A Commercially Reasonable Means Worksheet: Fill & Download for Free

As I write this (April 2, 2020), we are in the middle of a major crisis because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week’s unemployment claims (6.65 million for the week of March 28, more than 3 million the week before), together with general disruption of the global economy, have disrupted the entire U.S. economy—including the mortgage sector.Most people are sheltering in place, which means that walking into your local bank or credit union is not practical—or safe. They are closed or operating with very short staff.This does not mean you cannot get a mortgage today. Independent mortgage brokers and lenders are still operating, although in a far different mode from before the pandemic upended our lives. Many lenders have long since made a transition to doing business remotely, using email, teleconferencing, and telephone.Mortgage rates today are experiencing extremely high volatility. A rate someone promised last week might not be available today. The reason for this volatility is partly due to the well-meaning intervention of the Federal Reserve in the mortgage industry. That intervention has had several unintended consequences.I wrote about this in considerable detail recently for anyone who might be interested, but the short explanation is that lenders have temporarily increased the pricing on their loans to cover the many losses they have already suffered.There will come a time—hopefully within a month or less—when the market will return to some normalcy.Anyone who expects to need a mortgage within the near future should begin the process early—even though the rate they hope to get is not available today. Having a complete application in place with a lender gives the hopeful borrower the ability to act quickly when rates do return to normal.I’ll offer one final bit of advice before answering the question. Don’t be too focused on the rate. Almost all lenders sell the home loans they fund to an investor at a small profit. This is the fundamental business model of the residential mortgage industry. The spread between the most expensive lender and the least is not as broad as you might think. Choose a mortgage lender as much on the relationship with the loan officer as on the rate you can get. A lender who advertises a jaw-dropping low rate that they can’t deliver will waste your time.With all that as preface, here is how to best shop for a loan—and you don’t have to submit applications with several lenders to find out what rate they can give you.Before starting to call lenders, you’ll need to have several pieces of information:Your credit scoreThe approximate loan amount you’re seekingThe estimated price of the propertyYour down paymentThe type of property you plan to buy or refinanceThe type of loan you’re looking for (conventional, FHA, VA, etc.)The type of refinance: rate-and-term, cash-out or “streamline”Each of these items is a factor in the cost of a mortgage.The conversation you’d have with a lender would go something like this:“I plan to refinance my single-family home. It’s worth about $400,000, and I am looking for a loan of about $300,000. I will not take cash out. I have a credit score over 740. What rate could you offer me today for a 30-year fixed-rate conventional loan with no discount points? What are your fees for underwriting and processing?”Any loan officer will be able to give you that day’s rate based on that information.When you are comparing lenders, do so over as short a time as possible. A rate quote from a week ago is useless.A few years ago, a prospective borrower could ask a lender for a Good Faith Estimate. This document is obsolete, having been replaced by the Loan Estimate. There is no reason for you to ask for one at this stage, however. Preparing a Loan Estimate is somewhat involved on the lender’s side, and most are not willing to issue one without having a full application. The Loan Estimate does not guarantee a rate, and with today’s extreme volatility, having one is not particularly useful. Instead, you can ask for a closing cost worksheet. You will get the same information, but not in the form of a legal compliance document like the Loan Estimate. Most lenders should be quite willing to send you the worksheet.The size of the institution that issues your loan should not be one of the factors you consider—although my own biased opinion is that a small, independent mortgage lender will give you the best overall experience and results.All lenders sell their loans on the secondary mortgage market—that is the function that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (among others) serve. They all adhere to the same guidelines because they are set forth by those investors. The difference between a commercial bank like Wells Fargo, Bank of America or Chase and an independent mortgage company like my employer* is that a large commercial