(original posting 10-28-2009)

Aloha!

I've already made my point clear via numerous other blogs, but in summary the next big market decline is right around the corner and may very well be more severe then the recession we just experienced and apparently survived.

Recession over? Not so fast! Take for example the screenshot I've included below from Bloomberg this morning. Every top breaking news story was negative, not to mention another 100 point drop in the DJIA. If for some reason you can't view the screenshot, it doesn't matter, crippling economic news breaks are more then abundant so just visit Bloomberg.com or any news feed of your choice and you'll find the same stuff.

However, the recent turn back downward (which I warned about) directly and indirectly has been good for interest rates so get on your horse already and talk to a professional (like myself of course) about your refinance options today before these "easy" loan guidelines and historic rates are gone! That's not just sales talk either! Changes to Fannie Mae Underwriting Guidelines will be implemented on December 12^th and include some of the following loan killing changes: 

• An update to credit risk assessment; basically meaning we're going to be more conservative
• A decrease to maximum allowable expense ratio (debt-to-income) to 45%; Yikes!! Take your total debts including the mortgage and divide it by your income. If it isn't LESS than 45% you DON"T qualify! Plain and simple!
• Retirement of Expanded Approval; Credit, income, and equity, the magic 3. Currently if one of these items isn't great you could still get a loan under Expanded Approval Guidelines, no longer, so this means if the loan isn't vanilla flavored it probably won't go!
• Increase of minimum credit score to 620; No ifs, ands, or buts about it; 620 FICO or no loan for you! This includes FHA!!

Hope this update has been informative! ALOHA!

Jon Kutsmeda
National Lending Agency
808-389-2174
jon@nationallendingagency.com
www.nationallendingagency.com