mortgages: Recovering From A Short Sale - 05/09/14 03:47 AM
Borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth can sometimes get out from under by negotiating a short sale with their lender. But short-sellers are branded as higher-risk borrowers, so new loans won’t come quickly or easily. Read More (The New York Times)
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mortgages: A plan to jumpstart the mortgage market - 07/22/08 03:26 AM
An article from CNNMoney.com, reports that a group representing the buyers and sellers of mortgage backed securities unveiled a plan this week to recharge the mortgage market.  The American Securitization Forum hopes its plan, Project RESTART, will increase the supply of mortgage loans available to borrowers and lower their cost.  Jump starting the mortgage market could provide a needed boost to the struggling housing market.  Tom Deutsch, ASF Deputy Executive Director said, "Project RESTART's goal is to rebuild confidence in investors in these securities."  This plan aims to revive the segment of the secondary market that trades in mortgages that are not backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie … (0 comments)

mortgages: Clean up credit score to land a sweet mortgage rate - 07/22/08 03:13 AM
An article from USA Today, reports that most lenders will review your FICO score when you apply for a mortgage.  According to Mavel Vargas, manager of lending research for Informa Research Services, a few months ago, borrowers with a FICO score of 700 usually qualified for the lowest mortgage rates.  Now, though, most borrowers need a score of at least 720 to get the best rates.  It is common knowledge that falling behind on debts will hurt credit scores, but there are other issues that could hurt your score that may be less obvious.  One issue is a frozen home equity line of credit, even … (0 comments)

mortgages: Daily Rate Lock Advisory - 06/09/08 10:47 AM
This week brings us the release of five pieces of data for the markets to digest. The most important news will be posted late in the week, so we may see the most movement in rates during those days. The first part of the week will likely be driven by stock market gains or losses.The week's first but least important data is April's Goods and Services Trade Balance report Tuesday morning. This report gives us the size of the U.S. trade deficit and will be released at 8:30 AM. It isn't likely to cause much movement in the markets or mortgage … (0 comments)

mortgages: Good News From Lenders - 05/23/08 03:36 AM
An article from RealtyTimes.com, reports that the best news in real estate the first few months of 2008 has concerned mortgages.  Interest levels have continued to hover near 6% for 30-year fixed-rate loans, people who want to buy or refinance at this time will find interest rates not terribly far-removed from the historic lows seen in 2003.  The mortgage rates today are important because they show that lender confidence in the U.S. real estate market remains strong.  Lenders are willing to extend credit to U.S. homeowners, despite the large number of foreclosures.  With the new lender policies, be prepared for more paperwork, larger down payment requirements when you buy and the need for … (1 comments)

mortgages: Mortgage Tip - 05/13/08 07:31 AM
We've got another good example of why all loans should be run through an automated underwriting system, rather than just manually submitting them to an underwriter.  The general underwriting guideline for commission income is that the borrower must show a 24 month history of that income from the same employer.  However, when we run our loans through the online automated underwriting system used by Fannie Mae, we frequently only have to provide the most recent year's tax return (instead of the past 2 years), and Fannie Mae only asks for proof that the borrower reported at least 6 months commission income.   By using … (2 comments)

mortgages: The Mortgage Lender Implode -O- Meter - 04/08/08 04:33 AM
Ken Horst just posted about Washington Mutual quitting the wholesale lending business after their loss of $1.1 billion in the first quarter.  I thought everyone would be interested in a website that is tracking the mortgage meltdown and has a Mortgage Lender Implode -O- Meter.  It also has some good mortgage industry information. The site address is http://ml-implode.com/.
 
http://www.judesandvall.com/
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