mortgage: CFPB: Goodbye, Mr. TRID! - 11/20/19 02:47 PM
The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) has been reviewing and verifying several rules that they have implemented in the past, and the one that remains to be reviewed is the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule, the TRID rule for short. It seems that eliminating the rule completely will be a possibility.
The TRID rule, implemented the Dodd-Frank Act directive to combine certain types of mortgage disclosures that consumers receive under TILA and RESPA, which require all creditors to submit standardized forms to perform any transaction. The rule also requires creditors to provide loan estimates and closing disclosures within three business days.
Since October 3, 2015 (when it … (1 comments)

mortgage: Is it a good time to talk about a refinance? - 09/20/19 11:44 AM
This month, we arrived to really solid ground, regarding mortgages at least. Refinancing opportunities for people who originated their mortgage in 2018 are looking good. A vast quantity of last year’s mortgages are currently carrying rates 0.75% higher than today’s average rate, which is now at 3.49%. 
 
New data shows that more than half of US mortgagees have their mortgage locked above the prevailing rate. Refinancing would be the answer, but strange as it may be, mortgage refinance is looking at negative numbers in its activity. Truth is, if it weren’t for some predominant factors, shaving these rates would be easy as … (0 comments)

mortgage: Is forgiving the student debt acceptable? - 09/17/19 10:47 AM
Some presidential hopefuls want to eliminate student loan debt. Snapping their fingers over more than 1.6 trillion dollars, forgiving the complete debt. This wouldn’t be a similar situation to bankruptcy, where you have to qualify and show that there's a reason you can't afford to pay the debt. Students didn’t know what they were getting into, and now they've got a ton of debt in their hands. The thing is, there seems to be zero accountability for this, and it’s unacceptable.
 
When I was 18 years old, I made a choice to join the US Army Reserve, so I could live on … (0 comments)

mortgage: The BIG BAD Adjustable Mortgage - 08/13/19 08:26 AM
Let’s talk about adjustable rate mortgages. Everybody's afraid of them. Well, I understand why... because nearly 10 years ago, during the real estate boom, people were doing adjustable rate mortgages, they were getting into a mortgage with a 1% rate to start, and then all of a sudden, it became 6% and 7%. That’s not how true adjustable rate mortgages work, those were predatory loans that no longer exist, they're all illegal now. 
 
The Fed announced a couple weeks ago, they’re gonna start dropping the Fed rate, they're gonna start dropping, the adjustable rates that pretty much everybody follows: LIBOR, the Prime … (1 comments)

mortgage: Millennial generation secures second income to pay up mortgages - 08/12/19 01:11 PM
For the past couple of years, we’ve been seeing a drastic decline on mortgage first-time buyers. The millennial generation has been received in the midst of a different financial weather, where securing an income and buying your first house became mutually exclusive.
 
New, younger buyers who depended on external income (that being from friends and parents) are starting to take measures of their own and find alternative ways to pay an independent mortgage.
 
A Redfin poll shows, that in March 2019, the younger generation now prefers to secure a second income instead of borrowing money from their parents, roommates or Airbnb and VRBO … (0 comments)

mortgage: New HUD rule change leads to setbacks - 08/08/19 09:52 AM
The HUD (or Department of Housing and Urban Development), formally suspended an important rule shift regarding down payment assistance guidelines. The rule, issued in April 2019, was establishing a need for clarification and guidance for down payments on loans backed by the FHA, but as of today, has been suspended until further notice. 
 
These sudden actions came by as a consequence of a ruling made by a judge in Utah. After establishing there was certain discrimination against Native American tribes, specifically, the Paiutes, a lawsuit was filed by the Cedar Band of Paiutes, federally recognized and in charge of operation of the … (0 comments)

mortgage: The Fed lowers interest for the first time in 11 years - 08/05/19 11:11 AM
The Fed has lowered interest rates for the first time in 11 years. This comes as a consequence of several events, including the continuing pressure of the POTUS and the possibility of negative economic repercussions. The Federal Reserve hasn’t lowered these rates since the 2008 recession.
 
