Loan Modification Scams On the Rise

Dennis Norman

According to data from NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide community-based revitalization efforts, every 13 seconds in America, there is another foreclosure filing. This means there are more than 6,600 home foreclosure filings per day and currently, more than 4.5 million households are at risk of foreclosure. Unfortunately there is no end in site as industry experts are predicting 1.5 – 2.0 million new foreclosures in 2010 and as many as a total of 8.1 million by 2012.

This many people in financial distress provides great opportunity for loan modification scam artists, who prey on unsuspecting homeowners with unethical and sometimes unlawful tactics to scam them out of money and often times their homes according to the report. Many of these homeowners have turned to loan modification or foreclosure “rescue” companies for help — only to realize they’ve been scammed. Loan modification scams are proliferating at a rapid pace.

To combat these scam artists and try to protect and educate consumers, NeighborWorks America has launched a “Loan Modification Scam Alert” campaign. Their scam alert website has many resources available to help consumers protect themselves and I would suggest that consumers that are facing falling behind on their mortgages, facing foreclosure or with other housing-related financial issues, check out the site.

The scam alert identifies the following as the most common loan modification scams :

  • Phony Counseling or Foreclosure Rescue Scams
    • The scam artist poses as a counselor and tells you he can negotiate a deal with your lender to save your house—if you pay him a fee first. He may even tell you not to contact your lender, lawyer or housing counselor—that he’ll handle all details. He may even insist that you make all mortgage payments directly to him while he negotiates with the lender. Once you pay the fee, or a few mortgage payments, the scammer disappears with your money.
  • Fake “Government” Modification Programs
    • Some scammers may claim to be affiliated with, or approved by, the government, or they may ask you to pay high, up-front fees to qualify for government mortgage modification programs. The scammer’s company name and Web site may sound like a real government agency. You may also see terms like “federal,” “TARP” or other words related to official U.S. government programs.
    • Your lender will be able to tell you if you qualify for any government programs to prevent foreclosure. And you do not have to pay to benefit from these programs.
  • Bait-and-Switch
    • The scam artist convinces you to sign documents for a “new loan modification” that will make your existing mortgage current. This is a trick. You actually just signed documents that surrender the title of your house to the scam artist in exchange for a “rescue” loan.
  • Rent-to-Own or Leaseback Scheme
    • A scammer urges you to surrender the title of your home as part of a deal that will let you stay in your home as a renter and then buy it back in a few years. He may tell you that surrendering the title will permit a borrower with a better credit rating to get new financing—and keep you from losing your home. However, the scammer may have no intention of ever selling the home back to you.
    • But the terms of these deals usually make buying back your home impossible. Worse yet, when the new borrower defaults on the loan, you’re evicted.
    • Variations:
      • The scammer raises your rent over time to the point that you can’t afford it. After missing several rent payments, you are evicted, leaving the “rescuer” free to sell your house.
      • The scammer offers to find a buyer for your home, but only if you sign over the deed and move out. The scammer promises to pay you some of the profit when the home sells. But the scammer simply rents out your home and keeps the profits while your lender proceeds with the foreclosure. You lose your home and are still responsible for the unpaid mortgage, because transferring the deed does not affect your mortgage obligation.
  • Bankruptcy to Avoid Foreclosure
    • The scammer may promise to negotiate with your lender or get refinancing on your behalf if you pay a fee up front. Instead of contacting your lender or refinancing your loan, he pockets the fee and files a bankruptcy case in your name—sometimes without your knowledge.
    • A bankruptcy filing often stops a home foreclosure, but only temporarily. Filing bankruptcy stops any collection and foreclosure while the bankruptcy court administers the case. But, eventually you must start paying your mortgage, or the lender will be able to foreclose.
    • You could lose the money you paid to the scammer and your home. Worse yet, a bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, which makes it difficult to obtain credit, buy a home, get life insurance or even get a job.

In addition to visiting the Loan Modification Scam Alert website, one of the best things you can do to protect yourself is to educate yourself about programs such as HAMP (the Home Affordable Modification Program) for loan modifications as well as HAFA (The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program) so that you understand how the programs actually operate and see that you don’t need to necessarily pay someone for assistance.

