april 2014 page 1

solomon’s porch in wenatcheeBy Stephanie Matthews, Wenatchee Office

SOLOMON’S PORCH (SP FOR SHORT) is a non-profit homeless shelter for youths 13 through 18 years of age. SP is open in the afternoon and evening, offering meals and shelter to kids living on the streets or who need a place to land for an evening. They usually have volunteers available to help with homework, counseling services and other needs the kids might have. I believe they are the only center available for youth in Chelan and Douglas County. The MAG Wenatchee office has been cooking dinner for the kids about once a month.

It is shocking to find out how many homeless kids there are living in our community. Typically, they feed from 12 to 25 kids in the evening. The goal is to have the kids eating dinner by 6 p.m. I always find it interesting to spend time chatting with the youth. Some of them are so hungry for attention. At Christmas this year, Tanya Waterman’s mom made beautiful, decorated cut-out Christmas cookies to hand out. One young man came up to me and asked, “Are these homemade cookies?” I smiled and said they certainly were, and he looked me in the eye and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever had a homemade cookie before.” It broke my heart—but made me feel so good we had given him that simple gift.

Lots of the kids come from homes that are simply not a safe place for them to be. Whether it be violence, drug abuse or lack of heating/water. Solomon’s Porch is a safe haven for them. SP learned of a young man who was living under the football bleachers at the local high school. He was trying to stay in school and not let anyone know that he didn’t have a family to care for him. He found an electrical outlet that worked under the bleachers, and was sleeping there at night with an electric blanket. SP found a local family who let him live in their camp trailer beside their home for the winter. It’s sometimes a tough line to figure out how to help without injuring someone’s dignity.

We enjoy planning the meal and cooking together, and have the dishwashing down to an art! We always leave feeling like we have had a great time of fellowship together, and made a difference in someone’s day.

employee newsletter | April 2014

Intuvo Tip ........................................... 2

Critical Dates .................................... 2

Birthdays and Holidays ................. 2

Encompass Tip ................................. 3

Products MAGnified ....................... 3

Anniversaries .................................... 4

Kudos ................................................... 4

Employee Submissions .................. 5

Help for Oso Victims ...................... 5

Keep or Shred? ................................. 5

To Your Health .................................. 6

Green Tips ......................................... 6

What’s in Season? ........................... 6

inside this issue

Tip offered by our Wenatchee Team: We encourage people to carry in their car “Bags of Grace.” It’s a paper sack filled with things like a bar of soap, wash cloth, clean socks, a protein bar, some crackers, a comb, a bottle of water, hand warmers, etc., and always include a blank card and stamped envelope in case some-one wants to get a note to a family member or friend. This bag can be given to a homeless per-son easily, even out a car window. It just takes a few seconds to lend a helping hand and make a difference in someone’s life.

april 2014 page 2

Janie Shrader ......................... 3rd Michael Maher .................... 18th

Rebecca Wisner ................. 19th Chris Wortham ................... 20th

Stephanie Matthews ....... 22nd

David Lee ............................. 22nd

Erik Noet .............................. 22nd Traci Dry ................................ 23rd

Tracy Joy ............................... 23rd

Shannon Cordova .............. 25th Jason Austin ........................ 26th

Bonnie Brown ..................... 27th

May 26th ................ Memorial Day

July 4th ........ Independence Day

Sept. 1st .........................Labor Day

Nov. 27th ........Thanksgiving Day

Nov. 28th .................Thanksgiving

Friday

Dec. 25th ..............Christmas Day

April 1st–30th: Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, Mount Vernon, tulipfestival.org

April 25-27th: Cherry Blossom Festival, seattlecenter.com

April 5th: Daffodil Festival Parades, Greater Tacoma Area, daffodilfestival.net

critical dates for funding

may birthdays

2014 holidays

local events

intuvo tip

• All docs back 48 hours before funding

• All docs back no later than April 24 at 10:30am in order to meet funding for month-end

linked related party slidersRELEASED IN HOMEBASE VERSION 3.8. Linked related party sliders are an enhancement to linked loan parties, providing the ability to easily view the loans they are linked with while reviewing their record from the contact manager.

