WSJ Says Mortgage Rates May Be At Their Lowest

According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, mortgage rates may not go any lower, confounding many borrowers' hope that they will go lower and lower.

Take a look at the article below:


By JAMES R. HAGERTY

The Federal Reserve is going to extraordinary lengths to push down long-term interest rates, including home-mortgage rates. But those hoping mortgage rates will fall sharply from current levels, already historically low, may be disappointed.

Mortgage firms Thursday were quoting rates averaging 4.75% on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, according to Zillow.com, a real-estate information service. That is down from more than 5% two days ago and about 6% in mid-November. But further big declines will be hard to achieve, partly because the mortgage-lending market has grown less competitive in the past year as hundreds of small banks and independent mortgage lenders have collapsed. The big banks that dominate the market are eager to boost their profits margins, not give deeper bargains to consumers.
Rates for borrowers with the strongest credit are likely to be in a range of roughly 4.5% to 4.75% for the rest of this year, says Mahesh Swaminathan, a mortgage strategist at Credit Suisse in New York.

Others say that is too optimistic. Assuming no big change in government policy, Walter Schmidt, an analyst at FTN Financial Capital Markets, sees a range of 4.75% to 5.5% for most of this year.
The Fed began driving mortgage rates down in late November when it announced plans to buy as much as $500 billion of mortgage securities this year. On Wednesday, the Fed expanded that program, saying it will spend as much as $1.25 trillion on such securities in 2009. That is enough to provide funding for more than half of all home-mortgage loans likely to be made in the U.S. this year.

The Fed also is buying long-term Treasury bonds to drive down rates on those securities, whose pricing affects mortgage rates.

By historical standards, rates look incredibly low. Until recently, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hadn't been below 5% since the 1950s. For the past couple of months, rates have been bobbing between about 5% and 5.25%. The 30-year rate averaged 4.98% in the week ended March 19, down from 5.03% the prior week, according to Freddie Mac's survey. Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.61%, down from 4.64%.
One reason mortgage rates often tick back up after a decline is that a rush of people seeking to refinance quickly causes backlogs at lenders, which frequently don't have enough employees to process all of the applications.

"If lenders are working people overtime to close loans, they don't have an incentive to compete too hard on price," says Arthur Frank, who heads research on mortgage securities at Deutsche Bank in New York.

The situation highlights a conundrum for the government. It wants low rates to spur the housing market, but also wants the banks to make profits on loans so they can return to financial health.
Many of the small mortgage banks that remain are struggling. Mortgage banks, often small, family-owned companies, aren't licensed to take deposits and so lack that source of money for their loans. Instead, they typically borrow money for short periods from so-called warehouse lenders. They use this short-term credit to make loans to their customers and then pay back the warehouse lenders after selling the loans to bigger banks or to government-backed mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

But this warehouse credit is much harder to obtain than it was a year or two ago because many of the big banks and Wall Street firms that used to provide it have exited that business.
Despite these constraints, the Fed's action is "going to be a plus" for the housing market, says Thomas Lawler, an economist in Leesburg, Va. Lower rates make it more likely that home prices will hit bottom in many parts of the country later this year, Mr. Lawler says. The recovery, though, is likely to be gradual, partly because rising unemployment reduces housing demand.
Christopher J. Mayer, a real-estate professor at Columbia Business School in New York, says the Fed's moves to cut rates are "helping to put a floor under the housing market." But he worries that the Fed could face huge losses on the mortgage securities if inflation fears eventually push interest rates much higher.

Still, the consumers who need these low rates the most aren't likely to get much help. Many people can't qualify for these low rates because their credit scores aren't high enough or they can't afford a down payment of 20% or more on a home purchase. Such people will be socked with fees that can drive up their housing costs considerably. Banks also have become far pickier about appraisals and are nixing many purchases as a result.

Others can't qualify for a refinancing because they owe far more on their homes than the estimated current market values. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have new refinancing programs that will let some borrowers refinance into lower rates even if they owe as much as 105% of the home value, but only for current loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie.

Write to James R. Hagerty at bob.hagerty@wsj.com

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page C1

Meet the Feds

FED TO BUY ADDITIONAL $750 BLN OF MBS, $100 BLN OF GSE DEBT
FED LEAVES TARGET INTEREST-RATE RANGE UNCHANGED AT 0% TO 0.25%
FED TO PURCHASE UP TO $300 BLN OF LONGER-TERM TREASURIES
FED SAYS INFLATION MAY PERSIST BELOW `BEST' LEVEL
FED SAYS NEAR-TERM ECONOMIC OUTLOOK IS `WEAK'
FED SEES `EXCEPTIONALLY LOW' FUNDS RATE FOR `EXTENDED' PERIOD
FED TO CONTINUE MONITORING BALANCE SHEET SIZE, COMPOSITION
FED VOTE ON MONETARY POLICY IS UNANIMOUS *FED SAYS ECONOMY `CONTINUES TO CONTRACT'
FED TO BUY TOTAL OF UP TO $1.25 TRILLION OF AGENCY MBS IN 2009
FED TO BUY TOTAL OF UP TO $200 BLN OF GSE DEBT IN 2009
FED SAYS TALF TO EXPAND TO INCLUDE OTHER `FINANCIAL ASSETS'
FED SAYS INFLATION WILL REMAIN SUBDUED *FED TO USE `ALL AVAILABLE TOOLS' TO HELP ECONOMY RECOVER

Looks like rates are going lower...

Is Mitt Romney a Racist?

The other day on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Governor Romney continually called the President by his first and last names instead of addressing the office. Instead of saying President Obama, he kept saying "Barak Obama." Even going so far as to call the President by his first name one time.

Is this because Governor Romney is a racist, or because he doesn't believe in our electoral politics?

Rush Limbaugh Wants This Country to Fail

I think Mr. Limbaugh's statements at a political event, are indicative of the Republican Party these days. They'd rather see the President's policies fail so that they can win an election to regain power than do something for this country.

Pathetic. I'd rather both parties try their best to make this country great than spend all of their time setting each other up for failure.

Unemployment is the wild card

With unemployment on the rise, along with documentation of mortgage applications, I'm seeing more concern about the continuation of employment, and thus, income. Income is necessary to pay the loan, no paycheck, no timely payments. Low rates, if unemployment continues its rise, may not matter much.

Goodbye...and thanks for the Pell Grants

Former Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell died yesterday at the age of 90. I don't know anything about his politics or how he did as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but I do appreciate the Pell Grant which was a great help in putting me through college.

I'm not sure I could have done it without the Pell Grant. That's what government should be doing for citizens in it's purest form. Giving us the ability to gain an education.

For the Pell Grant and the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities, I thank you.

Crime...boy I just don't know

Uncle Bernie's run off with rich people's money and now they are broke like the rest of us. The newspapers are full of articles about Madoff's scheme and the repurcussions of it on the victims, the community and the financial community as whole.

Meanwhile it seems that we are in a bona fide refi boom. 30 year fixed rates are the lowest since 1971 according to Freddie Mac. Borrowers must pay a discount point to truly get into the mid 4s, but points are no longer the devil. PMI is the devil now. Borrower's cannot seem to qualify for it, unless they really don't need it. That's going to be difficult for borrower's who purchased a home with less than 20% down and now want to reduce their rate and thus their payment. This could mean the difference between staying in their home or not.

