Today, I’m tired and looking for my “Easy button”. Since 1983, I’ve come across a LOT of different aspects of real estate financing. Having entered the real estate finance industry during a time of extraordinarily high interest rates AND rising property prices, I saw some pretty creative mortgage products devised to meet the needs of home buyers and investors, such as graduated payment mortgages and the first versions of adjustable rate mortgages put for in the savings and loan industry. These were mortgage loan programs designed to keep a flailing real estate market alive and get credit flowing again. “Pretty creative”, I thought, the early adjustable rate mortgages these forward thinking lending institutions were making available to home buyers and investors who wanted to “buy low”, adjustable rate loans that could adjust DOWN when the historically high interest rates began to correct and go back to more sustainable levels. Mind you, these loans required substantial down payments and proof of the ability to pay, borrower credit worthiness and the property that was collateral for the loan was severely scrutinized – these loans needed some “tweaking” as they went along, but were not the home loan products in the heyday of the subprime saga we all got to pay the price for with the early plummet in the real estate markets where the subprime loan was prevalently used as a financing tool.

In the early 90’s, I saw the expansion of the subprime “hard money” loan. Homeowners and investors who had chronic histories of late/no payments or couldn’t meet the “ability to pay” criteria of the traditional institutional loan programs used these tools – some of them to take care of emergency home repairs or medical bills, some of them again to “buy low”, like with the 70’s-80’s market. There were no “homebuyer education” program requirements on these loans, nor were the companies providing them educating these borrowers voluntarily. It was all about instant gratification for borrowers and lender investors alike – at a high cost to the borrowers and profit to the lender investors. I personally chose to emphasize that cost and the other ramifications my borrowers could face if they didn’t change spending habits, change payment habits, and not look at the easy credit as an endless resource, as well as the savings they could experience by taking the time to correct the issues that prevented them from obtaining institutional loans. Seeing the money to be made in this “alternative loan” market segment, investors flocked to this market segment and it transitioned in to the Alt-A/125% CLTV/subprime loans that were eventually the straw that broke the camel’s back when appreciating real estate values were no longer the market’s bail out.

So fast forward to 2009, and here we are today. Instead of the creativity and business planning of the private enterprises like those savings and loans that devised the tools to help fix the late 70’s and early 80’s real estate market and financing issues, we have Uncle Sam “fixing” things. From the Home Affordable Refinance and Modification programs put forth in the 2009 stimulus package to the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program financing tool released to help move foreclosed homes off the market in to owner occupants’ and multi-family non-profit/developers' hands. Affordable housing and bond programs are likely to be funded again soon making low interest rates and down payment assistance available again for low-to-moderate income home buyers. Now, I’ve seen hands on the families who have used these tools to purchase homes, homes that they couldn’t afford otherwise. Homes that are 100% financed in a still declining market, but the buyers' monthly housing expense is less than what they were paying in rent. Once again, I believe homebuyer education is the key to success for these homeowners. In 26+ years, the homeowners I’ve worked with understood what they were getting in to, set their budgets, and have maintained and sustained homeownership. Yes, with the economic downturn and chronic job losses that are a part of today’s equation, some of the buyers I’ve worked with have benefited from the HARP/HAMP programs, some have sold their homes and rented instead, a couple have lost their homes when they could not find replacement jobs that would bring the equivalent income for jobs they had lost.Most are struggling along, staying in their homes.

I’ve paid my dues, and done my time in the mortgage and real estate industry.  I have not been afraid to take on the challenging transactions, and for this I have become “known”. I have given this knowledge and expertise not only to my clients, but to the community through the HUD approved ABC’s of Homebuying course and Default/Foreclosure Prevention event like the monthly ones going on at ACCESS Inc. and the H.O.P.E. Ownership Preservation Event held at Rogue Community College/SOU in downtown Medford earlier this month. But, good Lord! – it would be nice to have some EASY transactions again! I’m feeling like the hamster on their wheel, an exercise in productivity, but wondering where I’m going. As I ponder this further, I realize it is not necessarily the products I have educated myself on and assisted home buyers and borrowers with obtaining, such as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program that has been such a monster to deal with, or the various down payment assistance programs, or the construction loans that are beginning to slowly reappear in the market again with very stringent guidelines for the few homeowners and builders venturing out to build dream homes or the Jumbo loan programs that almost completely disappeared for a while by becoming so pricey they were not a viable tool but have stabilized and re-entered the arena. Rather, I’ve discovered that the entire mortgage industry is tipping leeward, and many of the life boats already took off with so many Realtors and Mortgage folks in them, while I’ve had my nose to the grindstone bailing with all I’ve got. I’M GETTING TIRED!!!! Too tired to believe the likely to be corrected downward 3.5 GDP reports mean much of anything when the US consumer is focused on getting jobs with enough pay to cover basic needs and escalating food/oil/medical prices and the Federal Reserve Board is in the comment period for regulatory proposals that are meant to leave the Big Four in place, while on the other hand our government is announcing they’ll gladly step in and nationalize the U.S. banking system.

Our youngest is completing surveys to show what careers would be good to focus on based on interests and talents. Hmmm…….. What is a 26 year mortgage and real estate industry veteran to do? Where is that survey…maybe I need a new ship. I definitely need an EASY button.

See you out there!