I’ve written many articles on both the HAMP as well as HAFA program with complete information on the programs as well as links to information on the programs. To access these articles easily, simply click on the links below:

HAMP Articles (Home Affordable Modiciation Program)

HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program)

 

Six Charged with Wire Fraud Based on $20 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A 10-count indictment has been unsealed charging six individuals with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt. The defendants are charged with submitting false and fraudulent mortgage loan applications and related documents to banks and other lending institutions, thereby inducing the institutions to make approximately 36 loans totaling approximately $20,800,000.

The defendants charged with participating in the conspiracy are: Brian Andrew La Porte; Daniel John Schuetz; Michael Wayne Wickware; Roxanne Yvette Hempstead; Darryl Anthony Wallace, aka Darryl Anthony White; and Terrence Smith, aka Terry Lee Smith. The indictment alleges that the defendants devised a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders and to obtain money and property by false and fraudulent means and diverted the proceeds for their personal use and benefit.

According to the indictment, from May 2008, the defendants agreed to submit false loan applications to mortgage lenders to obtain financing to purchase residential properties. The defendants recruited “straw buyers” who had sound credit histories but who otherwise would not have qualified to purchase the residential properties selected by the defendants. The indictment further alleges that, as part of the conspiracy, Brian Andrew La Porte and Daniel John Schuetz prepared fraudulent loan applications on behalf of the straw purchasers, falsely stating the employment and monthly salaries of the straw purchasers.

The indictment further alleges that the defendants submitted fraudulent loan applications on behalf of the straw purchasers to mortgage lenders, including OwnIt Mortgage Solutions Inc., WMC Mortgage Corp., Argent Mortgage Company, Countrywide Home Loans, First Franklin, Finance America LLC, and other mortgage lenders. The defendants then caused escrow agents to disburse the funds to the defendants and others so that the defendants could divert to themselves and others the proceeds of the fraud.

President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who working together to launch a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program co-chairs the task force’s Rescue Fraud Working Group.

The case is the product of an investigation by agents of the FBI and is being prosecuted in San Diego federal court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan I. Shapiro.

An indictment itself is not evidence that the defendants committed the crimes charged. The defendants are presumed innocent until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Mortgage Default Rate Improves In April

 

Dennis Norman

I know it looks like I’m doing my second post today on the same topic, but I’m really not……my post earlier today was about the rate of mortgage delinquency, which can be defined as homeowners that are late, to varying degrees, on their house payments. This post is about mortgage default rates, which is homeowners that are over 90 days late on mortgage payments, have filed bankruptcy, are in foreclosure or on whom the lender has written off part or all of the balance of the loan. In other words these are the borrowers that, unlike the “delinquent ones” that may get current again, for the most part, are not going to recover and are likely to lose their homes. Also, now I have some data for April as well.

According to the Standard & Poor’s and Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices, we may be seeing some easing of the pain. Their report for showed that default rates for first and second mortgages declined in April which I think is significant. The other thing that is significant is the S&P/Experian Indices are not seasonally-adjusted. In my earlier post today it was pointed out that the first quarter data from the MBA that showed an increase in the mortgage delinquency rate was “seasonally adjusted”, but when they looked at non-seasonally-adjusted numbers there was a decrease in delinquency rates.

So in real-time, unadjusted numbers, we have mortgage delinquencies improving in the first-quarter of this year, followed by a decrease in the mortgage default rate in April. Maybe, just maybe, this run-away train is finally losing some steam! Another thing worth noting in the S&P/Experian report is that, while the home mortgage default rate is decreasing the credit card default rate is on the rise. This is in sharp contrast to recent months when the opposite was true…I think this shows a changing sentiment among the homeowners out there that are now focusing more on paying house payments, and keeping their homes, in advance of making credit card payments.

s&p-experian-mortgage-default

 

Not Out Of The Woods Yet; Mortgage Delinquences and Foreclosures On The Rise

1st Quarter Delinquencies; Up? Down? He said – She Said…

Mortgage Bankers Association Logo MBA

If you frequent this site, then you may recall that a little over a week ago (May 10th to be exact) I wrote a post that said the delinquency rate for homeowners mortgages had dropped in the first quarter of this year, the first drop since 2006. Now the post title says delinquencies have increased, so what gives?

