The Mortgage Settlement and You

February 10, 2012

If you have watched the news or read the paper this week, you could not miss it- a huge $25 billion settlement between banks and the government regarding foreclosures.   As part of the settlement, the State of Florida will receive $8.4 billion of that money.  Before borrowers decide to ask for their “piece” of the [...]

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Banks Marketing HARP Lies?

February 9, 2012

With the coming (finally!) roll out of HARP 2.0 in mid-March, mortgage servicers are starting to ramp up their marketing efforts.   Borrowers are getting calls from their current lender with claims that they are the only ones able to process HARP 2.0 loans.   This is not true.  In addition, banks and mortgage companies are stating [...]

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Mortgage Settlement Will Cost All of Us

February 8, 2012

There is wide-ranging speculation that five of the nations largest mortgage lenders (Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, Citigroup and Ally (GMAC) Bank) are about to reach a settlement with numerous State Attorney Generals.  The suits arose from the “robo-signing” issues related to foreclosures over the past few years.  The settlement is expected to cost [...]

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HARP 2.0 Is a Bust

February 6, 2012

Did that get your attention?   It should.   Let me say this before we go into this topic- I hope I am wrong.  For the sake of millions of borrowers nationwide who deserve a better interest rate, I hope I am just jumping to conclusions.  The HARP 2.0 program was announced in November of 2011 and [...]

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FHA – The Next Bubble To Burst?

February 2, 2012

In 2005, the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) had about $350 billion worth of mortgages on its’ books.   When the market exploded, many borrowers that previously shunned FHA found those loans to be the only ones available.   The result – the FHA now has over $1 trillion in loans (about 7.4 million borrowers) under its’ insurance [...]

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Obama’s Comments – Bad Omen for HARP 2.0?

February 1, 2012

In an appearance in Virginia earlier today, President Obama’s speech was centered primarily on housing.   In the speech, he calls on Congress to do more for “responsible” homeowners.   The assistance would only be for borrowers who are current on their mortgages but can’t refinance as they are underwater.   He advocates a surcharge on banks that [...]

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Freddie Mac Doesn’t Get It

February 1, 2012

As if mortgage giant Freddie Mac needed any additional reason for people to dislike them, a recent investigation will only add to their bad image.   The investigation revealed that Freddie Mac traders made almost $5 billions worth of trades called “inverse floaters” in late 2010.  These trades, similar to derivatives, placed bets against current borrowers [...]

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New Website Will Streamline Lending Process

January 30, 2012

It probably won’t surprise anyone to hear this- but the Internet is the future.  And some of that future is now here- at least for mortgage lending.   Our new website, www.homeloanstoday.com, has officially launched.   The site culminates from months of planning and hundreds of hours of programming.   Here are some of the highlights of the new site: [...]

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Will Rates Sink HARP2?

January 27, 2012

As details continue to leak about HARP2, I am concerned about some things I learned this week.   Fannie Mae published its “Loan Level Pricing Adjustment” matrix.   Before anyone gets too excited- they have not published rates- only an index they will use to price loans.  There are adjustments for total loan-to-value, credit score, occupancy status, [...]

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Fed Announcement Should Help Economy

January 25, 2012

Today, the Federal Reserve announced that they would be keeping rates at their current levels through at least the end of 2014.   The decision to leave rates alone, combined with the duration of the commitment (almost 36 months) will help keep short term rates in check.   In prior announcements, the Fed has not ever committed [...]

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