Loan Officer

Joseph E. Robert Jr., 59, who rose from a troubled childhood to become one of Washington's wealthiest financiers and most generous philanthropists, known for his raucous annual Fight Night boxing event that raised millions of dollars for children's charities, died Dec. 7 at his home in McLean. He had a glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. Mr. Robert's death was confirmed by Mike McGillis, managing director of JER Partners, the real estate company Mr. Robert founded in 1981.

Gerald K. Fay, 68, a former Weichert Realtors loan officer who later became a drug and alcohol counselor at Edgehill Retreat Center in Winchester, Va., died March 8 at his former wife's home in Alexandria. He had lymphoma, said his son, Cameron Fay. Mr. Fay, who lived in Winchester, was a vice president of the old First Dominion Mortgage Corp. in Alexandria from 1983 to 1995. He then worked as a loan officer at what is now Weichert Realtors in Northern Virginia until 1999. In 2000, he became a drug and alcohol counselor at...

Q. Let's say a husband and wife own a rental property with a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship deed. Later, they divorce without changing the deed, and 10 years later, one of them passes away. Does the remaining owner automatically pick up the ownership for the deceased owner's share? Does the divorce revoke the survivorship deed and make it a deed in common, with a 50/50 split? A. In some states, the mere fact that two joint tenants decide to get divorced would not automatically terminate a joint tenancy.

Calvert County BOOTH, Roger William, 79, of Owings, a construction worker, died Oct. 30 at Calvert County Nursing Center. TAYLOR, Odessa M., 64, of Prince Frederick, a Verizon employee, died Oct. 24 at Bradford Oaks Center, Clinton. Charles County ALSCHER, Margaret Lillian, 88, of Waldorf, a loan officer, died Nov. 19 at home. BOUVIER, Hilda May, 88, of Waldorf, a homemaker, died Nov. 4 at Civista Medical Center. BOWLING, Pamela Kay, 70, of Bryantown, owner of Everything Amish, died Nov. 2 at home.

A little-noticed mortgage rule change that took effect April 1 could create hassles for significant numbers of homebuyers who plan to use low-down-payment FHA financing this spring. The change affects anyone with one or more "collection" accounts buried away in national credit bureau files. These include medical, student loan, retail and other debts reported — correctly or incorrectly — as unpaid by creditors and subsequently sent to collection agencies. In a reversal of its previous policy,...

Charles E. Castle Jr., 73, who built Ace Fire Extinguisher Service into one of the largest fire extinguisher sales and service companies in the country, died Nov. 5 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda after a stroke. He was a Rockville resident. The death was confirmed by his son Daniel Castle. Mr. Castle was a loan officer for Maryland National Bank in Washington before buying Ace Fire Extinguisher Service in 1968. The College Park-based business was then a two-truck operation.

As mortgage interest rates continue falling to new lows, a growing number of borrowers are applying to more than one lender to increase their chances of getting approved for refinancing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that only about half of the borrowers trying to refinance are getting approved, down from 60 to 70 percent during previous refinancing booms, said Doug Duncan, chief economist at mortgage financier Fannie Mae . As a result, borrowers are getting frustrated and anxious.

Five years ago, when real estate in Northern Virginia was booming, it didn't surprise longtime residents in the Springfield and Falls Church areas to see small homes demolished and large "McMansions" built in their place. But they were surprised when a dozen or more people would then move into the new house, living in tight spaces and parking numerous cars up and down the street. The safety hazards of these new boardinghouses prompted Fairfax County to launch a Code Enforcement Strike Team in 2007.

Gerald K. Fay, 68, a former Weichert Realtors loan officer who later became a drug and alcohol counselor at Edgehill Retreat Center in Winchester, Va., died March 8 at his former wife's home in Alexandria. He had lymphoma, said his son, Cameron Fay. Mr. Fay, who lived in Winchester, was a vice president of the old First Dominion Mortgage Corp. in Alexandria from 1983 to 1995. He then worked as a loan officer at what is now Weichert Realtors in Northern Virginia until 1999. In 2000, he became a drug and alcohol...

