I am very thorough at my job. I analyze every piece of data I am given, undercover every possibility, and work to identify the right product for every borrower. But with all my expertise and hard won knowledge, the work to actually close a deal has quadrupled over the last year and a half. And I know that story is the same for all you Realtors out there.

There are tremendous opportunities for buyers as we all know; opportunities from extraordinary prices to low interest rates to the new and improved down payment assistance disguised as an $8000 tax credit.

But Fannie Mae can leverage any little reason not to purchase a loan from lenders. Everything that gets reviewed for submission has to be completed down to the very last period. It's almost like getting points taken off for sloppiness or misconduct in grade school.

Even the strongest of loans can be very fragile now and have several points of failure. So everyone's got to be careful who handles their loan and Realtors need to be careful about what potential buyers are getting into their car. When we triple-check everything and watch one another's backs, we shall succeed.

OK, so just add me to the endless list of bloggers blogging about the $8000 tax credit turned additional down payment/pay down option/closing costs supplement. I do say "hooray!" to this assistance as it will help get more people back into homeownership. My customer roster alone has as many true first time homebuyers as buyers who have not owned a home in over three years. I've attached a link to some additional tax credit info from HUD.

There is just the caveat that the buyer still needs to come up with the 3.5% minimum that is required of FHA insured loans. This is in keeping with HUD's philosophy that caused them to yank seller funded down payment assistance last October. 

I've always been a huge proponent of having "skin in the game" and this opportunity is no exception. But when the confetti has settled, I still want to understand how this is going to work logistically. It is not very clear how these funds will be tracked or represented or paid back since they can potentially fill a void in several different scenarios monitored by several different institutions and industries.

I know that every journey starts with one small step; I just want to make sure we don't get lost this time.

There are lines that professionals just don't cross....regardless of who asks. On several occasions I've had Realtors question me; no, interrogate me when the client they are representing does not make the financial grade to qualify for a mortgage.

I understand how disappointing it is for an agent to hear this news (another reason to only show homes to buyers that are pre-qualified) but if I advise the parties in a deal that the buyers are not approved at that point in time; I'm telling the truth!

Believe me, I have a vested interest in a buyer being approved too, but if they're not, they're not. And according to all that is legal and ethical, a client's personal financial data is personal. So an agent wanting information disclosed to them so they can "be sure" that their client doesn't qualify and they "want proof" of the results, just ain't gonna happen. It's just wrong. And so are they.

I just don't know about this first time homebuyer tax credit turned down payment possibility. Are we going down the right path here?

I'm all for opportunities for buyers and I think it is great that this credit may possibly be used to initiate a real estate transaction but.....let's not forget the seller funded down payment assistance that HUD did away with because of the perception that it breeds a higher rate of delinquency. As I've said before, if you've got no skin in the game; you may take the responsibility a little more lightly.

So are we seeing the rumblings of the types of "opportunities" that contributed to the subprime meltdown? Or are we assisting buyers to buy and getting the housing market out of the huge sinkhole that it's in? If you don't have the money for a down payment, does that mean you should be able to afford to do something?

Obviously there are many questions that I have and the Department of Housing and Urban Development must have more which I guess is why we've got no final determination on how or if this "liquefied tax credit" will see the light of a closing table. I found it a little interesting how HUD announced the program then back tracked a day later and pulled the guidelines from their website.  

So let's see what happens...as soon as I get some legitimate info I'll pass it along. Never hesitate to call or email me if you have any questions about any of this stuff!

This is not a paid promotional announcement for Tri-County Mortgage; but sometimes you get an opportunity to gain a little perspective on your company.  

In a recent state-mandated licensing course I had occasion to spend time with peers in my industry; and horror stories abounded! While it is true that a good horror story beats a nice-guy-finishes-first tale for impact alone.....I heard accounts of companies that just didn't support their loan originators on the front line...at all!

Sure as I sit here typing, you are only as good as your back office support and management. I am with a firm that literally supports my efforts 110%. I do know what I am doing and I am a skilled professional but I am also successful because of the efforts and the due diligence executed daily by this team of people.

Tri-County is not my first mortgage company experience. I know when an organization cares about its people, customers and business partners. Tri-County people actually walk the talk. You've gotta have each others' backs in this business...it is the only way to get the home buyer a fair and reasonable opportunity to buy a house.

Like some twisted tango we go one step forward and sixteen back. This dance with Freddie and Fannie has to stop somewhere!

At this point, no one doesn't know about the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct. Bottom line: this whole thing just adds up to another roadblock in the path of home buyers and homeowners!