Well, for one thing, different sources of information. The “good” delinquency report came from TransUnion and they get their data by doing a “random sampling” of their database of 27 million home mortgages, and then determine how borrowers are performing from that sample I assume. Today’s data comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association which, according to their report, pulls their information from 44.3 million loans which represents approximately 85 percent of all the “first-mortgage” loans in the US.

So, assuming my information is correct in terms of methodology, I would say the MBA data paints a much more accurate picture of the market, and in this case a more bleak picture.

Highlights from the MBA Report:

  • The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four unit residential properties increased to a seasonally adjusted rate of 10.06 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of this year.
    • This represents an increase of 6.2 percent in the delinquency rate from the fourth quarter of 2009 and a 10.3 percent increase from a year ago.
  • Foreclosure actions were started on 1.23 percent of the outstanding loans in the first quarter of this year.
    • This is just a slight increase from the prior quarter when the rate was 1.20 percent but is a decrease of about 1 percent from a year ago.

“Seasonally Adjusted” could be the problem too:

If you ever read anything I write about real estate market stats, then you know I do not like “Seasonally Adjusted” numbers. Well, the MBA’s chief economist, Jay Brinkmann, said “the issue this quarter is that the seasonally adjusted delinquency rates went up while the unadjusted rates went down. Delinquency rates traditionally peak in the fourth quarter and fall in the first quarter and we saw that first quarter drop in the data. The question is whether the drop represents anything more than a normal seasonal decline or a more fundamental improvement. Most importantly, the normal seasonal drop is coming right at the point where we believe delinquencies could potentially be declining and the problem for the statistical models is determining which is which”.

Where we are headed:

We have TransUnion’s data showing an improvement and the MBA, non-seasonally adjusted data showing improvement as well, so perhaps this is an indicator that we are turning the corner? I think the April delinquency rates when they are published will help us see where things are headed.

 

Commercial and Multifamily Mortgage Performance Remains Better Than Other Loans

Dennis Norman

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on the performance of commercial and multifamily mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2009. Their last report from a year ago showed that commercial and multifamily mortgages were among the best performing loans held by banks and thrifts. Now, a year later, the data still looks good and shows that commercial and multifamily mortgages continue to have the lowest charge off rate of all loan types at banks and thrifts and also perform better than their overall portfolios as well.

MBA

This is good news for an already-struggling banking industry, especially since, according to the MBA report, commercial and multifamily loans together account for 35 percent of all bank loan holdings (residential loans, including 1 to 4 families, make up 26 percent of the bank loan holdings).

Highlights from the report (all data is as of end of fourth quarter, 2009):

  • Mortgage Delinquency –
    • 7.30 percent of all loans and leases held by banks and thrifts were 30 or more days past due.
    • 5.06 percent of commercial mortgages were 30 or more days past due.
    • 5.64 percent of multifamily mortgages were 30 or more days past due.
    • 4.39 percent of commercial and industrial loans were 30+ days past due.
    • Construction loans had the highest delinquency rate at 18.56 percent 30+ days past due, followed next by single-family mortgages at 12.49 percent.
    • Surprisingly (at least to me) credit card delinquency rates were about half that of single-family mortgages at 6.28 percent.

mba commercial loan

Obama administrations loan modification program ‘destined to fail’

Dennis Norman
Dennis Norman

Laurie Goodman, the Senior Managing Director at Amherst Securities, testified today before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on “The Private Sector and Government Response to the Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis“. Amherst Securities specializes in the trading of residential mortgage backed securities and charges Goodman with keeping them and their customers abreast of trends in the market.

Today, in her testimony, Goodman told the committee she hoped to make two primary points in her testimony:
  • “The housing market is fundamentally in very bad shape. The single largest problem is negative equity.”
  • “The current modication program does not address negative equity, and is therefore destined to fail. It must be amended to explicitly address this problem. And there is no single solution; it is a combination of policy measures. Clearly, the arsenal of solutions must include principal reduction and must explicitly address the loss allocation between first lien investors and second lien investors.”

