I’ve spent the past week networking with a wide range of people and discussing home financing with many real estate agents, potential borrowers and past clients. There is a lot of unnecessary pessimism out there regarding mortgage financing. To counter this pessimism I want to borrower a bit of “Obama-mania”!

Yes, we can. We can still do 100% financing loans with no money out of pocket. It’s called FHA and VA.

Yes, we can. We can do low documentation loans for self employed borrowers.

Yes, we can. We still refinance subprime loans and if you have equity can still do cash out loans as well.

Yes, we can. We can still do investment property loans with as little as 10% down.

Yes, we can.

<pause for effect>

Yes, we can. We have a down payment assistance program for both first time home buyers and those folks willing to purchase in targeted areas.

Yes, we can.

We can still do home mortgage loans!

Yes, we can.

<you now should scream, pant, clap, faint, collapse and continue doing so for a considerable time period - do not re-read the post though, I repeat do not re-read the post, I can not guarantee your safety!>

Note: This blog takes no responsibility for any state of euphoria the reader may end up in and any ensuing actions or results resulting thereafter.

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Tags: Mortgages, obama mania
Categories: Humor and Fun, Mortgages
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A few weeks ago I made the claim that equity managent was not what it’s craked out to be. I also wrote a post on AgentGenius.com (a national real estate magazine) that equity management is overrated. I can’t say these articles have caused a firestorm, but proponents have come out and made some really good rebuttals.

Yesterday, Robert Ashby wrote that equity management is misunderstood and made a very good case on the other side. He breaks down my arguments point by point and presents a very good set of counter arguments. As someone who has personally practiced the principles he is very well positioned to provide some insights.

… as one who practices equity management myself and has provided many families mortgage plans that are helping them meet their financial goals by using their mortgage as a tool, I have to disagree with it being overrated.  The bottom line, as I see it, is equity management can help anyone, regardless of what the markets are doing since it is centered around the individuals financial goals and dreams.

Don’t forget to read the comments in these pots. Some industry heavy hitters like Jeff Brown and Brian Brady provide some really good counter arguments as well.  Not quite a juicy firestorm, but it’s an educational experience for anyone curious about equity management!

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Tags: debt, equity management, Mortgages
Categories: Debt, Mortgages
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What the market gives the market takes away. As you can see the 30 year mortgage rate is almost back to where it was earlier this year (2008). The ride back up has been very volatile, with two and on occasion three rate changes on any given day. Sometimes the changes have been in the opposite direction and has occurred within hours. Sign of the times.

Data source: Freddie Mac

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Tags: interest rates, mortgage
Categories: Interest Rate, Mortgages
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The market seems to think housing has hit bottom. Yahoo! Finance says “Stocks Higher on Hope for Housing Bottom”:

Wall Street Moves Higher As Investors Hope Housing Slump Might Be Nearing Bottom

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street advanced Monday on hopes that the worst housing slump in a quarter century might be nearing a bottom, a trend that could be the catalyst needed to revive the badly beaten financial sector.

I do think the worst part of the mortgage mess is behind us. However, is this the bottom? I don’t know.

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Tags: Real Estate, stock market
Categories: Economics
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Art has never been easy for me. But thank goodness my wife is here by my side to help me with the choices in life involving colors and that spunk. Tired of staring at all the white space on my blog Aimee finally pushed me to jazz up the theme. (Who knew that she was actually reading my blog. )

Fear not though, it’s still the same layout and is designed with the user in mind. As much as colors may be involved it’s still the same great product - just with a little more life! Actually one of the main reasons why I chose this theme last year was because of its flexibility. You can change the header picture, the theme colors, width etc. very easily and still maintain an easy reading environment for visitors.

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Tags: arizona mortgage guru, theme
Categories: Bloggers, Blogging
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Last Fall our CTX Mortgage branch signed up with the Home in Five down payment assistance program. I attended the training program earlier this week and in addition to learning how this program works became a participating lender. To become a participating lender you must attend the training in order to help borrowers with this loan. From what I know, I am now part of a select group of loan officers in the Phoenix area who are able to offer this down payment assistance program to deserving borrowers.

The Home in Five program provides 5% down payment assistance to any homebuyer who meets the income and acquisition price limits. The household income requirements range depending on the area within Maricopa county. The program targets borrowers with moderate to lower incomes. The other factor that plays a significant role in the program is the area where the property is located.