The parties that are connected with this loan transaction are visible from your contact manager loan information screen.

GO TO THE LINKED PARTY: Selecting the small arrows under the linked contact’s name will provide their quick information for contact. To see more, click on the green icon to jump to the contact’s record.

REVIEWING THE RELATED PARTYS’ OVERALL RELATIONSHIP: From the contact manager, review the linked record’s individual record. Pay particular attention to the relationship tree on the right hand side. At the bottom of this relationship tree, you will find the sliders that represent transactions that this contact is linked to.

OPEN THE SLIDERS: Clicking on a slider will expand it to show an overview of the linked transactions. These transactions can be further sorted by month, year and loan status.

april 2014 page 3

products magnified

encompass tip

did you know?

creating custom viewsWHEN VIEWING LOANS ON THE PIPELINE TAB, documents and conditions in the eFolder, contacts on the Contacts tab, or trades and contracts on the Trades tab, you can control the information that is displayed and how it is displayed. You can then save the configura-tion as a new view and apply the criteria to the data at any time.

CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS Add or Remove columns

• Right-click a column header, and then click Customize Columns.

• To remove a column, clear the corresponding check box.

• To add a column, select the cor-responding check box. Click OK.

Change the column order

• Click and then drag a column to the desired location.

OR

• Right-click a column header, and then click Customize Columns.

• On the Customize Columns window, select a column name in the list.

• Click the up arrow or down arrow in the upper-right corner to move the column up or down in the list. The column at the top of the list displays on the far left of the table. The remain-ing columns display from left to right according to their list order. Click OK.

SAVE THE VIEW After changing the columns, sorting the data, applying search criteria, or selecting All Loans or My Loans (where applicable), you can save the new configuration as a new custom view. Once you save a view, you can select it at any time to apply the criteria to your loan, documents, conditions, or contact data.

• Once you have set up the data to your specifications, click the Save icon.

• Select Save as. Note: The Update the Current View option is available only for custom views. You cannot save or update a standard view.

• Type the name of the view.

• Clear the Set as My Default View check box if you don’t want this view to be the default view that displays when you log in to Encompass360 and view the tab.

• Click Save. Note: You will not be prompted to save your changes when you log out. If you log out without saving your changes, your data will return to its previous configuration when you log back in.

FHA REVISED MANUAL UNDERWRITING REQUIREMENTS

Effective for Case Numbers assigned on or after April 21, 2014 HUD’s Mortgagee Letter 2014-02, Revised Manual Underwriting Requirements, will be in effect. Have you read the new guidelines?

Manually Underwritten Loans Are:

• Loans receiving a Refer AUS, or

• Loans receiving an Accept but have been downgraded by the underwriter to a Refer.

Mortgagee Letter 2014-02 Highlights:

• Reserves

1-2 unit: 1 month reserves

3-4 unit: 3 months reserves

Gift funds are not consid-ered reserves

• Qualifying Ratios May Not Exceed

No Compensating Factors: 31/43%

One Compensating Factor: 37/47%

Two Compensating Factors: 40/50%

No Discretionary Debt: 40/40%

• Residual Income

Residual Income may be cited as a compensating factor.

FHA is adopting VA’s model for calculation of residual income including the tables from the VA guidelines.

THE FIRST DAY OF APRIL BEGINS with April Fool’s day. Some historians believe the April Fools’ customs may stem from a calendar change in 16th century France—the moving of New Year’s Day from April 1 to January 1 when the Gregorian calendar was adopted. People who contin-ued to celebrate New Year’s Day on April 1st rather than the new date of January 1st were referred to as “April fools” and others played tricks on them.

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happy anniversary!

kudos!

We are blessed with a winning team of professionals here at Mortgage Advisory Group. We wish to thank the following team members for their years of dedication and enthusiasm, and for being a part of our success. WE APPRECIATE YOU!

