FHA Loosening Condo Approval Guidelines

Haven't posted in awhile. Business has been pretty good lately, despite all the whining I do on this blog.

FHA is changing some of their condo guidelines which should play well in the NYC market. First off, they are lowering the required pre-sales to 30% which will help many of the new developments offer FHA loans until they reach that magic 51-70% threshold needed for FNMA approval. Another nice thing is that they are willing to allow condos with a right of first refusal clause in their by-laws if it's shown that it's not used for discrimination. That will play well in NYC where almost all of the condos have this clause.

There are a few pull backs in the new guidelines as well, such as a 50% concentration limit, and the requirement that the condo be transferred into the hands of the Homeownwer's Association 12 months from the time of the first sale. This doesn't matter as much to existing condo buildings, but new development condos will hate it since they may not be finished with construction within that timeframe.

All in all, I say "thanks."

Is Fannie Taking Another Run at Mortgage Insurance?

I just read this here.

It would great if there was a way to get mortgage insurance for condos and coops with 10% or less down.

Take the Good with the Bad

FHA Mortgagee Letter 2009-19 dated June 12, 2009 has a few good things in it, and a few bad things. I'm not sure if overall it's good for the high rise condo market.

First, I'll mention the good stuff. First off, Right of first refusal is permitted unless it violates discriminatory conduct under the Fair Housing Act regulation in 24 CFR 100. That is a major plus for the New York City market where all condos have the Right of First Refusal in the By-Laws. In fact, this has been one of the main reason there are so few NYC condos that are FHA approved. If this goes into effect, there will be an onslaught of condos that are approved.

Next there has been a change in ground up new construction condo approval, in cases where a building permit and a certificate of occupancy (or its equivalent) are issued by a local jurisdiction that performs a minimum of three inspections (typically the footing, framing and final) neither an Early Start Letter nor a HUD approved ten-year warranty plan is required. For those jurisdictions that do not issue a building permit (or its equivalent) prior to construction and a Certificate of Occupancy (or its equivalent) upon completion of construction, a condominium unit that is one year old or less must have either an Early Start Letter (with a minimum of three inspections by an FHA Roster Inspector) or be covered by a HUD-approved ten-year warranty plan (with a final inspection by a FHA Roster Inspector) to be eligible for high-ratio mortgage insurance.
All condominium types are eligible to follow this process (e.g. Multi-family). Projects are still required to be on the FHA-approved condominium list.

This may mean that New York City condos may be approved for the full boat of FHA financing. Any condos in the NYC market that have been applying for FHA approval have been requesting approval for 90% maximum financing due to the expense of the 10 year warranty on all of the units in the building required to go to 96.5% financing. When there are 200 units that warranty can get expensive.

And now for the bad. I'll start off easy with FHA will not accept a temporary Certificate of Occupancy; all units within the building
(where the specific unit that is security for the insured financing is located) must be complete. Developers usually want to start closing as soon as the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) is issued. There is usually a significant delay between the TCO and the Certificate of Occupancy that could stretch longer than it should. Remember these are controlled by bureaucracies.

And here's the rub: Transfer of control of the Homeowners Association shall pass to the owners of units within the project no later than the earlier of the following:
1. 120 days after the date by which 75 percent of the units have been conveyed to the unit purchasers, or
2. One year after completion of the project evidence by the first conveyance to a unit purchaser. This means that the entire building needs to sell 51% and be turned over the Homeowners Association (HOA) within 1 year of the first sale. No pre-construction sales for buildings wanted to be FHA approved and with the current market sales velocity, it's hard to say whether a 300 unit condo tower is going to sell enough units in 12 months. This seems to be a deal killer and the builder's associations are fighting the whole mortgagee letter based on it.

It's too bad that we got the acceptance of the Right of First Refusal with this at the same time. We almost had something that saved the NYC condo market.

The media is myopic

I'm watching CNN this Sunday morning, and they've elected to continue their extensive coverage of one of their own's death. Walter Cronkite died the other day, a sad event much as anyone dying is. But a historic event? I think not. The man was a news reporter, perhaps even a good one, though I wouldn't really know being too young to truly remember his reporting style. I've seen less coverage of a statesman dying, or of the thousands that are unjustly dying throughout the world right this very minute. Is CNN covering this? Of course not. They cannot see past their own noses, they think they are newsworthy. I thought the whole point of the reporter was to observe and report. Since when did they become the news? If Mr. Cronkite was the reporter and newsman they are saying he was, would he be embarassed right now?