The program defines three distinct areas within Maricopa county where the program can be used: non-targeted areas, targeted areas and priority areas. These areas are defined by the census tract number (not zip code) and is only for primary residence purchases in Maricopa county. If you’re curious about a particular property feel free to contact me and I’d be happy to check it for you. The income limit and property purchase price limit is then defined per the area your property falls under. So for example if your property happens to be in a targeted area then the income and acquisition price is a bit higher compared to a non-targeted area. A priority area has an even higher limit (since it’s a priority area).

This program is open to all kinds of buyers and you don’t have to be a first time homebuyer. Remember the standard definition of a first time homebuyer is anyone who has not had an ownership interest in a residential property within the past three years. So, if you’ve owned property before three years ago you will be classified as a first time homebuyer. If you are not a first time buyer then to use the Home in Five program you must purchase a property in a targeted or priority area.

Home in Five allows for both newly-constructed or existing homes and can only be used to purchase a home (no refinances allowed). While the most attractive feature is the 5% down payment assistance, the interest rate is also below market. The program works in conjunction with a VA, FHA or Fannie/Freddie loan and as such standard loan guidelines apply. Just so you know the money for this program comes through the Single Family Mortgage Revenue Bond Program administered by the IDA’s of City of Phoenix and Maricopa County.

This is a very brief overview of the program. Feel free to contact me and I can e-mail you a brochure or answer any questions you may have.

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Tags: Down Payment Assistance, first time buyers, maricopa county
Categories: FHA, Mortgages
9 Comments »

From MyWay:

Gold has risen more than 12 percent this year, driven mainly by oil’s ascent to $100 and steep declines in the U.S. dollar. Gold for April delivery jumped as high as $949.20 an ounce in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange — the highest ever and within striking distance of the psychologically important $1,000 barrier. Earlier Wednesday, gold settled $8 higher at $937.80.

Make what you will of this, I have my own conclusions.  But just for kicks read the five fundamentals will drive gold price higher in 2008.

Serenity now!

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Tags: gold prices
Categories: Economics
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Aimee received a phone call this morning from a real estate agent who told her with a degree of frustration that all her lending contacts and title contacts had left the business. This agent has buyers who need a good lender referral and was eagerly trying to build some new relationships. She was glad to have “found” Aimee. And we’re glad to be in touch with her as well!

This is quite a turn of events for everyone. I know several colleagues in the mortgage and title business who have left, not to mention the real estate agents who are no longer “practicing”. So, this mornings experience was an isolated event. Over the past two months I have been contacted by many real estate agents across the country seeking a quality lender for their borrowers. After being hounded by loan officers and title reps for the greater part of their careers it must be unnerving for a real estate agent to not have several reliable loan officers and title reps as business partners.

So, if you are one of those agents then I want you to know that Aimee and I are still here, while almost 50% of loan originators have left the industry. We’re still closing loans and we’re still helping borrowers make the biggest financial decision of their lives. Just to introduce ourselves to you, here are a few links that might you learn more about us:

• About Aimee and Shailesh (pronounced “sai-lesh”)
• Testimony from past clients
• Our 2007 Customer Satisfaction Rating

We are FHA and VA approved lenders and as a national mortgage broker/banker we have access to all loan programs in the industry. Most importantly we’re here and we’re here to stay!

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Tags: banker, lender, loan officer, mortgage broker
Categories: Banker, Broker
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At the risk of sounding like an alarmist I’m going to reveal a few things that’s been bouncing around my head ever since the Fed abruptly dropped rates by 75 basis points that sunny January morning (hey it was sunny in Phoenix). I’m normally not like this, but it hasn’t helped that there are two foreclosures in my neighborhood and one bank owned property down the street. And I’m worried about one other neighbor -the weeds keep growing and I haven’t seen them put garbage out for a few weeks AND the lights are never on at night. Did I say I was going to ramble a bit here? Again kind of unusual for this blog.. but I digress…

Here is my line of thinking. Gold prices are highest since the early 1980s. The old rule is that the price of gold is like a canary in a mine, and the higher its price moves the greater the economic woes. Oil is peaking, banks are losing money, the war keeps draining tax dollars and so on and so forth. The news is just bad, everywhere you look, bad, bad, bad. Then, I read this today at the Financial Times:

US banks have been quietly borrowing massive amounts of money from the Federal Reserve in recent weeks by using a new measure the Fed introduced two months ago to help ease the credit crunch. The use of the Fed’s Term Auction Facility, which allows banks to borrow at relatively attractive rates against a wider range of their assets than previously permitted, saw borrowing of nearly $50bn of one-month funds from the Fed by mid-February.