Something needs to be done about some common sense Private Mortgage Insurance qualifications. There are good paying borrowers out there who could find some relieif right now if the mortgage insurance qualifications weren't so unruly.

Libor Schmibor

It's all crazy now. TARPs funds rolling through the system, mostly being used by recipients to buy smaller banks on the cheap. Insurance companies are even getting into the "buy a bank cheap" fray. There is a total disconnect between the 10 year Treasury Yield and the Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) market that seems to be here to stay. Jumbo rates are as high as they've been in years, conforming rates aren't that great either, frankly. Unemployment is shooting up, while retailers are telling us "no one has any money out there" with their declining numbers.

What's a lowly loan officer to do?

So much happening it's hard to stay on top and blog

The Libor rate has been called into question lately as perhaps being artificially low, this will affect many borrowers who have an ARM that will adjust based on Libor. A Citibank analyst was quoted in the Wall Street Journal last week saying that banks may not be disclosing their true borrowing costs when reporting the rate at which they borrow, and more importantly there is no way to calculate a 1 year Libor rate when the longest one bank will loan to another is 3 weeks.

Also the Fed is meeting again this week, so it's bound to be a bumpy ride in the mortgage rate market this week. So far so good this week, with rates dipping slightly, but I'm unsure what's going to happen if the Fed cuts their rate this week, are inflationary concerns going to drive up rates, or will the recent economic slip allow rates to be maintained at their current levels.

Fed Slashes Their Rate

The Fed has cut their rate twice in the last 2 weeks dropping the Prime Rate to 6%. That's very good news for long suffering Home Equity Line of Credit borrowers. They've paid as their rate went from 4% (yeah that's right) to 8.25%, now back down to 6%. Some jumbo mortgage borrowers now have a Home Equity Line of Credit at a rate lower than their 30 year fixed 1st mortgage.

The Fed Rate is not directly tied to 1st mortgage rates, as many think. The Fed Rate is the the interest rate at which banks borrow money for day to day business needs, or to shore up their overnight reserves. 1st mortgage rates are more closely tied to the 10 year Treasury bond yield. That's what consumers should be watching to find out if it's time to refinance.

The Fed Rate is directly related to the Prime Rate though, so Home Equity Line of Credit borrowers should keep track of that rate closely. There should be some payment reductions coming the next billing cycle. One suggestion as the Home Equity Line of Credit rates drop: Keep making the same payment as when the rate was much higher, that way you will pay down some of the principal. Generally, the payment due on your statement is an interest only payment. If that amount is paid the principal balance remains the same, the debt is being serviced, but not paid down. A discretionary principal payment must be made each month in order to payoff this type of mortgage loan. And the way this loan's rates fluctuate up and down, it's a good idea to pay it down as much as possible.

The Making of CDO

Today I found an explanation on The Wall Street Journal of the Making of a Collateralized Debt Obiligation or CDO. This is a big part of that murky (mostly unknown by consumers) secondary mortgage market that essentially dictates most of the guidelines, interest rates and availability of mortgage financing.

This is a step by step explanation that might clear up some of the fog surrounding this type of investment vehicle.

Check it out here.

Preferred Lender in Bridgeview Tower

I've been the preferred lender in BridgeView Tower for awhile. It's a Brooklyn condo building with amazing Manhattan views.

To see the building's website click here
To check out a couple of listings in this building, click here

Cash in the Bank

Fannie and Freddie aren't as interested in post-closing reserves, but with a jumbo mortgage (over Fannie and Freddie's loan limit of $417K), you'll need plenty of money left after you close. That's just how it is nowadays.

Some jumbo mortgages require as much as 18 months of the monthly payment be held in reserves after the closing. Post-closing reserves isn't money that is spent, or even drawn on in any way, it's money that is shown to the underwriter in order to prove that a borrower has enough cash after the closing to pay the payment even in the event of income loss. This reserve could be made up of IRA accounts, 401K accounts, cash value of life insurance policies, CDs, checking, savings, pretty much anything that is liquid. Equity in the property doesn't count, nor do non-liquid assets such as jewelry, cars and boats.

At a minimum, jumbo mortgages are requiring 12 months of the payment in reserves in order to qualify. In this mortgage market, cash is king.

Fed Rate Cut, Why Not My Rate?

The recent Fed rate cut to 4.75% is more directly related to the interest of Home Equity Lines of Credit as they are generally tied to Prime (currently 7.75%). Since Prime floats 3% above the Fed Rate there is a direct relationship between the two.

Counter-intuitive though is why the 30 conforming (Fannie and Freddie) fixed mortgage interest rate has gone up a bit since the most recent Fed rate cut. The bellwether for the conforming fixed rate is the 10 year treasury bond yield. That has been increasing as investors have been selling off bonds the last few days. The reason for the sell-off is that investors worry that the Fed rate cut might kick-start inflationary pressures.

So, despite people's wish for the opposite, the Fed rate cut has negatively impacted mortgage rates for the short term.

Dodos and Edsels

No Doc and No Ratio mortgages are becoming harder and harder to come by. Chase has eliminated both of these documentation types. These loans do not perform. That means these loans were being used to put borrowers into homes with payments they could not and do not pay. Banks don't like to loan money to people who don't pay their payments, so these mortgages are gone. No Income Verification and Stated Income / Stated Asset Alt A mortgages still exist.

Johnny Cash, Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie

Watching YouTube the other day, it dawned on me that the artists who created the videos I watched are mostly self employed. We've all been hearing about daily, hourly, minute by minute guideline changes by lenders lately, so I thought I'd chime in.

Now all No Income Verification loans are only available for the truly self employed. If you are salaried at your job, then this isn't the mortgage program for you. Also No Ratio, No Doc, and other Alt A lending programs are going to be limited to homeowners only. If you are a first time home buyer, you will probably not qualify for this programs either.

Credit score is King these days too. An excellent credit score will still enable home buyers to qualify for most of the programs out there, those will less than perfect scores should be prepared to apply for full documentation mortgages, thus limiting them to buying properties they can really afford.

Fed Cuts Discount Rate to Save Countrywide?

National Mortgage News writer, Paul Muolo, says in an article that there was a run on a Countrywide branch in Pasadena, CA the other day. He goes on further stating that Bernanke & Co. cut the discount rate to give a hand to Countrywide with its 16% market share through its $1.4 trillion mortgage servicing portfolio (8.9 million homeowners). Countrywide also owns a thrift with $60 billion in liabilities.

I guess the thinking is that Countrywide needs the rate slash to borrow money to continue it's operations as it's downfall would be a psychological blow that Americans won't be able to handle.

Mortgage Market Craziness

The feds are trying to provide some liquidity to the mortgage market (maybe even accepting those pesky mortgage backed securities as collateral) while the market has priced a 55% change of a rate cut into it. Meanwhile, Homebanc files for bankruptcy, Washington Mutual and Countrywide are on the ropes, and all bank stocks are dropping on fears of everything from mortgage market illiquidity to dwindling investment banking fees.

