears that we are nearing the bottom of this financial cycle.

For more information on refinancing your Tulsa mortgage give ZFG Mortgage a call today at 1-877-205-7266