bank has many business channels—checking and savings, business loans, consumer loans—in addition to mortgages. A company whose entire business is providing residential mortgages for homeowners can concentrate on that one activity. An independent lender, whether banker or broker, depends on delivering a high level of service and competitive rates because they have no other business activity to generate their revenue.Finally, when you are contemplating a refinance, have a target rate in mind. Even though that rate may not be available today, it could appear next week. Having a full application in place will give you the ability to lock the rate you want when it appears. Don’t get too greedy; holding out for a rate .125% lower could mean missing your opportunity altogether. We have seen that happen too many times: a borrower has a chance to lock a favorable rate but wants to save another $20 per month. Rates move up, and they lose the benefit they could have had.I hope this is helpful.*I manage a branch of Pinnacle Home Loans, an independent mortgage banker based in Novato, California

My first contribution here.I have no idea how to go about learning Chinese, brush, calligraphy. When it comes to western calligraphy though, I have come up with a list, taken from my blog @BILL'S SPACEI strongly suggest that beginners read this post first and then click on Lesson One. Familiarise yourself first with the Roundhand alphabet. I am sure it will save a lot of heartache later.Firstly, there are so many products on sale, all purported to be the must have for the budding scribe. For the time being, my advice is to forget all that. Keep it simple. Buy or make only that which you need to get through the next stage in your journey. All the pens and brushes in the whole wide world are of no use if you have no idea what to do with them.If you follow the Calligradoodles videos and use the worksheets that go with them, you will notice that all the elements are made up of pencil marks on paper. So, all we need to get started, is a sheet of ordinary copy paper, a ruler and two pencils joined together with elastic bands. ( Better than tape when it comes to sharpening ). A board of some description propped at an angle of about 20 degrees on your table, or even on your knees ( Not good for the back! ), will be enough for the first few sessions.So, now you are able to construct a half decent Roundhand and Roman alphabet and are ready to progress. You will need a pen and some ink, and once again there are so many products out there that confusion can easily set in, so simplicity is best.A fountain pen set with 4 – 6 nib sizes and a good supply of cartridges or ink is a good addition to your tool-box at this point. A couple of pen holders and some broad nibs plus a bottle of black calligraphy ink ( not waterproof, this will easily clog your nib ).Here I shall make no apologies for directing you to Bill’s Art and Calligraphy Supplies I do earn a small commission from Amazon on any sales, But please don’t feel that you have to buy here. The main reason for setting up this A Shop was to illustrate the mind boggling choices we have just in this one discipline. The Book Section is mind blowing! If I can raise a few pennies to offset expenses, thanks for your custom.The Technik Art Layout Pad A/3 is a handy addition right now. Only 50 gsm means you can make one guideline sheet and lay it under each page. A good tip at this point is to rule lines at 1/8″intervals from top to bottom of that page. If you do this in landscape format it will be much more versatile. When laid under the actual working page it is easy to mark an X over 1,2,3, or however many lines it takes to make up the x height needed for the particular nib size you are using. This will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life. If you do have to draw lines, always draw them in multiples of 1/8″ according to nib size. More on this as you progress.The Brause assortment calligraphy set or William Mitchell right hand italic set. ( There are left hand versions available, and you will find a really good book for Lefthanders in the book department ). ( See also The Left-handed Calligrapher, here at Bill’s Space, and for more support and info try the Facebook group, Calligraphy for the Left Handed ) .The Manuscript Leonardt Calligraphy dip pen nibs – Italic and Poster set, is particularly good value. A bottle of black Manuscript ink or set of three, black, gold, red, W & N inks will keep you busy for a while.A better quality paper is now needed to show off your new skills so a pad of Daler Rowney A/3 might be your next choice. Why A/3? Simply, this size gives more scope for layouts. If you need a smaller format, it is no problem to cut a page.For line drawing, a Rowney or any of the many boards or drawing machines available will make life a bit easier, but I find a set square running along a 2 foot ruler taped to my