Mortgage Minute with Jeff Fink

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Rates for March 10th 2009

Monday, March 9, 2009

RATES & INFO FOR MARCH 9th 2009

LA MORTGAGE INC. a Rodeo Realty company
15300 Ventura Bl. #101 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Jeffrey Fink Email: jefffink@lamortg.com
Mobile: 818-723-1638 Office: 818-986-7300 ext 120 Fax: 818-986-1066
CONFORMING, JUMBO,BRIDGE AND REHAB LOANS

Conforming Limits: $100,000 to $417,000 March 9, 2009
Rates
5.25% 30-Year Fixed

HIGH CONFORMING

Conforming: $417,001-$625,500
Rate: 5.625% 30 Year Fixed
Rate
JUMBO LOANS

LOAN AMOUNTS $625,501-$10,000,000
5 Year Fixed 5.75 %
10 Year Fixed 6.25%
Interest only available

FHA LOANS LOAN AMOUNTS TO 96.5% LOAN TO VALUE30

30 Year Fixed $100,000-$ 362,000 5.0 %

$ 362,500 -625,500 5.5%

Rates are based on a 1- 1.5 point origination and are subject to fico scores, loan to values and dwelling type and occupant status rates can change without notice. Rates are constantly changing so call me for updates

There are a lot of changes taking place every day and clients have a lot of questions so please do not hesitate to have your clients call me.

Remember that LA Mortgage is a mortgage broker and we do refinancing as well as purchase money loans.

Stable Market Changes:
LTVs > 90%: Eliminated. New maximum LTV is 90%
LTVs > 80%:
Minimum Credit Score: Increased from 620 to 700
Max DTI: Maximum DTI of 41%, regardless of AUS decision
Tradelines: Minimum 3 tradelines required
Payment History: Minimum payment history 0 x 30 x 12 required
Reserves: Minimum 2 months reserves required, regardless of AUS decision
Pay off of Subordinate Liens: Will now be considered cash-out and will not be allowed for LTVs > 80%
Second Home: Maximum LTV lowered from 90% to 80%
Cash-Out: Maximum LTV lowered from 85% to 80%
Non-Conforming: Maximum LTV lowered from 90% to 80%
Soft Markets Changes:
LTVs > 80%:
Min Credit Score: Increased from 680 to 720
Condos: Maximum LTV lowered from 95% to 85%
Interest-Only: Maximum LTV lowered from 90% to 80%

Thursday, March 5, 2009

RATES & INFO FOR March 5th 2009

Mortgage rescue plan 2009

guidelines for the up to 9 million struggling homeowners who could be helped run 17 pages, and some details for lenders are still being worked out. But the programs are now in place.
Figuring out whether you can use them is not all that easy. So to help threatened homeowners figure out if there's a deal here for them, the Daily News breaks it down.
The two rescue plans are:
The Home Affordable Refinance program, aimed at up to 5 million people who can't refinance at lower rates because their home values have been hammered in the downturn.
The Home Affordable Modification Program, a more complicated effort aimed at up to 4 million people facing hard times who are in danger of slipping into foreclosure.
Here's how they work:
Eligibility for either program
The owner must live in the home.
The loan can't be in default already.
It must be held or secured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
To find out if one of those mortgage giants has your loan, call the company that services your loan or Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (see box inset for contact information.)
The next step
If you have a government-backed loan, you need to figure out if either program works for you, and then call your lender and tell them you want to take advantage of Uncle Sam's help.
The refinancing program
There are nearly 200,000 homes in New York state that may fit in this category.
To refinance, the value of a home has to have slipped below the 20% equity required by standard home loans - but not so far that it is deep "underwater."
For instance, if you bought a $400,000 home with a traditional 20% downpayment and took out a $320,000 mortgage, you could refinance with federal help if your home is now valued at under $400,000. In that case, the loan would be worth more than 80% of the home's value.
But, you're blocked out of the program if the house's value has fallen so low that the mortgage is worth 105% or more of the home itself. In this example, with a $320,000 mortgage, that would be a home value that has dropped to $304,000 or lower. So if the market value of your home is between 80% and 105% of your mortgage, you can qualify.
After that, you have to prove to your lender that you can still afford the new mortgage.
The loan modification program
If your home is deep underwater, or you're in danger of foreclosure and you have fallen on hard times, this is the program for you. Its basic requirements:
The unpaid balance on the first mortgage must be under $729,750 for single-family units. Limits are higher for two- to four-family homes.
The loan must be originated before this year.
The borrowers' housing costs must exceed 31% of their income.
Borrowers must have suffered a "significant" change in income or expenses, such as losing a job, falling ill or seeing their mortgage interest rate skyrocket.
The goal is to get housing costs down to 31% of income. If someone qualifies, the feds sweeten the deal by paying down up to $5,000 in principal over five years to encourage the borrower to meet their payments.
Other conditions
If a borrower's entire debt exceeds 55% of income, they must get housing counseling.
If a lender can do better selling the home at foreclosure, the borrower may be shut out.
Borrowers may have to pay various fees.
Plans for second mortgages are not yet resolved

