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Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

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Re: Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

#81
post #35
post #2

We looked at financing through some of those new 'hip' lenders. My wife works for Google and SoFi had some of the highest rates (even with 'Google discount' and 10/20% down). They may get your pre-approval within a day, but in reality most lenders get that done quickly. In the end, they have to play the game everyone else is playing and it means long turnaround times to actually close. This is the part that is fundam…

Yes. Completely irrational. I can secure $60k+ in a matter of hours to purchase a new Tesla or Merc. Drive it off the lot and suddenly worth less than the loan. Real Estate, however, can take 45 days to close a loan when the projected value of the asset is surely positive. Antiquated and balkanized title process and (I suspect) unhealthy regulatory requirements are a bog. From there, I think it is simply inefficienci…

FWIW, the lender seems to take urgency into account as well. And it's important to have a loan agent who's will to go the extra mile.

We made an offer on $2.2M house last year in July, and needed a $1.3M mortgage and $500k HELOC (so $400k down.)

We had a fantastic agent at Wells Fargo who promised he could pull it off in 15 days, at which point we'd leave on a 3 week vacation out of country.

We signed 13 days later. The guy would call us at 10pm asking for more documentation when more information was needed.

However, we had to send a copy of our plane tickets to prove to approvers further down the pipeline that there was a justifiable need for urgency.

Re: Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

#82
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You aren't writing checks. Send a Congressman $1000 (that's really all it takes to get their attention) and you'll be amazed how responsive they will come. Senators are a little more expensive, but still reasonably priced at $2-5k. Presidential candidates are in the low five digits.

> You aren't writing checks. Send a Congressman $1000 (that's really all it takes to get their attention) and you'll be amazed how responsive they will come. Senators are a little more expensive, but still reasonably priced at $2-5k. Presidential candidates are in the low five digits. Except for the first, all of those numbers are (or state a range that includes) amounts that exceed the limit for a single donors camp…

You give the legal limit to the candidate directly, and the rest goes to their super-PAC.

Re: Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

#85

I'm confused. The title says "Silicon Valley Elites" but the article says "tech workers", then goes on to list Mark Zuckerberg and some Apple guy who's salary is apparently 50%(!) stock, as examples. So who are these banks "courting" again? Elites or tech workers? Or just these two guys? It's hard to tell. Interesting news would be "Banks giving kickbacks to CEOs and VCs who throw them corporate business." This artic…

> some Apple guy who's salary is apparently 50%(!) stock, as examples

I don't see the surprise there. I'd wager most senior Google employees have around 50% comp in stock.

Re: Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

#86
post #56

I'm confused. The title says "Silicon Valley Elites" but the article says "tech workers", then goes on to list Mark Zuckerberg and some Apple guy who's salary is apparently 50%(!) stock, as examples. So who are these banks "courting" again? Elites or tech workers? Or just these two guys? It's hard to tell. Interesting news would be "Banks giving kickbacks to CEOs and VCs who throw them corporate business." This artic…

I find it hilarious that the answer to this isn't obvious. This is 2016. Tech workers are the American elites. Did you think elites were still guys with a monacle sitting in a drawing room that overlooks a coal mine or something?

I think people have a weird distorted view of what a "tech worker" is then. Like watching medical dramas and thinking that's what being a doctor is like.

I'm a tech worker, and I can assure you I'm not an "American elite". I don't get white glove treatment at the bank, have a butler, chauffeur, or financial advisor. I schlep it 2 hours to work each morning and 2 hours back, and if I lose my job, I'm N paychecks away from ruin like everyone else. My "N" may be 5 where others may be 2, but most of us are in the same boat. Does that really sound elite to you?

Re: Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

#87

I'm confused. The title says "Silicon Valley Elites" but the article says "tech workers", then goes on to list Mark Zuckerberg and some Apple guy who's salary is apparently 50%(!) stock, as examples. So who are these banks "courting" again? Elites or tech workers? Or just these two guys? It's hard to tell. Interesting news would be "Banks giving kickbacks to CEOs and VCs who throw them corporate business." This artic…

Ok, we changed the title above to say "some tech workers", which seems accurate enough.

Re: Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

#88
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it hilarious that the answer to this isn't obvious. This is 2016. Tech workers are the American elites. Did you think elites were still guys with a monacle sitting in a drawing room that overlooks a coal mine or something?

I think people have a weird distorted view of what a "tech worker" is then. Like watching medical dramas and thinking that's what being a doctor is like. I'm a tech worker, and I can assure you I'm not an "American elite". I don't get white glove treatment at the bank, have a butler, chauffeur, or financial advisor. I schlep it 2 hours to work each morning and 2 hours back, and if I lose my job, I'm N paychecks away…

I highly recommend soliciting the services of a fee only financial advisor. Or just read the book "Personal Finance for Dummies" cover to cover.

Re: Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Restricted shares may not be used to back a loan. They can only be used as a measurement of future income. edit: actually its complicated

> Restricted shares may not be used to back a loan This is not true. All manner of restricted stock units (granted to insiders) and unregistered stock (not publicly traded) can be used as collateral for loans (though some issuers make you sign documents promising not to do so). I have been asked to appraise private stock for lenders and render an opinion around its volatility and liquidity.

> I have been asked to appraise private stock for lenders and render an opinion around its volatility and liquidity.

That must be a ton of fun. How do they incentivize you and your operation to be conservative? Because they presumably only make money if you hit the number, which was the big problem with home appraisers in the housing bubble.

They only way I can think of to cause correct behavior would be to ensure that your operation maintains an interest in the loan after the deal is done.

Re: Some Silicon Valley Tech Workers Get Home Loans with No Money Down

#90
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He doesn't need a mortgage, it's just financially savvy to have one. He avoids paying taxes on the sale of stocks to finance the home. Mortgage interest is tax deductible. His stocks will almost certainly yield more than the interest rate on the mortgage. He's getting a sweetheart deal from the bank. For him, selling stock is a PITA because he has special class of stock that grant him voting rights far beyond what a…

With the net worth equal to the GDP of a sizable country, does he need to worry about saving a few thousand here or there? Also, free country and all, taking advantage of that special rate is still rather unsettling.

It's all about the special stock since he does not want to part with it. That is how he maintains control of Facebook.
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