In her testimony Goodman cited some very interesting (albeit it depressing) facts and figures, including:

  • They (Amherst) estimate that approximately 7 million of the 7.9 million homeowners that were reported by the MBA as not making their mortgage payments in 3rd quarter will be forced into vacating their properties.
  • 250,000 New borrowers per month stop making their payments

As a reason for estimating failure on such a large percentage (88.6 percent) of the 7.9 million borrowers that were delinquent, Goodman said;

“The real problem is that default transition rates are high and cure rates are low because the borrower has negative equity in their home. Most borrowers do not default because of negative equity alone. Generally, a borrower experiences a change in financial circumstances. If the home has substantial negative equity, they will choose to walk.”

To prove her point, Goodman cited a study that was done by Amherst which looked at Prime borrowers that were 30 days delinquent on their mortgage 6 months ago. They then sorted the loans by the amount of equity the borrowers had, then came back 6 months later to see which borrowers were at least 60 days delinquent. For borrowers with 20 percent equity, only 38 percent had become 60+ days delinquent. For borrowers with substantial negative equity (owed 41-50 percent more on their homes than the value) 75 percent had become 60+ days delinquent.

During her testimony, Goodman said “there is a substantial group of people who have argued that the primary problem is not negative equity, it is unemployment. This argument is not supported by the evidence. First, the increase in delinquencies for subprime, Alt-A and pay option ARM mortgages began to accelerate in Q2, 2007. By contrast, we did not begin to see large increases in unemployment until Q3, 2008.”

Goodman goes on to point out the results of another study done by Amherst Securities entitled “Negative Equity Trumps Unemployment in Predicting Defaults” which included the following:

  • The combined loan-to-value ratio or CLTV plays a critical role. For prime and Alt-A loans in low unemployment areas the default frequency was at least 4 times greater for borrowers underwater by 20 percent than it was for borrowers with at least a 20 percent equity position.
  • If a borrower has positive equity, unemployment plays a negligible role. We found that all borrowers with positive equity performed similarly no matter the local level of unemployment.
  • If a borrower has substantial negative equity, unemployment plays a role, but less than CLTV. If the borrower has a CLTV greater than 120, the default frequency was 50 percent to 100 percent higher in a high unemployment area versus a low unemployment area.

The evidence is irrefutable. Negative equity is the most important predictor of default,” said Laurie Goodman.

In addition to Laurie Goodman, there was testimony today from Dr. Anthony B. Sanders, Distinguished Professor of Real Estate Finance, Professor of Finance School of Management, George Mason University. Dr. Sanders also paints a pretty dismal picture of the success of the Obama administration loan modification program. Dr. Sanders said “it is a real challenge to servicers to make loan modifications succeed when 70 percent of modifications that have only interest rate cuts have gone into re-default after 12 months.

Dr. Sanders goes on to state that “only 12.5 percent of eligible borrowers receiving permanent loan modifications are able to keep them current. And it is entirely possible that the “success” rate could enve fall below 10 percent of eligible loans.” Dr. Sanders says the reason for this is:

“the degree to which many residential loans in the United States are in a negative equity situation. According to a Deutsche Bank research report, they are expecting 25 million homes to be in negative equity position.”

The second reason Dr. Sanders gave as the cause for such a bleak outlook for successful permanent loan modifications is the unemployment rate. He said “while 10 percent report(ed) unemployment rate is bad enough, the true unemployment rate (including wage and salary curtailment) is closer to 17.5 percent. “

I am glad to see testimony by these two professionals, and others, to help convince Congress that the loan modification plan, in it’s present form, is not effective. I think the evidence is overwhelming that negative equity is the major problem and must addressed in their “stimulus” and “recovery” programs.

Commercial and multi-family properties mortgage delinquencies on the rise

Dennis Norman
Dennis Norman

For the first year or so of the real estate slump, it appeared to just be concentrated in the residential market, specifically homes and condos. However, over the past few months the attention has shifted more and more to the commerical and multi-family markets as well as the economy remains weak.

