Current State of Mortgage Financing…What’s Going On?

Anyone watching or reading the financial news over the last few weeks has seen a lot of angst and consternation over the state of the mortgage industry. In fact, one of the larger lenders in the US, American Home Mortgage, was forced to shut down operations recently. But why? What is happening, what does all this mean to you and most importantly…what should you be doing right now to make sure you are protected?

Here’s the scoop...

Over the past several years, many loans were made to homeowners with somewhat non-traditional or “non-conforming” situations, be it a poor credit history, inability to document income, or any number of factors that do not fit within the traditional “box” for home loans. These loans are often called “Sub-Prime”, or “Alt-A”, meaning that they were somewhat riskier in nature than A credit, prime, or traditional loans.  Another type of “non-conforming” home loan is one where the credit and income might be perfectly fine, but the loan amount is higher than $417K, which is the current maximum loan that can be done using pools of money from mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC). If the loan amount is higher, it can certainly be done – it’s called a “jumbo loan” – but the end money comes from private institutions, not from the large government sponsored entities of Fannie and Freddie.

Most non-conforming loan product rates popped significantly high recently. Here’s what happened.

The end investor for Subprime of Alt-A loans will charge a premium for taking on a pool of these loans, because they know that traditionally, they might have a higher rate of default and delinquent payments within that risky pool. But lately, default and foreclosure has been on the rise – partly due to the fact that with credit tightening and a soft real estate market, many troubled homeowners are unable to refinance or sell in order to get out of trouble. So now, these end institutions are demanding a much higher “risk premium” for taking on these pools of loans, as they see the rates of default are climbing higher.

But since these institutions are purchasing these pools of loans sometimes months after the borrower has actually closed at a given rate, this increase to the risk premium mean s that instead of paying $101K for a $100K loan that with bear interest, they may only be willing to pay $95K for that $100k mortgage to account for the risk. Multiply that times thousands upon thousands of loans…and you have millions upon millions of dollars in loss for the company trying to sell the pool at a much lower price than they were expecting. This is called “liquidity crisis”, and is exactly what happened to American Home Mortgage – there was no mismanagement, but they simply got caught holding too many “hot potato” loans, forced to sell them at massive losses…and eventually they had to make the decision to closed the doors and stop bleeding.

What happens next? The major damage is probably already done, and the present situation will likely settle out over the coming year. Lenders will stop pulling products off the shelf, and the rates on products that have moved so significantly higher now should trend lower down the road as delinquency rates stabilize.

But here are a few important things YOU should do right now:

ONE: even if you are not presently in the market for a home loan of any type, make sure that your credit standing is as solid as possible. Many people in the market for a home loan didn’t expect they would have a need, and didn’t plan in advance to ensure their credit would qualify them for the best possible financing. With no immediate need for a home loan, time is on your side…why don’t we take a few minutes together and just make sure you are prepared, should a need arise down the road? Call or email me right away

TWO: If you are in the market for a home loan, or know someone who is- understand that now is the time to be working with a qualified professional who can keep you informed of changes in the market and get your loan funded quickly. Now is NOT the time to be playing the risky game of trying to scour the entire nation to find someone who promises to save you a paltry amount on costs or deliver a rate that seems too good to be true.

Your home and your financing are just too important, and times have changed. I am here to help and advise during these volatile times – and would welcome calls from you, your friends, family, neighbors or coworkers.

http:/www.Battlecall.com

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