Loan Think

New home construction is one of those concepts where real estate agents (and the general public for that matter) have trouble wrapping their heads around.

To elaborate further on recent HUD withdrawals of mortgagee approvals: Approval of a mortgagee by HUD/FHA to participate in FHA mortgage insurance programs includes an Origination Approval Agreement between HUD and the mortgagee. Under the Agreement the mortgagee is authorized to originate single-family mortgage loans and submit them to FHA for insurance endorsement.

After two ugly reports on home sales (existing and new) I wouldn't be surprised to see lobbyists from the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association on Capitol Hill in a few weeks, pitching a revival of the $8,000 home buyer tax credit. But perhaps, they should aim a little lower: $4,000 and make it a credit that applies to everyone.

How is the sovereign debt crisis like the mortgage crisis? Answer: consumers borrowed more than they could afford with the thought that their home values and their salaries would continue on an upward path.

Some of my friends who work for public relations firms probably won't like this column too much. But in an era where small businesses need to look after every dime they spend, including the dimes they spend on marketing, being able to do some of your own PR work is important.

For months the industry has been hearing plenty of talk about new entrants to the jumbo securitization market. The great irony of all this talk is that only one new jumbo MBS deal has come to market this year: a spring offering by Redwood Trust.

Nothing But Awful Economic NewsUSA Today decided that this news was worthy of the headline in the Money Section today. My response?I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t matter. The economic news aside, you must figure out a way to make a living for you, your family and your business.

What do you do when a client tells you that they already been pre-approved by another lender and they are just shopping around for rates?

Every once in a while I get a slew of questions and comments centered on the family members of the seniors. And yes you guessed it, those questions and comments are about the kids.

On Aug. 9, 2010 in San Francisco, Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $20 million to settle a nationwide lawsuit brought by mortgage consultants who alleged they were misclassified as exempt by the bank so they would not have to be paid overtime.