Archive for the ‘Commentary’ Category

Question:

I am in sales and things are tight. I have been in my home now for 3 years and have a good mortgage right now. However, due to the lower income this year, the monthly payment is getting tougher to deal with. I have never been late on my mortgage and my credit is still good. But I am concerned that I may start to get behind. What should I do?

Answer:

I am assuming your have already looked into a secondary income. So first off, stay in touch with your lender. If you have never been late, don’t wait until you get behind to call them. Let them know what is going on and ask what options they may have. It could be possible that they might offer a simple refinance or modification to your mortgage that would allow lower payments.

If your current lender does not offer any options, give a local lender a call. In Charlotte, feel free to call my office if you like. Either way, you will want to look into options now while you are still ahead. Even if your income has fallen off, you may still be in favorable position to get into a mortgage that fits your current needs. With our free mortgage consultation, we can help determine what products are available for you and if it makes sense to make a change.

There is also the option of possibly selling your home and downsizing a bit. This is becoming a popular option for many people. If you decide to do this, be sure to get a great Realtor to help. We can provide you with great referrals if you need it. But statistics still prove that listing with a professional Realtor can not only help you sell quicker, but also get more money!

Ask the Lender your Question

A Step Forward 

Dear friends, clients and partners;

It is with great excitement and anticipation that I am pleased to announce that the Carolina Mortgage Connection has joined Residential Mortgage Center in Charlotte, NC.

Residential Mortgage Center is a licensed Mortgage Lender serving both North and South Carolina and is located at 205 Regency Executive Park Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28217.

With this move to Residential Mortgage Center, we will continue to offer the best mortgage rates and service in the Charlotte area! In addition to that, there will be on site loan processors to get your mortgage loans closed faster than ever!

Greater Flexibilty

Working with a mortgage lender will give us greater flexibility in the marketplace. In today’s volatile mortgage market, flexibility will be a key difference in getting results! With the ability to adapt mortgage programs to fit the individual needs of our borrowers, the Carolina Mortgage Connection can custom tailor the right program just for you! And because you are working directly with the lender, mortgage rates will be more competitive than ever!

Focused on You 

Change can be a scary thing. But in this case it is very exciting! This business maneuver will allow us to focus on providing our clients and partners with unparalleled service while allowing us to pursue our mission of educating, inspiring and assisting in the American Dream!

As always, you can always contact us by calling 877-411-9327 or via the website at www.EdNailor.com

Sincerely,

Ed Nailor

Top Advisors May be Sellouts

Have you seen the latest Hyundai car commerical? They are advertising their latest sale, which offers $3000 cash back when you buy a Sonota. After the salesperson tells the potential buyer about the cash back, out pops this financial expert (some supposedly well known financial author). This author, the “expert”, suggests to the potential buyer that they should buy this car to get the cash and “invest” the cash back in a CD (certificate of deposit.)

I can not blame Hyundai at all. The ad spot is brilliant. It really sells this as a “great investment.” However, this “expert” is selling out. How? As someone that works in finance, let me share with you what I see in this…

Most automobile loans will run between 6-10% in interest rate. With the current credit crunch, most buyers could be seeing slightly higher than this. You must note that this ad did not mention 0% financing, or anything even close. So one must assume it is the average rate.

If you put the $3000 cash back into a CD, you will at best gain a 2-3% return on the investment. So this expert is instructing the car buyer that putting the $3000 in to a CD is better than using it towards the price of the car, with will carry a higher rate than the CD will pay. The idea is to make this sound like a smart “investment”, which in turn makes you feel smart for buying their car.

So the financial expert that should warn you about such bad investments is instead pushing a bad idea so he can get paid. This just backs my overall opinion of many of the “experts” out there. Most of these talking heads are more interested in selling their books than offering you real advice.

So who do you trust? Here’s a hint… only listen to advice given by those that have taken the time to listen to you first.

This year’s election has captured the attention of the entire country. In so many ways, we are on the brink of witnessing history, and that creates excitement. In addition, with all that is going on, this year’s election has been called the most important election in recent history. And while I am not a “political” person, I have also been watching and listening more intently.

So I am surprised at the latest moves by the Democrats. Am I the only one that is catching this? Read the rest of this entry »

More to Mortgage Problem than Subprime

When the “subprime” mortgage industry fell, it was easy to criticize. After all, providing high risk loans to people with credit challenges for a high rate of return is gambling. The problem was that the ones at the top did not hedge their bets at all. They eventually went “all in” and found themselves busted out.  Since then, both the mortgage and real estate industries have suffered. And it was easy to blame the Subprime”debacle.”

