Fed Chief Ben Bernanke spoke yesterday about interest rates and the economy.
Markets continue to think about what Bernanke said yesterday at his press conference, Bernanke is to be lauded for his willingness to stand up with reporters and provide some additional clarity about what the Fed is thinking about raising rates. He said it would take at least two more FOMC meetings before the Fed considered any tightening.
There was a lot to consider from his comments but the most intriguing comment was " Its not clear we can (the Fed) get substantial improvements in payrolls without some additional inflation risks, and in my view we can't achieve a sustainable recovery without keeping inflation under control". What that means to markets remains to be answered; keep unemployment high and keep inflation under control, or do things that lower unemployment and send interest rates higher?
As Bernanke spoke yesterday gold and oil prices exploded and the dollar was racked with more selling against the euro. Investors and traders continue to run to safety, a little into US treasuries but a huge run to gold as the outlook remains muddled to say the least.
Employment isn't likely to improve much, US debt increasing is an increasing concern in global markets, inflation in the rest of the world is increasing while the US refuses to admit it, consumers are tightening discretionary spending as gas price, food prices, and price increases are beginning to be passed down to consumers and it isn't just food. The Fed still thinks commodity prices and energy price increases are "transitory" without definition as to what that means in terms of time.
Bernanke admitted emerging markets are continuing to expand, yet somehow he appears to believe that the demand from those emerging markets for food and energy will not push US inflation higher and commodity and energy prices will decline.
As always, it will unfold as it will....and we will all be affected in one way or another!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Buyer Incentive/Market is right!
Greetings,
Limited time on this one folks (don't you love that old tried and true but now real tired phrase!). Nevertheless, FannieMae is calling the shots on this one so you gotta play be their rules....contact me right away to get qualified, or have an associate/friend/family member contact me. The fact is, it's a GREAT time to buy in most areas of the country right now as values are about as low as they are going to go, and interest rates will continue creeping up. Do NOT miss the boat on this unprecedented market we are now in.
How do I know values are at or near the bottom? The simple fact is that right now while I am writing this real estate investors are snatching up property and paying cash to do so. That activity is one of the first signs of a recovering real estate market.
We have also seen rental property vacancy rates come down, and monthly rent expense has gone up; another sign of recovery.
No, we are not out of the woods yet, but please do not be one of those who misses the boat and says, "Man, I should have jumped on that while the timing was right."
I am here to tell you that the time is right...right now! If you don't get moving someone else will. Don't believe that? Ask anyone trying to buy right now what happened when they submitted an offer on a bank-owned property. You will likely hear that after several offers, they still haven't had an offer accepted due to competing offers, many of them for cash.
You do have an opportunity to get in on this if you do something now. Please do not say you didn't know...after reading this, you now know!
Contact me today...I'll provide honest answers and take good care of your specific needs...I've been doing that for my clients for a long time!
Here's the scoop on the Fannie program:
Properties owned by FannieMae (taken back by Fannie in a foreclosure) are sold by Fannie through their HomePath program.
You will first need to be pre-approved by a lender (me; apply at www.mijoymortgage.com, or contact me by phone or e-mail), and a local Real Estate Broker/Agent must write a purchase offer for you. Sound confusing? Not to worry, I can walk you through this one step at a time.
Fannie Mae has recently announced a special incentive, effective with offers submitted on or after April 11th on HomePath properties. FannieMae is currently offering buyers up to 3.5% (of the purchase price) in closing cost assistance through June 30, 2011.
The HomePath property buyer must meet the following qualifications to be eligible: Buyers and/or selling agents must request the incentive upon submission of the initial offer in order to be eligible. The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011 and close by June 30, 2011. If an initial offer was made prior to the effective date, the offer is not eligible for the incentive. The sale must close on or before June 30, 2011. No exceptions will be made to this deadline.
Only buyers purchasing a HomePath property as their primary residence may receive up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance. Second homes and investment properties are excluded from the incentive. The buyer must sign the Owner Occupant Certification Rider to the Real Estate Purchase Addendum. If a buyer's total closing costs are under 3.5%, the difference will not be available as a credit to the buyer.
Until next time....
Limited time on this one folks (don't you love that old tried and true but now real tired phrase!). Nevertheless, FannieMae is calling the shots on this one so you gotta play be their rules....contact me right away to get qualified, or have an associate/friend/family member contact me. The fact is, it's a GREAT time to buy in most areas of the country right now as values are about as low as they are going to go, and interest rates will continue creeping up. Do NOT miss the boat on this unprecedented market we are now in.
How do I know values are at or near the bottom? The simple fact is that right now while I am writing this real estate investors are snatching up property and paying cash to do so. That activity is one of the first signs of a recovering real estate market.
We have also seen rental property vacancy rates come down, and monthly rent expense has gone up; another sign of recovery.
No, we are not out of the woods yet, but please do not be one of those who misses the boat and says, "Man, I should have jumped on that while the timing was right."