The Cost of Not Walking Away From An Underwater Mortgage

In the ongoing debate about whether one should walk away from an underwater mortgage or not, one University of Arizona professor speaks out strongly in favor of taking a hike. According to Brent T. White, an associate professor of law at the University of Arizona:

A failure to grasp the true economics of the situation is holding back many Americans whose home values have dropped far below the amount they owe and who would be better off renting, Mr. White says. Fear, shame and guilt also are preventing rational decisions, he believes. And, he says, those “emotional constraints” are encouraged by politicians and bankers, who ruthlessly and amorally follow their own economic interests while telling Joe Soggy Homeowner he has a moral duty to pay his debt so long as he possibly can. Continue reading “The Cost of Not Walking Away From An Underwater Mortgage

Almost 1 in 8 Missourians are delinquent on mortgage payments according to MBA report

Missouri ranks 21st in delinquencies and 30th in foreclosures

Mortgage Bankers Association Logo MBAAccording to a report just issued by the Mortgage Bankers Association, the mortgage delinquency rate on one-to-four-unit residential properties in the U.S. rose to a new record rate of 9.64 percent.  Here in Missouri, the delinquency rate is slightly lower at 9.41 percent.

Included in the MBA’s report as a “delinquency” are loans that are at least one payment past due, but does NOT include loans somewhere in the process of foreclosure. At the end of third quarter 2.05 percent of mortgage loans in Missouri were in the foreclosure process. Therefore 11.46 percent of mortgage loans in Missouri are actually delinquent once we add in the ones in foreclosure. Continue reading “Almost 1 in 8 Missourians are delinquent on mortgage payments according to MBA report

Justice Department Files Fair Housing Lawsuit in Missouri Against Owner and Managers of Federally-Subsidized Property for Race and Sex Discrimination

The Justice Department announced it has filed a lawsuit today in federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri alleging a pattern or practice of violations of the Fair Housing Act by the owner and managers of Forum Manor Apartments, a federally-subsidized apartment complex, for refusing to rent to African-Americans and males, refusing to allow tenants to have African-American visitors, sexually harassing female tenants and retaliating against tenants who complained about such discrimination. Continue reading “Justice Department Files Fair Housing Lawsuit in Missouri Against Owner and Managers of Federally-Subsidized Property for Race and Sex Discrimination

Mortgage rates increase; loan applications decrease

Dennis Norman

Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending October 9, 2009. The report showed an increase of 1.8 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week as interest rates inched back above 5 percent for the first time in four weeks.

Refi’s continue to dominate the mortgage application activity with 67.4 percent of all mortgage loan applications being refinances. Continue reading “Mortgage rates increase; loan applications decrease

MBA urges US House Small Business Committee to Extend and Expand Homebuyer Tax Credit

Dennis Norman

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

Today, testifying before The US House of Representatives Small Business Committee, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) told the committee that the current credit cycle and recession began in the U.S. housing market, and recovery will not be complete until the current oversupply of house on the market has dramatically decreased.

Mortgage Bankers Association Logo MBAThe MBA then cited the recent report by the IRS that over 1.4 million taxpayers have benefited from the tax credit. “Although (the) MBA is seeing some improvement in the housing market, it is essential that the favorable impact of the first-time homebuyer credit be allowed to continue beyond the upcoming expiration date of November30, 2009.” Continue reading “MBA urges US House Small Business Committee to Extend and Expand Homebuyer Tax Credit

Mortgage interest rates on 30 year loan stay below 5 percent for third consecutive week

Dennis Norman

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending October 2, 2009. The report showed an increase of 16.4 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week before fueled by interest rates remaing below 5 percent.

Unfortunately interest rates seem to be doing more for existing homeowners and the mortgage industry than investors and the real estate market at refi’s for the week made up 66.3 percent of the mortgage loan application activity. Over the past four weeks shows homeowners refinancing existing loans is up 6.7 percent while borrowers financing the purchase of a home is only up a scant 0.2 percent. Continue reading “Mortgage interest rates on 30 year loan stay below 5 percent for third consecutive week

Interest rates drop below 5 percent for 30 year fixed rate loan; applications increase

Dennis Norman

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending September 18, 2009. The report showed an increase of 12.8 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week before fueled by interest rates dropping below 5 percent for the first time since mid-May.

The bulk of the activity (63.8 percent of all applications) were homeowners refinancing their existing mortgages. Over the past four weeks shows homeowners refinancing existing loans is up 6.8 percent while borrowers financing the purchase of a home is only up 0.7 percent.

