Loan Think

Remember how the government was going to allow lenders to “monetize” the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit? Apparently it’s still a go but according to the law firm of K&L Gates LLP, reworked guidance from the Federal Housing Administration puts “significant limitations on the ability of an eligible borrower” to use the tax credit for downpayment costs and offers no guidance to FHA approved lenders on how to structure the process of monetizing the tax credit. Also, the law firm says FHA places “considerable responsibility” on the part of lenders to ensure that borrowers actually qualify for the tax credit and that the closing costs are reasonable...

One of the negatives about the explosion of the use of the social media (as well as the traditional media) is that your message may get caught up in the clutter of all the other messages being disseminated. As a result you might not get seen as the expert on your topic.

Apparently, Wells Fargo & Co. is so hungry for 5/1 Freddie Mac LIBOR ARMs that it’s paying brokers two points (on top of the going) rate for the product. But there are strings attached: for condos and co-ops the loan must have a minimum LTV of at least 70%. Wells is telling its approved loan brokers that the 2% offer is for a limited time only. Meanwhile, it appears the yield on the 10-year Treasury has stabilized at 3.7% or so. But will the Federal Reserve continue to buy MBS to keep rates low? A new report from Deutsche Bank notes “Treasury purchases may have run their course in a matter of months, but MBS purchases should be around for longer”...

Wow! I am amazed again at the number of responses that I received from the readers of this column regarding the use of credit repair services. However, the numbers are not yet sufficient to draw conclusions from and I want to keep this subject open for one more week.

Paul Muolo is out of the office. We're running this story in place of his usual column.The nation's top five residential servicers, as a group, are continuing to increase their market share grip on the servicing business but there are tentative signs that barring another large M&A deal the trend could be slowing.

Last week, we started discussing the three reasons people don't buy from you and how to overcome them. The first reason was they don't want what you are offering and I thrashed out the problems as well as some solutions. (LINK TO PREVIOUS ARTICLE)

On June 3rd, Microsoft launched its new online search engine, Bing. It’s spending an estimated $80 million -$100 million on a campaign to position Bing.com as a “decision engine” for consumers. Did Microsoft finally develop a legitimate contender to threaten Google’s Web search dominance? Or is this a great deal of Microsoft hype with little substance?

So, you've been reading in some publications and blogs that perhaps very few sales of non-performing loans (NPLs) are occurring. We understand some deals are indeed getting done but the buyers and sellers have purposely not publicized the sales. Also, a handful of large NPL portfolios are now out for bid, one that includes loans that belonged to recently bankrupted subprime lender Accredited Home Lenders of San Diego. For the full story see the Monday, June 22 print edition of National Mortgage News. The story will not be available online. Only in the "paper" edition where several trees were sacrificed, allowing us to go to press…

TECHNICAL VIOLATION OF TILA IN NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CANCEL DOES NOT EXTEND RESCISSION PERIOD FOR BORROWER (AT LEAST ON THE EAST COAST)

This past week, as I do once per quarter, I conducted a reverse mortgage continuing education class for Realtors at my local real estate board in Baltimore. It's always well received and I always get a least one deal from the presentation. This time, it looks like I got two, perhaps three. The topic is of course timely and our real estate partners are looking for ways to increase their business. This is just one strategy I teach in the Reverse Mortgage Success course, but what makes it particularly beneficial to the reverse mortgage originator is how the course is structured. And what I do afterward as well.