Jerome Powell, chairman of the Fed and leader of this new policy, promised that this sudden drop is one of many efforts to sustain “one of the longest economic expansions in the country’s history”.
 
Soon after Powell’s announcement, the market started seeing crazy movement on mortgage bonds and treasuries, a natural reaction. 
 
Powell promised to keep a careful … (1 comments)

mortgage: HUD reduces risk on cash-out refinance lending - 08/02/19 01:58 PM
The HUD announced new actions regarding the reduction of risks inside cash-out refinance lending. For starters, loan-to-value maximum requirements will be lowered by 5% starting on September 1st of the current year. Other actions and policies include new ways of reducing loan churning on VA mortgages. 
 
“Rapid, serial refinancing has proven to deplete home equity and wealth for veterans with VA-insured mortgages and harmed investor confidence in mortgage-backed securities that Ginnie Mae guarantees,” the HUD stated on their official release.
These new policies are good news for homeowners, who will now have a chance to convert their home equity to cash through a … (0 comments)

mortgage: The Risks of a Reverse Mortgage - 07/23/19 02:57 PM
Today I want to write about something serious, something that really upsets me. A friend of mine sent me an article(link), a friend and a financial advisor who understands reverse mortgages. The title of the article from USA Today reads: 
 
“Seniors were sold sold a risk free retirement with reverse mortgages,
now they face foreclosure”. 
 
Just that, drives me crazy, the mortgage industry has created and regulated protection for things like this. You have to deal with a sales person, granted sales people can lie, we know that. But then there's other types of protection, that came into place in the year 2000, and … (2 comments)

mortgage: Live Well Financial under FBI investigation - 07/22/19 09:21 AM
I wrote a short blog post about Live Well Financial’s previous situation some weeks ago. But yes, it seems that one of the biggest reverse mortgage competitors in the game is finally shutting its doors for good, and it looks like that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Seems like Livewell has entered a federal investigation with no other than the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
Once at the top of the american reverse mortgage companies, Live Well Financial stopped all of their originations on May 3. With no real explanation for the sudden halt, more than a hundred employees … (0 comments)

mortgage: The end of the Realtor - 06/14/19 12:52 PM
Graphs and Articles provided by National Real Estate Post and GeekWire
 
I wanted to pose the question: Are we seeing the end of the real estate agent? More importantly, was this perpetuated by the real estate agents themselves? So we have 2 very large internet companies, tech companies that have been involved in real estate now for awhile, I’m talking about Zillow and Redfin. Both of them are getting involved in real estate in different ways. This has had a huge impact on the reality of the home market , the appearance of companies like this has started to interrogate the very … (3 comments)

mortgage: Does a Trade War mean a necessary bad outcome? - 06/13/19 11:07 AM
I keep seeing articles about mortgage applications in decline, when we are booming and seeing a very healthy market.  Buyers are getting the offers they want as the market has shifted from a definite seller's market to a healthy and balanced buyer's market.  We were seeing 5+ offers on properties in early 2018, and now the one offer is usually accepted by the seller. This coupled with low interest rates is fueling a strong market and huge amount of mortgage applications for us in South Florida. So I'm surprised when I see news like this.
 
This MPA article talks about the effect … (0 comments)

mortgage: Live Well Financial halts reverse mortgage originations - 05/24/19 11:01 AM
One of the biggest mortgage lenders in the game has abruptly shut down operations regarding reverse mortgage originations. The Virginia based company, Live Well Financial, was founded in 2005 by Michael Hild, a local entrepreneur and former Capital One executive.
 
The originations came to a stop alongside more than a 100 employee’s careers, the statement came to the public with no excuse for the terminations, all but a “liquidity crunch” rumour, putting a stop to new all new loan possibilities.
 