Our apologies to Anna Haskin, her anniversary was omitted in last month’s MAGnifier.

Nancy Smith Senior Graphic Designer, Marysville

Joanne Gerry Funding Associate, Everett

Patty Ormiston Mortgage Advisor, Everett

Sue Hall Mortgage Advisor, Mill Creek

Anna Haskin Executive Assistant, Everett

Anne Ramsey Mortgage Advisor, Everett

6 Years April 6th

5 Years May 14th

3 Years May 16th

3 Years May 18th

8 Years May 18th

5 Years May 11th

To Sally Miller From Kevin Everett I want to put in a big shout out for my assistant Sally Miller! Not only has she done an amazing job keeping my files updated though all of our recent changes, but she works the front desk for eight hours a day as well! She is a huge part of our success. This transition time would have been terrible without her efforts to keep everything on track! Thank you so much Sally, you are very appreciated!

To Kelly Decker from Danielle Facey and Shannon Cordova Kudos to Kelly Decker, you have done such an amazing job as our Loan Assistant. We are extremely thankful for all your hard work and we are so happy to be working with you. Thank you for everything!

To Lisa Britton from Lori Larsh I would like to give a huge thank you and my appreciation to Lisa Britton for all of her hard work and all she does for me and for her departments. You are so appreciated!

From Dave Gardner Wow, what a month! First off, I would like to thank the entire operations staff for all their hard work throughout the transition time. The stress and pres-sure that was shouldered by all was nothing short of spectacular. My concern was the ability to close a loan early for an old school buddy and the agent we both went to high school with. They did not realize

all that had that had to happen behind the scenes to make their loan work. Lisa and her crew were simply awesome. Thank you to all, from operations to underwriting to funding. Amazing team work resulted in a very happy couple and their agent. Thank you!

To Brenda Carter from Nancy Smith I want to say how much I appreciate the tremendous amount of work that Brenda accomplishes and the long hours she puts in to make sure all the marketing programs, tools and events are running as smooth as clockwork. She manages many of the “behind the scene” programs that MAG could not function without, including all the marketing programs, the social net-work sites and much of the intranet site. She maintains her energy and enthusiasm through the long days despite all the recent changes MAG has been experi-encing. Thank you Brenda, you are incredible!

YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

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help for victims of oso mudslide

keep or shred?employee submissions

WITH TAX TIME SOON UPON US, it’s a great time to go through your documents and shred what you no longer need. Cut down on time spent doing this by using online bill-pay. Store your bills in email folders rather than your home office.

Tax returns ............................ 7 yrs. Keep returns and all supporting docs including: W2s, 1099s, property tax info, bank state-ments, mortgage interest state-ments, and anything else that you used to prepare your taxes.

Paycheck stubs .....................1 yr. Shred pay stubs after confirm-ing that the information match-es your W2.

Insurances Home ......................................... 5 yrs. Life .............. Life of policy + 3 yrs. Medical ...................................... 5 yrs.

Home ownership after property is sold: Mortgage documents .......10 yrs. Mortgage statements ......... 7 yrs. Repair bills/contracts .......10 yrs.

Investments IRA contributions—Permanently 401K summaries—Keep until account is closed.

Never shred

• Adoption papers

• Birth certificates

• Marriage certificates

• Divorce decrees

• Pension plan docs

• Veteran papers

• Lawsuits

• Immunization and health records.

ten families receive keys to new homesBy Dave Gardner, Board of Directors, Everett Chapter of Housing Hope

ON MARCH 21ST, THANKS TO THE EVERETT CHAPTER OF HOUSING HOPE, ten families in Monroe received keys to the brand new homes they had been building for the past 17 months. Thanks to Housing Hope, these families are living their dream of owning their own home!

Housing Hope offers a full range of affordable housing options throughout Snohomish County. Housing types include emergency shelter, transitional housing, afford-able-rent units and homeownership opportunities. Housing Hope focuses its activities on Snohomish County and Camano Island, collaborating and cooperating with local communities to make sure programs address the needs of local residents with the lowest incomes and the greatest need.

