Posts about Mortgage Market Report as of July 10, 2009

Twenty five professionals in the mortgage, banking and even the legal fields were charged this week with . mortgage fraud.  At stake is over $100 million dollars in stolen money.  The AFG Financial Group, based out of Manhattan, is responsible for finding gullible buyers with excellent credit ratings and then pairing these buyers with distressed properties while telling the buyer it was good for the community and guaranteeing a high return on their investment.  The group approached other lenders and banks to sell the mortgage to, all the while keeping all the funds associated with the successful closing of the loan for their own personal use.

Confidence among U.S. consumers fell more than forecast this month, reflecting unemployment approaching 10 percent and higher gasoline prices. The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment decreased to 64.6, the lowest since March, from 70.8 in June. During the expansion that began in late 2001 and ended in December 2007, the index averaged 89.2 – Bloomberg Most economists believe the U.S. doesn’t need another round of stimulus now despite expectations of continued severe job losses.

Often times I will get questions about how to market clients that are late on their note, but have not received an official Lis Pendens. Their essential concern is that the NOD lists that they are using for marketing are not closing advantageously for them. Nearly all of the time bad conversion ratios are attributed to the data becoming public at a particular point in time. In which event the market becomes stuffed with calls, marketing and flyers.

Risk assets recovered last night, Alcoa beating expectations, and the IMF saying recovery was likely from Q1 2010, all helping. Some also attributed the optimism to the better weekly jobless number, despite its seasonal distortion. The S&P500’s +0.4% gain saves it from breaching the critical level of 879, but only just. Oil was stuck at $$60, but copper rebounded 3.1%. The US yield curve was pressured higher,10yr treasuries up 10bp, but 3mth Libor managed another 1.5bp decline to 0.51%.

Home Equity – Releasing Your Potential Nowadays, reaching the age of retirement with your pension intact is a feat not to be underestimated. Your pension is a pot of money that is accrued over the course of your working life. Upon retirement, you should receive regular payments every y… How the Lending Market is Changing in the US The housing market meltdown created a severe change in the US lending market which will become even more evident as we move forward.

Poor jobs reports are bad for those out of work. However, for those looking for a mortgage, bad news equals good news, as Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage report notes that current mortgage interest rates have dropped in the wake of labor market worries.

The risk of lasting home price declines has increased in Dallas-Fort Worth as foreclosures and job losses mount in North Texas, a new report says. But there’s a “minimal” chance that D-FW home prices will be lower in two years than they are today, according to the latest study by mortgage insurance firm PMI Group. Dallas and Fort Worth rank among the U.S. cities that are the least likely to see a drop in home prices in PMI Group’s first-quarter risk report released Tuesday.

Check out all the great contributions that were published during the past week on RGE’s Nouriel Roubini’s Global EconoMonitor, RGE Analyst’s EconoMonitor, Finance & Markets Monitor, Peterson Institute for International Economics Monitor, Global Macro EconoMonitor, U.S. EconoMonitor, Emerging Markets Monitor, Asia EconoMonitor, Latin America EconoMonitor and Europe EconoMonitor. This week on Nouriel Roubini’s Global EconoMonitor, Nouriel reacts to the June employment report and suggests that the alleged green shoots are mostly yellow weeds that may eventually turn into brown manure.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee yesterday voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. Rises in the base rate of interest affect rates paid on variable credit cards, loan and mortgage interest, so the freeze will be welcomed by the majority of consumers, particularly those struggling with debt .

Sprint dashes into Ericsson deal. After watching its subscriber base slip, Sprint Nextel ( S ) signed a seven-year, $5B deal with Ericsson ( ERIC ) in which Sprint will turn over day-to-day operations of its network to Ericsson in order to focus on developing new products and improving customer retention. Sprint will move about 6,000 workers to Ericsson sometime in Q3. Citi plays management musical chairs.

The effects of a job layoff can be major and life-changing. And if you own a home and find yourself struggling to make your mortgage payments, you may even wonder if there’s a point at which you’d just mail your house keys to the bank. If you haven’t already done so – file for unemployment . Is it ever a good idea to “walk away” from a mortgage? For all too many Americans this isn’t even a question – they simply can’t come up with their payment this month. But others face a complex tradeoff.

The Private Rented Sector (PRS) and buy-to-let has become an important, if not the most important, sector of the UK housing market; certainly as far as tenants, sellers, letting and estate agents are concerned. The young wait in rented accommodation until they can afford to buy, which suits their mobile lifestyles, the old downsize and some move into a rental retirement, owners rent out their homes when they move away, or when they can’t sell—there’s even talk of a shift to lifelong renting.

LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar rose broadly and the yen hovered near the week’s peaks against other major currencies on Friday on investor caution as U.S. corporate earnings season got rolling and as share prices fell. The yen hit a five-month high against the dollar this week and surged to two-month highs against the euro and Australian dollar as investors unwound bets in riskier assets that they made using the low-yielding Japanese currency.

Frequently I will get inquiries about how to market borrowers that are late on their deed, but have not received an formal NOD. Their main concern is that the Notice of Default lists that they are using for selling are not converting well for them. The cause those listings tend not to convert advantageously is because once the client data becomes public they are stuffed with telephone calls and mail. The next biggest matter is that many times once an Lis Pendens has been issued, the client may have already abandoned the property.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Banks trimmed borrowing from the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending facility over the past week and cut back on other programs designed to ease the financial crisis, promising signs that some credit problems are easing. The Fed said Thursday commercial banks averaged $34.97 billion in daily borrowing over the week that ended Wednesday. That was down from $35.91 billion in the week ended July 1. The identities of the financial institutions are not released.

Gordon Brown’s “theft” of the pensions angered most of us but it also hid another disturbing truth: Unless the bulk of the population starts to put money aside for retirement, the UK is heading, as the demography really kicks in a decade from now, for fiscal meltdown, to say nothing of the prospect of millions of our pensioners living in poverty. We can try to put that down to the current economic climate and the impossibility of saving but the truth is that there were two other factors in there: 1.

*Estimated rates for the week of June 29, 2009 30 year conforming 5.125 – 5.250 30 year jumbo 5.75 to $600k 7/1 ARM 4.875 – 5.125 conforming and jumbo FHA/VA 5.25 – 5.50 OR VA 4.99 w/1.50 or 5.125 w/1.00 Rates are trading in a new range of 5.25 – 5.75%. Hopefully, we will see this continue although there is more pressure for rates to increase than to decrease. Economic reports remain mixed and that ’s helping to keep the rate market range bound.

Often times I will get inquiries about how to market clients that are late on their deed, but have not incurred an formal Notice of Default. The main matter is Notice of Default listings tend to have a low conversion ratio. Nearly all of the time terrible conversion ratios are attributed to the data going public at a particular point in time. In which case the market gets saturated with telemarketing, direct mail and circulars.

I get calls every day from Short Sale agents that inquire how they can get in touch with borrowers that are currently 30-60-90 days late on their mortgage and have not received a Lis Pendens yet. The main issue is Notice of Default listings tend to have a terrible closing rate. Nearly all of the time poor closing rates are attributed to the data going public at a particular point. In which event the market becomes stuffed with telemarketing, direct marketing and circulars.

Assistant Secretary Michael Barr Testifies Before House Committee Regarding President’s Proposal to Establish New Consumer Financial Protection Agency On July 8th, 2009, Assistant Secretary Michael Barr delivered a statement before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce regarding the Administration’s recent proposal to establish a new financial regulatory agency designated with the sole task of protecting consumers across the financial services industry.   Per the proposal, the new Consumer

Again there has been a fall in the U.S. long-term fixed mortgage rates. The rates fell for the third time in four weeks. The rates have slid down up to lowest level in six-weeks. In the week ended on July 9, the average 30-year rate have declined to 0.12 % point to 5.20 %, it was said by Freddie Mac on Thursday. The rate was 6.37 % a year earlier; it is said by the second-largest U.S. home funding company.

Related: Obama administration admitting that Fannie and Freddie were a “core part” of the country’s financial woes CSPAN video of recent hearings on Fannie Mae and Freddie MAC part 1 and 2 and previous posts as to why our economy is the way it is. Federal Government Was Culprit in Housing and Economic Crisis, Says Congressional Report Wednesday, July 08, 2009 By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer Washington (CNSNews.com) – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the chief culprits in the housing crisis because they encouraged people who could not afford payments to borrow money, according to a congressional report released Tuesday.

Winners and Losers of the Minimum Wage Hike (Consumer Action)Millions of American workers are about to get a federally-mandated raise, but the recession has left many wondering if and how the economy will benefit. The raise, which will go into effect on July 24, represents the final wage hike in a three-step boost to the federal minimum wage increase passed by Congress two years ago. The minimum wage will rise 70 cents — or about 11% — to $7.25 per hour from $6.55.

After a six-day sell-off, the British Pound is finally attracting buyers. Fundamentally this market has been getting beat-up since June 30th when an economic report showed that the U.K. economy had its worst quarter since 1958. Since then there have been signs that the economy is improving. The service sector is beginning to show growth, housing prices have stabilized and inflation is running ahead of the Bank of England’s target.

