By News Desk, on November 18th, 2010 The “robo-signing” scandal that has exposed illegal practices by servicers of mortgage loans has also showed the urgent need to reform a broken system that is plagued with abuses, lacks adequate resources and has pushed countless homeowners toward foreclosure.
That’s the message that Diane Thompson, a lawyer for the National Consumer Law Center, delivered in testimony earlier this week to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Continue reading “Consumer Organization to Congress: Lenders ‘Lawless Attitude’ pushes homeowners into Foreclosure“
By Robert Fishel, on November 17th, 2010 
Obtaining a mortgage to buy a home, or to refinance an existing mortgage, can sometimes be a little intimidating to borrowers, but it needn’t be. Granted, this is something the typical person only does every few years at most and regulations continually change the process, but that’s where lenders such as myself come in to the picture, to provide you the info you need and to guide you through the process. Continue reading “Mortgage Loans 101 and St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update“
By Dennis Norman, on November 17th, 2010 
A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, is somewhat encouraging as it shows the U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (not including foreclosures) for October was 9.29 percent and, while that is a terribly high rate, it is just barely higher than Septembers’ rate of 9.27 percent. Mortgage delinquencies are a “leading indicator” of foreclosures, so perhaps that means we are getting close to the foreclosure activity leveling off. Continue reading “Initial report shows mortgage delinquencies leveled off in October; foreclosure inventory increased“
By Dennis Norman, on November 15th, 2010 
Last week the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (the group that is supposed to figure out how to rescue our country out of the financial quicksand it’s in) issued a draft proposal of a plan the committee says “will make America better off tomorrow than it is today”.
In addition to such enlightening statements such as “America cannot be great if we go broke” the report outlines a plan that makes five basic recommendations: Continue reading “Mortgage Bankers Cautions Against Cutting Back Mortgage Interest Deduction“
By Robert Fishel, on November 10th, 2010
Conventional Loan Programs
Conventional loans are traditional home mortgages, not backed by any government program of insurance or guarantee. There are standard underwriting guidelines for conventional conforming loans up to $417,000. These loans can carry fixed or variable (ARM) rates and a variety of repayment terms can be tailored to your individual needs. Buyers will need cash reserves/savings to cover two months of payments and generally, there is not a penalty for prepayment. Continue reading “Understanding the Types of Home Loans Available; St Louis Mortgage Watch“
By News Desk, on November 8th, 2010 The National Association of Realtors® announced that it “strongly supports” the proposed guidance from the Federal Housing Finance Agency to prevent government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks from investing in mortgages encumbered by private transfer fee covenants.
In a letter sent to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), NAR reiterated its opposition to these covenants, which developers often attach to a property to require payment of fees back to that developer each time the property is resold. These covenanted mandates are often extremely difficult to reverse once in place, and in many cases are attached to a deed for up to 99 years. Continue reading “REALTORS® Support Proposal to End Private Transfer Fees“
By Dennis Norman, on November 8th, 2010
Dennis Norman The National Association of REALTORS® just released their 2010 Survey of Home Buyers and Sellers which shows that people still look at home ownership as a good long-term investment and the typical seller is experiencing positive returns from home ownership. Continue reading “Eighty-five percent of recent home buyers see their home as a good investment according to NAR survey“
By Dennis Norman, on November 5th, 2010  Dennis Norman At the National Association of REALTORS® Conference and Expo in New Orleans today, “a slow, steady recovery” was predicted for the housing market despite ongoing challenges.
Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors® chief economist, said that he expects “continuing improvement of underlying fundamentals of the current market in coming years.” Continue reading “Slow, Steady Housing Recovery Expected Ahead“
By Dennis Norman, on November 5th, 2010
- Dennis Norman
The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for September shows a decrease of 1.8 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 24.9 percent decrease from a year ago. Continue reading “Pending home sales drop slightly in September“
By News Desk, on November 4th, 2010 Five questions every potential buyer should ask when deciding whether to rent or buy a home
First time homebuyers have a lot to consider this summer when making the decision to rent or buy a home: interest rates are at all-time lows, there’s still plenty of housing stock and prices are at or near their lowest in years. Still, deciding whether to buy a home or rent an apartment can be a complicated decision. How do you know what’s right for you? Potential buyers should ask themselves several key questions before making this important decision. Continue reading “What to do in 2010: Rent or Buy a home?“
By Robert Fishel, on November 3rd, 2010
One Additional Mortgage Payment a Year
There’s a simple trick to significantly reduce the length of your mortgage and save you thousands of dollars. The trick is to make one extra mortgage payment a year and apply that payment toward your loan’s principal. Continue reading “How to Reduce your Mortgage; St Louis Mortgage Watch“
By Dennis Norman, on November 1st, 2010  Dennis Norman A report released by CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in August of 1.52 percent which is a slight increase from July’s rate of 1.48 percent but is an increase of 25.6 percent from the year prior when the rate was 1.21 percent. Comparatively speaking, St. Louis is in good shape as the national foreclosure rate for August was 3.2 percent, almost double our rate here. Continue reading “St Louis Foreclosure rate up over 25 percent from year ago“
By Dennis Norman, on November 1st, 2010 Dennis Norman Finally, some more good news about the housing market! TransUnion released a study of mortgage delinquency “roll rates” (when delinquent borrowers move to a more delinquent status, say from 30 days late to 60 days late, then 90 and so on) which showed that mortgage delinquency roll rates peaked in the summer of 2009. According to the study, approximately 24.4 percent of consumers who were 30 days past due on their mortgage payments in June 2009 became 60 days past due in July 2009 and nearly 37.6 percent of consumers 60 days delinquent on their mortgage payments becamse 90 days late in the same time. Continue reading “Report shows mortgage delinquency ‘Roll Rates’ peaked in summer of 2009; Sign that worst is over?“
By Robert Fishel, on October 27th, 2010 Mortgage Insurance, also known as PMI, is a supplemental insurance policy you may be required to obtain in order to get a mortgage loan. PMI is provided by private (non-government) companies and is usually required when your loan-to-value ratio — the amount of your mortgage loan divided by the value of your home — is greater than 80 percent. Continue reading “Private Mortgage Insurance helps you get the loan; St Louis Mortgage Watch“
By Dennis Norman, on October 25th, 2010 Dennis Norman
Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in September were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 4.53 million units which is an increase of 10.0 percent from August but is a a decline of 19.1 percent from a year ago. Continue reading “Existing home sales rate increases 10.0 percent in September“
By Joe Plemon, on October 25th, 2010  Joe Plemon, ChristianPF.com
1. Less risk
Strangely, risk seems to be the factor least considered Continue reading “7 Reasons to Rent Instead of Buy a Home“
By Dennis Norman, on October 21st, 2010 Dennis Norman If there is a silver lining to the lousy real estate market we’ve witnessed over the past 3 years, maybe this is it….housing affordability!
According to the Beacon Economics Home Affordability Index, homes selling in August were at their most affordable level sinde data became available over 40 years ago (1969). The Beacon Index, quite similar to the National Association of REALTORS housing affordability index, takes into account the percentage of income an average family would need to make mortgage payments on an average home. Continue reading “Home Affordability Index Indicates Housing Most Affordable in Over 40 years“
By Robert Fishel, on October 20th, 2010 A critical step in the mortgage loan application process is to verify the sources for your down payment, closing costs and assets, as well as documenting income and debts. The lender uses this step to determine your qualifications as a borrower. Continue reading “The home loan process; St Louis Mortgage Watch“
By Dennis Norman, on October 16th, 2010 Dennis Norman A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows that things are not getting better on the “home-front”….The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate (not including foreclosures) for September was 9.27 percent, a 0.6 percent increase from the month before, however it is a 7.8 percent decrease from the year before. The foreclosure rate for September was 3.84 percent, a 1.1 percent increase from the month before and a 3.6 percent increase from the year before.
Continue reading “Initial report shows increased mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure inventory in September“
By Robert Fishel, on October 13th, 2010 You’ll see an interest rate and an Annual Percentage Rate (A.P.R.) for each mortgage loan you see advertised. The easy answer to “why” is that federal law requires the lender to tell you both.
