Real Estate Blog

Military members who are experiencing mortgage servicing problems can now report their complaints online according to Joseph A. Smith, national mortgage settlement monitor. He is encouraging members to report any issues they are having with their lenders so he can track trends and make sure members of the military are receiving fair and equitable treatment.

Earlier this year, five of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders reached a settlement providing specific assistance to eligible service members. One of the biggest protections afforded by the settlement is the requirement that these banks provide enhanced assistance to eligible servicemembers who receive permanent station transfers in the form of short sale agreements and deficiency waivers.

For more information, visit http://www.dsnews.com/articles/settlement-monitor-announces-outreach-for-servicemembers-2012-11-12

Costco, that epicenter of bulk purchasing, is now offering mortgages to its members. Now, when you go shopping for the jumbo package of toilet paper and industrial-sized boxes of granola bars, you can also pick up a home loan.

Well, it doesn’t work QUITE that way. Costco actually offers the entire process on their website. They have partnered with several banks to offer a mortgage service where banks vie for applicants. Borrowers who input their information on the website receive offers from several lenders, with fees and rates listed up front. Reports are that closing costs are significantly less with Costco’s partner banks.

The company actually has been offering home loans for a few years through a different partner financial institution, but the relationship was terminated and the entire program retooled and rolled out. Costco plans to aggressively market the service to its members, with plans of adding additional financial services such auto and student loans.

Gives new meaning to one stop shopping!

Lender Process Services, a company that provides mortgage and loan processing services to various industries, released recent data on the condition of their market and the news looks good. According to their research, by the end of January 2012 7.97% of mortgages were behind at least one payment (not including those mortgages that are being foreclosed on.) This number is down 2.2% from December numbers, and 10.5% from the same time last year. Foreclosures are up 1.1% from December but down a bit from the same time last year. It is possible that the foreclosure numbers increased slightly as banks catch up with the delinquent loans they’ve been carrying.

And, best of all, Phoenix did NOT make their top 5 list of states with the most non-current mortgages. The states that made this dubious honor are Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois.

A survey commissioned by FICO (the folks who bring you the most common credit score used in the United States) doesn’t give much hope for the short term future of credit and housing in the country.  The majority of risk managers surveyed feel that we will see elevated delinquencies by borrowers for at least five years as well as stricter requirements for borrowing money. The sluggish housing market was quoted as a major drag on recovery, with a large number feeling that it will be at least nine years before property values return to their pre-bubble levels. Since the largest investment most people tend to have is their homes, this drop in value represents a huge chunk of lost value. This latest study shows a dramatic shift in attitude among the respondents from the optimism late last year and earlier this year.

Although this survey comes across as all doom and gloom, we need to keep in mind that it doesn’t indicate that things are going backwards, but that they aren’t going forwards as quickly as was hoped and was once thought. However, to those who are delinquent on their mortgages things might look bleak but there IS help. If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, give me a call or send me an email and let’s talk about the help that is available.

Potential borrowers who are turned down for loans now can find out why their applications were rejected. A new financial reform law, the Dodd-Frank Act, requires lenders to provide information such as the credit score used to determine eligibility for a loan and an explanation for the decision to decline a loan. In addition, lenders will have to explain why they didn’t offer borrowers their best rates.

This information is invaluable to borrowers who, in the past, were left in the dark as to why their loan applications were rejected or why they didn’t receive lower interest rates. If you apply for a loan and are declined (or are offered a higher interest rate) remember to exercise your rights and request information on how the lender made their decision!

HOPE NOW, an association of lenders, counselors, investors and other organizations that participate in the mortgage market, have released their May 2011 report indicating that foreclosure sales have decreased for two months in a row and were down about 7% from the previous month. The number of foreclosures started during the same time increased about 8% from the previous month. The number of homeowners who received permanent loan modifications remained fairly much the same.

As discouraging as these numbers might appear, there was some good news. Although the total number of permanent loan modifications hasn’t changed much, the number completed under the Home Affordability Modification Program (HAMP) increased about 12%. Another bit of good news is that the number of homeowners who are 60+ days delinquent has remained fairly stable for three months in a row.

Although HOPE NOW’s report leaves me with mixed emotions about where the mortgage situation is headed, the fact that there was some good news gives me hope that we may start seeing real signs of improvement. But only time will tell!

**The full report can be viewed at  HOPE NOW’s website at http://www.hopenow.com/press_release/files/May%202011%20Data_Final.pdf