So, basically the Federal government is propping banks up. The article later on tries to give some kind of explanation. I don’t buy the spin folks. I just don’t. With the Fed set to further reduce rates in it’s up coming March meeting, the Feds are obviously seeking to keep liquidity up because the credit squeeze is spreading and there are potential problems in “opaque corners” as the article references.

So, my question now is how far away are we from a collapse of the unsecured consumer debt market (credit cars, auto loan etc.)? How about commercial property? Funny, that I should raise this issue because Professor Nouriel Roubini of New York University’s Stern School of Business has created a list of the 12 steps to economic collapse - the mother of all meltdowns! Prof. Roubini accurately predicted the current situation we’re in way back in July 2006, so he’s not a fear monger. Fortunately, he supposedly has a lit of cures, but I haven’t read that yet.. (did I say this was a ramble?)

So, anyways, I’m concerned. The Feds know there is something coming down the pipeline that will cause massive harm to the economy, I think they are thinking depression not recession. That is the only rational explanation for the 200 basis point drop in rates (in a few months). There has to be something they see happening and that is why they are breaking from traditional US policy and “propping” up banks.

My question is: What is this? What is going on? Did the ship hit an iceberg and they’re trying to fix the hull? Or, are we about to hit an iceberg and they’re trying to steer clear? As I stare at the weeds growing in the foreclosed homes in my neighborhood I keep thinking… what… what.. what…. is going on? Am I going off a cliff here? Please leave a comment so I can know… Or do you suggest I go to a Obama rally and get inspired… oh wait I hear you faint at those things… nah… not my cup of tea….. anyways.. or should I just buy gold?

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Tags: doom and gloom, economic, federal reserve
Categories: Congress and Government, Economics
15 Comments »

Believe it or not credit reports do contain errors. I don’t think any error on your credit report should be considered minor. Because errors in your report can significantly alter your credit score and end up costing you thousands of dollars in the form of higher interest rates, inability to refinance a loan etc. Additionally, there is a growing trend where employers, vendors (if you’re self employed), new business partners etc. are checking your credit before they decide to establish a relationship with you. So, it is ever more important that you diligently monitor your credit report and actively correct any errors you find!

If my long winded advice here doesn’t convince you then read the story of Mark S. Blythe. According to the Orlando Sentential, “Mark S. Blythe’s loans fell through and his business went on the skids — all because a computer glitch spewed bad information on his credit file, sending his credit scores into a free fall.”

The complete fallout of this error is mentioned later in the article:

Blythe’s credit file, in particular, was spammed with several loans he had never taken out with the former R-G Crown and a delinquency record that included 19 late payments. Bank officials said they acted immediately to restore accuracy to the customers’ credit files in early December. But Blythe said he continues to suffer financial fallout long after the bank claims the problem was solved.

“I’m fighting to survive,” he said. “First, my credit scores were trashed and my business came to a halt. Now, my line of credit has been cut off and that’s the last thing I have to operate with. All of this has happened because Fifth Third has not really fixed the errors they reported.”

So, be vigilant. Check your credit report once a year and review it for accuracy. Make sure EVERYTHING is correct. Contact the creditor if you find any errors. Ask them to correct it immediately. Keep track of the dates of your conversation in a log book. Follow up in 30 days.

Mistakes happen. But you and only you are responsible for making sure your credit is in right order. Getting upset with the mortgage loan officer when you urgently need to refinance your home would not be the way to go about solving this problem.

Related posts on Arizona Mortgage Guru for this topic:

• Top Five Credit Misconceptions
• Learn Your Rights, Fight Erroneous Credit Reporting
• How to Protect Your Credit Score When Your Loan is Sold
• Faulty Credit Reporting and the Growing Trade in Discharged Debt
• Bad Credit Can Cost You Your Next Job and Your Dream Promotion

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Tags: credit bureaus, credit scores, errors, reporting
Categories: Credit Bureaus, Credit Scores
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