It's an interesting time to be a loan officer out there looking to build his book of business. I think this is an excellent time to establish myself and someone who is still in the game, who works for a lender who can close and fund (very important) the loan. It's a time to gear up and make those calls to possible referral sources that I've been putting off. To work with developers whose preferred mortgage broker may not be able to close the jumbo loan.

I think I'll be able to increase my book of business during this shake out.

No Longer a Mortgage Broker

Now that I work for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. I'm no longer a mortgage broker.

I just made the move a week ago, so I've been watching the news with interest as American Home Mortgage locks out it's employees (heard they did that, don't know for sure) and then shuts down completely laying off 7000 people.

Also Greenpoint Mortgage has stopped originating Jumbo (loans over the conforming limit of $417K) ARMS. That is a major part of my book of business here in Manhattan. Wells Fargo slashes it's Alt A programs, as does Wachovia. Wells Fargo's Alt A cutback only affects Mortgage Brokers, while Wachovia ditches Alt A lending altogether. Alt A mortgages are those in which the borrower falls between prime and subprime, but the borrower are closer to Prime borrowers, so this really hurts the homebuyer, who might be a small businessman, shop owners and the like.

Accredited's clean bill of health is pending.

Top brass at Bear Stearns says the secondary debt market is the most volatile it has been in 22 years. While Indymac's Chief Executive emailed people saying the mortgage-backed bond market is "very panicked and illiquid", driving Indymac's stock price down.

This next few months are going to be a roller coaster ride for us in the mortgage business, especially those of us on the front lines as we find out hour by hour what types of loans we can originate and what types are no longer available.

Culpepper v. Inland Mortgage Corp. YSP is still legal

The manner in which mortgage brokers are paid by lenders is called Yield Spread Premium. A ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has reaffirmed its position in a 12-year-old legal battle that lender-paid fees to mortgage brokers are proper unless consumers can prove the amount is excessive.

Here's the court documents from the 1989 case.

Fed Rate to Stay the Same?

Some 20 economists recently surveyed by Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, believe short-term rates will hold steady at 5.25% for the next seven quarters. Some of these same economists also believe oil is going to be at $50 a barrel next year. (currently $70 a barrel.)

Once again Mortgage Brokers are the culprit

Andrew Cuomo, the New York State Attorney General is probing the appraisers to find if they are the root cause of the subprime disaster. Two big Manhattan based appraisers signed statements saying they were improperly pressured by mortgage lenders and brokers. The pressure was based on them not getting any more business from that lender if they were didn't inflate the value of the property.

Why would anyone want to work with someone who wants them to act unethically? Now appraisers want to point the finger at other parties. In effect cutting a deal with the AG's office. Also in the Bloomberg article, Y. David Scharf, the attorney for Mitchell, Maxwell and Jackson (my favorite appraiser) dropped the word "lender" from his statement to focus entirely on the little guy - mortgage brokers. He emailed this statement for the Bloomberg article, "It is clear to me that the targets of the investigation are mortgage brokers along with anyone else who exerts any form of economic pressure on appraisers." He wouldn't want to upset big bad, powerful lenders would he?

I guess the next step is for mortgage brokers to point the finger at the real estate professionals, who will point the finger at their buyers, who will point the finger at the developers, who will point the finger at investors, who will point the finger at....blah, blah, blah.

Of course there a mortgage brokers AND lender loan officers AND appraisers AND real estate brokers AND the consumers themselves who have a vested interest in the rising values of real estate the past few years. To keep these people out of the real estate industry is a must. Those who engage in unethical behavior should be warned, those who commit crimes should be punished. There's no question about that.

What gets me about the statements that these two appraisers is their implied complicity while covering their asses while pointing the finger elsewhere. That's what needs to stop.

Our Name on Toast

Recently I've been working on forming my own mortgage brokerage and real estate brokerage with my business partner. It's called The Metropolitan Group.

Check out our name on toast.

Get your name on toast at Your Name on Toast

Keep Your Life In Balance, Ethics Will Follow

A 2007 Deloitte and Touche USA LLP Ethics and Workplace survey shows a strong relationship between having an excellent life/work balance and positive ethical behavior. Additionally it showed that management and supervisors who offer positive reinforcement for ethical behavior have a major impact on their employees as well.

If you are dependent on your job for all of your psychological needs you may be leading yourself to a dangerous place regarding your self worth, and where you fit in the world at large. This can become especially dangerous and lead to unethical behavior with there is an ethical dilemma that has a major impact at work. Those whose entire lives are tied up into what the position on their business card reads, may not make the most ethical decision or take the most ethical action, if they think it will result in a negative at work.

There is also an interesting note on job dissatisfaction. The survey found that 60% of those surveyed believe that job dissatisfaction is a leading reason why people make unethical decisions at work.

Disclose, Disclose and Re-disclose

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently addressed a Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Conference focusing his comments primarily on the sub-prime mortgage market. Chairman Bernanke said "in my judgment, effective disclosures should be the first line of defense against improper lending. If consumers are well informed, they are in a much better position to make decisions in their own best interest." The Chairman also noted that he does not expect significant spillovers from the sub-prime market to affect the rest of the economy or the financial system. To view Chairman Bernanke's speech, click here http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2007/20070517/default.htm

Those Troubling State Income Mortgages

In a recent statement, Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan said he is increasingly troubled by the growing use of unverified "stated income" in sub-prime lending. Dugan argued that stated income (1) presents too great a temptation for misrepresentation and, in its most extreme form, outright fraud; (2) undermines transparency; and (3) is not a safe and sound underwriting practice. Dugan also said that he believes the federal agencies should address this practice in their pending guidance. To view the OCC press release, here http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2007-48.htm or to view Dugan's remarks, click here http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/release/2007-48a.pdf

Reverse Mortgages for Purchases

Generally thought of as a refinance only transaction, reverse mortgages are also available to qualified borrowers for a purchase transaction. This can be very handy for those who are age appropriate and want to downsize or relocate. No mortgage payments on a new house isn't a bad thing.

AmTrust Mortgage Eyeballing Coop Loans

AmTrust Mortgage (formerly Ohio Savings Bank) is looking to make a play for the New York City cooperative mortgage market. They have been FNMA approved to lend against coops for a long time, but only recently decided to try to wrap their heads around getting into this line of lending.

They've hired a top dog who formed Citibank's coop lending and asked Jonathon Miller to push out some numbers on the size of the market (about 5 Billion USD), so perhaps they are getting comfortable with this property type.

Interesting for those of us who have been doing coop mortgages for years to see a lender making baby steps into this robust market.

Reverse Mortgages for Coops

Bank of New York Mortgage (owned by Everbank now since Chase and BNY did an asset swap) has introduced a jumbo reverse mortgage product for coops. They are one of 2 lenders offering this niche product. The other is Indymac's Financial Freedom (though I couldn't find any information about that on their site).

Tomorrow I attend a workshop about reverse mortgages on coops, so I will know more about them and how they work.

One thing that comes to my mind with these mortgages is: Is there really that much liquidity in the market that institutional investors are willing to just sit on a loan for x number of years without collecting any payments until the loan is due? That's incredible to me.

Pay mortgage payments with your credit card

American Express announced that you can now pay your mortgage payments with your American Express card. They've teamed up with RBC Mortgage (owned by Royal Bank of Canada) and American Home Mortgage to have your mortgage charged directly to your credit card, once they've originated it.

