Latest Blog Entries, Rancho Financial

Rancho Financial Hosts Free Seminar: �Post-Fire Primer on Rebuilding Your Home�

November 16, 2007

Rancho Financial Hosts Free Seminar: �Post-Fire Primer on Rebuilding Your Home� on November 27, 2007

The recent fires are forcing many area residents to weigh rebuilding options. Rancho Financial Mortgage Center is hosting a free seminar entitled �A Post-Fire Primer on Rebuilding Your Home, (Construction Loans 101)� on Tuesday, November 27, 2007, from 5:30 p.m. � 7 p.m. at the Bernardo Heights Country Club. Industry leader and Rancho Financial President, Craig Brown, will lead the seminar. The public is invited.

Although many people are familiar with the mortgage process, few understand or have experience with construction loans. Mr. Brown will walk attendees through the process, sharing his expertise on topics such as:

� Insurance Pay Out
� Clean Up
� Decision Point: Rebuild, Or Sell Lot and Move?
� Design and Approval Plans
� City Permits
� Construction Loan Process
� Permanent/Take-Out Loan

Rancho Financial Mortgage Center is one of Southern California�s most established and respected mortgage companies. Mr. Brown is a Founding Director of the San Diego Association of Mortgage Brokers and
California Mortgage Bankers Association, and serves on the Editorial Board of the Mortgage Originator Magazine.

Registration is available by calling Terry Wade at (858) 451-0620 or email Terry at twade@ranchofinancial.com

The Bernardo Heights Country Club is located at 16066 Bernardo Heights Parkway, San Diego 92128.

For more information, contact at

Leah Swearingen (619) 279-7552 or email leah at leah@swearingen.com.

Scariest Halloween Creatures

October 30, 2007

The list features traumatizing movie characters from childhood and those that made even the most mature adults look in their closet and check under the bed.

�I think many of us have that one terrifying movie character that we just can�t forget. Our reviewers had a great time looking back and identifying the top ten creepiest movie characters that scared the heebie-jeebies out of them,� said Stan Bassett, president of TopTenREVIEWS. �Some of the characters on this list are expected, while others may be surprising. Regardless, these are truly traumatizing characters and creepy memories left over from childhood and well into adulthood.�

TopTenREVIEWS� independent reviewers took a look at thousands of movies and put together their list of the characters that have made the biggest impact on generations of movie goers. The Top Ten Creepiest Characters of all time include:

1. Vampires: Starting with the first vampire from the 1922 silent film Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror, a character deemed so scary the movie was banned in Sweden for excessive horror, and continuing with Bela Lugosi as Dracula. Vampires are the original creepy characters.

2. The Child Catcher, �Chitty Chitty Bang Bang�: Seeing this character for the first time as an adult skews his horridness; however, see him through a child�s eyes and it opens up a world of scary possibilities. A stranger snatching children from their parents is not just a creepy character, it�s a horrifying thought.

3. Hannibal Lecter, �The Silence of the Lambs�: Just looking at this man will make your skin crawl. What makes Hannibal so creepy is he could be the guy next to you on an airplane, or in an elevator. He is intelligent, articulate and well-versed; just standing next to him, you would never know about his atrocities.

4. Freddy Kruger, �A Nightmare on Elm Street�: �1, 2, Freddy�s coming for you�� Any character that can jump into your dreams and kill you while sleeping is creepy. Enough said!

5. Norman Bates, �Psycho�: Norman is that one socially awkward person seemingly ready to snap at any moment. We all know at least one person like Norman. He is creepy, because he is real.

6. The Clown, �Poltergeist�: After watching this movie, anyone that was on the fence about clowns is now officially terrified. Whoever thought that clowns were fun and cute will most certainly change their minds and place any clown dolls under lock and key, so they cannot escape. This clown is as creepy as it gets.

7. The Wicked Witch of the West and Flying Monkeys, �The Wizard of Oz�: Do you remember your heart pounding, saying �Run Toto� as the monkeys chased him? For many children, the Wicked Witch and her flying monkeys were the first introduction to the realm of creepy characters.

8. The Shark, �Jaws�: Just admit it, the ocean has never been the same. Who can ever forget that creepy circling fin? Years later, a trip to the beach still conjures up fears of hungry sharks. It�s a movie character that has impacted many lives and recreational fun.

9. Birds, �The Birds�: An entire generation was traumatized by this film. Alfred Hitchcock was a genius at taking seemingly harmless objects, like birds, and turning them into bloodthirsty monsters. Besides, if you�ve ever walked down the boardwalk with French fries in your hand, you know how aggressive birds can really be and that�s creepy!