As property owners who are desperate to solve their mortgage problems seek for help, mortgage fraud increases dramatically throughout the United States. Mortgage fraud filings soared 23 per cent to 64,816 in 2008, and helped boost overall SAR filings by 13 per cent, to 732,563. A report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shows growth in suspicious activity reports related to mortgage fraud ranged from 41 percent to 44 percent from 2005-07 after peaking at 93 percent in 2004 (see chart below).

The Mortgage Loan Interest Rates Report for Eustis, Florida. Rates as of July 9, 2009 Product Rate Discount APR Monthly Payment Conforming Fixed 30 Year 4.875% 0.00% 5.025% $793.72 Conforming Fixed 20 Year 5.00% 0.00% 5.206% $989.93 Conforming Fixed 15 Year 4.50% 0.00% 4.757% $1,147.49

Conferences and Events HEIDI BAKER , a director of Iris Ministries, is described as being ‘at the forefront of a revival in Mozambique and neighbouring countries, in which more than 10,000 churches have been planted and where healing and miracles are an everyday occurrence’.  She will speak at an event on 20 July , 7.30pm (doors open at 6.30pm ), Glasgow Elim Church , 42 Inglefield Street , Govanhill.  For further information,

On Tuesday the Senior Lending Network, also known as World Alliance Financial Corp., announced that it would no longer be accepting new reverse mortgage loan applications.  The decision comes down from World Alliance Financial Corp.’s parent company, KBC Group, based in Belgium. KBC Group has been hard hit in the recent economic downturn, and, with the recent repurchase of Equity Key by its founders, appears to be seeking to shed its US holdings. Both World Alliance Financial Corp.

    M Hanson Advisors – Real Estate & Finance The Mortgage Pages – July 9 th 2009 – Mortgage Default & Foreclosure Crisis – Brutal Past Two – Months             – Will loss reserves decrease again in Q2?             – Long-term default trends broken             – Prime, Jumbo Prime, and Option ARMs leading the way             – FL and NV – 1 in 5 homeowners in default or foreclosure             – 637k NEW mortgage delinquencies in May             – Q1 new loan production down slightly from Q1 2008 Our mission is to provide our clients a significant edge.

Recent changes within the Google Adsense program have shaken up many online marketers. Could this mean an immediate demise of Adsense is in the cards? Better yet, will CPA or Cost-Per-Action advertising mean the death of Google Adsense and contextual ads? Recent changes in the Google Adsense program has many online website owners and marketers seriously concerned. Many have seen their Adsense profits and income flatline… seen their four or five figure monthly Adsense income disappear overnight.

John Butzko Visitors from around the world choose Englewood for its unspoiled beaches and some of the richest fishing grounds found in the Gulf of Mexico. Staffed by an exceptional team of area specialists, our Englewood office is strategically located at the intersection of Highway 776 and Beach Road, along the shores of Lemon Bay.How’s the Market in Englewood?According to Barbara Fendley Saputo, branch manager of Michael Saunders & Company’s Englewood office, business to date in 2009 has surpassed 2008 in the same timeframe by 27 percent.

The high in gold on Wednesday turned out to be the Tuesday closing price of $924.10…as gold was under pressure right from the open in early Thursday morning trading in the Far East…as the New York bullion banks get about an hour head start before Sydney opens for business. This happened because the N.Y. bullion banks close for business at the end of one trading day…and open for business 45 minutes later for early morning trading in the Far East in the next calendar day.

Some corners of the industry are claiming that news of a recovery in the market have come along much to soon. Reports have said that house priceshave risen for the past four months and more mortgages are being approved. But another report have arrived, which is suggesting that all that is over optimism. The report also goes on to claim that prices are still falling and have much, much further to fall still. Apparently the new mortgage plan from Lloyds, which is being aimed at first time buyers isnt going to trigger the recovery in the sector that the bank want it to.

The new report says that the responsibility for the erosion of mortgage lending standards, which began with government affordable housing policy, rests squarely on the policy makers who advocated these ill-conceived policies in the first place. This is exactly what conservatives have been saying all along: [...] Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were the chief culprits in the housing crisis because they encouraged people who could not afford payments to borrow money, according to a congressional report released Tuesday.

Treasury finally “unveiled” details of the much-anticipated, much-delayed and now scaled-down version of its toxic or “legacy” assets purchase program, which was announced earlier as a part of the Financial Stability Plan in February. The Public-Private Investment Program, or PPIP, will leverage private capital with government subsidies, so that the chosen investment firms can buy up the legacy assets, which have been clogging the balance sheets of the banks, making them reluctant to lend.