Lynne Pope

This is a post of Brian Brady #1 mortgage consultant.living in San Diego..the info is so great I want to share it.
I feel like this is a cup of info from the ocean of mortgages…anyone reading here on …www.teamatthebeach.com can benefit from my search of good stuff.
you can go there or read a copy of it here.I am learning the link thing but just in case…
I just got a approval on VA- the no down payment is correct but there is a 2.13% VA funding fee which can be funded into the loan (the perk with this is there is no PMI) So over 2.5 years the fee is less than paying like $300/m PMI. Also the seller needs to cover closing costs. Other than that you will be caped at 417K and after that you pay 25% on the difference. So a $450K loan - 417 = 33K and you pay 25% cash on the 33K difference so $8300 or so. Which is still lower than conventional - most of which are wanting 10% down now. Google says the guy I got qualified with is America’s #1 mortgage broker- after a hour on the phone with this guy I would agree. Brian knew his stuff. Never thought we would need our VA benefits but without liquid assets it is a good choice in today’s market.

www.realtor.org/creditcrisis.

Everyone will have plenty to say.  This situation is severe, serious and will be written about for a very long time. Our generation- the baby boomers only heard about the depression from our parents. And heard about it for our whole life. To this day I turn off the lights when I leave a room and I clean my plate. The unusual stories in our family were: My grandmother was a seamstress and she kept her family in food when the men could not get work. There was plenty of need for sewing, mending repairing and making do with what they already had. My husbands dad sold typewriters. Not that one really amazes me.  The whole last 2 years they said we may have a recession and many of us felt we were in a recession then. Now the deep prolonged recession might really be the feeling of a depression. Many families are affected. The anger the people express that didn’t buy usually falls out to blame the homebuyers.. I blame the following:

The lenders: I know of 2 people that got a bad loan and didn’t understand it. One got a loan review and got a new good loan and the other had a short sale loss of her home.

I think there were good loans and bad ones and the lenders made a little bit more money off the unsuspecting buyers.

The Lobbying allowed in Washington: The money paid to people to influence our Government leaders is just not right. It pushes the ethics aside and is all about money and greed.

That is oversimplified but I grew up with Abraham Lincoln stories in Kentucky. We all wanted to be Honest Abe

Doing “something” about the financial situation is needed. Now that more news is out there they are saying they will fine tune areas. It makes sense. The story of Chrysler Corporation and that they already paid back the loan they received within one year made sense to me.

Cooler heads and calmer minds are working in the midst of a media flurry that tears down the ideas before the bud even opens. Several points bear note. Think of this as a fire wall, and by putting it up now will restore the ability of recovery of homes in this market.

Really Really and truly….the forclosures are worse than Katrina, worse than 911 and we need to recognize the numbers of families in America losing their homes! Bail out, wall street are just the wrong words. Somebody needs to get in there and do something. To jockey in politics and posturing is not right but it is going along. Each party trying to get their “Man” in. The fact is that the American people have been harmed on many fronts. I won’t list the harm because we already know.

The lobbying has got to stop paying and playing with leaders. The leader that does that will make a difference. McCain is right to go to Washington and Obama should go to. They were invited. They will be involved in the future of leadership and should be there.

The media is becoming so loud that many of us are just turning it off.

Job losses are followed by home losses are followed by more losses. The time is now to act. Sure last week would be good, week before that better but all we have is now. Lets start by calling it what it should be. Government working for the people to assure a calm, an anchor, a firewall, a group of leaders with a true desire for the good of all mankind.

Trying to figure out what the “bailout means” in regular terms? The power struggle in Washington gives us a clue: differing point of views. Here are the bullet points to review

“The Senate plan, led by Dodd, calls for five key provisions to be added to the Treasury proposal. They would:

• Give the government an equity stake in the companies it helps
• Change the bankruptcy law so that judges can modify the mortgages of filers’ primary residence
• Curb executive compensation on the companies participating in the bailout
• Impose oversight of the Treasury program
• Require the government to promote sustainable homeownership through loan modifications and use of the new HOPE for Homeowners Program on the mortgages underlying the assets it buys in the bailout.

The House version, drafted by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., includes only the last three provisions.”

I like Dodds view. He is protecting the homeowner, being a watchdog of CEO take home

pay. (they pay for the lobbiest). Finally saying if the Government is paying for all this they should get a share. If they get a share there- and if it becomes profitable they could make some money and use it to help our country.

Over simplified it looks like the government is Daddy-and the teens went out charged up the credit cards and wrecked the car and want a new credit card and a new car. Dad is just saying he owns the car.  

Headline…you are not dreaming. The affordable loan is back to help the sinking real estate markets in USA. Home Sweet Home when your loan is 5.5% 30 year fixed rate.

That is the best news- its early Christmas to a summer that was full of inventory and buyers holding out for better deals. There is a pick up. Don’t you feel it? This interest rate will not last..it can’t. We need to get the people into homes and into this loan window. They will have 30 years of peace in the pocketbook. The adjustable arm…is sinking in my opinion. If you have a job, a pay stub, and pay your bills on time use this 5.5% 30 year loan window to settle your stomach. RE-FI if it is possible -out of your arm….and for those of us with stated income…hang in there….something may come up for us.
Remember my Frozen heloc warning…It was 3 ms in advance of the actual wave of freezing.
This is my warning to everyone…Go out there and get this 5.5% deal.

Background to the Seizure of the GOV on Freddie and Fannie. What is your thought?

Not much news about who the stockholders were that owned the max of those loans- People told me CHINA. That they were the ones that owned the major share in loans.