10. The Spiders, �Arachnophobia�: Arachnophobia created a whole new generation of spider haters. No wonder, the little terrors are tiny, stealth and the definition of creepy crawlers. A feeling of helplessness lingered when many realized that even the best exterminator could not take care of this problem.

Craig

October 18, 2007

Rancho Financial's Real Estate Predictions

April 10, 2007

"How long will the pain last?" As the key question on the minds of the 50 real estate professionals attending the Rancho Financial Educational Luncheon entitled "Tired of Hearing �The Sky is Falling�?", Peter Dennehy of Sullivan Group Real Estate Advisers almost an hour examining the fears and realities of today�s southern California real estate market.

"There�s a lot of anxiety out there, and we felt it was important to address it with solid, quality information" says Rancho Financial president Craig Brown. With California�s home sales projected to be down roughly 12% this year over 2005�s record-setting pace, the full gamut of interested parties � buyers, sellers, financiers, agents and support service providers � are all understandably concerned with where the market is going in 2007 and beyond.

Dennehy examined the marketplace from national, regional and local perspectives, speaking knowledgeably and realistically of what to expect � warts and all. His examination walked attendees through a history of the marketplace, in-depth examinations of consumer and industry sentiment; and what the future has in store for San Diego County�s housing market. A few of the presentation�s highlights included:

Ø Local consumer sentiment is 12 points higher than the country overall;

Ø Builder sentiment has risen by a full one-third from its low six months ago

Ø Local non-farm employment has grown in every quarter for the past 14 years

He also acknowledged there are problems in the market, including:

Ø Resale prices have peaked and are softening

Ø New building permits are currently at their lowest level in 10 years

Ø Sales volume this year in southern California is down about 14% over last year

"It�s not as easy as it was a few years ago" said Dennehy. With San Diego resale time on the market up from 20 days to 63 over the past three years, no one in the room was arguing the point. However, when considering the market of 1992 � when resale took 94 days, he observed it could be much worse.

One point in particular caught attendee interest, though. The last four real estate downturns ran from 17-35 months in length from the top to the bottom of the market. The current downturn has seen the market drop 40% in 19 months, suggesting the worst may be behind us.

Mr. Dennehy believes the next 18 months will bring pain, further price reductions and additional drops in land values. Yet one needs look no further than the combination of 20% population growth that�s expected in
San Diego County over the next 13 years and the region�s shrinking pool of available buildable land to
anticipate a solid rate of growth once the current blip is overcome.

"Focus on the basics, provide good service and have a solid strategic plan in place to ensure your success."
said Craig Brown as the event concluded.

Known throughout the real estate, financial services and legal communities as San Diego�s premier full-service mortgage lender, Rancho Financial has spent 24 years cultivating its reputation for finding the best loan, giving the highest quality service, and delivering more than the customer expected. They are known for handling every type of transaction � residential, commercial, land, construction, refinancing and income-producing property acquisition.

Craig Brown

President

Rancho Financial

Peter F. Dennehy

Senior Vice President

Sullivan Group Real Estate Advisors

Sub Prime Lending Meltdown

March 21, 2007

March 20, 2007

Sub-prime lending meltdown

A lot of customers have been asking how the "meltdown" in the sub-prime sector of the mortgage lending industry will impact home buyers and the industry overall.

The sub-prime sector actually makes up a very small percentage of the home lending industry. But because of the intense media coverage that is focusing on this segment, the problems experienced by a few companies are being amplified through many areas of the industry. "Meltdowns" such as those currently being experienced in the sub-prime sector often precipitate regulatory changes.

Reduced levels of sub-prime lending also means fewer people can enter the market. As a result, sellers have a harder time selling their home, or they�re required to lower their price. When prices stagnate, there are fewer home sales and home equity cash outs, and less home construction.

We can�t accurately predict the impact of the sub-prime sector problems on home loans. But one significant change could likely be lower home appraisal values. Lower appraisals could actually work to the advantage of first-time buyers. And the defaults that are occurring with sub-prime loans can also have a downward effect on home prices. If you neighbor defaults on a loan or has to sell at a fire sale price, it�s very likely to lower you property value as well.

One senior economist at the Center for American Progress believes problems in subprime lending could impact the broader economy, too, forcing mortgage lenders to tighten restrictions on a wide range of loans, including loans made to small businesses.

It may be helpful to view the situation in the sub-prime segment as a "market correction." Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Banker�s Association, says that the jump in delinquencies was expected, given the housing-market slowdown. He believes that the shakeout in subprime lending should restore equilibrium to that market shortly.

We welcome your questions and comments on the developing situation inthe sub-prime lending segment of the market.