Washington Post Doesn’t Understand Credit Scores

July 2, 2008, 7:09, pm By 4 Comments

The Washington Post is alleging that Senator Obama received a special “discount” when he purchased his home in 2005. This is what is being reported:

He locked in an interest rate of 5.625 percent on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, below the average for such loans at the time in Chicago. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a “super super jumbo.” Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers do to reduce their interest rates.

The article discloses the income of the Senator and the property type. Obviously this would have been a full documentation loan disclosing assets on a super-super Jumbo loan.

However, the article fails to mention one very important aspect of interest rates. The senators FICO score. This makes a big difference. The article states that the average loan rate for a similar program was 5.94 percent. So, supposedly he received a 30 basis point “discount”. Well considering the average credit score in Illinois is 684, if the Senators FICO score was well above 720+ then a 30 basis point difference is well within the range. So, I don’t understand why the Post is making such a big deal about a $300/month savings for a higher credit score borrower. They obviously don’t read my blog otherwise they would have read about the four corners of a mortgage.

Based on some of what I have read about the Senator, for example he has no revolving credit card debt and he’s lived frugally all his life, I have a hard time believing that he would have a below average credit score. This is pure speculation on my part and I have nothing to back it up. However, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this.

I will reveal one thing on what I think about Senator Obama. Even though I disagree with most of his political platform, I like him. I still admire him and have a lot of respect for him. He’s a decent man, and an all American success story.  I know he’s also a politician, but from what I have seen so far (especially after all these years of the Clinton and Bush slime machines) I believe when it comes to character he’s heads and shoulders above both of them.

Filed Under: Credit Scores, Interest Rate, Mortgages Tagged With: , ,

Details of the $300,000,000,000.00 Mortgage Overhaul

June 25, 2008, 8:19, pm By 3 Comments

Okay most everyone knows what I think about this massive bailout package Congress is about to pass. In case you missed it, I think it’s a sham. Seriously. A big sham. How else do you explain this to the 30% of tax payers who are not homeowners. How about the 80%+ homeowners who pay their bills on time, buy what they can afford and read before they sign? Yeah. How about these tax payers.  Mr. and Mrs. Renter who lives within your means how about you pony up some dough so that we can clean up the mess our Wall Street pals and a few over excited folks made over there.

Okay.

Take a deep breath.

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!

Now. Here are some of the details of the $300,000,000,000.00 mortgage rescue plan currently being “debated” in the Senate. From the Dallas Morning News:

They would receive a refundable tax credit of up to $8,000, or 10 percent of the home value, on purchases of unoccupied housing.

As part of a regulatory overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants, the bill would permanently increase to $625,000, from $417,000, the limit on loans they can purchase from lenders in expensive housing markets. That would make it easier for borrowers in those areas to obtain mortgages at discounted rates.

Later on in the same peice it says:

The Senate bill would provide $150 million to expand counseling for borrowers to prevent foreclosure and establish stricter lender disclosure rules to make plain the maximum monthly payment for an adjustable rate loan.

The bill also establishes an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, to be financed by $500 million to $900 million in fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Initially, the trust fund would cover any expenses related to the foreclosure rescue plan, meeting a demand by Senate Republicans that taxpayers not pay for the program.

Under the refinancing plan, only borrowers seeking to remain in their primary home would be eligible, shutting out real estate speculators and owners of vacation homes. And lenders would first have to agree to cut the principal balance of loans to roughly 85 percent of each property’s current value, a substantial loss in many housing markets.

Arizona Mortgage Team has a great post with all the details too.

Filed Under: Congress and Government, Debt, Economics, FHA Tagged With: , , ,

US Senators Refusing to Disclose Mortgage Details

June 24, 2008, 7:12, am By Leave a Comment

The good news is most US Senators have disclosed the circumstances of how they obtained their home mortgage. The bad news is 23 have not. Should we be suspicious? I think we should. The story this morning:

Amid a brewing scandal over special mortgage deals given to two U.S. senators, Politico last week asked the offices of all 100 senators to describe the circumstances under which they obtained their own home loans. Seventy-seven senators have complied so far. Twenty-three have not.

Senators are not required to report in their disclosure forms any financial information about their homes unless they draw rental income from the home. But in the wake of questions regarding mortgages obtained by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) — loans they received through a VIP program run by Countrywide Financial Corp. — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said that the disclosure rules should be changed so that senators’ mortgage details are made public.

Full story (Senators’ mortgages under microscope).

Filed Under: Congress and Government, Mortgages, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,
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