No Home Loan Money Available?

I realize the financial status that this country is currently in, especially with all the lenders going by the wayside in the last 18 months. The mortgage bailout dollar amount seems to be continuosly growing from the original numbers. The good news is there are still lenders that are lending money! In no way am I "downsizing" the seriousness of the current economic status, but the news media has really spun out of control with information...which is actually no surprise to most mortgage/real estate professionals. A lot of the general public isn't aware what is really going on - specifically loan programs that are available, they only rely on the media for information!

We are back to square1 in the lending business, and rightfully so. Gone are the days with stated, low doc, no doc, option arms, etc... although I do know of only a few companies out there still doing a "stated" loan, but they aren't the norm and definitely not at 100% financing. Borrowers are told by the media there's no money out there and they basically can't or won't qualify for a new loan. I fully understand the credit markets, the 2ndary market and how the U.S. monetary system works, but the media sometimes doesn't! They just like to blurb out that bad news without fully understanding the situation- I can tell you that loans are closing! I just closed 5 this month via 3 different lenders. We all (should) know that mortgage rates are not determined by the 10yr note, they are determined by mortgage backed securities, specifically bonds.

There are still a lot of loans going strong with plenty of money to lend such as VA, FHA, USDA, etc... Let's not forget about the great programs still available such as the $7,500 federal tax credit available to first time homebuyers (FTHB), the Mortgage Credit Certificate Program (MCC) and down payment assistance programs available via various cities and towns. We just need to get our clients and realtors educated on all these programs that are still available and how they can qualify.

Gerard Ladalardo, CMPS
www.caloanpros.com