Yet, there is a disturbing trend still going forward. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation’s government sponsored mortgage entities are having trouble. Long known for providing mortgage loans for only upper end credit, and for taking very limited risks, these groups are facing rising delinquencies and foreclosures. This is somewhat confusing… Read the rest of this entry »

Mortgage Calculator Widget too Popular!

This weekend I ran into a problem. It is a good problem to have, but one that forced me to make a quick decision.

I have created and installed a mortgage calulator widget for those in the real estate field to use on their websites. I exected a few friends and associates might be interested, but I never expected what happened!

This widget was installed on a large number of sites. The usage of it became so overwhelming that is was cauing server load issues. My hosting provider insisted that I would need to either remove it or upgrade to a new dedicated server. This would be cost prohibitive, so I had to discontinue the widgets for now.

To those of you that were using the widget, I do apologize. I do hope to re-install this again in the near future. However, with the demand it created, I will need to be better suited to handle it. Thanks for the understanding.

Charlotte FHA Loan Limits are $303,750

Great news for Charlotte home buyers!

FHA loan limits are increased in Charlotte to $303,750. That is an increase of over $70,000!

This was just posted to HUD’s website. While the limits have been increased, please bear in mind that lender’s may be a little slower in implementation. Technology and system limitations will need to be addressed, as well as how they will manage and package loans on the secondary market. This may take some time, but with HUD opening this door I do not expect lenders to drag their feet either.

As this market continues to fluctuate, be sure you are working with a lender that can stay on top of the changes.

Please celebrate responsibly! LOL

Special Contribution Article by Sara D’Amico

I read an article in Saturday’s Charlotte Observer that should be a mandatory read for all buyers, at least first-time home buyers.  It was titled Spending Spree Before Closing Could Bag Deal.

Ilyce Glink explained the importance of buyers not going on a spending spree prior to closing.  Yes, it sounds self explanatory enough, but we know that it can be tempting to go out and buy “just a few things” for that new home.  For buyers that are skating on thin ice, those purchases can cost them their house. 

If you are under contract to purchase a home, STOP, and read this article, before you make any considerable purchases.

If you are a Realtor, I suggest sharing this article with your buyers.  It could save a lot of heartache.

Sara D’Amico

A Lender’s Mistake Can Cost You!

Compliance is a big word with big implications. Basically, compliance is a measure of how a lender complies with the laws and regualtions imposed upon them. Working with a lender that does everything within the confines of the law is the best way to go.

If a lender does not comply, they can be fined, lose their license and could end up closed up! But something scarrier than that is the impact it can have on you, the borrower! If certain areas are not properly taken care of, your personal information can be exposed, your payments can be mishandled and in the rarest and worst cases, your home can be taken from you!

Compliance is a big deal and one worth understanding. Popular opinion and the latest news would lead the average person to figure that banks have the advantage and that mortgage brokers should be watched closely. However, this is not necessarily the truth.

For example, it was not long ago that Countrywide (the country’s largest mortgage lender) was in hot water for compliance issues. And while there are examples of mortgage brokers across the country that have had compliance issues, mortgage brokers are some of the most regualted professionals in the industry! The bottom line is that all lenders, banks and mortgage brokers have a repsonsibility to be compliant with regualtions and laws, and none of these are exempt from potential issues.

At Residential Mortgage Center, a Charlotte mortgage lender, we have taken a very proactive approach to compliance. We have put safeguards in to maintain compliance with all Federal, state and local laws. But beyond that, we have a team of professionals working here that are very involved in the legislative process. This puts us right in the cross hairs and requires us to keep our noses clean and our paths straight. As a matter of fact, we have past presidents of the North Carolina Association of Mortgage Professionals on staff. We also have the very rare priveldge of having one of the most influential writers of continuing education programs on staff. This brings us the knowledge and experience and top expertise to ensure that everything we do is above board and compliant!

Bank Freezing Your HELOC?

Word is that some banks in so-called “Declining markets” are putting the ice on homeowner’s home equity lines! And here is a chilling example…

Let’s consider a home owner that has a $100,000 equity line, but is only using $20,000 of the line. If the line is frozen,  this would eliminate the opportunity to use the other $80,000! And worse, their credit score or repayment history has nothing to do with it!

Some banks are running scared! They are afraid that if you live in a “declining market” that you will max out the equity line and skip town! In some cases that has actually happened! So what should you do if you have an equity line? Read the rest of this entry »