I am here to tell you that the time is right...right now! If you don't get moving someone else will. Don't believe that? Ask anyone trying to buy right now what happened when they submitted an offer on a bank-owned property. You will likely hear that after several offers, they still haven't had an offer accepted due to competing offers, many of them for cash.
You do have an opportunity to get in on this if you do something now. Please do not say you didn't know...after reading this, you now know!
Contact me today...I'll provide honest answers and take good care of your specific needs...I've been doing that for my clients for a long time!
Here's the scoop on the Fannie program:
Properties owned by FannieMae (taken back by Fannie in a foreclosure) are sold by Fannie through their HomePath program.
You will first need to be pre-approved by a lender (me; apply at www.mijoymortgage.com, or contact me by phone or e-mail), and a local Real Estate Broker/Agent must write a purchase offer for you. Sound confusing? Not to worry, I can walk you through this one step at a time.
Fannie Mae has recently announced a special incentive, effective with offers submitted on or after April 11th on HomePath properties. FannieMae is currently offering buyers up to 3.5% (of the purchase price) in closing cost assistance through June 30, 2011.
The HomePath property buyer must meet the following qualifications to be eligible: Buyers and/or selling agents must request the incentive upon submission of the initial offer in order to be eligible. The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011 and close by June 30, 2011. If an initial offer was made prior to the effective date, the offer is not eligible for the incentive. The sale must close on or before June 30, 2011. No exceptions will be made to this deadline.
Only buyers purchasing a HomePath property as their primary residence may receive up to 3.5% in closing cost assistance. Second homes and investment properties are excluded from the incentive. The buyer must sign the Owner Occupant Certification Rider to the Real Estate Purchase Addendum. If a buyer's total closing costs are under 3.5%, the difference will not be available as a credit to the buyer.
Until next time....
Thursday, April 14, 2011
A Slap on the Wrist?
Here's news from Mortgage Daily about the Fed and the big lenders...I guess I'm pretty curious what the pending penalties will be. For sure housing inventories have been impacted as many banks have stopped the foreclosure process pending the outcome of the Fed actions. Time will tell...here's the report:
Mortgage News Daily - MND NewsWire
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com
Loan Servicer Sanctions Levied. Penalties Pending
BY JANN SWANSON
Posted 4/13/2011 2:02 PM
The Federal Reserve, Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), FDIC, and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTC) have issued formal enforcement actions
against 14 banking and two loan servicing related organizations which they found had demonstrated a "pattern of misconduct and negligence related to
deficient practices in residential mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing." The Fed said that these deficiencies represent significant and
pervasive compliance failures and unsafe and unsound practices.
The banking organizations cited are: Bank of America Corporation; Citigroup Inc.; Ally Financial Inc.; HSBC North America Holdings, Inc.; JPMorgan Chase
& Co.; MetLife, Inc.; The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.; SunTrust Banks, Inc.; U.S. Bancorp; and Wells Fargo & Company, Aurora Bank, EverBank,
OneWest Bank and Sovereign Bank. All 14 were named by FDIC, eight by OCC, ten by the Federal Reserve and four by OTC.
Three of the organizations, SunTrust, HSBC and Ally Financial, were singled out by the Federal Reserve and ordered to promptly correct many deficiencies
in loan servicing and foreclosures that were identified by examiners over the last few months.
Action is also being taken against Lender Processing Services (LPS) and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems addressing what the Fed called
significant compliance failures and unsafe and unsound practices at the companies and their subsidiaries. LPS will be required to address deficient
practices related primarily to the document execution services it provides to servicers through two subsidiaries, DocX and LPS Default Solutions. MERS is
required to address significant weaknesses in oversight, management supervision, and corporate governance.
The action followed an interagency review of the banks by their respective regulators and FDIC which issued the following statement.
"The findings of the interagency review clearly show that the largest mortgage servicers had significant deficiencies in numerous aspects of their foreclosure
processing. These deficiencies included the filing of inaccurate affidavits and other documentation in foreclosure proceedings (so-called "robo-signing"),
inadequate oversight of attorneys and other third parties involved in the foreclosure process, inadequate staffing and training of employees, and the failure
to effectively coordinate the loan modification and foreclosure process to ensure effective communications to borrowers seeking to avoid foreclosures. The
interagency review was limited to the management of foreclosure practices and procedures, and was not, by its nature, a full scope review of the loan
modification or other loss-mitigation efforts of these servicers. A thorough regulatory review of loss mitigation efforts is needed to ensure processes are
sufficiently robust to prevent wrongful foreclosure actions and to ensure servicers have identified the extent to which individual homeowners have been
harmed."
The banking organizations have been order to provide corrective actions in servicing and foreclosure processes. Among other things, each must submit
plans acceptable to the Federal Reserve that:
Provide borrowers a specific person to be their primary point of contact;
Ensure that the foreclosure process ends once a modification has been approved and the borrower is performing under that modification.