board is quite sufficient. Incidentally, I use a home made light -table whenever possible. If you try this, PLEASE USE ONLY TOUGHENED GLASS.There is a commercially made Artograph box in Bill’s Art and calligraphy supplies. A “T”-square is a handy addition and perhaps a few basic drawing instruments next. You see. Your collection is building up already. But only with stuff you use. Not just stuff!Scribblers have kindly issued 50 calligraphy tips You might find these useful.By the way, when conducting a workshop, I usually ask participants to bring with them the following articles if at all possible.A drawing board, approximately 18” x 24”. MDF or something similar will do, Something to prop it up to make a writing slope, i.e., a piece of wood 4” x 4” or perhaps a brick wrapped in a carrier bag.A ruler , preferably 2 foot, and a set square.A set of roundhand nibs with penholder and reservoirs.A calligraphy fountain pen is a handy addition for practice work. (Any left-handers will benefit by choosing left hand oblique nibs).Calligraphy ink. NOT WATERPROOF. Avoid Indian ink whether waterproof or not.Gouache or watercolours. Coeruleum Blue, and Vermilion. Winsor & Newton Gold ink. (Optional but very handy.)2, HB and I, 2H pencil. A 00 paint brush. A cheap brush for mixing. A palette or saucer. A jar for water and a kitchen roll.An A3 Layout pad or even a cheap sketch book. If you have some, a nice HP watercolour paper for your finished workIf you have problems obtaining any commercially marketed equipment, You might try going back to basics and making your own. It is a good idea anyway to experiment with quills, reeds, bamboo, tin cans etc.

In the best education systems worldwide, why do they all agree on not giving exams and homeworks?False premise with poorly defined terms.Problem 1: “The best education systems worldwide.” Such a thing simply doesn’t exist.I’ve written - at length - on this subject before: Jesse Fletcher's answer to Which countries have the best education system and why? - and that already points out a pretty major problem with this question. Finland’s system is great for Finland but would be terrible in the US, same for China’s system in Finland or here, same for our system in Finland or China, etc, etc - and don’t even get me started on what they’re doing to kids in Japan, Singapore, or South Korea. SK’s system may be great for SK, but the societal issues that system creates are apparent even from across the world. Anyone holding their system up as best needs to seriously take off the blinders, or examine their presumptions.Problem 2: “Exam” is actually a very, very flimsy term. Do you mean “A multiple choice exam given in a standardized environment for hours on end?” Heck, I might agree that such a thing is generally poor. Do you mean a written essay? A verbal demonstration? A portfolio of previous results? An interview before committee? I’ve seen all of these things represent “exam” before - and many of them are very valid. If you’re suggesting that any valid education system would use absolutely NO form of summary check for student proficiency, we can stop here and I’ll go laugh my way on to the next question. There’s no valid system of anything in the world that doesn’t check its own efficacy.Problem 3: Agreement. Friend, if you find any two educational philosophies that agree on anything beyond “learning is good” do let me know. You will find few fields so divided, full of fads, and lacking cohesion as education. The more granular you get, the more the lens shows you massive fragmentation of pedagogy.Problem 4:”Homework,” like exam, is a flimsy term. I’ve assigned my students the following things before:Go home and watch television. (Yes, really.)Go home and read these chapters for discussion tomorrow.Go home and record the nature of some of the commercials you see on TV or Youtube.Go home and read anything you want…just read something and be ready to talk about it tomorrow.I know other teachers who have assigned:Go home and do these math problemsGo home and read this stuff from the textbook…and so on. Would we call all six of these things “homework?” I’m willing to bet at least one or two of them might not meet most people’s definitions.Final Answer: While no two education systems agree on anything, I think it’s reasonable to assume that nearly all educational systems - and by definition, then, the best ones - have some form of checks-for-proficiency (which are generally referred to as some form of exam) and have some form of continued practice (which is generally referred to as homework.) Rote work from a book? Not necessarily good. Burying a first grader in worksheets? Not necessarily good, either.Dismissing all forms of exams and all possible definitions of homework? C’mon, man. Your question already shows you’re still in school, but if you can find and surf Quora, you can ask more reasonable and thought out questions than that.