The Senate ethics committee has interviewed a former Countrywide Financial executive who testified under oath that Sens. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) were aware that they were accessing a special program to give below-market-rate mortgages to the powerful and famous when he arranged their loans, according to the executive's attorneys. The statements from Robert Feinberg, who worked as a loan officer at the mortgage lender, stand in direct contradiction to statements made by Dodd and Conrad, who...

Charles E. Castle Jr., 73, who built Ace Fire Extinguisher Service into one of the largest fire extinguisher sales and service companies in the country, died Nov. 5 at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda after a stroke. He was a Rockville resident. The death was confirmed by his son Daniel Castle. Mr. Castle was a loan officer for Maryland National Bank in Washington before buying Ace Fire Extinguisher Service in 1968. The College Park-based business was then a two-truck operation.

Companies Academi of Arlington appointed retired Army general Jack Keane strategic adviser and consultant. Advantage Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation of Gainesville appointed Jodi Remsen and Corrine Shumaker physical therapists. Barrel of Jobs of the District appointed Julie Kantor chief strategy officer and Neal Lieberman vice president of sales. Caterpillar of the District appointed Kathryn Dickey Karol vice president for global government and corporate affairs.

For nearly a decade, Beth Jacobson lived inside the vast machinery of subprime mortgages that shook the nation's economy. In sworn court testimony, she described watching loan officers comb through heavily African American areas such as Baltimore and Prince George's County, forging relationships with churches and community groups to sell their members shoddy mortgages. She says she processed loans for homeowners with sterling credit ratings with higher interest rates than they needed to pay....

A little-noticed mortgage rule change that took effect April 1 could create hassles for significant numbers of homebuyers who plan to use low-down-payment FHA financing this spring. The change affects anyone with one or more "collection" accounts buried away in national credit bureau files. These include medical, student loan, retail and other debts reported — correctly or incorrectly — as unpaid by creditors and subsequently sent to collection agencies. In a reversal of its...

At a house-warming party I attended, word somehow spread that I am in real estate. Within minutes, I was surrounded by recent home buyers willing to share their nightmarish stories. Some were amusing; others, though, were pretty disturbing. The home-buying process can be less mysterious and less stressful if you're familiar with the process. Here are some tips to help you get through everything from pre-qualifying for your mortgage to selecting the members of your settlement team: ● Obtain your...

Could gloomy popular assumptions about how tough it is to get a mortgage be deterring large numbers of qualified people from even applying? Could the same worries — I can't come up with the big down payment I need, my credit scores are too low, my bank account has almost none of the reserves that lenders want to see — put a needless damper on a housing recovery in the new year? You bet. Lenders and economists will tell you flat-out: The lack of accurate information...

The black-tie party at Washington's swank Mayflower Hotel seemed a fitting celebration of the biggest American housing boom since the 1950s: filet mignon and lobster, a champagne room and hundreds of mortgage brokers, real estate agents and their customers gyrating to a Latin band. On that winter night in 2005, the company hosting the gala honored itself with an ice sculpture of its logo. Pinnacle Financial had grown from a single office to a national behemoth generating $6.5 billion in mortgages that year.

In each of the two great movies opening this weekend, a crotchety old person faces the loss of the family home to cold, impersonal capitalism. On which film should you spend your hard-earned money? Well, if you think you'd enjoy seeing the elderly hero spirit his home away in an inspiring ode to adventure and friendship, you should see "Up. " On the other hand, if you'd rather watch the old person viciously attack her bank's loan officer, tear out chunks of her hair and place a horrifying Gypsy curse on her soul,...

Joseph E. Robert Jr., 59, who rose from a troubled childhood to become one of Washington's wealthiest financiers and most generous philanthropists, known for his raucous annual Fight Night boxing event that raised millions of dollars for children's charities, died Dec. 7 at his home in McLean. He had a glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. Mr. Robert's death was confirmed by Mike McGillis, managing director of JER Partners, the real estate company Mr. Robert founded in 1981.