I'm sure this is just one of many partnerships to pay your mortgage this way. I think Citibank also does the same thing with its credit cards too.

Go get those miles and take a trip, or wallow in more debt at a higher interest rate, the choice is yours Ms. American Consumer.

What 2007 is shaping up to be

The Cooperator has some ideas on what 2007 will bring. Only one surprise- housing prices will rise nationally while NYC housing prices decline. Seems that everyone here in New York City is expecting the good times to keep on roaring ahead, so this prediction by Davis Stiff, Fiserv’s chief economist, will come as a shock, and probably piss some people off.

For more on this check it out here.

Deal Killing Mortgage Broker

Helping a friend sell an apartment (I'm a licensed RE Broker as well as a Loan Officer) in the Riverdale section of The Bronx has been interesting.

By interesting, I have an opportunity to hear what my competition is telling their clients. Today was interesting. I had an appointment with a prospective buyer to show her the apartment in the listing below. She called today and canceled. The Washington Mutual loan officer with whom she is working told her that a 20% down payment was too much.

Perhaps the prospect doesn't have the money. That would be understandable, one needs about $66,000 to buy this apartment ($44,000 down payment and $22,000 in post-closing reserves). That's a lot of money.

But if the loan officer actually did tell her that putting 20% down on a property is foolish, then the mortgage industry has not learned from their mistakes. Since when is it a problem to actually have some equity in your home?

1 BR Riverdale Coop for Sale

Check out the walk-through here.

Check out the listing here.

And of course, for financing on this purchase, click here.

Sun-filled Riverdale 1 Bedroom

Location: Riverdale

This delightful coop on the river side of Henry Hudson Parkway is on a high floor, offering gorgeous Riverdale views and lots of light from windows to the north and south. The Windsor offers a full time doorman, gym, parking, in-building laundry, outdoor swimming pool, storage, bike room and express bus service to the subway and the Metro North. The apartment offers many windows, a dining area, great closet space, windowed kitchen, a balcony facing south for all day sunlight in a quiet well maintained building. Southern & Northern Exposure for All Day Light
Balcony with Sweeping City Views Lots of Closet Space 24 Hour Doorman
Outdoor Swimming Pool In-Building Parking Available (no waiting list) Windowed Kitchen Dishwasher

Photo Gallery

Information

Contact Information

Jeffrey Loyd

212-582-9050

jeffrey@jeffreyloyd.com

Pricing

Asking Price: $220,000.00

Flexibility: Negotiable

Additional Pricing Information: 80% Financing$658 Maintenance (42% Deductible)

Homeowner Dues: $658

Property Location

4705 Henry Hudson Parkway
Bronx, NY 10471

Links

For Financing

My Blog

My Real Estate Site

Features

Bedrooms: 1

Bathrooms: 1

Parking: In-Building

Year Built: 1960s

Located on Floor #: 9

Floors in Bldg: 14

Square Footage: 700 approx

Agent Name: Jeffrey Loyd

Broker: Hydra Property Group

MLS #: 4705 Henry Hudson Parkway 9F

Attributes

Appliances

Range/Oven

Full Refrigerator

Dishwasher

Microwave

Building Amenities

Exercise Room

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Equal Housing Opportunity

VFLYER ID: 866308

100 Applications for the Freelancer

I looked through this list from Codswallop and found many useful applications that are web-based. I'd like to move to a completely web-based application environment, or at least not have to pay for software anymore.

Check it out here.

Fiduciary Duty for Mortgage Brokers

If Mortgage Brokers want to rise above the fray and become professionals along side Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants and other professions, then the bar to entry must be raised. Additionally Mortgage Brokers must embrace fiduciary responsibilities to their clients.

I like the following paragraph from an article from the Ethical Lending Foundation to more clearly define fiduciary responsibility:

The industry of mortgage lending is at a historical crossroads. It can either become a professional group with fiduciary standards or it can remain a retail establishment in which most of the burden of information is with consumers. Yet, they can no longer have it both ways. Yet, let us be clear that mortgage loan originators working at all types of lending institutions can owe fiduciary duties without representing to consumers that they are finding them the “best loan” or getting them the “best result.” A fiduciary standard simply would not put this burden on loan originators. By way of analogy let’s clarify. Medical doctors, lawyers, and Realtors do not have to promise that they will get their clients/patients the best surgical results, the best legal results, or the best deal on the house in order to discharge their clear fiduciary duties. Instead, they are promising to do the best job they can; to fully inform their clients of all relevant information and risks; and to carefully make sure that their clients have been provided with the necessary tools and understanding to make a fully-informed decision. Mortgage brokers, bankers, lenders, and consumer finance companies could easily adopt a fiduciary standard for their loan originators if they chose to, and it would be both practicable and fair.

It only makes sense to lead the way, and let the Mortgage Bankers and Lenders languish in the netherworld of non-disclosure similar to their hiding their fees and compensation.

Brooklyn Heights Building For Sale

Check it out at www.HydraHeights.com

Cuomo Subpoenaing New York Mortgage Companies

Apparently the New York Attorney General is interested in learning more about the industry and how mortgage brokers get paid. When he was with HUD he wanted more strict disclosures about lender payments to mortgage brokers, called Yield Spread Premiums (YSP). I'm unable to find which companies have received subpoenas, but I'm very interested to know. I'd to see if there's a general target like subprime loans, or emerging market loans.

Supreme Court Tells States: Hands Offa That Bank

It a Supreme Court ruling that came down yesterday with Ruth Bader Ginsburg writing the opinion, the high court decided that under the National Banking Act (NBA), federally chartered banks and their subsidiaries were not regulated by the states, and are, in fact, immune from state legislation.

So this moves the mortgage lending arms of national banks out of the reach of the individual states and into the loving arms of the Feds.

The New York Times has the story here.

I don't know what this means for borrowers who are losing their homes due to foreclosure. Where's Willie Nelson when he's needed? Who going to put together the rock concert to bail out homeowners? Come on Hollywood, flex those money muscles.

Housing v. Human Rights

Yesterday I attended a New York State Banking Department conference on Abusive Lending called HALT.

It was an interesting educational conference for me, though it seemed as though many attendees wanted a forum to air their grievances with the subprime foreclosures throughout the state.

A couple of thoughts about the conference:

First off, is this a human rights issue? I can see that shelter is a human rights issue, but is home ownership? There are most likely some discrimination issues afoot. From the data it seems as though minorities have been placed into subprime mortgage products far more, particularly African-Americans and Hispanics who appear to make up the bulk of the subprime borrowers. There might have been other products for some of these borrowers.

I don't think this is a human rights issue up there with hunger, shelter, false imprisonment and other basic human rights. I'm not trying to lessen the impact, nor mitigate the blame, I just don't think it falls under this category.

The other issue that I heard frequently is a 6 month moratorium on foreclosures. Even Senator Clinton is calling for this in Congress. I don't know if this is a solution either. There are some borrowers who have taken out loans that they cannot repay, if this is the case, these loans should result in foreclosure. I don't know if it's the lender's fault for loaning the money to them. There are others who are victims of fraudulent colusion between real estate brokers, mortgage loan originators and appraisers who may have originally overpaid for their property (how they didn't check on the internet for comparable sales is beyond me), these homeowners should certainly seek some relief until a solution is found for them either dealing directly with the lenders or with a regulatory agency.