It's really this bad...

I know the Loan Officers out there may have horror stories of their own, but I need to purge. It seems like between the new regulatory microscope, the everchanging financial picture of the mortgage insurance companies, the constant unsurety of condo and coop building approval guidelines, and the unwillingness to pay for good underwriting staff, it's a miracle that loans actually close.

In New York, where an attorney is required to close on behalf of the bank, you can add to the list bank attorney staff members who think it's OK to treat the borrowers who actually pay their fee rudely.

Here's my day.

Today an underwriter on one of my files decided to call my borrower on a coop refinance and berate him about the way that he prepares his tax returns. The underwriter has a high school education, and my borrower is a corporate tax attorney with 10 years of experience. Net result: I had both of them screaming at me about the other with my manager included. Great.

Our coop approval department, yesterday, asks for the sponsor's cashflow statement if the last amendment to the Coop Offering Plan is over 12 months old. Today he says that he needs both the sponsor's cashflow statement the last amendment dated August of 1999. I'm just trying to get the building approved before the mortgage contingency expires so the borrower doesn't lose his $73,000 contractual deposit if he cannot close his loan. Guess who's yelling at me now: the coop approval guy apparently because he doesn't know his job, the buyer's attorney, the broker, the managing agent of the building and the borrower. Even better.

I finally (who knows how in this environment) get a file to the underwriter to clear to close. She doesn't understand how our condo approval database is set up, or she cannot read, I'm not sure which. So she continually requests condo approval. I don't know this at first, so I keep sending her the condo approval screenshot from the database, which she doesn't know what it says, so she asks for condo approval, and a round and round we go. Meanwhile, it's a Friday, and 4 days before the buyer is contractually obligated to close or forfeit his down payment of $46,000. And who's yelling at me? You got it: the borrower, the underwriter, her manager, my manager, the broker and both attorneys. Yay!

I have one of those Fannie / Freddie prime loan modifications that the Obama adminstriation said was going to help the homeowners. All conditions were submitted with the file. Well, there isn't much to submit other than an application and title. But wait for it...I need a subordination from another major bank. After 2 months and many fruitless faxes, I finally receive the subordination. Now this is a rubber stamp approval and we close, right? Right? Wrong. We are into our second rate lock extension (borrower paid I might add) and I still cannot get the underwriter to approve this file to close. If I ask, I get laughed at, like I'm some kind of idiot to even ask that a refinance that will save our customer hundreds of dollars each month get closed.

This was all before 12pm today, when I couldn't take it anymore and left the office. No, the mortgage industry isn't broken, no way.

Fact is, I could go on and on about issues like these, condo approval wants an appraisal to be amended prior to condo approval, the appraiser (after I go through all the hoops of getting the operations staff to actually submit the request, I've so painstakingly prepared for them in a manner that allows them to quickly review, and push "send" - that's 3 days right there folks) says that the 'as of ' date won't be effective if that is done and thus won't amend the appraisal. Now I'm not taking about a valuation change, nor am I talking about changing anything that isn't on the questionnaire that was completed by the managing agent, reviewed by the developer, signed off on by the developer's attorney and approved by our condo approval department. It's actually not even a change, it's requesting that a box that had "unkn" which is possibly short for "unknown" be marked with the actual data for the purposes of condo project approval. Now if as a commissioned loan originator I'm so bad, fraudulent, and unscrupulous that I cannot be trusted to send a fax to an appraiser (according to HVCC) then why is everyone running this stuff through me? Why doesn't condo project approval reach out the appraiser themselves and request the change. And when the appraiser says "no", make a business decision about what they are going to do. Leave the buyer hanging and add to the housing woes, or go with the questionnaire information and approve the building so that people who want to can buy an apartment and grease the wheels of our sputtering economy.

Bottom line, the loan is going nowhere fast. It doesn't matter where I work because I know people at all major banking institutions who have much, much worse stories to tell. They cannot even pick up their phones anymore. They have run out of excuses, gone past sounding like moron, and are now just weeping...

