JohnsBlog (articles, news, thoughts, advice)

That's what rates are doing.  We're coming back from the 4's and into the low 5's as mortgage bonds lose steam ahead of the Fed's purchase of securities coming to an end.  Slated to end in a month, there's an expectation that economics 101 will take hold, and there will be less demand for mortgage bonds, thus more supply, thus lower prices, thus higher rates.  A bad chain of events for a continually struggling housing market and fragile economy. 

There's a good video showing the bond market movement and how securities effect everything.  Hopefully the link works; if so, you can find it here, courtesy of mortgage success source.

Should be an interesting few months as rates are set to increase and the tax credit for purchases is scheduled to end for new contracts as of 4/30. 

A rare rant.  THE NEW GFE FOR 2010 IS A NIGHTMARE.  For one, our origination systems are not set up to properly complete the fields on the GFE.  For example, I put yield spread premium in the "yield spread premium" box, and it doesn't reflect on the new GFE, making charges correct.  EVERY lender out there will deny a loan due to to this.  It's a huge annoyance to sit there and manipulate for 20 minutes a form which was PERFECTLY FINE the way it was before. 

When an estimate has to be exact, and cannot change, it is no longer an estimate.  I understand consumer protection, but there's no need for it if more loan originators acted in an ethical manner and put their best foot forward.  Having to do this, and WASTING more of my valuable time on manipulating numbers to properly populate makes me despise more and more every unethical originator that these practices were implemented because of.

Exclusively launched by John Meussner, the Agent Advantage system will take any real estate agents business to a new level.  This program is perfect for both seasoned professionals and agents new to the business.

Is any other mortgage professional bringing money to YOU as an agent?  Not likely.  This 4 tiered system helps everyone from the largest broker to the individual in sales skills, increased listings, increased buyers.

This could be the ONLY marketing you need to do as a real estate agent.  Call or e-mail today for details. 

HUD did something right!  "Flipped" properties, i.e. foreclosed properties bought by investors on the cheap and resold at a profit got a nice boost.  HUD had a requirement where a property purchased and repaired could NOT be sold to an FHA buyer for 90 days after the initial purchase.  Meaning if an investor flipped the property in few weeks, they'd still have to wait a couple months to sell it to an FHA buyer (which many buyers in this demographic are).  Now there is no seasoning, so if they can flip the house in 3 days, they can sell it in 4.

The old rule never made much sense to me (by my logic, what really changes about the risk of a purchase or the property itself between the time period 89 days after initial purchase and 91 days after???), so I'm glad to see this change take place.

Im sure a lot of investors are equally as happy : )

The 2nd edition of my newsletter is slated to be sent later this week. 

Included in this edition will be testimonials from recent clients (many can also be found on www.johnsrate.com), some information about the Stanton/Newark SPCA, which is in dire need of volunteer help, Changes to FHA loan guidelines proposed in the most recent HUD mortgagee letter, the announcement regarding a great marketing campaign which will be a major focus throughout 2010, and some remarks and information regarding Black History Month, which is February.

If you'd like to be included in this newsletter distribution, e-mail a notification and the e-mail you'd like to receive the mailing at to jmeussner@louviersmortgage.com.

Please note, emailing me through johnsrate.com may delay receipt of the newsletter, please use the jmeussner@louviersmortgage.com e-mail to promptly receive the Buzz during it's normal e-mail cycle.

Best,

-JJM