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realtor: Does my Buyer still Qualify? - 06/12/08 10:17 AM
Opps, the loan officer didn't lock the rate and the rates increased, does my buyer still qualify?
Well maybe, but maybe not!
In todays world of restricted quidelines a buyer who has an approval at 6.5% may lose that approval if the rate increases to 6.75%. We may not like it, but
That's the fact Jack!
Sorry, I couldn't help myself I just had to say it.
Does that mean that marginal buyers, and those that might be, should lock their rates?
It might mean that if you'd like to be able to close the transaction. It's that old cliche, better safe than … (4 comments)

realtor: Beware! when purchasing a Condo - 06/04/08 11:14 AM
Why? you may ask?
Well in Southwest Florida, where I live, there are a lot of condo's and a couple areas of concern. As a lender the first question that I ask a buyer or a Realtor, in regards to the condo, is what is the investor ratio. Lenders feel, and the numbers back us up, that condominium communities with high investor ratios, generally, are not as well maintained as those heavy in owner and second home occupants. Loans are either difficult or impossible to acquire in communities with high investor ratios. This brings up the following point.
When purchasing a Condo, not only … (8 comments)

realtor: This MUST be a misprint! - 05/29/08 02:26 PM
I had to run and get my glasses to make sure the headline said, what I thought it said.
CNNMoney.com  5/29/08
"Economy grows faster than first believed"
The first quarter growth rate was adjusted up from .6% to .9%. Okay so you don't think that this is a big deal. Well consider this;
Since the economy grew at a rate of .6% in the fourth quarter of 2007, that would mean that the annual rate of growth actually increased in the first quarter of 2008. Not great numbers, but still an increase.
How about this;
"the National Bureau of Economic Research, which … (13 comments)

realtor: Approvals, Tougher to get! - 05/13/08 07:26 AM
It's not just the more restrictive guidelienes, it's the excessive paperwork and the underwriting.
It use to be that you would get an AUS (automated underwriting system) approval upfront and away you'd go. You'd address the findings and the conditions, package the loan, and ship it off to the underwriter for validation.
Not so any longer!
The loans must now be investor quality. The chic new tern is "overlays." So to speak, they lay over the existing guidelines, with new can do's and don't's. Unfortunately they are often not known until your file hits an underwriter, who may override the … (12 comments)

realtor: FHA! Better! Better! Best! - 04/01/08 09:33 AM
It's an FHA market for those that qualify. Despite more restrictive guidelines, which the market feels necessary, FHA is THE way to go.
If you have low/no downpayment needs;
Well the courts ruled in Amerifund's favor and the downpayment assistance program is alive and well.
Low credit scores;
Well while the market is attempting to make scores under 580 no longer an option, some investors are holding on. And yes you may see a premium under 620, but for scores over 620;
Come on down! We love you!
If you have a 675 score and your about to pay a premium on conventional financing;
Yo, over here. No … (2 comments)

realtor: Necessary Evil? Opportunity? or just Greed? - 04/01/08 08:42 AM
I'm sitting here with the FNMA "New Flow Business Pricing Requirements," announced on March 6th and effective June 1st, which essentially means that lenders will start adhering to these guidelines now.
Frankly, as I review the charts I'm shaking my head in disbelief.
First, is this just a necessary evil?
Does FNMA need to make these adjustments to have saleable and marketable securities and/ or a profitable portfolio to keep the cash flowing? I don't know, but I would like to believe that the rational is solid and necessary. BUT, I'm not sue it is.
Second, is this just another company taking advantage of today's … (6 comments)

realtor: Somebody explain this to me! - 03/28/08 08:11 AM
Fortune magazine (online) headline by author Colin Barr.
"Big Check for Countrywide Exec."
Before I even began reading the article the following thought immediately popped into my mind:
WHY?
B of A will pay CW's #2 man, President David Sambol, $28 million in cash and stock if he sticks around for 3 years.
Why, why, why, why, why?
Here's the recipe to make the BIG bucks.
Offer one of the most liberal stated income programs, Fast & Easy, with low and no down payments required. Verify nothing, and allow those with scores as low as 680 and 1 day jobs to qualify. This is/was A paper supposedly, but … (17 comments)