Oh, and let me end with this one last potshot at the Real Estate Brokers out there. I have a deal that was approved today. I've had the conversation with the broker several times in which I assure him that I'm only paid if the loan closes, I don't get a salary, I'm only paid a commission on closed loans. So today, I say the underwriter told me that it would be approved late yesterday or first thing today. That's literally what the underwriter told me around noon yesterday. Today at around noon, no approval. The broker has the gumption to ask me to ask the underwriter when the approval will be done as if I hadn't spent the morning begging in such a manner as to bring everlasting shame upon my house and family. Is he kidding me?

Man, some people really don't spend much time listening do they? I've told him at least 3 times I don't get a salary and that I'm only paid if the loan closes, what makes him think that I didn't ask the underwriter a thousand times by 9am that morning? He just pressures people because he has no other value to add. People who are good at their jobs are being hammered into bits by the mediocrity of the lending world, there are excellent attorneys, brokers, loan officers, underwriters, closers, buyers, sellers, builders and everyone else out there. At what point do we get to do our jobs?

Morgan Loan Mods are slow like everyone else

I read in the WSJ today that Morgan's servicing unit (Saxon - remember them from the heydays of subprime?) has modiified only 6% of their servicing portfolio. That's not a surprise. Modifications, even the FNMA, Freddie MAC prime loan modifications are put on the back burner at all the major banks that I know of. These loans actually don't require much to close, less than a traditional refinance, but for some reason despite the easy approval process, they take much, much longer to get looked at.

It's odd since it's my understanding that the gross margins are actually pretty good on them. I guess it's just one of those things.

The Condo Approval Morass

It's not enough to qualify and approve the borrower, nor has it ever been, but when someone is buying in a condo or coop, the building must also be approved. This has become increasingly more difficult as condo / coop approval departments are overloaded increasing turn times, but also as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac begin enforcing rules that up for years were not enforced.

One major hurdle with existing condos and new development condos is a line item in the budget for reserves that equals 10% of the budget. In most, if not all, of the other states in the Union, this is not an issue. But here in New York, it's becoming increasingly more of an issue. New York City has always gotten away without creating a reserve funds for 2 reasons. The first is that the NY Attorney General's office, which approves all condo offering plans, doesn't require it. The second is that here in NY the argument was made that if the budget ran low, or if a capital improvement was needed, there would be a special assessment to pay for it. Fan/ Fred went along with this, but not anymore.

So most budgets on new developments (though they are faster to change, needing the sales) and existing condo project don't have a reserve line item in the budget. They frequently have a contingency line item, but it doesn't add up to anywhere near 10% of the annual budget.

What do you do? Create a reserve analysis, that's what. You'll have to show that the contingency is enough for the capital improvements without a special assessment to the condo owners. This can be done by aggregating the amount that the contingency will accumulate in the next years before any major improvements or repairs need to be done. This is especially useful with new development where the assumption is that since it's newly built, it will be 10-25 years before the building will require a new roof, exterior work or other major expenses or improvements.

Another hot button is the pre-sales requirement for Fannie Mae approval. This has increased to 70% of the units for most developments. This is coupled with a new math in determining the pre-sales in a building as well. Sponsor held units are now counted, whereas before they were not, also any rental units (here in NYC some apartments in a conversion are rent regulated making it difficult to remove tenants) are now counted. Before they were not. Also any investor owned units are not counted. So what you have left is all of the owner occupied and second home units in a building. That can be tricky for areas like Miami, LA, SF, Vegas and NYC. This is on top of an already down market, so it's reducing the deal flow even more, since many banks will not offer financing in a building that is not approved by Fannie Mae. Even if the mortgage is not being sold to them, it's considered the gold standard for condo / coop approval.

If the building is a ground up new construction and less than 200 units, then it's possible to get it approved at 51% pre sold. If it's a conversion of any size then it's more likely to be 70%. There is a process by which Fannie Mae will do a full review of the building and approve it at a lower pre sale, but generally speaking it needs to be at least 51% pre sold (remember these need to be owner occupied or 2nd home buyers) and have good sales velocity. Also the developer needs to pony up a $1200 application fee along with $30 per unit for the review. There is quite a bit of documentation that is needed as well.

If that wasn't enough, the scrutiny of the building's insurance coverage has also gotten a bit tougher. The Fidelity Bond coverage is a bit more restrictive, also if the building's coverage does not cover an individual unit from the studs in, then the homeowner will need to buy insurance to make up the difference.