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

News for March 3rd 2009

Mortgage Market Minute: The market is trading up this morning with the FNMA 4.5% at 100.54, up +.09, the 5.0% MBS is at 101.94, up +.09 as well. The 5.5% MBS is at 102.72, up +.125. It’s a light day for news, with only Pending Home Sales (down surprisingly far) and some comments from Bernanke, neither of which should move markets dramatically. Tomorrow we are supposed to get details on the Obama Administration’s Homeowner Affordability and Stabilization Plan. So far, the Administration has regularly been short on detail, long on rhetoric, so we hope that it isn’t more of the same - - so do the markets. Later in the week we get more on (un)employment, which should be the real mover. Pending home sales fall 7.7%. NAR says home affordability highest since 1970.Pending home sales slid more than expected, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors this morning. After showing an unexpected rebound in. December of +4.8% (adjusted downward from 6.3%), January’s numbers showed that pending home sales fell -7.7%, far more than the -3.5% decline that was expected. The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in January, was pegged at 80.4, the lowest since the NAR started the series in 2001. Existing home sales in January fell -5.3%, versus the +1.1% increase that was expected. The data is consistent with other reports which show new home sales falling -10.2% in January versus an expected -2.1% drop. “Even with many serious potential home buyers on the sidelines waiting for passage of the stimulus bill, job losses and weak consumer confidence were a natural drag on home sales," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. The NAR's housing affordability index surged 13.6 percentage points in January to 166.8, the highest since tracking began in 1970. "We expect similarly soft home sales in the near term, but buyers are expected to respond to much improved affordability conditions and from the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit."Fed will launch TALF on March 25 to jump-start securitization market. The Federal Reserve has says it will launch the Term Asset Backed Securities Facility (TALF) on March 25, a program which will provide up to $200 billion to investors owning AAA-rated ABS backed securities in a bid to improve terms in lending to consumers and small businesses and ultimately spur up to $1 trillion in lending. The operation, which the Fed says it hopes will "catalyze the securitization market", will be made on a monthly basis, and will extend until at least December 2009, after which the program will be reconsidered. The Fed also said it anticipates that by April the TALF will also cover rental, commercial and government vehicle fleet leases, as well as ABS "backed by small ticket equipment, heavy equipment and agricultural equipment loans." The Fed is also considering expanding the facility to include a broader range of securities and plans to ask for additional authorities to support the financial system in the United States.
Bernanke says we need more steam.Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the banking system may need more than the $700 billion already approved and that policy makers may need to take other aggressive measures --- even if it pushes up the already-bloated deficit. “Without a reasonable degree of financial stability, a sustainable recovery will not occur,” the Fed chairman said today before for the Senate Budget Committee. “Although progress has been made on the financial front since last fall, more needs to be done.” The Obama administration wants congressional approval for a massive $3.55 trillion federal budget for the fiscal year beginning in October -- including standby authority for $750 billion in new aid to the financial industry – on top of the gigantic $787 billion economic stimulus package that is now law. This year, government will spend $3.94 trillion, up 32 percent from a year ago, delivering a record deficit of $1.75 trillion this year (equal to about 12% of GDP, the highest since World War II). Equity markets aren’t happy with policy makers’ decisions, as the S&P500 has fallen -22.5% year-to-date, with the S&P Financials Index off -44.2%. According to Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, the Obama stimulus package could keep the jobless rate at about 8.8% versus the 9.5% rate that would result without the package – a questionable benefit given the enormous cost of the recovery efforts.
On today’s date: March 3…1634: 1st tavern in Boston opens (Samuel Cole)1791: Congress establishes U.S. Mint1853: Transcontinental railroad survey is authorized by Congress1875: Congress authorizes 20 cent coin, lasts only 3 years1955: Elvis Presley made his 1st TV appearance1959: San Francisco Giant's rename their stadium Candlestick ParkThe last word:“I once beat up the school bully with a baseball bat. He had two broken arms. Which is what gave me the courage.” -- Emo Philips