realtor: FHA/Conventional loans-where are we? - 03/24/08 12:29 PM
Okay, so to start off with, we have your good olde conventional loans, well not exactly. I'm in Southwest Florida, so we have reduced LTV's, with more restrictive guidelines. PMI doesn't like us much, and is resistent to insure our loans, if they'll insure them at all. 
FNMA & FHLMC have gone to tiered pricing and I can no longer accurately quote interest rates without a tri-merged credit report in my possession. Without it, at some time I'm going to be accused of bait and switch, no matter how well I explain the situation to the prospect.
Appraisal requirements are a mystery sometimes, … (3 comments)

realtor: Are Subprime loans making a comeback? - 03/23/08 10:15 AM
This past week I received three different contacts from "subprime" lenders looking for new business.
I told the national sales manager of the first company that called that I didn't know what a subprime loan is. He stated that they were looking for FHA near misses. But unless he has a different idea of FHA quality in today's market the guidelines that he sent to me were not close.
Try these guidelines;
Bank statements, 60% debt ratios, and ficos starting at 525.
Yep, that's subprime stuff alright. I don't know of any FHA lender using these criteria as their basic guidelines.
Okay, there's no … (11 comments)

realtor: Twisted Thinking? - 03/19/08 08:23 AM
James Cooper has written an article in Business Week entitled, " It sure looks like a recession." The media loves this word, RECESSION! It's one of the words which can strike fear in an individual, so let's use it as often as possible. It's great for sales!
Once again, a recession by definition is 2 consecutive quarters of negative growth. We have not had 1 quarter of negative growth yet, but the media has been stating, or hinting that the economy is in a recession for months.
Well, it's good for sales!
It's also irresponsible in my opinion, for whatever that's worth.
Okay, here's … (5 comments)

realtor: FEAR!!! - 03/18/08 08:00 AM
Finally, it's out in the open. In a CNNMoney.com article this morning entitled "Why the Fed can't put out the fire," David Wyss, Standard & Poor's chief economist let's the cat out of the bag.
In regards to the Fed's actions he says, "It doesn't adress the fundamenatl problems, which is that the financial markets are just scared." "The Fed is trying, but they don't have a magic wand to wave and make everyone confident again."
BINGO!!!!!
Here's Rich Yamarone's take," Anytime you act on Sunday night during '60 minutes' if you don't think that will endanger fear, I don't know what does." Rich Yamarone … (8 comments)

realtor: Chairman Bernanke-Mortgage Underwriter? - 03/17/08 09:37 AM
I waited a few days after reading a CNNMoney.com article entitled "Bernanke outlines mortgage help plan-Fed chief says central bank "strongly committed to easing mortgage crisis," to see if it still struck me as being so odd that the Fed wanted to venture into the world of "mortgage underwriting."
While I'm happy to hear about the Fed's concern, the issues which need to be addressed seem to be outside the Fed's realm of responsibility. Just one man's opinion.
Doesn't the Fed have enough to do within the realm of their responsibilities?
Are Fed members qualified  mortgage underwriters?
I think not!
Let's check those resumes and see … (6 comments)

realtor: Stated/No Income Verification Loans-They've been around forever! - 03/17/08 08:31 AM
From a historical perspective Stated/No income verification loans have been around forever. However, we may have not called them that. For you newbees you may not remember the good old "loan committes" at your local bank. Back in those days we did something called portfolio loans.
So what is a "portfolio loan?"
Essentially it was a loan where as a banking institution we used our own money, and we made the rules. The loans went before a loan committeee, made up usually of bank officers, who evaluated the request and made a decision as to what was felt to be in the bank's … (8 comments)

