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!
$100 Moves You In - A gift from FHA
FHA recently announced an enhancement to their FHA program that allows buyers who purchase a HUD foreclosed home to purchase that home with just $100 down. But wait, there's more, HUD will also give the home buyer up to $2,500 to be used toward closing cost, repairs or to pay the mortgage balance down. Click here to search HUD's available properties in Michigan.
Before you go house hunting, I strongly recommend you contact my office so we can connect you with an experienced Realtor that works the area in which you are looking. HUD foreclosure homes require a special bidding process that not every Realtor is familiar with. We will work closely with you and an experienced Realtor to insure you get the best deal possible.
FHA mortgages have flexible qualifying guidelines that allow for lower credit scores and higher debt ratios. This is a limited opportunity that is available for a limited time. Only homes in Michigan and Ohio are eligible for this special program.
Call us for all the details or apply online at my website http://www.danmoralez.com/.
Before you go house hunting, I strongly recommend you contact my office so we can connect you with an experienced Realtor that works the area in which you are looking. HUD foreclosure homes require a special bidding process that not every Realtor is familiar with. We will work closely with you and an experienced Realtor to insure you get the best deal possible.
FHA mortgages have flexible qualifying guidelines that allow for lower credit scores and higher debt ratios. This is a limited opportunity that is available for a limited time. Only homes in Michigan and Ohio are eligible for this special program.
Call us for all the details or apply online at my website http://www.danmoralez.com/.
Fed Rate Cut - Should You Refinance?
Today the Federal Reserve cut rates .25%. While this doesn't necessarily translate into lower mortgage rates, it will reduce rates on most home equity lines of credit and credit cards.
Generally speaking, most Fed rate cuts put pressure on mortgage rates and can actually lead to higher rates. So why did mortgage rates react favorably to today's news of the fed cut? Mortgage rates reacted favorably because the market was expecting a .50% cut not the .25% cut that it received. Because this is lower than what was expected, mortgage backed securities (how mortgage rates are set) have seen a nice rally this afternoon.
So do you lock or refinance now? Based on the market this afternoon, chances are rates on Wednesday will look better than those on Tuesday. Keep in mind the rally may be short lived as we recently saw with rates taking a dip within the last couple of weeks only to make a strong move up the end of last week. While I expect rates will look better tomorrow, I am not sure we will get back all of what we lost the last couple of weeks. So what should you do? As always, my job is to help you understand the risk of locking vs. not locking. If your in the market for a mortgage now, whether you are buying or refinancing, now is the time to make sure you connect with our team.
In February, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are imposing a new set of fee's that will effect a large percentage of mortgage borrowers. If you close on your loan before February 15 you are not subject to the new fees. So now more than ever is a good time to take a serious look at your mortgage options.
As always my team and I offer a no-cost, no-obligation review of your current mortgage. If refinancing makes sense, we will show you how to get the best deal. If it doesn't, we will show you why you shouldn't do it now. If you have friends or family members looking to refinance now is a great time to get them in touch with us.
That's it for now, look for more regular updates soon.
Generally speaking, most Fed rate cuts put pressure on mortgage rates and can actually lead to higher rates. So why did mortgage rates react favorably to today's news of the fed cut? Mortgage rates reacted favorably because the market was expecting a .50% cut not the .25% cut that it received. Because this is lower than what was expected, mortgage backed securities (how mortgage rates are set) have seen a nice rally this afternoon.
So do you lock or refinance now? Based on the market this afternoon, chances are rates on Wednesday will look better than those on Tuesday. Keep in mind the rally may be short lived as we recently saw with rates taking a dip within the last couple of weeks only to make a strong move up the end of last week. While I expect rates will look better tomorrow, I am not sure we will get back all of what we lost the last couple of weeks. So what should you do? As always, my job is to help you understand the risk of locking vs. not locking. If your in the market for a mortgage now, whether you are buying or refinancing, now is the time to make sure you connect with our team.
In February, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are imposing a new set of fee's that will effect a large percentage of mortgage borrowers. If you close on your loan before February 15 you are not subject to the new fees. So now more than ever is a good time to take a serious look at your mortgage options.
As always my team and I offer a no-cost, no-obligation review of your current mortgage. If refinancing makes sense, we will show you how to get the best deal. If it doesn't, we will show you why you shouldn't do it now. If you have friends or family members looking to refinance now is a great time to get them in touch with us.
That's it for now, look for more regular updates soon.
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