But the real story was sadder, the company decided not just to stop all reverse mortgage related operations, the truth is they’re … (0 comments)

mortgage: Buying VS. Renting. What's the difference? - 05/22/19 12:09 PM
Let’s talk about buying and renting property. Many people prefer to rent their living space instead of securing a mortgage, based on different facts: no long-term commitment, lower payments, fewer maintenance costs, to name a few. And, when people come to get some kind of advice with me, their opening line normally goes like this:
 
“Phil should I buy my own house? My rent isn’t bad, it’s actually a little lower
than a mortgage payment right now!”
 
First of all, you should take in consideration the current rent prices, rent is higher than the mortgage payment in most states, especially in … (0 comments)

mortgage: Mortgage application drops as rates increase - 05/21/19 09:58 AM
Mortgage sales and applications saw a big drop through all of April. There’s been a huge growth on external economies (mainly european), this normally leads to an increase in local concerns and fears. As a consequence, we’re seeing an increasing drop on new mortgage acquisition and even less activity on the refinancing area.
 
“Borrowers remain extremely sensitive to rate changes (…) The strong economy and job market is keeping buyer interest high, but rising mortgage rates could add pressure to the budgets of some would-be buyers.” said a representative of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
 
But overall, the stability of the full housing … (0 comments)

mortgage: Are we expecting a recession this year? (Part II) - 05/01/19 08:52 AM
As I wrote in the previous post, when the 10 Year Treasury yield gets below the 2 Year’s Yield (which is right now at 2.25), it’s usually when we see a recession coming.
 
Again, this is nothing to be scared about, recessions are normal. But when we talk about mortgages and real estate it’s not a bad thing. A recession means that less money is being spent and consumer confidence is down, it means that as an economy people are spending less, they say: “Let me hold my money just in case”. When that happens, the FED and the government, wanting to … (0 comments)

mortgage: Are we expecting a recession this year? (Part I) - 04/15/19 11:34 AM
People ask me all the time: “Phil, why do you keep saying a recession is coming?” I don’t wanna sound like the crazy guy screaming “the end is nigh!” around the street but, there are two big indicators to consider.
 
First of all, unemployment. Unemployment has been historically low for a couple of years and, whenever this happens we always see a recession coming. Right now it’s at about 3.8%, and when we see it go to 4.1% unemployment or higher, you can expect recession talk to really heat up.
 
Second, the Inverted Yield Curve (IYC). Sounds difficult, right? But, bear with me … (0 comments)

mortgage: VA Loans: The Good & the Bad - 04/08/19 12:18 PM
I want to talk a little bit about the positive and negative sides of a VA Mortgage Loan. So, I’ve talked about the main benefits a VA Mortgage can provide for you and your family, how you get the best financing available in the market today.
 
The VA Home Loan is one of the few mortgages that requires you to get a termite inspection.  A prospective borrower needs to show a valid termite inspection that shows you’re either clear of WDO’s (Wood Destroying Organisms) or that you remedied the infestation (if you had one).
 
If you have drywood termites in your … (2 comments)

mortgage: Will Housing Affordability improve in South Florida? - 04/04/19 09:05 AM
Housing affordability in South Florida is still being affected by last year's hurricane season. Nevertheless, the huge drop on mortgage delinquency shows that the market is recovering at a big pace, and not just in South Florida, but other US housing markets as well.
 
"The last few years have been difficult for homebuyers. From unsustainably rapid price gains to higher mortgage rates to tight supplies of homes for sale, it's been an increasingly difficult time to buy a home" said David Berson, from Nationwide.
 
Places like Iowa, Oklahoma, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Texas are expecting positive outcomes in the first part of … (2 comments)

mortgage: Reverse Mortgage Program becomes a priority in POTUS agenda - 03/29/19 03:57 PM
This week, the housing system became a new point in president Trump’s agenda, after he signed a memo regarding the long overdue reform, handing the task to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Treasury Department.
A year ago, the president’s budget gave a boost to the HECM program by increasing the cap limit on reverse mortgages, and this new focus on the program shows that reverse mortgages are still a priority in the Trump administration:
“The Budget will again propose permanently lifting the cap of 275,000 loan guarantees to provide further stability for the HECM program. This proposal reflects the … (1 comments)