I remember when just about anyone with a pulse and a social security number could get a home loan. Times are changing. If you read the front page of The Houston Chronicle this morning, you may know what I am talking about. New Century Financial, America's 2nd largest subprime lender, has stopped accepting new home loan applications. Analysts say they expect New Century to file bankruptcy soon. The main cause of this dilemma, being a substantial amount of their borrowers defaulting on their home loans. I am sure their "creative" accounting practices did not help the situation. I am now receiving memos from just about every subprime lender I do business with informing me of their more strict lending guidelines. This may be why the mortgage broker you are working with suddenly has to find a new bank for your customer. Of course, this may delay your closing. I learned this the hard way a couple of years ago. You may want to have your mortgage broker to take time to research the lender he or she is using. Most brokers (myself included), assist customers in refinancing their home loans as well as acquiring new home loans. I usually use a more reputable, stable bank when working with home buyers such as Bank of America, World Savings or Chase. For refinancing, I may use other banks like Citi Financial or Greenpoint. Asking the right questions may be the difference between you having happy clients over for dinner, or Pepto (yummy) for dinner. My father used to say, "If you fail to plan, plan to fail."
Loan Nerd
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