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You Are Referred to a Trusted Loan Officer...IT DON'T FEEL SO TRUSTY...thanks to New RESPA rules

Most Loan Officers, the ones that work outside the large call center type organizations, are entrepreneurial or self employed in nature. What I mean by that, for this message, we do not have a huge research staff that tells us why our numbers are falling, or when there is a major change, how to combat that. Therefore, most of us do what we feel is right and wonder if everyone else is doing it the same way. I read an article that backed me up on the feelings I had with regard to the RESPA changes and how to get conveyance to my borrower correctly without looking suspicious.
Unlike the majority in the industry, I do not despise the new rules under RESPA. On the other hand, I have wondered if I was "doing it right" or doing it like everyone else. I was reading an article from Tracey Ramsey, the Staff Writer for MortgageCurrency.com, and she really said it right. All of the changes that were designed to help the borrower on the new Good Faith Estimate or GFE 2010 do not help the borrower unless they know how to use it, and if they are not aware of the changes, they may not feel comfortable in the shopping process.
To see a little of what changes and when they occurred for the RESPA guidelines, go to my Active Rain Blog here. After reading this article from Tracey that I linked you to above, return for the remainder of this message.
I further suggest that a home loan shopper use their ability to recognize a trusty person rather than their ability to crunch mortgage numbers when shopping for a mortgage person. Use the one Loan Officer you LIKE the most until you are contracted or ready to lock your loan, and then shop by comparing others to him. In the end, you want to try to work with who you feel is most trustworthy if all possible...do not let a matter of $100-$300 in fees be the deciding factor or you may end up with $thousands$ worse over the life of the loan. Trust me shopper, you do not know what is best for you unless you take the advice of a professional...that includes you folks who are working on your 3rd, 4th, or 5th loan transaction too.

Home Buyers Take a Break In November

Americans have had the grace to be able to speak mostly positive about the Real Estate industry concerning its climb from recession this year, but November was not a month to keep that same route. The seasonally adjusted rate of new homes dropped by 11.3% . This was the lowest since April...355,000 for November and 345,000 in April.
The positive outlook for new construction left hopes of an expectation of 438,000 annualized rate, but by the consensus of economists in Briefing.com, we received word on a lesser amount of 400,000.
CNN Money experts suspect that this is a result of the change from the original tax credit of $8,000 that will allow a little release of pressure to buy so soon...the timeline to use these moneys was extended. Now Americans chasing that tax advantage can procrastinate a little without racing against a clock. Piggy backing on the positive reason for the negative turn, it's to be figured in that Americans are a little leery about spending money on down payment and so forth knowing that the Christmas shopping season was right around the corner in this less than stable employment market as well.
I expect the Real Estate market to show signs of life and reflect positive numbers in January and February.

So we have a positive forecast for the bailout money that was used to bailout the mortgage industry. The TARP that is used to help create jobs and so forth is foreseen to be a loss. We have a decision to make lets say. We are going to turn a profit in the end from it. As a business owner say with a large bit of debt, do you A) Take the profit and pay down your debit and hope that business continues to produce so you can continue, or B) take your profit and immediately apply it to a part of your business that isn't producing in hopes to get the entire "engine" efficiently making money? If you put the money into a part of the company that is not producing and it continues to not produce, you lose that money right?
The Democrats support plan B above and the republicans support plan A. There is a chance that both options turn out positive, but I guess the argument is, which one will work more...I'm assuming the economy turns around that is.

Super Low Rates Again, Frisco! Employment-Bad, Earnings-Good

We have seen consecutive days all week long of a better mortgage rate market. Rates are now at rock bottom again, and I think maybe for the last time before we see the recovery of our economy begin to ramp up. Ted Jones, the Chief Economist of Stewart Title North Texas, believes that the recovery will also bring higher rates. This means that because signs show that we are closer now than ever in the recent years to a recovery, we are also closer to interest rates going up...unless Bernanke has something super up his sleeve.

The unemployment report by the Labor Department reported that we still saw 216,000 jobs lost last month, so we are still seeing a large number of people losing jobs, but we saw less job losses than The Labor Department expected...so that is better than we hoped, therefore moving in the right direction.

Earnings on the other hand are doing better. There was a .3% increase in earnings...meaning the people in America are losing jobs, but the ones keeping there jobs are seeing an overall increase in their pay.

Take note on this thought. As we start the recovery in America, and interest rates for mortgages start going up, we'll have a larger qualifying number of possible home buyers, but since rates will be higher, the monthly costs for the homes will be higher. My point: The principle and interest payment for a $200,000 loan today at 4.875% is $1,058.97. Rates are expected to go as high as 7.5% in the next two years. These means that same home with the $200,000 loan at 7.5% would have a payment of $1,398.76...$339.79 more a month. So the home that you want and can afford today, may not be the home you can afford to buy in two years.

If you are looking to move in the next couple years, it may be time to buy now before you can't afford it in the years to come. If you would like a better explanation of how waiting may price you out of the market, go to Ted's Blog and read what he says.

How is the Government going to get mortgage rates down to 4%?