Pointing Fingers

Interesting how no one wants to take responsibility. It's all "pass the buck" all the time. I read an article in the Post that Mayor Bloomberg laid some of the blame for the rise in New York foreclosures on the borrowers themselves for taking out loans they knew they could not pay. Housing and consumer advocates say the Mayor is wrong, that the lenders are to blame.

So if the disclosures are confusing to consumers, and they don't understand the Good Faith Estimate and the Truth-In-Lending Disclosure, is more of the same the answer? Wouldn't it be a better response to try to simplify a document that at more than one closing I've attended has been described by the borrower's attorney as "it's confusing, just sign it."

I guess it's one of the those cases of "it's going to get worse before it gets better."

Condo Conversion Update

Well one thing I could do is get the current mortgage holder to allow the conversion and move the lien to the condo still owned by the original owner of the 2 family.

They are keeping one of the units as their home. Currently they have 2 mortgages totaling more than the value of the remaining condo that they own. However if they payoff the Home Equity Line of Credit the proceeds from the sale of the other side of the house they are making a condo, then the existing first mortgage is less than 75% of the value of the condo they are continuing to live in. Confused yet?

So if I can get the existing lien holder to allow the change in property type and transfer the lien to just one of the units instead of the whole building, that might be a solution. There are, however, complications. First off, the mortgage is being serviced by a different company that the original lender, so that means dealing with 2 entities on the issue.

Also a change a property type effectively puts the mortgage in default and the lender could call in the whole note forcing the payment of the entire mortgage, which is a significant amount of money. More than the sale.

2 units converted to condos in Nantucket

Here's an interesting deal.

A client of mine bought a side by side duplex last year on Nantucket Island where he lives and works. It was a great rental property. Now he has changed the property type to 2 condos and sold one of them for $510,000.

That's less than he owes in total against the house, but the appraisal on the other half, which includes a separate studio/ workshop (meaning, no heat) is $750,000.

Here's the deal. Refinance the half that he still owns keeping the mortgage high enough that he can pocket most of the proceeds from the sale, while paying off the first mortgage (5/1 Interest Only) and the Home Equity Line of Credit against the whole property.

It gets trickier...the borrower's credit score has dropped from 698 to 648 in the last few months.

As a Mortgage Broker who works with investors, this is exactly the kind of deal that turns me on and lights me up.

I'll blog the solution as soon as it's approved, don't want to jinx it.

30 Year Fixed Rate Interest Only

The subprime market is imploding or exploding, depending on which side of the fence you are standing. The rumors circulating among homebuyers are that all interest only mortgages are risky and should be avoided. In many cases that may be true, but I think, more true, is a confusion among buyers about mortgage programs in general.An interest only mortgage is not a subprime mortgage necessarily. In fact, it's generally an option for only the most qualified buyers. It even makes sense for those who plan on prepaying the balance of their mortgage on their own. Why? Payment recast.With a 30 year interest only mortgage, the payment due each month is an interest only payment. So on a $400,000 mortgage at 6%, the monthly interest only payment is $2000, rather than the principal and interest payment of $2398.20, where $2000 is the interest payment and $398.20 is paying back the loan each month at the same 6% interest rate.If a well-qualified, disciplined borrower chooses the interest only option, and continues to pay the same payment as the fully amortizing payment, her payment will be reduced based on the new principal balance each month.Here's an example:Keiko, buys a $500,000 coop here in New York City. The coop requires a 20% down payment, so her mortgage is $400,000. She decides on a 30 year fixed rate interest only mortgage. Her first month's payment is $2000, but she pays $2398, indicating that the additional amount goes directly toward principal on her statement when she mails her payment. The next month, her payment is reduced to $1998.01 based on the new loan balance of $399,601.80. If she continues to pay $398 in addition to the interest only payment each month, at the end of the first year, her interest only payment will be reduced to $1976.11. If she chooses, she may elect to pay the interest only payment giving her the freedom to spend the difference in another manner (hopefully paying down credit card debt that's more expensive).Her payment is reduced to reflect the lower principal balance offering her immediate gratification for her discipline. A well disciplined borrower may welcome the freedom of being to either pay down the principal or put the money to use elsewhere on a month to month basis while having the security of a fixed rate for the life of the loan.

Condo Buyers: The Stats

CondoDomain.com did a 2 month study on internet condo buyers in 33 markets in the US and Canada and found:

46% are young professionals, 20% are first time home buyers
78% are looking for a home for themselves (primary residence), 12% are looking for a second home
45% want to buy in a high rise building, 27% want to purchase in a low rise building
73% want to pay under $450,000, although 1% is willing to pay over $3,000,000 for their home

It seems that the luxury buyers were unwilling to register for this survey, and may be under-counted.

It's not so different than I might have expected, but it's nice to look over the data and establish a marketing plan.

This is what card I am

You are The High Priestess

Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.

The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Deductions Explained

Straight from the IRS:

Home acquisition debt is a mortgage you took out after October 13, 1987, to buy, build, or substantially improve a qualified home (your main or second home). It also must be secured by that home.

If the amount of your mortgage is more than the cost of the home plus the cost of any substantial improvements, only the debt that is not more than the cost of the home plus improvements qualifies as home acquisition debt. The additional debt may qualify as home equity debt (discussed later).

Home acquisition debt limit. The total amount you can treat as home acquisition debt at any time on your main home and second home cannot be more than $1 million ($500,000 if married filing separately). This limit is reduced (but not below zero) by the amount of your grandfathered debt (discussed later). Debt over this limit may qualify as home equity debt (also discussed later).

Refinanced home acquisition debt. Any secured debt you use to refinance home acquisition debt is treated as home acquisition debt. However, the new debt will qualify as home acquisition debt only up to the amount of the balance of the old mortgage principal just before the refinancing. Any additional debt is not home acquisition debt, but may qualify as home equity debt (discussed later).

Mortgage that qualifies later. A mortgage that does not qualify as home acquisition debt because it does not meet all the requirements may qualify at a later time. For example, a debt that you use to buy your home may not qualify as home acquisition debt because it is not secured by the home. However, if the debt is later secured by the home, it may qualify as home acquisition debt after that time. Similarly, a debt that you use to buy property may not qualify because the property is not a qualified home. However, if the property later becomes a qualified home, the debt may qualify after that time.

Mortgage treated as used to buy, build, or improve home. A mortgage secured by a qualified home may be treated as home acquisition debt, even if you do not actually use the proceeds to buy, build, or substantially improve the home. This applies in the following situations.

1. You buy your home within 90 days before or after the date you take out the mortgage. The home acquisition debt is limited to the home's cost, plus the cost of any substantial improvements within the limit described below in (2) or (3). (See Example 1.)

2. You build or improve your home and take out the mortgage before the work is completed. The home acquisition debt is limited to the amount of the expenses incurred within 24 months before the date of the mortgage.

3. You build or improve your home and take out the mortgage within 90 days after the work is completed. The home acquisition debt is limited to the amount of the expenses incurred within the period beginning 24 months before the work is completed and ending on the date of the mortgage.

