Corner money changer exchange rates HKD to RMB

The local money changer was offering to buy 1 HKD for .880 RMB.

I checked google and the spot rate at the time was 0.880902804 RMB per HKD. So I think the local money changer gives a pretty good rate.

Overall I did the calculation... I paid 1137 HKD for 1000 RMB... if I went by the actual spot rate it would have cost 1135 HKD... so not even 2/10ths of 1 percent of a mark up!!

HSBC Premier Part 2

I opened an HSBC Premier account with 100 dollars cash, with the understanding that my 5/1 Interest Only 500k loan is pretty close to being funded.

Some issues though:

1) The appraisal came in at 770k, but since there were no furnishings, the appraiser marked the unit as 'vacant' on the report. This will need to be rectified before the loan can be funded.

2) I will need to write a letter to explain why there are no furnishings and to confirm that I will in fact be living in the unit.

As for ordering (whether I can get the loan and the discount prior to opening an HSBC Premier account), the answer is:

The loan officer needs to refer to the HSBC Premier account number when finalizing the loan in order for the discount to take effect. I started the loan process first but then a week later went into their office on 601 Montgomery to open the HSBC Premier account (you have to physically meet with a relationship manager before they can open the account).

So, the ordering I guess is flexible since the loan process takes so long...and there are a fair number of steps before they'll even send out an appraiser.

I had to supply the following to start the loan process:

-Copy of 2007 & 2008 W2
-Copy of October and November paystubs
-Copy of 2 months bank statements of bank accounts
-Copy of insurance policy for condo project
-Completed Project Questionnaire attached below

Note that Bank of America requires last 2 years signed tax returns as well!

HSBC Premier

Spoke with an HSBC Premier relationship manager today in San Francisco, here's what I found out:

You can qualify for Premier with a mortgage balance of 500k from them BUT you need to have 24 months of mortgage payments (in straight checking, in IRA, in brokerage? I dunno). I'm also not sure if that 500k can be a mix between mortgage and equity line.

401k (He probably meant IRA) balance of 100k can count.

If I can get a mortgage via HSBC Premier, the mortgage application fee is waived, and I can get .25% off their best rate.

The ordering is tricky though... if I am trying to qualify for HSBC Premier via a mortgage, I'm not sure I can get the Premier mortgage benefits at the same time (meaning I need to be a Premier member before trying to get a loan).

Also need to establish 3mos to 12mos of credit history before it can be transferred to an international office.