I've attached a link to the document from Freddie Mac but the bottom line is this new law (which applies to conventional loans only) cites that the appraisal needs to be ordered from the actual lender through an appraisal management company.  Some of the impacts are as follows: 

· Mortgage brokers are not allowed to communicate with the appraiser

· No "rushes" can really be accommodated

· The appraisal charge can vary wildly dependant on which appraisal management company is next in the rotation

· Trainees may very well be the go-to resources as the management companies will retain up to 50% of the fees

· An erosion of veteran appraisers in the field as they may not buy into doing double the work for the same income

· No more real check and balance system will be in effect

· If appraisal comes in and is not right, the consumer may be paying twice

And besides:

· Where's the regulation of the appraisal management companies supposed to come from?

· Where's the consistency in fees and in valuations from lender to lender?

· Where's the quality control between appraisal management companies?

 Is this really the time to knowingly insert a communication breakdown when some assessments are a little delicate now? I'm not getting it.

So to all you Realtors out there, I strongly urge you to meet the appraiser at the property to let he or she know how you arrived at your offer. And as I get answers I will pass them along.  We'll have to see how this plays out and keep in touch. Let me know what you think.

No mystery...I'm a numbers guy. I understand them and I respect the principle that they either add up or they don't. While they can be interpreted within the confines of a certain context, there is nothing subjective about numbers.

In the face of the "re-fi frenzy", the current value of a home, the amount owed, the equity taken out (either intentionally or due to market conditions), and the good ‘ol FICO are all elements in a picture.  These factors translate into numbers and these numbers are the bottom line that yields the final story. Straight up and down, your financial picture is an equation; plug in the data and press the button.

So while it's true that numbers are as they appear; the only true variable is how we color them with our own perceptions and our own personal barometers.  

In summation, (no pun intended!), taking your numbers out for a spin is worth the time; but it is the truth that will prevail. Numbers don't lie.

With all political agendas and allegiances aside, all I've got to say to the President and his administration's attempts to help homeowners in trouble is, "Nice try, big fella!" There is certainly a movement in the right direction, but Florida mortgagors are contending with 30% differentials in their "upside-down-ness!"

I understand that the situation is a complex one with implications that reach beyond the borders of the genesis of our recession. I understand that no one thing is going to fix everything.

But the majority of the people who are struggling to make their payments and who are dramatically upside down are not really being provided with a working solution in Florida. And I'm still not down with the bad behavior being rewarded syndrome! I am not seeing legitimate support of the people who are making the concerted effort.

It is sorta like the disruptive kids in class who receive all the attention and drain the strength (or the dollars in the case of the housing market) out of the teacher. The kids who are trying and who want to succeed are left to tolerate the potential squandering of focus and efforts on the wrong segment of the classroom population. I am just not seeing the equality in the equation.

So I was visiting my Dad down on his farm in Georgia over the Easter holidays. I received a call from Lori Crawford who is an extraordinary Realtor with whom I do business. She said, "Brian, I need your help. I've got a bidding war going on over a property." The first thoughts in my head: "You have a bidding what??" Haven't heard that term in a while! But Lori was contacting me to see how much higher her clients could bid on the property based on their file which I had pre-approved.  And it was because she was representing one of the parties in a bidding war!!!

This does go to show that if people price their home to move, then so shall they move...on, that is...to another house!

So while everything isn't fixed in this market, stuff is happening! The market is not back to true normalcy but we have activity! And let's face it, it took a long time to get here; it will take a while to get back! But I do like the fact that I got a phone call on a weekend because a great agent was in the throes of a bidding frenzy! A step for certain in the right direction....

Yes, it has come to this....we need 45 days on all loans! I am talking about all products (Conventional and Government loans) across the board, the worm has turned. As far as FHA and VA for example, I have a lender with files that were turned in on February 26^th but were not slated for submission to an underwriter until March 26^th. Although "individual results may vary" as the saying goes, I do have lenders that have quicker underwriting times but this is still not a bad expectation to set for clients.

The reasons for the increase in underwriting times:

• The collapse of other lenders like Equifirst which meant their loans had to migrate over to other institutions
• The first time home buyer credit has sparked many new sales
• FHA lowered their loan to value on cash out refinances as of April 1^st
• Big spike in mortgage rate re-finance applications because of lower rates

So even though we got a little spoiled for a while with a quicker underwriting turnaround, most of the reasons for the delay are due to bottlenecking, and bottlenecking is due to more applications, and more applications mean consumer confidence. And that's a worm we want to see turn!