From: A First-time Homebuyer

If you have ever dreamt of home ownership, but were afraid you were unable to afford it, then you need to talk to the wonderful team of Barbara Van Duyn, Mortgage Planning Advisor from First Priority Financial and Debbie Baldes, Real Estate Broker from Executive Properties. I met Barbara in late September, 2008 and I told her I really wanted to know if I could afford to buy a home and the price range I wanted for a mortgage payment. She took all the paperwork needed to begin qualifying me for a loan, ran my credit, gave me advice on how to clear up any questions regarding my credit, gave me three possible scenario’s of what my payments would look like if the house was purchased at the prices listed. Once Barbara got me pre-approved with a lender (October, 2008), she referred me to Debbie Baldes and told me to go shopping!!

What can I say about Debbie? Well, first of all, we share the same name with a slightly different spelling, but our nicknames are the same (Deb). I met her and she showed me two homes the first time we met. The following week she was on vacation, but when she came back, we hit the ground running. She showed me three or four homes with sheets on all the amenities each home offered. We put in three bids on homes one day, but a few of them were short sales so we knew we would have to wait on the bank before we could proceed. Then the day before Halloween we went out and looked at about five homes. We put bids on three of them and one of them was my home!! I went out of town that weekend with my girls and we prayed that one of those homes would be mine. Before I knew it, I was signing all kinds of paperwork to purchase my very first home!!! Then on November 25, 2008, I became a first-time homebuyer! My dream had come true and the best part of all was that the house was bigger than I originally thought and it was appraised at a higher price than I paid for it before I ever walked in the door!! Debbie was the best Broker anyone could ever hope for. She worked hard for me to get the home I wanted. Then when I got the keys and walked in the door of my new home, there was a large basket on my kitchen counter full of things for my new house like paper towels, nails, tacks, tape measure, etc. It was so special and it was from Debbie and Barbara. Once you meet Debbie, you’ll find out that she loves houses with “red” doors. Well my house has a white door, but I love it just the same! Maybe one day I’ll paint it red, but I’ll have to paint the whole house to compliment the red door!

I had my housewarming on January 24th and the dynamic duo both came and shared this wonderful day with me. They did everything to make sure the day was super special for me. I couldn’t ask for more! They put “excellence” in customer service. So if you’re in the market for a new home, take my advice, don’t think twice, just pick up the phone and call the best group in Sacramento County, first Barbara Van Duyn and then Debbie Baldes. It will be the best step you ever made towards purchasing the home of your dreams!!


Deborah R, Sacramento First-time Homebuyer

It's Ridiculous and Getting Worse

In order to provide relevant and trustworthy advice to those who ask for it, I set aside time each day to study the latest bulletin from financial institutions outlining a new credit requirement, notice of another loan program ending or the slow drip of details coming from the government’s latest rescue plan. I’ve come to learn it doesn’t matter how long someone has been in my profession because the experience from years past no longer apply to today’s rules. Even with time devoted to staying current, the endless stream of changes involved in financing real estate has reach the point of ridiculous!

The biggest offender is the government whose hands are in everything we touch (because it’s for our own good). Here’s an example. Effective January 1, 2009 we began the implementation of lower conforming loan limits in high cost areas throughout the country. Then a month later with the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, we heard those limits will revert back to 2008’s higher levels. Mortgage banks can’t move that quickly so we are still waiting for official word when these changes will show up on our rate sheets. We had another example of back and forth last summer when FHA announced risk based pricing rules for about six weeks and then did away with them when another stimulus plan became law.
The bottom line … no one knows it all but some of us are trying our best to keep you informed.