Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for August, 2008

30 Year Mortgage Rates Drop

Mortgage Mentor wishes to welcome Amber Nelson to the blogging family.   Look for a lot of good content to come from her in upcoming months. The good news of the day is that 30 year mortgages once again dropped in the interest rate to the level of 6.40%, the lowest level it has seen in 6 weeks, and down again from last week.     Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, put out this report, showing that levels are continuing to fall, even though being above 6% since last May.   The view of the financial markets is this... more »

HOPE NOW Has Saved Millions From Foreclosure

Heartbreaking foreclosure stories are all over the news today. Lot of people cannot afford rising mortgage payments on their refinance or home loans. Selling is not an option for many because the value of their loans is now greater than the value of their homes. The result is that tens of thousand of people default on their mortgage commitments each month and get kicked out of their homes by the lenders. The numbers are certainly discouraging.   Almost 92,000 Americans lost their homes to foreclosure in July, a 14 percent increase from the previous month, and more than twice the... more »

Who’s Minding The Store?

In these days of national security, where it seems like everybody knows your business and activities, you have to wonder how come there was so many unethical things going on in the mortgage market the past few years yet no one allegedly saw it coming. You could pretty much figure that with skyrocketing home values and low interest rates, not to mention the “teaser” rates and “liar loans” that someone, somewhere would have had a clue. With all these pie in the sky developments, it was bound to attract shady and unethical people looking for a fast buck. It is... more »

The Freddie and Fannie Deathwatch?

I do not have the knee-jerk mentality of many who scream no bailout for failing banks and lending institutions.   Nor do I see it as a necessary evil.   Even though I am a bit opinionated, I have to be realistic when it comes to the current crisis we are in.   It cannot be a sense of letting the chips fall where they may.   We are in too much financial trouble as it is, and to get out of this mess, it will take some very hard headed thinking and planning on the part of those capable... more »

Help For The Upside Down Mortgage

No one is sure what the exact number of people there are with upside down mortgages, but a study by First American Core Logic, a real estate data analysis firm, estimates that 11% of homes purchased between 2004 and 2006 are there.   There has been dropping valuation, mortgages resetting and people simply walking away because of this situation.   The downside for lenders is that they are stuck with a piece of property subject to vandalism and neighborhood blight, and they are faced with the prospect of having someone maintain and market them to potential buyers as well.  ... more »

Selling Homes At A Loss

It is amazing to watch the continuing fallout from the mortgage market.   Banks are going down. Freddie and Fannie are in the soup, and we see the government making attempts to set things right.   It seems like everything is tied to this crisis, and there is undoubtedly a lot we do not know.   I spent some time on the Mortgage Fraud Blog tonight looking for content, and was amazed at the number of people that are being prosecuted for wrongdoing - mostly wire fraud and mortgage fraud.     It sometimes seems to me that there are... more »

The Markets In California & Florida

Since I read a lot of web content, blogs and news, I see a lot of things in the course of my work that most people don’t.   I subscribe to several RSS feeds that cover the mortgage market, and I am especially fond of Dr. Housing Bubble, who gives me a big head’s up on certain areas of the country, but especially California.   Housing prices there are ridiculous, and the median value of homes in 6 of the counties flirts with $1 million.   If you could see some of these homes, you would put yourself in the... more »

India’s View of Freddie & Fannie

Because I subscribe to numerous services, I often get content from overseas. I have not yet reported on any overseas viewpoints, but thought that the article in the Economic Times - Gurgaon, Haryana, India, was noteworthy. Mortgages and securities are, after all, world wide. So for a change I thought I would share their viewpoint. Quoting the article, they say: "Despite the fact that Freddie and Fannie are government sponsored enterprises, they are privately owned and enjoy special privileges like not having to register their securities with the government, not being liable to pay state and local income taxes, being... more »

Mortgages In Tough Times

We all know that it is not a very good time to buy a home right now, especially if our credit is less than stellar. To be honest, there are some really good deals to be had right now, and taking advantage of that is a good thing if conditions are right for you. Banks are obviously a bit anxious today due to the way things have been going this past year, but if you are on the up and up, pay your bills on time, then chances for securing a mortgage are in your favor. The banks want to... more »

What Is Going On With Freddie and Fannie?

Even though Freddie and Fannie were aware of the market crisis, the pair kept revving the security engine full bore, even though Wall Street knew better, and backed away from it.   To someone like me, that is criminal intent.   Yet we are still hearing all the gushing news from Washington how good old Freddie and Fannie are gonna be okay, and Uncle will keep them afloat.   (Read that taxpayers.) We are talking trillions of dollars here.   The pair hold nearly half of the mortgages - around 5.3 trillion the last time I looked, and to see... more »