Interest rates and fees for the week: Continue reading “Interest rates drop below 5 percent for 30 year fixed rate loan; applications increase

Mortgage rates drop; Borrowers refinancing jumps over 22 percent for the week

Dennis Norman

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending September 4, 2009. The report showed an increase of 17.0 percent in borrowers applying for home mortgages to buy a home from the week before. This marks the largest gain in the index since early April, putting the index at the highest level since the first week of January.

There was a massive increase of over 22 percent from the week before for borrowers refinancing their existing home mortgage making . This the biggest jump in the increase since mid-March. Continue reading “Mortgage rates drop; Borrowers refinancing jumps over 22 percent for the week

Beware The False Bottom In Housing

 

Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds

Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds

By: Charles Hugh Smith:

In February 2007 I suggested a 4% mortgage delinquency rate could trigger a decline in the entire housing market. Since that proved prescient, we should revisit the analytic tool behind that call: the Pareto Principle.

There is a whiff of euphoria in the housing market, a heavily touted confidence that “the bottom is in.” It’s all roaring back–rising sales, multiple bids by anxious buyers, 3.5% down payments, low mortgage rates and the bonus of an $8,000 first-time home buyer credit (a gift from U.S. taxpayers). Housing Lifts Recovery Hopes (Wall Street Journal) Continue reading “Beware The False Bottom In Housing

Mortgage interest rates increase slightly

Dennis Norman

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending August 21, 2009. The report showed an increase in borrowers applying for home mortgages of about 1 percent from the week before for borrowers buying homes and an increase of almost 13 percent from the week before for borrowers refinancing their existing home mortgage.

Interest rates inched up a little last week according to the survey. 

The average interest rate for 30 year fixed rate mortgages increased to 5.24 percent from 5.15 percent with loan fees increasing to 1.07 percent from 0.98 percent on loans for 80 percent of the value of the home.

The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.58 percent from 4.52 percent with loan fees increasing to 1.18 percent from 0.93 percent on loans for 80 percent of the value of the home.

The average interest rate for one-year ARMS increased to 6.74 percent from 6.66 percent, with loan fees increasing to 0.17 percent from 0.07 percent on loans for 80 percent of the value of the home.

One in twelve borrowers seriously delinquent on their mortgage

Dennis Norman
Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

All the news lately about the housing market, home sales in particular, has been encouraging and showing signs of stabilization in the real estate market and demonstrating that the real estate market may have seen the worst. Just when you think you may be through the storm though you see another dark cloud lurking in the distance. For the real estate market this dark cloud could very well be mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures.

 At the end of this week the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that serious mortgage delinquencies (homeowners that are 90 or more days past due on their house payments or are already in foreclosure proceedings) reached record levels in the 2nd quarter of 2009 and surpassing the record set in the prior quarter. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association statistics over 13 percent of all loans are now past due and 1 in 12 borrowers is seriously delinquent on their mortgage. This is a 45 percent increase from a year ago when 1 in 22 borrowers were seriously delinquent and a whopping 70 percent increase from two years ago when only it was 1 in 40. Continue reading “One in twelve borrowers seriously delinquent on their mortgage

Mortgage information and advice from a St. Louis Mortgage Banker – Part 1 of a series

Dennis Norman

Dennis Norman

By: Dennis Norman

It seems home mortgages are in the news daily lately: record-low interest rates, record-high foreclosure rates, the sub-prime mortgage mess, lack of jumbo loans and so on. It’s confusing at best and causing much concern for many people wishing to buy a home or refinance their existing home mortgage.

H. John Frank, Jr., President Paramount Mortgage Co.

H. John Frank, Jr., President Paramount Mortgage Co.

To find out just what is going on in the home mortgage world today I turned to someone I have known for over 20 years that is a highly respected St. Louis mortgage banker, H. John Frank. John agreed to do an E-View TM to discuss what is going on with mortgages today and to share information to help educate consumers that may be seeking a mortgage.

John was a great source of information and I have a lot to share so I plan to share his E-View TM in a series of posts over the next few days.

Here’s the beginning of my E-View TM with H. John Frank, the President of Paramount Mortgage Co. based in St. Louis, MO: Continue reading “Mortgage information and advice from a St. Louis Mortgage Banker – Part 1 of a series