If you are interested in learning more about Housing Hope, contact Dave Gardner at Everett Branch, or visit www.housinghope.org.

BELOW IS A LIST OF RESOURCES for employees who are looking for ways to donate to the Oso mudslide tragedy.

1. You can donate to the victims and their families at www.gofundme.com/mirmudslide, where you can also read their stories, view pictures and track their goal progress.

2. You can donate to the Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team http://helicopterrescue.org/donate/ This was the first helicopter to arrive on scene after the mudslide Saturday, and saved eight lives from the devastation. Unfortunately, their funds were cut and without support this community resource could disappear.

3. You can donate items to help locals keep volunteers supplied in the search efforts. Items include non-perishable food, baby items, gas cards, shovels, etc. http://mynorthwest.com/108/2482049/How-to-help-locals-keep-volunteers-supplied

4. You can also donate directly to those in our community who were affected by this event through Cascade Valley Hospital Foundation Disaster Fund: www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/cascade-valley-hospital-foundation-disaster-relief-fund/154422

IMPORTANT PAPERS

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to your health

green tips

april 22nd is earth dayEARTH DAY IS A GREAT TIME TO REFLECT ON OUR HABITS and ask ourselves, “What can I do to make a positive change for our environ-ment? How can I take environmental action?” One fun and easy way is to participate in the Pick 5 Program supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Environmental action means taking simple steps in different places where we all live. By choosing five or more ideas, or sharing your own ideas, on the Pick 5 website you will join thousands of other people who have made the choice to take action! To participate go to www.epa.gov/pick5/.

For more information on the history of Earth Day go to www.earthday.org/greencities/earth-day-2014/history-of-earth-day/. Happy Earth Day! —Anna Haskin

free recycle and shred eventYOU CAN CLEAN OUT YOUR GARAGE and help the planet, too! Windermere North office in Lynnwood is having a free recycling and shredding event on April 19th. They are offering to recycle the following:

• Appliances: washers, dryers, refrigerators, etc.

• Electronics: TVs, stereos, cell phones, tablets

• Scrap metal, machinery, lawn mowers

• Computers: desktops laptops, printers, monitors, etc.

• Batteries: car and computer only

• Medical equipment

• Ink and tonerShredding services will also be available. Bring your old bills or sensitive documents to be professionally destroyed on site. Limit 20 file boxes per visitor.

Food bank donations welcome, but not required.

Windermere North Offfice Saturday April 19th 10 am to 2 pm 4211 Alderwood Mall Blvd, Ste 110, Lynnwood, WA 98036

what’s in season?THESE VEGETABLES HAVE THE BEST FLAVOR and value in spring. Cooking with seasonal ingredients will ensure your dishes are vibrant and tasty while keeping your budget low. Many farmers markets open in May so get ready for mar-ket-fresh veggies. Bon appetit!

• Artichokes

• Asparagus

• Beets

• Carrots

• Leeks

• New potatoes

• Lettuces, spinach and salad greens

local farmers marketsVISIT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS MARKET for fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, flowers and handmade goods.

Everett Farmers Market May 18—October 5th Sundays, rain or shine 11 am to 4 pm 1600 W Marine View Dr, Everett, WA 98201

Bothell Farmers Market June 6th–October 3rd Noon to 6 pm 1 mile south of Exit 26 off I-405, at the Country Village in Bothell

Wenatchee Farmers Market 7 Worthen Street Wenatchee, WA 98801 Wed: 8:00 am - 1:00 pm Fri: 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm Sat: 8:00 am - 1:00 pm

YOUR FOOD AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY CHOICES each day affect your health—how you feel today, tomorrow, and in the future.

Ten Tips Nutrition Education Series at www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-tips.html provides consumers and

professionals with high quality, easy-to-follow tips. Here are a few:

• Make at least half your grains whole grains

• Vary your veggies• Focus on fruit• Get your calcium-rich foods

eat healthy, feel healthy!