19% of B and C mortgage in delinquency

Not being an originator of subprime mortgages, I enjoy reading the news about the implosion of the subprime lenders. I just saw an article that Countrywide is saying that 19% of their B and C mortgages are in some sort of delinquency. That's almost 1 in 5 loans that aren't being paid back. That's gonna leave a mark.

NAR Against Banks Owning Real Estate Brokerages

On one level it's no surprise that the National Association of Realtors is against banks owning real estate brokerages, and on the other hand what does the organization itself stand to lose?

Their bullet points are:

1. The same large-scale consolidation that has taken place in the banking industry itself would likely occur in the real estate business.
Fewer entities conducting real estate brokerage would mean less competition. The result: fewer choices and higher costs for consumers.
2. An additional effect of the proposed regulations would be pressure on bank-affiliated real estate brokers and agents to market and sell other financial products such as insurance, securities and credit cards.
3. Banks could share private consumer data obtained in real estate transactions with their affiliates and other third parties business entities.
4. Banking conglomerates would have unfair competitive advantages. These financial institutions that could operate real estate brokerages under the proposed regulations would benefit from access to capital at lower rates – thanks to federally insured deposits. That benefit is not available to local real estate companies.
5. According to a J.D. Power survey, 28 percent of home buyers had problems with their lenders. Those problems included errors in closing documents, miscommunication of loan terms and unavailable or unresponsive loan consultants or mortgage brokers. That means almost one in three home buyers did not get adequate customer service just during the loan process. How will they be better served by banks during the much more complex process of buying or selling a home?

Of course, it piques me to read #5 on their list. I'm not saying it's not correct, it just always bothers me that lenders aren't doing their jobs to the best of their capabilities.

As a Mortgage Broker who doesn't work for a huge company and works hard to compete in the marketplace, I agree that banks owning real estate companies is a mess. However, there has been an erosion of the seperation of banking institutions and commercial activity for some time (thanks to Sandy Weill & Citigroup when they purchased Traveler's Insurance) and it looks like it's going to continue.

I love the independents. And thankfully here in New York's wacky real estate market there seems to be some room for them...for now.

For the rest of this article, click here.

Low down payment financing on a 2 family house

Without getting a subprime mortgage, a borrower can obtain 95% financing on a 2 family home. These loans can be structured in many ways, but the most common is probably an 80% first mortgage and a 15% second mortgage or Home Equity Line of Credit. This can also be done when the purchase price is more than $1,000,000 which is common here in New York City. With these properties, sometimes the first mortgage will be at a better rate if the first mortgage is less than $1,000,000 and the rest is a second mortgage.

Decade High On Default Rate

One thing that is a blessing about focusing on the Manhattan coop market is that the board approval process and the down payment requirements don't create a market for subprime mortgages. I've avoided the subprime market for this simple reason, and I'm glad when I read that the default rate has risen to 10% of the mortgages sold to investors. That's up from 6.62% according to a report by investment bank Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. I saw this report in REALTOR Magazine's Daily News.

Run for the Hills

According to the January issue of The Real Deal, many local lenders are going out of business and the industry could shed as much as 25% of it's New York workforce in 2007. That's not necessarily bad news. Mortgage Brokers should be focused on the local real estate market, know the players and the nuances of the local property types.

There are still many people in the mortgage business who are more interested in collecting high fees, than getting the deal done. Still too many order takers, who are little more than telemarketers. By focusing on a sub market, and knowing everything one can about their chosen area of expertise, whether it's new construction, coops, condos or mixed use buildings, one can develop a mortgage business that will be profitable and productive.

Buildings on Leased Land

Generally speaking, you should have no problems getting a mortgage in a building that sits on leased land. Here in New York City, some of the finest buildings are on leased land, whether they are cooperatives or condos like in Battery Park.

Generally speaking, if the lease on the land runs longer than the term of the mortgage, there shouldn't be any problems. Often these leases are for many years, such as a 99 year term. Best to get a copy of the lease, read the terms, calculate any rent increases during the term of the lease and find out the expiration date.

It's not the most common type of building, but it's common enough to finance.

MLN out of business as a lender

Recently I've received 2 faxes from a lender, MLN, which stands for Mortgage Lenders Network. The first one said that they were no longer lending in New York, and the second said that they were working on a solution for the loans that were currently in the works with them.

I've never done any business with them. And don't have the skinny on why they are shutting down exactly, but I found it interesting.

Happy New Year

Here's to wishing you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous 2007

I'm in the Top 50

According to Broker magazine and a National Association of Mortgage Brokers survey, I placed #36 in the US for mortgage originations. Of course I had the list framed...

56% of the 8 out of 10

Wells Fargo & Co. did a survey of property owners with ARMs. Survey shows that 8 out of 10 are worried about their interest rate rising, but only 56% said that they would refinance when the rate changes. 21% said they would take no action when their rate adjusts. The survey found that only 14% of respondents had ARMs.

I wonder if this speaks more about the quality of the loan officer (broker or banker) than it does about homeowner's concern over a rising housing payment.

Anyway, it is important for those with ARMs to have a plan for when their rate adjusts, even if the best action is to do nothing.

Happy Holidays

Have a happy and healthy holiday season...

The Next Carnival of Real Estate Investing

Cash Flow Treasures will be hosting the Sixth Edition. Be sure to check it out. For more information on the Carnival of Real Estate Investing, please click here.

Carnival of Real Estate Investing 5th Edition

Welcome to the 5th Edition of the Carnival of Real Estate Investing. I didn't receive many posts this week, since we are in the full swing of the holidays, so I'll be able to comment on each post that I received.

The top post was a dead heat between two that I found very helpful on a practical level and in the end I chose Photo Marketing Tips To Say "Attention Buyers!" posted by Steve Burns. This is a more personal choice, since here in New York City, even for rentals, it's extremely important to have excellent photos or the ad won't even be viewed. I know that many prospects who search through Craigslist won't even look at the post unless there is a photo. So this information on how to take photos was extremely useful to me as a non-photographer who needs to learn more.

The rest of the posts were also very interesting. I very much enjoyed hosting this week's Carnival. The posts were varied enough to educate and entertain.

Anesia Springborn's New Manager Invites Excuses and Abuses was an excellent personal experience of how tenants are likely to test the waters when a new property manager takes over a rental property. I enjoy learning from others' personal experiences so this post was especially interesting to me.

In the same vein, Paul's Increasing your hourly rate in order to get rich reminds us to work smarter, not harder. I especially liked the focus on education.

Joshua Dorkin's timely post Keeping Your Tenants Happy During the Holidays was a nice reminder to keep our tenants happy and they will reward us by being timely rent paying happy tenants who may be more accepting of a new property manager in the future.

With the Fed being among the most watched bodies these days, Why The Fed Matters to Real Estate by Dan Green was helpful in putting the big picture into perspective.

In keeping with the Fed's influence on interest rates, Nick Gifford shows us some surprising conclusions that Adjustable Rate Mortgages might, in the end, be a better way to go than Fixed Rate Mortgages when historical data is taken into account in his post The ARM vs. Fixed Rate Mortgage Dilemma

Commercial Real Estate: How You Win Even If You Lose by Craig S. Higdon goes into the basics of using financing to purchase real estate even if you've put together a syndicate to provide the down payment. It shows us that when you put together all of the benefits of owning property, you can sell at a loss and still make an overall profit. A very basic primer for those interested in commercial real estate.

