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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. A Special Program for Members of the Armed Forces: VA LOANS No Down Payment 100% Loan Financing No Mortgage Insurance Required 30-Year Fixed Rate or 3-Year Arms No Pre-Payment Penalty Continue Reading → Dennis Norman While much of the talk (including mine) about the real estate market is somewhat negative, there are some positive things to talk about; home prices have fallen back to levels they were at 7 years ago or more and home mortgage interest rates have hit the lowest levels in decades making a home more affordable than ever. This is a great opportunity for someone to buy a home, particularly if a first-time buyer that doesn’t have to deal with selling a home in the current market. In addition, provided Congress doesn’t take them away, there are Continue Reading → FHA Changes Mortgage Insurance Rates-less up front cost but higher payments; St Louis Mortgage WatchNew regulations signed into law by the President allow HUD to increase the amount of premiums charged for FHA single family housing mortgage insurance programs, however lower that actual up-front cost paid by borrowers. Frank Gregoire My world was much different in the late 1980’s. Although I was in the real estate business and the real estate appraisal profession for a decade, political activity did not interest me. Here at Gregoire & Gregoire, we had already been using a networked mini-computer for appraisal reporting since 1983, but I did not have an email account or address. I did not surf the web. Our clients were savings and loan associations, FHA lenders, loan discount companies (purchasers of privately originated first and second mortgages), real estate brokers, and several lawyers. All our research was Continue Reading → A Massachusetts attorney, Michael R. Anderson, 41, of Framingham, was charged last week in federal court with wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering in connection with a multi-year, multi-property mortgage fraud scheme in Dorchester and Roxbury. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation – Boston Field Division, announced today that the defendant was charged in an Information with 16 counts of wire fraud, nine counts of bank fraud, and two counts Continue Reading → The following are the four common first-time home-buyers mistakes: Spending the maximum on housing: First-time buyers can be overly optimistic and excited about buying a home, so they tend to borrow the absolute maximum they qualify for (on paper), not necessarily worrying about a budget or other expenses. Lenders qualify buyers based on their incomes and debt-to-income ratios. However, borrowers have other monthly expenses they need to consider: maintenance and upkeep on their new home, utilities, transportation, savings, and other necessities that are not counted in the debt-to-income ratios. Dennis Norman Reverse mortgages have become increasingly popular over the past few years with seniors that find themselves with a large amount of equity in their home, but short on cash, or struggling to pay for the upkeep of the home, property taxes, insurance or other living expenses. A reverse mortgage allows people in that situation to pull the equity from their home in a lump sum, monthly payments or just as they need it. As the mortgage industry adjusts to new financial regulations, it is more important than ever to ensure that the financing of your new home goes smoothly. Your loan approval is subject to the financial information you provide at the time of your loan approval. Any subsequent changes in your financial situation before the actual date of closing could jeopardize your loan approval and delay your closing. Dennis Norman While many us have been worrying about what is happening to the value of our homes, how to deal with being underwater on a mortgage or even facing the loss of a home, there are many people, families included, in the U.S. whose worry is much more basic….where to find safe shelter for the night. STEP 1 Get pre-qualified for a loan: talk with your mortgage banker. Determine your “mortgage goals.” Review your credit history and sources of income. Do you have money set aside for a down payment? Do you have an “ideal payment range” you would be comfortable with? What are your expectations. Dennis Norman After a couple of days of writing about bad reports on the housing market (existing home sales and new home sales to name two) I’m excited that I actually get to write something today that is positive! According to newly released data from CoreLogic, the percentage of homeowners in the U.S. with negative equity in their homes declined slightly at the end of the second quarter of 2010 making it the second consecutive month of declines. According to the CoreLogic report, 11 million, or 23 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Before you decide on a mortgage make sure you fully understand all the terms of the loan and make sure you know what you are getting yourself in for. Some home mortgages have features that may be risky and make it difficult for you to make your payments in the future. Be sure that you understand the loan terms, the risks and all the costs of the loan you are getting. To help you, below are 7 key questions to ask your lender about your mortgage BEFORE you accept a loan. Dennis Norman Over the past couple of years lawsuits have been filed against several lenders over “yield spread premiums” that were paid by the lenders to mortgage brokers originating loans on their behalf. These suits brought a lot of attention to a common practice in the mortgage industry which was to compensate the companies (or loan officers) originating loans based upon the rate and points charged to the borrower. There have been numerous debates on the topic and I’m staying out of it, however, last week the Federal Reserve announced new rules that will go in effect on Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Beginning last November I have written several articles about the “sugar-rush” effect of tax credits and other stimulus on the housing market and voicing my concern that these things are short lived (like a sugar rush on a child) and after the sugar wears off there is a crash….Well, as expected, here it is… Today’s existing home sales report from theNational Association of REALTORS(R) shows existing home sales in St. Louis for July decreased 36.1 percent from a year ago. For the US as a whole, existing home sales in July were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual Continue Reading → Dennis Norman The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced yet another new plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. This plan targets homeowners