Establish oversight over third-party vendors of mortgage loan servicing, loss mitigation, or foreclosure-related support, including local counsel in
foreclosure or bankruptcy proceedings;
Provide remediation to borrowers who suffered financial injury as a result of wrongful foreclosures or other deficiencies identified in a review of the
foreclosure process; and
Strengthen programs to ensure compliance with state and federal laws regarding servicing, generally, and foreclosures, in particular.
In addition to ordering corrective action the Fed said it expects to levy financial penalties on the organizations. There are other actions under consideration
by federal and state regulatory and law enforcement organizations and the Fed said its actions are complementary to and do not preclude any actions that
may be taken by others. No penalties have been announced yet.
A few of the banks have already responded to the Federal Reserve action. Ally Financial confirmed it had entered into a consent order with both the
Federal Reserve and the FDIC as a result of the ongoing investigation into it loan processing procedures. MetLife also confirmed its consent order and said
it has committed to further enhance its oversight of risk management, audit and compliance programs.
Mortgage News Daily - MND NewsWire
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com
Loan Servicer Sanctions Levied. Penalties Pending
BY JANN SWANSON
Posted 4/13/2011 2:02 PM
The Federal Reserve, Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), FDIC, and Office of Thrift Supervision (OTC) have issued formal enforcement actions
against 14 banking and two loan servicing related organizations which they found had demonstrated a "pattern of misconduct and negligence related to
deficient practices in residential mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing." The Fed said that these deficiencies represent significant and
pervasive compliance failures and unsafe and unsound practices.
The banking organizations cited are: Bank of America Corporation; Citigroup Inc.; Ally Financial Inc.; HSBC North America Holdings, Inc.; JPMorgan Chase
& Co.; MetLife, Inc.; The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.; SunTrust Banks, Inc.; U.S. Bancorp; and Wells Fargo & Company, Aurora Bank, EverBank,
OneWest Bank and Sovereign Bank. All 14 were named by FDIC, eight by OCC, ten by the Federal Reserve and four by OTC.
Three of the organizations, SunTrust, HSBC and Ally Financial, were singled out by the Federal Reserve and ordered to promptly correct many deficiencies
in loan servicing and foreclosures that were identified by examiners over the last few months.
Action is also being taken against Lender Processing Services (LPS) and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems addressing what the Fed called
significant compliance failures and unsafe and unsound practices at the companies and their subsidiaries. LPS will be required to address deficient
practices related primarily to the document execution services it provides to servicers through two subsidiaries, DocX and LPS Default Solutions. MERS is
required to address significant weaknesses in oversight, management supervision, and corporate governance.
The action followed an interagency review of the banks by their respective regulators and FDIC which issued the following statement.
"The findings of the interagency review clearly show that the largest mortgage servicers had significant deficiencies in numerous aspects of their foreclosure
processing. These deficiencies included the filing of inaccurate affidavits and other documentation in foreclosure proceedings (so-called "robo-signing"),
inadequate oversight of attorneys and other third parties involved in the foreclosure process, inadequate staffing and training of employees, and the failure
to effectively coordinate the loan modification and foreclosure process to ensure effective communications to borrowers seeking to avoid foreclosures. The
interagency review was limited to the management of foreclosure practices and procedures, and was not, by its nature, a full scope review of the loan
modification or other loss-mitigation efforts of these servicers. A thorough regulatory review of loss mitigation efforts is needed to ensure processes are
sufficiently robust to prevent wrongful foreclosure actions and to ensure servicers have identified the extent to which individual homeowners have been
harmed."
The banking organizations have been order to provide corrective actions in servicing and foreclosure processes. Among other things, each must submit
plans acceptable to the Federal Reserve that:
Provide borrowers a specific person to be their primary point of contact;
Ensure that the foreclosure process ends once a modification has been approved and the borrower is performing under that modification.
Establish oversight over third-party vendors of mortgage loan servicing, loss mitigation, or foreclosure-related support, including local counsel in
foreclosure or bankruptcy proceedings;
Provide remediation to borrowers who suffered financial injury as a result of wrongful foreclosures or other deficiencies identified in a review of the
foreclosure process; and
Strengthen programs to ensure compliance with state and federal laws regarding servicing, generally, and foreclosures, in particular.
In addition to ordering corrective action the Fed said it expects to levy financial penalties on the organizations. There are other actions under consideration
by federal and state regulatory and law enforcement organizations and the Fed said its actions are complementary to and do not preclude any actions that
may be taken by others. No penalties have been announced yet.
A few of the banks have already responded to the Federal Reserve action. Ally Financial confirmed it had entered into a consent order with both the
Federal Reserve and the FDIC as a result of the ongoing investigation into it loan processing procedures. MetLife also confirmed its consent order and said
it has committed to further enhance its oversight of risk management, audit and compliance programs.
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