Praveen's post Top 10 Real Estate Books of 2006 might help in purchasing a gift for the real estate investor near and dear to your heart this year.

And lastly, Will Chen presents what is fast becoming (in my opinion at least) the "Save Karyn" of the real estate world with this video lecture Must watch video for new real estate investors. Is there a book deal in the works for this guy yet?

I had a great time reading these posts. The Carnival of Real Estate Investing is off for the next two weeks for the holidays. So check back for the next host of the Carnival of Real Estate Investing!

Update - Mortgage Insurance Payments are Deductible

Unfortunately it's not retroactive, but yes, MI (or PMI) payments are income tax deductible starting January 1st 2007. Any new mortgage insurance policies written after the new year will be deductible.

According to BankRate.com there are some caveats:

Caveat No. 1: The tax deduction applies only to mortgages that are closed in 2007. If you have a loan with mortgage insurance in 2006, you won't be able to deduct the premiums in the 2007 tax year unless you refinance in 2007.

Caveat No. 2: There are income limits. You get the full deduction if your adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less. The amount you can deduct phases out rapidly after that, and no mortgage insurance deduction is available if you make more than $110,000.

Caveat No. 3: This is a one-year deal, and Congress would have to renew the deduction to make it apply for the 2008 tax year and beyond. Congress probably will extend the deduction, but you can't know for sure.

Caveat No. 4: If you take the standard deduction instead of itemizing deductions, the new law makes no difference to you. "You need to have a mortgage of about $130,000 or so to even pay enough interest to hurdle the standard deduction," says Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. In practice, he says, this means that the deduction is available to households with incomes between $50,000 and $100,000.

For more on the specifics and how mortgage insurance compares to taking a piggy back loan, please see BankRate.com.

Mortgage Insurance is Now Deductible?

I read something today saying that Congress passed the bill making mortgage insurance, or private mortgage insurance deductible. I don't know the details yet, though I'm sure there's more information to come.

Mortgage Insurance is a type of insurance that the lender requires when the mortgage loan balance is greater than 80% of the value of the property. In the last few years, borrowers have been skirting this expense by obtaining second mortgages as piggy back mortgages. This made sense since the interest paid on these loans was deductible whereas mortgage insurance was not.

I was aware that the insurance companies were lobbying for a law change to make mortgage insurance deductible. The insurance lobby is very powerful, so it was only of matter of time.

Might create some more stable loans for buyers with lower down payments.

Carnival of Real Estate Investing

This week, I'm hosting The Carnival of Real Estate Investing. So please submit your posts at www.carnivalofrealestateinvesting.com.

Thanks,

Home Equity Line of Credit for Coops

Yes, you can obtain a Home Equity Line of Credit for your cooperative apartment. Basically, the underwriting guidelines are essentially the same as with any other property type; they are based on loan to value, credit score, debt to income ratios.

Loan to value is the percentage that your total loan amount, including the Home Equity Line of Credit for which you are applying, is of your coop's market value. A $600,000 total loan amount on a $1,000,000 coop has a 60% Loan to Value (LTV). Generally speaking on a coop, the lenders will go a higher loan to value than the cooperative board will allow.

Credit score is the middle score that is pulled from all 3 credit repositories (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). Home Equity Line of Credit are very credit score driven, if your score is too low, then you cannot qualify at all, if your score is high enough, you will not have to verify income or assets in order to qualify.

Debt to Income Ratio (DTI) is the percentage that your monthly obligations is of your gross monthly income. If it's below 40% including your housing payment, then you should be in good shape.

A couple of things about the Home Equity Line of Credit, it can be a good financial tool when used properly. However the borrower should understand that the interest rate is generally adjustable based on the Prime Rate as published in the Wall Street Journal. This means that Prime goes, your payment goes -sometimes up, sometimes down. If you have a Home Equity Line of Credit pay attention to the Federal Funds Rate. That will let you know what your interest rate is going to do.

Lenders are now allowing Home Equity Line of Credit borrowers to fix a portion of their balance's interest rate and payment, so you might want to inquire about the details.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Have a wonderful holiday.

Conforming Loan Limits Will Remain the Same

It looks like the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight will not reduce the current $417,000 conforming loan limit for a single family home in 2007. They may raise it if necessary, or let it stand for 2007. If prices drop they will average that against the 2007 levels when deciding the 2008 conforming loan limit.

That's good news for housing from the financing perspective, as it will hopefully keep housing at a more affordable level with favorable interest rates for mortgages.

Gifted Down Payments

So Mom & Dad are finally coming through and giving you the down payment for a brand new New York City apartment. That's great! There's a couple of things to be aware of when applying for a mortgage with a gifted down payment.

In a perfect world, you would receive the gift funds at least 3 months before you plan to purchase the apartment. Underwriting rules for full documentation mortgages require that a borrower show 2 months (occasionally 3 months) of your most recent bank statements showing enough liquid cash for the down payment and the closing costs with no large deposits. A large deposit is defined as any unusual deposit greater than 2% of the purchase price of your apartment. So if mom and dad kick down the cash after you've signed the contract of sale, you may not qualify for a full documentation mortgage since there will definitely be a large deposit in your bank account.

This would also be the easiest way to get around the asset requirements required by the Board of Directors in a cooperative purchase.

If they just can't part with the money until they are sure you aren't going to spend it recklessly at Barney's and the Darkroom, then you'll have to be prepared to document the down payment as gift funds.

This is done by having the donor (mom and dad in this case) sign a statement that they are giving you the money and will not require it's repayment. Additionally they will have to show 2 months of the bank statements of the account that they emptying to give you the funds to prove their ability to give the money without you having to pay it back. I find that parents rarely want to comply with this last step.

So the best move is to either have an extremely high credit score to override the showing of assets or prove to mom and dad that you can handle having the money in your bank account for a few minutes without running to the Nike store.

There is another sneakier way too. Simply put your name on mom and dad's nest egg account that holds that precious down payment money making it a joint account in your name as well as theirs.

Existing Home Sales Ease

Also according to the National Assocation of Realtors:

Existing-home sales eased in September, as did the number of homes available for sale – indicating the housing market is stabilizing. Total existing-home sales dipped 1.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.18 million units in September. This pace was 14.2 percent down from a year earlier. David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said: “Considering that existing-home sales are based on closed transactions, this is a lagging indicator and the worst is behind us as far as a market correction – this is likely the trough for sales.”

Pending Home Sales Level Off

According to the National Assocation of Realtors:

Home sales are expected to hold fairly steady in the months ahead, according to the latest reading on pending home sales. The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in September, slipped 1.1 percent to a level of 109.1, following a 4.7 percent gain in August. The September index was 13.6 percent down from a year earlier. David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said the index shows home sales will not be moving much in one direction or another.

Say What? Conforming Loan Limit May Decrease?