The A.P.R. is a tool for comparing different loans, which will include different interest rates but also different points and other terms. The A.P.R. is designed to represent the “true cost of a loan” to the borrower, expressed in the form of a yearly rate. This way, lenders can’t “hide” fees and upfront costs behind low advertised rates. Continue reading “What is the difference between the interest rate and the A.P.R.?; St Louis Mortgage Watch“
By Dennis Norman, on October 11th, 2010 Dennis Norman According to a new survey released by FindLaw.com, nearly two-thirds of Americans say the current economic situation is making them less likely to buy a house. The survey shows that sixty-three percent of American adults say they are less likely to buy a house because of the current state of the economy. So even with record-low interest rates, depressed home prices and plentiful inventory to choose from, only 8 percent of people say the current economic situation makes them more likely to buy a house. About a quarter of people – 28 percent – say they are neither more likely nor less likely to buy a house because of the economy. Continue reading “Two-thirds of Americans less likely to buy a house due to poor economy“
By Dennis Norman, on October 8th, 2010 Dennis Norman Today, Trulia released it’s “Rent vs. Buy Index” which established a price-to-rent ratio for the 50 largest cities in America (by population), then, based upon that ratio, determined which cities it makes more sense (financially) to rent versus buy. Continue reading “Cities where home ownership is more affordable than rental“
By Robert Fishel, on October 6th, 2010 If you have bought a house and are getting ready to apply for your home mortgage, or perhaps you are about to refinance your existing mortgage to take advantage of the dirt-cheap interest rates, this handy loan application checklist will help you be prepared and make the process smoother and quicker: Continue reading “Home Loan Application Checklist; St Louis Mortgage Watch“
By Dennis Norman, on October 5th, 2010 Dennis Norman The CEO of Freddie Mac, Ed Haldeman, published a blog post this week which said reports of mortgage fraud were on the rise; there were nearly 38,000 cases of mortgage in the first half of 2010 – a 13 percent increase over the same period in 2009.
Haldeman says that the fraudsters prey on the vulnerability of struggling borrowers by offering a quick fix to a homeowner who is under water and desperate. A common ploy for a scammer is to promise a struggling homeowner mortgage relief of modification of their loan. Continue reading “Four Tips for Avoiding Mortgage Fraud“
By Dennis Norman, on October 4th, 2010
- Dennis Norman
Pending home sales rise for 2nd consecutive month in August –
The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for August shows an increase of 4.3 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), which is 20.1 percent below a year ago. Continue reading “Pending Home Sales Increase in August; Still down 20 percent from year ago“
By Dennis Norman, on September 30th, 2010 “It is particularly disheartening then that lenders are often the subject of ill considered accusations regarding discrimination, accusations based upon analyses that lack statistical rigor”
– Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics
Dennis Norman This week the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released a paper, “A Review of Statistical Problems in the Measurement of Mortgage Market and Credit Risk” conducted by Professor Anthony M. Yezer of the George Washington University and sponsored by MBA’s Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA). This paper examines the fundamental assumptions that are often used as an analysis of whether their is discrimination present in the process of mortgage lending. Continue reading “‘Flawed models’ are cause of false mortgage discrimination findings“
By Robert Fishel, on September 29th, 2010 There are so many different charges involved in buying a home, it is important to know what to expect at the settlement. Your lender is required to give you a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of your settlement costs within three business days of your loan application. Once you get it, review the charges below to avoid any surprises when you sit down to close on your loan. Continue reading “A Condensed Guide to Closing Costs; St Louis Mortgage Watch“
By Dennis Norman, on September 29th, 2010 Dennis Norman According to an analysis of more than 25,000 loan quotes and purchase request by Zillow, nearly one-third of Americans are unlikely to qualify for a mortgage because their credit scores are too low.
Borrowers with credit scores under 620 who requested purchase loan quotes for 30-year fixed, conventional loans were unlikely to receive even one loan quote on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, even if they offered a relatively high down payment of 15 to 25 percent. Nearly one-third of Americans, or 29.3 percent, has a credit score this low, according to data provided by myFICO.com. Continue reading “1/3 of Americans Highly Unlikely to Qualify for a Mortgage Today“
By Dennis Norman, on September 28th, 2010 Dennis Norman A report released by CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in July of 1.48 percent up slightly from June’s rate of 1.43 percent and an increase of 27.6 percent from the year prior when the rate was 1.16 percent. Continue reading “St. Louis foreclosures on the rise in July“
By Dennis Norman, on September 24th, 2010 Dennis Norman A report published by Lender Processing Services (LPS) analyzing homeowner’s performance on their mortgages as of August 2010 shows that mortgage delinquencies continue to decline however are still at very high levels versus historical norms. At the same time however, foreclosure starts continue to accelerate. Continue reading “Mortgage delinquencies decline; foreclosure starts accelerate“
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