that are struggling with unemployment and offers two foreclosure-prevention programs to help them. The first program will be through the existing Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets (the Hardest Hit Fund). Through this program the U.S. Department of the Treasury will make $2 billion of additional assistance available for HFA programs for homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments due to unemployment. Dennis Norman A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. shows that the costs associated with buying a home are on the rise. Bankrate’s 2010 Closing Costs Survey states the average origination and title fees on a $200,000 mortgage this year totaled $3,741, up 37 percent from $2,732 in 2009. The good news for us Missourians is that our state had the ninth LOWEST costs associated with buying a home. Missouri’s average cost is $3,356 which is over 10 percent below the national average. New York, with average costs of $5,623, had the highest costs in the nation. Dennis Norman For some time now I’ve been saying the precursor to the housing market recovering is for the mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates to fall from the present, near-record levels, down to closer to historical norms. The current mortgage loan delinquency report from TransUnion shows that, for the second consecutive quarter, things are headed the right direction. Granted the decline in loans that are 60 or more days past due declined only 1.48 percent to 6.67 percent but at least it is going the right diretion. The loan delinquency rate for the 2nd quarter of 6.67 percent Continue Reading → Every borrower’s situation is different. My goal is to provide various options/loan programs that are available to meet the borrower’s needs. When considering a refinance, the following are typical situations borrowers face: For Immediate Release August 12, 2010 United States Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey Contact: (973) 645-2888 Alleged Schemes Defrauded Investors in Multiple States and Abroad NEWARK, NJ—Eliyahu Weinstein, aka “Eli Weinstein,” was arrested at his home this morning by federal agents on charges that he ran an investment fraud scheme causing losses of at least $200 million, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Weinstein, 35, of Lakewood, N.J., was charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud in connection with the alleged scheme. Vladimir Siforov, 43, of Manalapan, N.J., was also charged with Continue Reading → In the next few days, look for FHA to implement further changes to strengthen its financial situation. An audit in late 2009 showed that the capital ratio of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMIF) had fallen below its statutorily mandated threshold. Over the past few months, FHA has raised premiums on its FHA insurance, prohibited seller-financed down payment assistance, stepped up enforcement of its regulations, tightened appraisal rules, banned several lenders from writing FHA guaranteed loans and brought suit against others. Ted Gayer, Co-Director of Economic Studies, Brookings Institute The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development released June data for the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAMP is the foreclosure prevention program targeted at borrowers who are delinquent in their mortgage payment or facing imminent risk of default on their mortgage. It has always been an open question whether HAMP would prevent foreclosures or whether it would just delay inevitable foreclosures. While those who qualify for HAMP receive reduced mortgage A home mortgage is the largest debt of most consumers and is nothing to take lightly or approach without diligence and care. Here are some tips to help guide you and help you avoid the pitfalls that are out there: Dennis Norman NAR Pending Home Sales Index at Lowest Level Since Index Began in 2001 At dropping 30 percent in May as a result of the rush to buy a home before the April 30th tax credit deadline, the National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for June shows a further decline of 2.6 percent in the index in June (seasonally adjusted) which is 18.6 percent below June 2009. While the decrease in home sales was expected, I’m a little surprised we are running so far behind last year (which, might I remind you, wasn’t that great of Continue Reading → Dennis Norman A report published by Lender Processing Services (LPS) analyzing homeowner’s performance on their mortgages as of June 2010 shows some encouraging news; there are signs that the foreclosure and mortgage delinquency rates are stabilizing, albeit at very elevated levels. Dennis Norman A report released by CoreLogic showed the St. Louis metro area to have a foreclosure rate in June of 1.48 percent up slightly from May’s rate of 1.46 percent and an increase of 28.7 percent from the year prior when the rate was 1.15 percent. Fannie Mae Rolls out New Loan Quality Initiative (LQI) Program – Tightens underwriting requirements and aims to reduce borrower fraud. These rules could derail some closings for buyers who rack up purchases or even take out new store credit cards before their home sales have closed. Dennis Norman Asking this question now is about like asking a newly divorced person their thoughts on marriage….nonetheless in challenging times many of us reflect upon our past investment decisions, investment philosophy, etc and see what can be learned from our past to help us in the future. WHAT IS A CREDIT SCORE? Simply stated, credit scores area statistically-based tool to assess the future performance of a borrower. Scores are derived from the history of a borrower as it is reported to the credit repositories from any creditor. Credit scores are a proven indicator of the likelihood to repay a loan or credit obligation. The lower the score; the more risk from a borrower to repay a loan, on time and in full. Scores range from 400 to 850. This process was started by Fair, Isaac and Co., which is why credit scores are also called Continue Reading → Dennis Norman Finally, some good news! This morning Standard & Poor’s released their S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Index for June showing that first-mortgage default rates declined 5 percent from the month before and were down 45.2 percent from a year ago. I have been saying for a while, we are not going to see any sort of sustainable recovery of the housing market until we see mortgage delinquency and default rates decline thereby bringing down the foreclosure rate and ultimately easing the downward pricing pressure on the housing market caused by foreclosures. Maybe, just maybe, this is the Continue Reading → |
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