Managing Agents don't seem to be stepping up to the plate in this changing world either. They aren't completing questionnaires fully so that the building can be properly assessed. This is despite the fact that in NYC, they charge a fee for its completilon, sometimes as high as $125. They need to understand that they are doing their owners a disservice by not completing the questionnaires and providing as much information as they can to help the approval process along. Everyone in the process understands that it's a hassle, but it's not the man on the street's decision, it's much, much higher up than that.

HVCC Sucks

Recently New York Attorney General, in an effort to raise his image, fight corruption and save the American consumer from themselves, went to Fan/Fred and created the Home Valuation Code of Conduct that all mortgage originators (big and small) must abide by. On the surface, it sounds great. Greater appraiser independence, less commissioned individual involvement. Without going into how Mr. Cuomo decided that appraiser's were blameless in the recent fraudulent housing sales (it seems that every fraud ring includes at least one), the fact that the one party, the Loan Officer, who knows everyone in the transaction is completely (and I mean completely) removed from the coordination of the appraisal is crazy. Who do you think everyone, buyer, seller, seller's attorney, buyer's attorney, buyer's agent, seller's agent and even in house operations staff is going to call when the appraisal hasn't been scheduled in a timely manner? You got it...the Loan Officer. The one person who literally can do nothing. The one person who doesn't know who the appraiser is, what is their email address or telephone number or any other information. And the one person that the 3rd party vendor (owned by the banks) won't speak to or include in the process even as a spectator.

The break down is in the logistics. Loan Officers are the 3 monkeys in this case (see no, hear no, speak no). And we are the only party who's sole job is the coordinate all the players in the process. I guess Mr. Cuomo didn't think that through went he ran to Fan/Fred with his brave new idea.

Another aspect to the HVCC, is if there is a mistake on the appraisal, say for instance the appraiser noted that the unit appraised was 4B when it should have been 4FB or E4B. We cannot make a quick call to have it changed, nor can we contact the 3rd party vendor to have it changed, no the (currently overworked, can you say refi boom?) operations staff is the only one who can have it changed. And who fields all of the complaints when this isn't done for 3 weeks? You guessed it, the Loan Officer.

I agree with the gist of the HVCC, Loan Officers (including Mortgage Brokers) shouldn't have leverage over appraisers on the valuation of the home. Appraisers have licenses that can be held over their heads (not to mention felony charges) on these issues. But for the Loan Officer not to have access to even the 3rd party vendor to make a correction, make sure the correct phone is on the order, follow up on a order that is taking 4 weeks, is lunacy. Now the pendulum has swung too far to the other side. If we, as consumers, want to have our purchase and refinance transactions close within our lifetimes, we're going to have to have some Loan Officer input.

Bring back the stated income and 100% mortgage

Though there is an argument (often made by mortgage loan originators) that there must be a minimal risk underwriting box that for stated income and high loant to value products, these loans don't seem to be coming back any time soon.

Self employed borrowers are feeling like victims of banks' current underwriting guidelines when it comes to documenting income. Their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is much lower than the money their business brings in. Frequently self employed borrowers taking 2 positions when it comes to what their income is. When they file their tax returns, they use every write-off the IRS allows in order to bring their taxable income to the lowest it can be. That is legal and that is fine, however, know that what is written in the line on the tax return labelled Adjusted Gross Income, is the income that can be used with some slight variations. Often that isn't enough to qualify for a mortgage that the borrower wants.

There can be a few items (paper loss type things) that can be added back to the borrower's income. Items such as, depreciation, and home office use, can be added back to the borrower's income, but other than that, the AGI is the income that is used to qualify self employed borrowers.

We Reward The Risk Takers...

I guess the feeling is that we have to. I just finished an article on Forbes about D. Andrew Beal and Beal Bank. He stayed out of the fray during the go-go years from 2004 until 2008, originating no real estate loans. Now his bank is solvent, capitalized and ready to buy loans from other banks who need the $. And of course, there is no TARP money for him, no Fed assistance of any kind. The ratings people thought his model was unsustainable while greenlighting such winners as Lehman, and Bear.

It boils down to who has the most power.

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

Powered by vFlyer.com

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