The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the division of the Department of Housing and Urban Development that oversees and regulates Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, has reached a notable settlement with three of Fannie Mae's former executives. The settlement, announced late Friday, will end enforcement actions against the three officers arising out of accounting and internal control problems at the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) in 2004. It took Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae three years to revise their financial reporting to clear the problems and cost them a substantial part of their autonomy. The Consent Orders were announced by OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart and dealt with former Fannie Mae Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Franklin D. Raines, former Chief Financial Officer J. Timothy Howard and former Controller Leanne Spencer.

Anyone have potential loans with Taylor Bean & Whitaker?  I have four (4) loans that have been in underwriting for the past fourteen (14) days!  I know last week they were twelve (12) days behind in underwriting, but it is crazy.  Rumor on the street is that they can not fund any loans....wow.  Good thing we have several other lenders to work with.  I have moved all my loans to another lender.  I know from experience that this is a sign they are going out of business.....

Hello everyone may God bless each everyone of you fellow Rainers.  Christmas should be a day for family, but any more it has became a day about how much money can be spent and how quick you can open one present to get to the next. I believe the meaning of Christmas has been lost through out the years instead of being about love and sharing and family. Its all about how many hours you can spend in a store and how much money can you spend. It is so sad that we have got away from the true meaning of Christmas. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to give one gift and have a wonderful dinner and enjoy just being with your family instead of over spending and going in debt.  Have a great Holiday....

With many lending sources going out of business everyday now, utilize a Mortgage Broker.  Ifone goes out of business, we have many other lending institutions to quickly work with.  As a mortgage broker, we work for our clients.  I am not saying bank loan officers do not, nevertheless, bank loan officers are employed by the financial institution. The benefit of using a Mortgage Broker is the fact that we have the ability to offer more mortgage products from a number of financial institutions & investors. Bank loan officers work for one bank, that means they can only offer their clients what their financial institution has to offer.  Mortgage Brokers do not work for one specific lender, and you are assured impartial advice. A Bank Specialist has limited number of their own financial products, and while there may be better mortgage products out in the market place they will do their best to sell you their own mortgage product.

We use our knowledge of the mortgage market to negotiate mortgage rates with lenders to get the best possible mortgage rates for the client. When you go see a Bank loan officer, commonly the mortgage negotiating is left up to the client.  For conventional mortgage financing, the services of the Mortgage Broker are generally provided at no cost to the client. Banks pay us for providing business.

Mortgage Brokers will exhaust every possible solution to approve their clients mortgage application to pre qualify them. Because we deal with so many different lenders, we have solutions for new foreign nationals, clients who are self employed, and clients with poor credit history.  We also provide personal service, usually at times convenient for their clients - late evening & weekends -Mortgage Brokers are not restricted in seeing clients within certain business hours.

Simply stated, we are customer focused, as I rely on referrals from previous clients and agents to provide future business.

 

 

AT&T did it smart.  In the moments leading up to the launch of the iPhone, AT&T CEO Randall Stevenson told USA Today something that made me read twice: "[The iPhone launch] helps us complete our change from Cingular to AT&T and has created a halo effect for the re-branding." You'd think that more than a billion dollars spent on re-branding by AT&T alone should buy some halo, but Stevenson would apparently disagree. The PR that Apple has been able to generate around this launch is so formidable, even the bluest of blue-chip brands is happy to take a back seat and enjoy brand equity by association. But AT&T isn't the only company that can benefit from the massive iPhone awareness machine. The device itself opens many opportunities for any brand to design for the iPhone and tap into not only the brand halo, but also the hottest-selling, largest audience for a single mobile device since the ubiquitous RAZR. While incredible that the iPhone features a more typical web experience than the average Smartphone, it's still not the same as browsing a website on a monitor.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey concluded that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.73 percent with 0.4 point for the week. Both rate and points were unchanged from the previous week and the interest rate was 7 basis points below the average for the same week in 2006. The 15-year FRM averaged 6.38 percent, one basis point lower than the week ended July 12. Fees and points were unchanged at 0.4. One year ago the 15-year FRM averaged 6.80 percent. The five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) was unchanged at 6.35 percent and 0.5 point; one year ago the rate was one basis point higher. The one-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 5.72 percent compared with 5.71 percent the previous week. Fees and points were unchanged at 0.5. This was 9 basis points lower than the one-year ARM average a year ago.

Very similar news came from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended July 20. The average contract interest rate for the 30-year FRM was reported to be down from 6.61 percent to 6.59 percent with points, including the application fee, decreasing from 1.6 to 1.55. The 15-year FRM also decreased, averaging 6.24 percent with 1.43 in points compared to 6.29 percent with 1.33 points the previous week. The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 5.62 from 5.60 percent, with points increasing to 1.13 from 1.11.

People commonly ask me about rates, I tell them, it all depends on the program you are talking about.  Then they say well, a regular 30 year fixed.  I then ask questions about the down payment, verified or stated, etc..  I get wow, you ask a lot of questions just for a rate quite.  Yes, but I want to be accurate and give the right rate.  The most two popular are the Conventional & FHA loans.  A FHA mortgage has up-front mortgage insurance of 1.5% of the loan amount and is added right to the loan. For example a 100,000 FHA loan would actually be 101,500 after MI was added. The payments are calculated of the total loan amount. Also FHA has a monthly mortgage insurance premium as well. Using the 100,000 loan example the mi premium would be $41.66. A conventional mortgage has no up-front mortgage insurance, but does have a monthly premium. This premium is determined by the loan to value. The mortgage insurance rate varies at the following LTV's 100%, 97%, 95%, 90%, and 85%. No mortgage insurance is required for 80% or less. Assuming a 3% down payment, the mortgage insurance on a 100,000 loan would be $83-$86.

Ever see those commercials or ads where you can buy a home with no money down?  Although there are new programs that allow buyers to purchase a home with little or no cash, you will generally need some funds for down payment, closing costs or both. Since a mortgage payment will take a good percentage of your income, lenders will usually want you to have responsibility from the very beginning. There are options for low down payment (5% or less) mortgages such as FHA mortgages and there is always the possibility that the seller could absorb some of your closing costs (which are usually 3-5% of the selling price) but to buy a home with no cash down is a rare occurrence. If you have cash for closing costs, though, and excellent credit, there are new options for the conventional loan.

With the earnest money now an option as nonrefundable, a Loan Officer must Prequalify a potential client.  What is the basic difference between Prequalification & Preaproval?  Prequalification is the process where the lender will look at a basic copy of your credit report and use the information you supply to determine how much mortgage you can afford based on your income. No accounts or employment information is verified. Preapproval occurs when all credit and employment is verified and the mortgage is approved, subject to the appraisal of the property you have chosen to buy. Final loan approval occurs when the property has been appraised, all documentation is in the hands of the lender and all contingencies have been met.

Have you heard of the term Discount Points? Discount points are called so because they discount the interest rate. A typical trade-off is 1 discount point for each .25 percent reduction in interest rate. You could get a 7.00 percent rate with zero points or 6.75 percent if you paid one discount point. If you're getting charged 2 discount points, then you should conversely get a rate .5 percent higher for zero points. If you're getting charged 3 points, I'll bet it's nothing more than more income for the loan officer, without a subsequent rate drop. A discount point is tax deductible because it's a form of interest. If you're paying 5 points on a loan, not only is it not interest, you're getting taken advantage of. If you're using a mortgage broker and there are points on the loan, those points are supposed to go to the lender, not the broker. It's not the broker that discounts the mortgage, the lender does.