Mary Miller's Discussions

I moved from Chicago a few years ago. I remember Mayor Daly sending the bulldozers in to destroy the runways at Meigs Field. What's been done with the space?

West Seattle golf course has some cool views of downtown Seattle.

I'm removing our ceramic-tile kitchen countertop and replacing it with granite. The stone I selected is Kashmir White. We have cherry cabinets, grayish-green walls and hardwood floors. Does anyone have ideas for backsplashes? I didn't just want to use the same granite as the countertops--that's a lot of stone. Does anyone know of sites that show picures of different backsplashes?

Thanks, these are all great suggestions. I'm heading to a couple of tile showrooms tomorrow to check out the options.

Great question, Tom. The Code of Conduct outlines that borrowers may only rate lenders they've contacted through Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.  If you encounter any questionable practices, please contact Zillow Customer Support by e-mail at mortgagesupport AT zillow.com so that we can quickly respond if necessary.

Hi Scott,Thanks for bringing this to our attention.  We thought we fixed this bug a while ago, but it appears that the colors are still off on some emails.  Can you please send both of your Home Report emails to me as attachments so we can investigate?Mary

Try this calculator:  http://www.zillow.com/mortgage/calculator/How-much-can-I-afford.htm

For Fannie Mae backed loans, you can use any lender who uses Fannie's Desktop Underwriter for underwriting. This means you don't have to go through your current servicer. Here is Fannie's definition of a servicer.Find out if you have a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage.For Freddie Mac backed loans, the loan has to be refinanced by the same company that currently services your loan, or an affiliate of that company.Find out if you have a Freddie Mac-backed mortgage.The government has created a Making Home Affordable Web site that can help lead you through a series of questions to see if you're eligible for the Home Affordable Refinance option or the Home Affordable Modification option.

Zillow Mortgage Marketplace allows both manual and auto quoters to be successful.  While auto quotes are very fast and appear within seconds, there are several things manual quoters can do to be competitive.1. Manual quoters are in a great position to answer custom questions borrowers ask on their loan requests, providing a high level of customer service  to borrowers with specific situations.2. Some manual quoters have re-quoted old quotes when rates drop.  Or, they focus on requests that don't have a lot of quotes.  Many of these requests are made by individuals with custom situations, and they need someone to address their specific needs. 3. Manual quoters have the advantage of seeing other quotes already provided, so they can adjust fees accordingly to be more competitive, or decide not to spend time on certain requests.4. Since the quote default view the borrower sees is sorted by lender ratings, manual quoters should make sure to encourage those they've done business with on Zillow to rate them.  Lenders with the best reputations appear on top even if they submit a quote later than auto quoters. 5. If speed is important, we encourage manual quoters to investigate auto-quoting options with our Quote API Integration Providers.  Contact more than just one, since they don't all charge the same way, so you can find a provider that works within your budget.

Thank you for all of the feedback.  To answer your additional questions:APR:  All lenders--whether auto- or manual-quoters--are responsible for submitting quotes that are accurate.  If any aspect of the quote is not accurate, it violates Zillow's Code of Conduct.  If you suspect that the APR on any quote is not accurate or possible, please flag the quote and we will follow up with that lender.Quote timing:  When borrowers submit loan requests, they usually receive quotes within seconds in the Quotes Received screen.  When more quotes come in, a message is displayed above the quotes that tells borrowers that they have new quotes, with a Refresh Quote List button.  In addition, the quote list refreshes automatically whenever borrowers click on anything on that page, including filters and the sorting functions at the top of each column.  So borrowers will see new quotes when they come in, and those quotes will appear according to the default sort order--with higher lender ratings appearing at the top.  In addition, registered borrowers receive periodic emails to inform them when new quotes come in.  So if lenders submit a quote later in the day, or even many days later, the borrower will be notified and directed back to the Quotes Received page.Speed:  After considering all of the different ways to approach quoting and competing on ZMM, if you believe that speed is the most important strategy for succeeding on ZMM, then I encourage you investigate auto-quoting options with the Quote API Integration Providers.  We have integrated with a variety of different providers in order to give lenders as much choice as possible when considering an auto-quote service. You have a choice whether to create quotes manually or to work with a company to automate them for you.  The intention of my post here was to point out some unique strategies that will help manual quoters leverage their unique position to become more competitive in ZMM.  There are pros and cons to both auto quoting and manual quoting.  Ultimately, the choice of which approach to take rests with each lender.