seattle

This is a very interesting loan product from BECU and has the potential of being one of the best 1st time mortgages for buyers that qualify.

It is called the "Helper" (HLPR) loan. Basically, it's aimed at 1st time buyers buying their first home, but it should also be useful for people who have already sold their homes and are looking for another.

There are income restrictions, credit restrictions and other guidelines, but this particular HLPR product (there are several others, see BECU's site) purports to have an ARM rate that is about 1% lower than the "going" rate. Based on my experience, their fees are also lower than most of the major banks.

This type of loan is great for someone that is looking at short-term ownership of a property. I spoke with several industry pros and they all believe that BECU is probably not making any money - perhaps even losing money - on this loan, but may be using it to bring borrowers into other BECU products that may be profitable.

BECU has had a reputation of being difficult to work with in the past and very slow to respond. It seems that now, though, they've cleaned up their act. They've got 24-hour mortgage reps and a lot of the process has been stream-lined and placed online. This loan is not for everyone, though, and it may not apply to every purchase. In particular, borrowers may have difficulty obtaining loans on new or conversion condos that are not FNMA approved. I spoke with several BECU reps and their answers were all over the board about this.

More info on the site.

this is a nice list - love the shout out to Spokane's two fantastic parks.

Quoted: CityDog Magazine Top 10 Urban Hikes

My latest blog post... It's kinda making wish I was going to be in Seattle just a little longer!

Quoted: Ah, your first holiday in Seattle.  Sure, it might be more of a grey Christmas than a white one (er, except for  last year ), but there are plenty of events around town to make you feel like you're in a winter wonderland …

Just catching up on the news that Maurice Clemmons was shot on Dec 1st.  Was Maurice setting a trap to kill the first responder to a reported stolen vehicle.  That seems plausible, but why then did he approach the police car with his gun in his pants, instead of drawn and ready to fire?

I can't imagine the stress placed on Officer Benjamin Kelly in making the identification and decision to shoot Clemmons in just a matter of seconds.

Quoted: Maurice Clemmons body was probably still warm when I started getting text messages and e-mails from my friends in the Seattle/Tacoma area early Monday morning. The manhunt was over. The mainstream

Very nice article about my AIDS Day experiment yesterday (raising $9,305 to fight AIDS).

Quoted: News, profiles and commentary on Seattle technology startups, Microsoft, Amazon.com, gadgets, PCs, software, venture capital and Internet services.

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This is what 520 will look like when the new floating bridge project is completed.

Quoted: This simulation shows the planned improvements of the SR 520 Eastside Transit and HOV Project. The Eastside project will rebuild the corridor from Evergreen...

The end of my "Four Fun Things" series!

Quoted: Let's make our way downtown – a part of the city we Seattleites sometimes forget to appreciate. But every once in a while, it’s nice to feel the bustle of a crowd … and of course, you can’t let your visitors leave Seattle without hitting up these four spots:

trying this out

Quoted: 12 Reviews of Huiyona "The Second Visit: I had such a great experience the first time that I thought I'd take some friends for a second round of goodness. Not to disappoint, Huiyona pulled out all the stops for a fantastic meal. The…

on the mayoral race in Seattle... this is truly the game changer:

Broadhead (winning candidate consultant): And this campaign was an eye-opener for me. If you gave me the choice, next cycle, of having the vote of the immigrant and refugee community in Seattle … and having, basically, the downtown checkbook, that would be a no-brainer for me. The immigrant and refugee committee … delivered votes for us.