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Money for Nothing and Your Checks for Free

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Mortgage and Lending with VanDyk Mortgage

No interest mortgages...hmmm...they can't work and they shouldn't work. I loved a recent Wall Street Journal article that speculated on the possibility (and the impact) of such an opportunity.

Guess it may be intriguing to think about, (hey, I'd like to be 6'10" and play center for the Lakers), but there are a zillion issues that would hinder this from being a viable solution to bring buyers into a flooded market. Something's got to sop it up, but giving money away isn't the answer.

The Federal Reserve is committing to taking remarkable steps to keep the economy moving in the right direction and that's the stuff of lower interest rates...but where would it end?

The thing is...there's no way to fund such a proposition; money can't be lent for free. Money for mortgages comes from bonds issued at rates lower than the mortgage they fund, so would the investor then pay the bank to let them invest in bonds?

The Catch-22 of today's real estate market is that the home prices and interest rates are at historic lows; but roughly 33% of Americans don't have the credit history to buy and only half of the country has the FICO power to get the best rates.

At the end of the day, it's a terrible irony; but that doesn't mean that Dire Straits should dictate crazy solutions.

Lori Bowers
La Quinta, CA
The Lori Bowers Group

I see many people are business owners or 1099 income so their tax returns show a low net even though they have a large income. They are not able to get loans in our area of La Quinta, California at this time which is really impacting our real estate market.

Oct 30, 2010 08:04 AM
Joey Remondino
RE/MAX Preferred Properties - Vienna, VA
Broker, GRI, E-Pro

Yes, crazy solutions for the short term is how we got here in the first place.  We need to look at the long term health of the economy and make decisions based from that.  Short term solution is like giving my three year old whatever she wants to stop crying, but the long term problem this causes will be much worse.

Thanks for the Post.

Joey Remondino

Oct 30, 2010 11:16 AM
Brian P. Forrester
VanDyk Mortgage - Palm Harbor, FL

@Lori--this has been an issue here in Florida since August of 2007.  If, as a business owner you find a way to write off all of your income, you do not have to pay any income taxes, but since you are declararing to the world that is your income, a lender looks at that as your income as a lender is thinking there is no way you would lie to the IRS!

@Joey--Absolutely!  To focus on long term health, we will have a great deal of short term (but needed) pain.

Oct 31, 2010 07:39 AM