realtor: Fed's Answer-throw $200 Billion at it! (and see if it goes away) - 03/11/08 11:14 AM
In an effort to increase liquidity the Fed is initiating a program to make available $200 Billion in funds to primary dealers, that would be large investment firms which deal directly with the Fed. Seems like some serious change to me.
The big question is will it help?
On the surface you gotta believe the answer is of course, but then again maybe not. The Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) will accept as collateral pledged securities such as fedral agency debt, and federal agency residential mortgage backed securities. It seems like we're on the right track here. 
But is easy money the answer?
CNNMoney.com … (6 comments)

realtor: Home (NO) Equity Loans Shutdown - 02/26/08 09:28 AM
The guidelines for new home equity lines don't bear any striking resemblance to what we have seen in the recent past, and the guidelines for the existing lines are changing as fast as you can say ouch! I must say though this looks like prudent behavior to me.
New equity lines are going to have some special provisions. The first and most important one is:
You must have some, equity that is.
Remember the 125% LTV equity line, well you can forget about it.
The second new guideline is:
You must have the ability to pay.
I know that sounds tough, but they were never really designed to … (4 comments)

realtor: Let's hear it! LOUD & PROUD! - 02/26/08 07:35 AM
I don't know about you, but it seems all I keep seeing are articles about doom and gloom. There's foreclosures, a lack of sales, credit crisis, subprime problems, and so on, and son on, and so on. There is just absolutely nothing positive going on in the marketplace today.
I have a suprise for you. American spirit and determination lives on.
I grew up in a period of free expression and protest. Because of this there was a term that was created to describe a certain segment of the population.
Anyone remember?
"the silent majority"
Today we have a segment of our population which goes about … (4 comments)

realtor: Debt Ratios; How High is TOO High? - 02/20/08 07:57 AM
I was reading an article online this morning about subprime loans that were defaulting before the rates reset. They quoted analyst Michael Youngblood of Freidman, Billings, and Ramsey as being shocked by this fact. I guess we were to believe that Friedman, and whomever were some sort of experts in regards to these matters although, personally I'm not familiar with them. However, I would question that they are, based on Mr. Youngblood being "shocked" by this phenomenon.
Many/most of the subprime loans allowed for debt ratios of up to 50%, some even went to 55%, or higher.
That was of the gross. That fact … (24 comments)

realtor: I Don't Make Enough Money! - 02/18/08 06:52 AM
While the Presidential candidates and the Congress are throwing around bailout plans like there's no tomorrow, there's a problem for many homeowners, which they can't fix. The real problem is;
I don't make enough money!
These homeowners fall into many different categories, but let's just check out a few.
I NEVER made enough money to afford the mortgage payments!
I grossly, intentionally, overstated my income to buy the house. I confess.  I knew I didn't make the amount of money that I put on the loan application, and the loan officer knew it too. He/she said that they do it all the time. That I … (16 comments)

realtor: FHA Limit Increases, Are the Loans Saleable? - 02/16/08 09:57 AM
Well, are they?
Don't know yet.
BUT:
There appears to already be some resistance to Fannie's and Freddie's increases, feel free to read "Fannie & Freddie Get the Cold Shoulder."
Larger FHA loans with low or no out of pocket investment may not be saleable, even with the FHA insurance. Investors have been burnt in the marketplace, and are not necessarily going to step up to the plate, without at least a warm and fuzzy feeling.
I think right now that they are still feeling a chilly breeze.
Like most others I am personally excited about FHA increases, and the positive effect that they could have in … (5 comments)

realtor: Fannie & Freddie Get the Cold Shoulder! - 02/16/08 09:33 AM
Fannie & Freddie's loan limits are increasing!
This should help! Yea!
Hold on for just a minute now. Things may not be quite that rosy.
CNNMoney.com reports that the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said that the larger loans, above the previous $417,000, will not be allowed on the "To Be Announced" market, which permits investors to buy and sell mortgage backed securities, before the loan pools are put together.
The fact is that most securities issued by the agencies are traded in this market. Including Ginnie's, that would be your government loans.
So, are these loans, in excess of $417,000, saleable? Or … (3 comments)

 


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