I saw this short article about the conforming loan limit (the maximum loan amount that Fannie and Freddie will purchase) may drop as the average price of homes nationally is dropping.
That decision will be up to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. But if the latest figures regarding home prices from the Federal Housing Finance Board are any indication, the ceiling on loans that can be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could slip next year, perhaps substantially.
The limit is based on the percentage change in the average price of both new and existing homes sold from one October to the next as measured by the FHFB, so the final word on the maximum for '07 is still a month away.
But according to the FHFB's latest survey, which was released last week, the average price of houses fell 2.9% in September, from $306,100 to $297,200. If that percentage decline is applied to the full year, the GSE loan limit would fall to $404,907.
But with home sales continuing to slow and the inventory of unsold homes continuing to build, the decline, if indeed OFHEO decides a lower limit is in order, could be even more drastic.
Over the last 12 months, the average price of houses has been lower than September's figure only once. That was in January, a traditionally slow month in the housing market, when the average was $295,700.
As recently as June, the housing finance board reported the average price as $317,900.

Bubble Schmubble

CNN Money came out with an article that says that New York City is one of the country's top five bubble proof markets. Limited availability and the fact that the city's financial sector can't stop making tons of money seems to be big factors in their assessment.

See the details from cnnmoney.com.

Top 5 Housing Bubble Proof Markets:
1. San Francisco - If developers were allowed to go all out with building on San Francisco’s Treasure Island, Presidio and the Marin Headlands across the Golden Gate Bridge, the price of housing would fall close to the cost of construction. But those pristine natural amenities are the product of one of the most anti-development political cultures in the country - and a perennial magnet for the highest earners.
2. Los Angeles - Along with San Francisco, Los Angeles was the first major metro in the United States to become “filled up” during the 1960s and 1970s because of geographic constraints and political restrictions on building. Three-quarters of new construction is now in-fill development, and much of it is high end. The gentrification is pricing out middle and lower income families, who are moving in-land.
3. Seattle - The newest graduate to join this elite class of super-expensive cities, Seattle is the least likely to hold its place. New zoning laws approved by the city council this year lift restrictions on building heights in the downtown core, and promise to generate $100 million worth of affordable housing.
4. Boston - Boston had the strongest wage growth of these cities through the tech bust and jobless recovery. Over the next five years, it will have the highest per capita income, next to San Francisco.
5. New York City - The force with which middle class households here are getting replaced by wealthier ones was reflected in the recent hysteria over the Tishman Speyer group’s $5.4-billion acquisition of 110 apartment buildings in lower Manhattan, the largest real estate deal in recent history. The apartment blocks are home to thousands of rent-controlled tenants who should have been priced out of the city years ago - and fear they now will be by market rents under the new owner.

NY Mortgage Brokers to Be Registered

A story appeared in the NY Times about a new law requiring individual Loan Officers to be registered with the New York State Banking Department. This is an excellent idea. There will be minimum educational requirements so that we can at least hope to have a base level of expertise in our industry.

The angle of the story is that those who perpetuate fraud won't be able to move to another state to continue defrauding consumers. That may or may not be true, I can't say. But I think that the vast majority of mortgages originated here in New York City are on the up and up.

I like the law because it will serve to create expertise in mortgage lending. Right now if you can fog a mirror and are over the age of 18, you can be a Loan Officer. My competition is anyone who fell into the position, or saw some easy money a few years ago. Mortgage originating is a complicated business that in which there are many variables that need to be juggled effectively in order to close a loan properly and professionally. It's not simply selling, nor is it entirely knowing lending guidelines or understanding the housing types and the economy in general. It's a combination of so many different abilities, that a license might help keep those out of the business who aren't willing to put in the time to learn what it takes.

This is a business that requires specialization and constant updating of one's skillset to be proficient. I think it's time that it was recognized as such.

"Toxic" Mortgages -- The Next Refi Boom

It's everywhere. The magazines are running cover stories, the news is full of reports, the powers that be are holding hearings. Consumers are shaking in their boots. They will want to refi before their monthly adjustable ARM eats their house like on the cover of Business Week.

Now the mortgage originators are ready to refi these mortgages into fixed rate mortgages. The borrowers will be safe..or will they?

What were the motivators for accepting the payment option ARM in the first place? Some may have been seduced into it by their Loan Officer (yeah I said it). Some may have tried to buy more than they could afford with a fixed rate mortgage. Some borrowers may have thought that we weren't going to live in the property this long- that it was a prime flip. Some may have been thinking about freeing up capital to put into another investment.

It's not a no-brainer to immediately think that this is the next refi market. It's necessary to know what the initial motivation was when the borrowers purchased the property. I didn't originate many of these mortgages, maybe 2 or 3 out of a few hundred mortgages in the last few years, so I can't just immediately assume that these are all refi fodder. Also do these borrowers now owe more against their home than they initially borrowed? What is the prepayment penalty? One reason why I stayed away from these pay option ARMs was the steep prepayment penalty would have prevented the borrower from refinancing their mortgage down the road should rates drop. That would have prevented my doing another loan with them, bad for business in my opinion.

These borrowers are going to be hard to refinance. They may not qualify for a fixed rate mortgage that will increase their payments, most pay the minimum payment option resulting in negative amortization. The higher payment even if only interest only is going to be much more than they are used to paying each month. I think that we as Mortgage Brokers need to spend a little extra time, work with the borrowers to find the best solution and provide more education about what a mortgage entails and the responsibilities inherent in borrowing mortgage money.

Trending Toward Fiduciary Duty To Borrowers

The trend among regulators in states such as New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and others is to make the mortgage broker, in essence, have a fiduciary duty to the borrower, according to E. Robert Levy, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Mortgage Brokers. Speaking at the group's annual convention in Atlantic City, Mr. Levy said the burden would therefore rest with the mortgage broker to select the loan product for the consumer. As a result, the mortgage broker could be held liable for making the wrong choice. He said consumer advocates are in favor of this position. Mr. Levy, who is also chairman of the advisory council of the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators, said it became clear in a meeting of that council that regulators were enamored with the "suitability test." However, Mr. Levy reminded the audience of New Jersey's experience with the original version of its predatory lending law, which contained a "net tangible benefits" test. That test closed the secondary market for loans in the state, and was eventually removed from the law.

Of course, this type of relationship should exist in some form. For the Mortgage Broker it only makes sense in order gain referral business. Certainly with Mortgage Brokers working within a community, such as New York City, it makes sense to fit the borrower to the mortgage if you want to keep working in the field. Perhaps some of the national lenders who rely on TV commercials to generate business will be opposed to actually knowing who their borrowers are.

The IRS Is Going High Tech.....Finally

The Internal Revenue Service plans to return transcripts summarizing mortgage applicants' income and tax data to lenders in an electronic format within two business days, starting on Oct. 2. As a result of the change, mortgage lenders should no longer cite the slow, paper-driven process of faxing 4506-T requests to the IRS as a reason for not verifying the income of borrowers who intend to take out "stated income" and other mortgages requiring limited documentation. "This is going to be light-years ahead of where the IRS was before," says Mike Summers, vice president of Veri-tax.com, a third-party vendor in Tustin, Calif. The move by the IRS also could have a big impact on curbing mortgage fraud, considering that many problem loans have falsified income tax filings; however, it will also mean that lenders will have to pay $4.50 for each tax year covered in a 4506-T request, whereas the service was free in the past.

It's about time that there was an efficient way to verify tax returns. And it may even generate revenue which is their middle name.