rhode: New Green Shoots? How About Significant Improvements to FHA Condo Guidelines!!! - 08/10/09 07:16 PM
Washington's buzzword last month was "green shoots" to suggest tiny indications of improvements to the economy and financial markets. After 2 years of lender closures and program cuts, this fall we may just start seeing some green shoots in mortgages, as well.
Mortgage financing on condominium properties has been a sore … (0 comments)
rhode: Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act, or why I'm working late tonight - 07/28/09 04:57 PM
Good evening! I wanted to post a quick note tonight to let you all know what I’ve been working on for most of this working week so far. The Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act, or MDIA, was enacted as a rider to one of the many stimulus-related bills that have cleared congress … (3 comments)
rhode: Volunteering at WaterFire - How I spent my weekend - 06/16/09 11:23 PM
This Saturday, after spending most of my day in New Hampshire at a school board meeting (I serve on the board of a private school there - more on that at another time, perhaps), I zipped back to Providence to volunteer again, this time at a Providence institution, WaterFire. I'm the … (0 comments)
rhode: FHA is great, but don't forget conventional options, too! - 05/11/09 05:55 PM
I know that FHA, and other government products, have been all the rage lately due to difficulty in getting conventional loans and conventional mortgage insurance, but I think that a lot of mortgage originators have forgotten that there are still good conventional loans available without the high down payments frequently associated … (1 comments)
rhode: Are the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "Refi Plus" programs working? - 04/27/09 06:16 PM
It's been about 3 weeks now since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rolled out their "streamline" refinance programs they had first discussed at the beginning of February. These programs are intended to make refinancing to today's rates easier for homeowners by lowering documentation and credit requirements, and by allowing refinancing at … (0 comments)
rhode: Bowling for Finance and Entrepreneurship Education - 04/06/09 10:51 AM
Yesterday, I took part in Rhode Island Junior Achievement's 25th Annual Achieve-A-Bowl, a fund-raising event that has collected over $80,000 this year to support Junior Achievement's in-school education programs. I think this is a very important charity to support right now due to the obvious deficit of Finance and Economics education … (0 comments)
rhode: What's new in the mortgage market? Keeping up on recent changes - 03/30/09 11:26 AM
Good morning!
It’s been a little while since I had the opportunity to write, and I wanted to pass along a bit of information about what is going on in the financing market. There have been some changes recently that need to be considered, so I’d like to take a few … (1 comments)
rhode: Mortgage - Treasury Spread Closes as Homebuyer Incentives Suggest Home Prices May Stabilize - 03/12/09 04:03 PM
February was a significant month for the mortgage and real estate markets, as a massive bailout package was signed into law, and further talk of foreclosure prevention efforts at the federal level reassured mortgage investors of the safety of their investments. An $8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers sparked hope for … (1 comments)
rhode: Economic Stimulus Act Signed Into Law - What does it mean for homebuyers? - 02/17/09 12:02 PM
As I write this, the president is poised to sign the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the $787 billion Economic Stimulus Plan. There has been much speculation about what this plan might do for housing, real estate, homebuyers, and mortgages, ranging from 2.99% to 4.5% mortgage … (31 comments)
rhode: Builders converge, but does their idea make sense? - 01/14/09 09:59 PM
I attended a presentation yesterday regarding the possible solutions to the real estate problems currently facing Rhode Island, and, one of the things I learned about was a proposal by the National Association of Home Builders to stimulate home sales by artificially lowering 30-year mortgage rates to 2.99% for a 6 … (1 comments)
rhode: Mortgage - Treasury Spread Remains Near Peak for December 2008; Fed Action Awaited - 01/02/09 02:53 PM
The Mortgage-Treasury Spread remained near its highest ever level in December, as investors retreaed into the safest available investments to close 2008. Treasury instruments of all maturities saw one of the biggest demand spikes in their history, a sign that risk tolerance was negligible this month. Throughout the month of December, … (0 comments)
rhode: 2008 Recap, 2009 Preview and a Green Mortgage? Sure, let's put it all in one post - 12/24/08 10:16 AM
2008 has been a year in which many new ideas have arisen, but also one in which old ideas have returned, especially that of “being green”. As we saw gas prices soar past $3.50 per gallon, I think that all of us made an effort to drive a little less, or … (0 comments)
rhode: Why You Should Talk to Your Creditors - 12/15/08 01:50 PM
One night last week, I got home bright and early at 8:00 PM after a busy day of networking and loan applications. I opened my mail, and near about flipped. There on my credit card statement it said:
“11/xx Late Fee: $39.00”
People who know me well will tell you that … (1 comments)
rhode: Buying a foreclosed home? Look out for these property pitfalls - 12/08/08 02:50 PM
Today's buzzword in buying a reasonably priced home is "foreclosure". Foreclosed homes sell anywhere from 20%-60% lower than non-foreclosed homes, making their pricing much more attractive, but there are hurdles to overcome, especially when it comes to property condition. Even though the home is foreclosed, it still must meet the requirements … (1 comments)
rhode: Fed Intervention Fails to Close Mortgage Treasury Spread - 12/05/08 10:47 AM
In spite of an unprecedented move by the Federal Reserve on November 25th to purchase $600 billion in mortgage-related assets, the spread between mortgage and treasury rates remained at its highest level on record for the week ending December 4th, closing at 2.96%. Investors sought the safety of treasury securities in … (6 comments)
rhode: Stop the insanity! No, wait, keep it going! - 11/26/08 02:36 PM
Phew, what a busy couple of days!
I’m sure at this point you’ve been inundated with emails from loan officers since yesterday morning, so I probably don’t need to tell you that many buyers are qualifying for 5.5% with no points today. We saw a huge drop yesterday in rates, so, … (0 comments)
rhode: Rates drop sharply on $600 Billion Fed Purchase - expect to see 5.5% 0 points in some cases - 11/25/08 09:12 AM
I only have a minute to post right now, but I wanted to make sure you're aware that there has been a dramatic shift in mortgage pricing this morning.
This morning the Fed announced it was going to buy $600 Billion in mortgage assets. This has had a huge impact on … (0 comments)
rhode: Financing Condominiums – What you need to know Part II: How Condos are Approved for Financing - 11/03/08 01:04 PM
Last week, we looked at some of the most significant factors that are considered in condominium approval. Let’s examine the 5 methods allowed for approval of a specific condo.
Fannie Mae / FHA Approval
Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Administration used to approve condominiums following an exhaustive process that involved … (0 comments)
rhode: Financing Condominiums – What you need to know Part I: Financing Considerations - 10/31/08 01:37 PM
I’m going to open this up this article with a shocking revelation:
Condominiums are not the same as single-family homes.
Lenders do not view condominiums in the same way as single-family homes. There are additional risks that are considered, additional documentation that must be obtained, the result of which is … (0 comments)
rhode: What’s going on in the market - 10/14/08 09:19 PM
Last Wednesday, I gave a brief presentation on the state of the financial market. I thought it would be of value to share it here, too. I hope this helps to make the current situation a bit more understandable.
Capital Markets are based on the assumption that low-cost short-term (overnight) credit … (0 comments)
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Washington's buzzword last month was "green shoots" to suggest tiny indications of improvements to the economy and financial markets. After 2 years of lender closures and program cuts, this fall we may just start seeing some green shoots in mortgages, as well.
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