So without the stockholders to answer to…and I am sure USA made some gift, trade off, deal to keep them from all out war over losing the money Countries invested in our repackaged loans.

Do you wonder what the California Association of Realtors tell us what this historic change means?   The newspapers will never give you a complete view such as this.

Feel free to take this and inform  and educate everyone on the future example shown to us here..Those with the 30 year fixed…I congratulate you..

I think we should all go get one…if we can. 

Monday, September 08, 2008 
Brought to you by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Sept. 8, 2008

Dear C.A.R. Member:

This weekend, the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), into a conservatorship. The federal government is authorized to take up to an 80 percent stake in the companies, and, as part of its duties under the conservatorship, will review both Fannie’s and Freddie’s financial condition quarterly, as well as inject money into the operations as needed.

Under the conservatorship, both GSEs will be allowed to increase their mortgage funding over the next year and a half, then, beginning in 2010, the plan calls for a reduction in their portfolios of 10 per cent a year until they have been reduced to $250 billion. As part of this weekend’s action, both CEOs were relieved of their duties and Herbert Allison, former Merrill Lynch vice chairman, and David Moffett, former U.S. Bancorp CFO, were selected to lead Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively.

In light of the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury’s action, C.A.R. today reaffirmed its support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their countercyclical roles.

While the short-term impact of the Treasury’s actions over the weekend served to calm the markets and restore confidence, in the longer term these entities need to be able to fulfill their historic mission. A privatized Fannie and Freddie will short-circuit the countercyclical role the GSEs have played during precarious times in real estate markets.

Without an institutionalized mortgage-backed securities market, mortgage capital eventually will be less predictable and more expensive, and adjustable-rate mortgages could become the standard loan for home buyers, as could higher down payment requirements. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage as we know it will no longer be readily available for most home buyers and may effectively disappear. The result could be a dramatic decline in homeownership rates in California and across the nation.

C.A.R. is concerned that the Treasury, and Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s new CEOs, will overreact and change the mission and role of the GSEs. Wall Street and investors are understandably reluctant to buy mortgage backed securities (MBS) that are not either originated from or guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie.

The GSEs hold or have securitized nearly half — roughly $5 trillion — of all mortgages in the U.S., and in the current environment with private lender constraints, they account for the vast majority of all new mortgages in California.

We have just recently begun to see an increase in home sales, currently at nearly 490,000 units on an annualized basis, up from 284,000 in the fourth quarter of last year. The most significant, reliable source of home loans in California today are financed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. California’s and the nation’s housing markets simply cannot withstand the financial rug being pulled out from beneath them. Additionally, the repercussions this could have on the already weak economy could be devastating.

C.A.R. is urging lawmakers to support continued government involvement in supporting the institutional secondary market and its role in creating homeownership opportunities.  While we applaud the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury for increasing the GSEs portfolio limits, we will be asking Congress to enact legislation to ensure the two companies continue to fulfill their mission.

To help your clients understand the role of the GSEs, please take a look at a new video featuring C.A.R. Executive Vice President Joel Singer at http://www.car.org/newsstand/video-js-gse. In “Fannie and Freddie: Why They Matter to You,” Joel explains the often confusing but critical role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play in the housing market in clear and concise terms. I’m also featured in a new video developed especially for our members about the GSEs. You can find “Understanding Fannie and Freddie” on the car.org home page at www.car.org. I hope you find them useful. We’ll also be tracking the story for you as it develops in Wednesday’s “C.A.R. Newsline,” and will have additional information to help you make sense of the story for consumers in this Thursday’s edition of “Market Matters.”

Sincerely,

William E. Brown
2008 President
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

 Don’t feel skunked if an REO or Short Sale is right on your street….but if you are trying to sell your house…you certainly will feel it. It’s just a fact of the times. Be brave.

Thank goodness for the machine turning into loans for people   http://www.hud.gov/

Check out the “hope for homeowners fact sheet“! Most important- people want to know some options. Things are changing pretty fast…here is a quote from the article…

“The President has signed into law the Hope for Homeowners program. This program will continue FHA’s existing and successful efforts to provide aid to struggling families trapped in mortgages they currently cannot afford. Certain borrowers facing difficulty with their mortgage will be eligible to refinance into FHA-insured mortgages they can afford.

Hope for Homeownership Fact Sheet

read articles HUD Secretary: FHA has helped 300,000 families find relief with government-backed mortgages

Having helped a seller with a short sale gave me in the line of fire experience with the ups and downs of working with sellers( the bank) that never sold before…

It had a good final result and it sold- we had 4 escrows and 1 finally closed. The difficult part was “Realtor-Agents” trying to do both and not being super great at either. It took a lot of hand holding with escrow, and patience.

All I can say is thank goodness lenders didn’t get to cut out the middle man…..woman  REALTORS!  We are really like teachers….helping families get moving into a home. It takes education, preparation and hand holding.

For now the G0v is trying to hold out a hand….it has to. Lets hold our hands together.

1. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raised limits “late” in the game and the sub-prime could not have done the damage it did had they entered sooner..some say…what about you?

2.Is it good to refinance now and lower the cost of your mortgage?400Thousand have been helped

3. If you have a high debt to income ratio will that hurt or help? The government ways if it helps you then you have to share in the profit with the gov when you resell it.

3. First time home buyer tax credit of 7500? NO-It is a zero % loan and it has to be paid back.

4.Immediate new deductions on property taxes?

5. Is 2010 or 2111 the year of the pick up for Real Estate?

6. Will there be 10 years of unparalleled growth?

7. Can you get a loan?

8. Is California ahead or behind the curve?

9. Have you found a Realtor on Linkden or Facebook?