The Ever Changing Mortgage Market

As I look forward to 2008, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on 2007. It has been an incredible ride in the mortgage industry. The changes have been fast and furious. Not only has the housing market seen an erosion, the mortgage industry itself has seen an erosion.

Unlike many of my of my counterparts, I for one think it is a good thing. It is my personal opinion that the problems plaguing the Mortgage Finance industry for the most part were brought on by the industry. Over the last several years we have seen mortgage guidelines stretch and stretch. To the point where almost anyone could purchase a home. While that made homeowners out of many, it also set the stage for what we now see today.

Lenders and their investors (the money behind these mortgages) came up with newer and more flexible guidelines and options. Many of these options didn't require a down payment, verification of income or a decent credit history. While many were able to qualify to purchase a home, many lacked the income, ability or history of repaying their debts. These combinations of risk have layed the foundation for the foreclosure crisis we are now seeing.

Lenders and their investors often times wrote mortgages that realistically could not be repaid for the long haul. Our industry like many, has it's fair share of bad apples who are driven by excessive greed and lack of integrity. This is just one more reason to know who you are doing business with and why.

Today's mortgage guidelines are far more restrictive. This underscores the importance of working with a lender who knows what they are doing. The easy to obtain mortgages of yesterday are now the past. While obtaining a mortgage is now more difficult. I can assure you that plenty of money is available to lend for those who are able to qualify. There are a number of ways to qualify, that is where an experienced lender comes in. It can cost you thousands of dollars if your loan is structured incorrectly.

2008 appears to be more of what we saw in 2007. Check back often as the blog will be updated. Look for a new podcast in 2008 with industry insiders as well as the addition of a lot of video to my website (http://www.danmoralez.c0m/).

As always, I appreciate your referrals of friends and family. They are the highest compliment one of our clients can pay us.

Have a safe and blessed New Year!