Too often, the media passes over a story and doesn't do a good job explaining HOW. Sometimes the "HOW" is more simple than we expect, but if so, take a minute to mention it. The question, "how is the government going to get rates down to 4%," is obvious once noted and reminded of what happened with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a while back.

The government bought into the conservatorship for Fannie and Freddie, so they could directly demand the Treasury to issue bonds and fund the housing agencies(CLICK HERE for previous Blog on Conservatorship). In turn, their lower costs for funds would allow for a lowering of mortgage rates. In a Blog at Marketplace.com, they make a good point about offering rates at 4%...4% doesn't offer much compensation for overhead (default, prepayment risk, and underwriting).

Anyway, the government has the conservatorship on Fannie and Freddie and has lots of money...they can make it happen.

Find the Lowest Interest and the Best Business Alliance

The home buyers in Frisco, McKinney, Plano, and the cities surrounding Dallas Texas are benefiting from interest rates that are still at historical lows and patience to find the right home with the right price. Buying Real Estate right now is a great opportunity. Foreclosures are still available in large volume and if you plan it right, you can be patient and leave your "feelers" out for the next great home to come on the market for a great value. Maybe you sell your home and move into a nice apartment or rental so that you are not under the gun to hurry and find another home by the time your buyers need to move into yours. With a little patience, you may jump into a home with 15% savings from the day you close. When the market moves up in the next 3-8 years, you stand to all of the sudden be sitting neck high in equity.
To have the best luck in your home buying process, align yourself with a mortgage guy who is not desperate for business, so that you are not strategically rushed into a deal that is not the best one for you. Additionally, contact a couple Realtors and let them know you are NOT interested in rushing into a home and that you'd like to be put on a automatic email list for homes that come on the market as foreclosures, and have them make the search specific...city, subdivision, choose a square mile radius, bedrooms, square footage, age, and one level or two level home. Yes, Realtor systems can do all that for you and many successful Realtors are willing to be patient with you.
The biggest mistake many folks have in crafting such a plan is by using a family member or friend for their mortgage or Real Estate alliances, just because they think they should or will get a good deal by using them. WRONG!!! A good deal is accomplished in the negotiation experience, and the research and structuring ability of your Real Estate agent or Loan Officer, and the small dollar amount you MIGHT save on a Realtor or Loan Officer friend or family member can offer you for their services is nothing compared to the dollar value experts bring to the table as a whole.
Interview your Loan Guy and Realtor, don't ask them where they are going to cut their costs. You'll find out right away what caliber your prospective alliance measure.

Down Payment Assitance and Credit Certificates

Is down payment assistance gone? No, there are plenty of areas around Dallas, Frisco, Plano, McKinney, and Irving that have available "moneys" that are qualified to use as down payment assistance with FHA loans. On Jan 1st of 2009, FHA is increasing their requirement for down payment. Don't wait if you are ready, or you'll need more down payment to qualify...you might want to save that money for fix ups when you move in. The mortgage credit certificate is available too. It is more than likely that anyone buying a home for more than $100,000 using a mortgage credit certificate will receive $2,000 cash over an above what you normally get back at tax time, for the first 8 or more years you own your home, and continue to get money for every year you own that home. THAT'S AN AWESOME DEAL. Call me lets get you set up on that.
469-450-2723
Brad

Buying a Home? Did You Know Interest Rates Spiked at Historial Measures

It's old news that are market is unpredictable at best. That being said, the few home buyers that are active have enjoyed the recent low interest rates and watched them inch lower for the past 3-4 months. This past week, we saw the mortgage rates spike on the grandest of scales. Rates move and expect to continue moving up, per the experts, nearly a whole 1% in recent weeks. It's important you know this if you have been expecting a certain monthly payment but have not yet locked in your rate. The monthly payment for example on a $200k home would be $70 a month more this week and 2 weeks ago with the spike in rates. Stay in touch with your loan guy or call me if you have questions.
As far as the affect that this could have on Real Estate here in Texas, for Frisco, Dallas and surrounding cities, maybe it forces the sellers to lower their listing prices, or maybe it inserts more fear in the already tentative buyers, and they stop shopping in hopes to see a better opportunity in mortgage rates in the coming months. Cross your fingers...I am!

Texas, and Frisco Home Buyers, Motivational Strategies and Thoughts for a Better Life

For the past 6 years working as a self motivated Mortgage Consultant in Frisco Texas, and targeting a goal where 90% or more of my business comes by referral, I have had to search and find what "gets me going in the morning" to meet that goal. In doing this, I started a Word Document titled, "Motivational Strategies and Thoughts for a Better Life".

In this document I collect motivational phrases, words and phrases that help express myself in a unique way, and strategies that a leader can use to self motivate and maximize potential. Transferring information to longer term and permanent memory works best for me by writing them down. So, I've written today in my word document and writing it here to share and double up on my writing it down for permanent memory. Here was today's record. I hope that it can help any one person reading it today as well.

"Try not to become a man of success, rather, a man of value." Albert Einstein

• Try to understand before you are understood

• Be impressed before you become impressive

• Be interested before you become interesting

• Listen before you are listened to