Rich Sweum's Blog

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Mortgage and Lending - 1st Security Bank - NMLS #115765
Residential Mortgage Musings Real Estate Industry News

ARCHIVED BLOG POSTS

2008 

MI companies have started running away from new condo's and condo conversions at a break-neck pace.  This, combined with the evaporation of 2nd mortgages has made financing these properties vitually impossible.  Last year, when I read the guidance from Fannie and Freddie that they were getting ou...
05/29/2008
I know that things in the Puget Sound aren't as zesty as many places, but this loan scenario chaps my hide. $560k purchase price/ $500k loan amount, in April of 2007...12 month MTA, 3 year Hard Prepay, max margin, 125% neg am cap.  Their loan amount is now $525k, other houses in their neighborhoo...
05/27/2008
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson Memorial Day is, in my estimation, the most Holy of our national holidays.  As I reflect on the lives that have been lost through our history in defense of Freedom I am humbled.  I w...
05/23/2008
Duh, we all know that borrowers' purchasing power has been reduced because of the evaporation of stated income and ninja documentation loans, for I found some conservative data that illustrates in in real numbers how much borrowing power has how interest only v. full am qualification has impacted...
05/21/2008
I have had more than one Realtor comment to me that they are thinking twice about being a client taxi cab driver.  The one filter that they have implemented strongly is that they are not taking any clients that are not strongly pre-approved out looking at listings.  This summer we will more than ...
05/19/2008
As I read the 2007 report from the FBI on mortgage and housing fraud, I was more surprised as to what wasn't in the report as compared to what is in the report.  The data reported was very "vanilla" and while the increase of fraud over the past 2 years was alarming, the details seemed to miss on ...
05/15/2008
In Real Estate, timing is everything...and if you can time a purchase to coincide with the bottom of a cycle, more power to you!  But buying on the "slide" is the absolute best time to buy, because appraisal limitations haven't caught up to the sliding home values...they use comparable sales from...
05/14/2008
Snohomish county...40% decline in YOY closed sales, 2007 to 2008.  No need to worry, we only have 9 months of inventory (prior to the listing spike that comes in late May/early June)  In speaking with one large, regional builder, they have pads ready to be built on in the hundreds (400+) in Sno. ...
05/12/2008
Young first time homebuyers that have 750+ credit scores because of authorized user accounts on their mommy and daddy's credit cards beware...FNMA DU 7.0 is likely find a way to juke you out of qualifying for a loan if you aren't careful.  Additionally, the three amigos, Experion, Transunion, and...
05/12/2008
Wall Street is on a rally...the king has no clothes on...yet the parade route is lined with cheering subjects.  I know many folks have dubbed me a pessimist.  I apologize if I cause injury to your reality.  But am I the only one who sees that the king is buck-naked?  The housing market is still g...
05/01/2008
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Richard Sweum

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