Monday, March 2, 2009

RATES & INFO FOR March 2nd 2009

News for March 2nd 2009

Mortgage Market Minute: With the stock market in the tank, Treasuries are up solidly, and to some degree MBS’s are following with the FNMA 4.5% up +.31 to 100.47, the 5.0% is up +.22 to 101.91, and the 5.5% is up +.22 to 102.69. The 10-year is up +1 to 98-23/32, the yield 2.89% down -.12%. Freddie Mac CEO calling it quits after just 6 months.Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer David Moffett is quitting after just six months, according to a statement released by the company. In the statement, Freddie Mac said that Moffett wants to return to the financial services industry, where he worked from 1993 to 2007 as vice chairman and chief financial officer of U.S. Bancorp. Jim Vogel, a strategist at FTN Financial Capital Markets in Memphis said, "Whatever the reason Mr. Moffett has determined to leave, the abrupt departure with no replacement in hand is a negative indicator for the company.” According to Fannie and Freddie, foreclosure prevention efforts could worsen the credit profiles of their portfolios in 2009. President Obama outlined a home refinancing and foreclosure prevention plan that relies heavily on the two government sponsored entities. At the same time, the Obama administration doubled its capital commitment to the companies to $400 billion. Freddie Mac expects its regulator to ask the Treasury for $30-$35B to maintain a positive net worth after the company files its 2008 annual report with the SEC. Government ups stake in ailing AIG to nearly 78% with $30B injection. The nation’s largest insurer, AIG, announced this morning that it lost $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter (the biggest quarterly loss in U.S. history), and as anticipated over the weekend, the government once again stepped up to allow the company to draw up to $30B in exchange for preferred stock, in a move that the government says will “further strengthen AIG’s capital levels and improve its leverage.” The Treasury Department also stated that “The company continues to face significant challenges, driven by the rapid deterioration in certain financial markets in the last two months of the year. The additional resources will help stabilize the company, and in doing so help to stabilize the financial system.” The government now owns 77.9% of AIG through preferred shares, effectively nationalizing the company. AIG was trading at $0.49 per share, up $0.07 (16%), for a total market cap of merely $1.6B. The stock market on the other hand is very bearish, with heavy losses of over -2.5% and the S&P 500 trading at the lowest level since 1996.
Personal spending in January ticks up, snapping 6 months of declines.The Department of Commerce today reported that personal spending, which makes up roughly 70% of U.S. GDP, rose +0.6% in the month, following a decline of -1% in December, and marking the largest increase since May. The key driver was (….drumroll, please…..) pay increases for federal employees. Economists had been expecting a rise of 0.4%. Incomes increased by +0.4%, also posting the biggest increase since May, after December's -0.2% The report also showed core inflation moving slightly higher over the month. The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption & expenditures (PCE) core deflator, was higher by +0.1% in January, as expected, and follows a flat reading previously. Annual core PCE fell back to 1.6%, four-tenths below the Fed's unofficial target level of 2.0%. Boston Fed president urges speed in removing troubled assets from bank booksBoston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said today before the Institute of International Bankers that troubled assets should be moved off bank balance sheets as quickly as possible in order to speed the recovery “so banks can once again focus on future prospects rather than past mistakes." He went on to say, however, that governments are not good managers of such assets, and that "Removing bad assets and quickly selling them to new owners are steps that are likely to get resources allocated to their best economic use.” He said that banks may be reluctant to sell loans and securities that have been labeled as “toxic”, as this could lead to further writedowns that could threaten the solvency of a given bank. Rosengren said that for securities, where the problem is liquidity rather than credit concerns, "there should be a role for purchasing these assets and reducing the liquidity premium." Rosengren cited past crises in Japan and the United States as evidence that allowing banks to operate with insufficient capital can exacerbate problems with credit availability, as they shift their attention to short-run capital preservation. On today’s date: March 2…1933: "King Kong," premieres at Radio City Music Hall and RKO Roxy New York City1969: 1st test flight of the supersonic Concorde1972: Pioneer 10 launched for Jupiter flyby1977: 1st time Jay Leno appears on Tonight Show with host Johnny Carson1983: Final episode of M*A*S*H; 125,000,000 viewers1991: U.N. votes in favor of U.S. resolutions for cease fire with Iraq