Mortgage Comparison Shopping

The Federal Reserve has proposed a new rule that may make it easier for prospective homeowners and those looking to refinance shop around before making a commitment.

The proposal, which was part of a 930-page document published mid-month in the Federal Register, would allow consumers to cancel mortgage applications within three days and get refunded for certain costs.

Things like application fees and appraisal fees would be refundable, while credit report fees would not.

Mortgage shoppers would be entitled to refunds if they canceled an application within three business days of receiving key disclosures, including the Good Faith Estimate and Truth in Lending Act statement.

The Fed believes such a rule would help consumers shop for the best deal, instead of being locked in with one mortgage lender for fear of losing any up-front costs.

But many lenders believe the rule will have little effect, as most already wait several days before charging any fees.

Others are concerned it could delay an already backed-up process, as there will be a waiting period before anything is acted upon or ordered.

Although, it’s not uncommon for a loan to be “on hold” until it makes it through underwriting and receives a formal decision.

It’s unclear how the rule would affect mortgage brokers, those who work on behalf of banks directly with consumers.

A recent Bankrate.com study found that mortgage closing costs rose more than 36 percent this year, with loan origination fees rising nearly 25 percent and third-party fees jumping almost 50 percent.


I am an actual person so if you are interested in refinancing you can receive real time quotes and payment options by calling me directly. You can reach me, Gene Neal at 877-276-6400 Ext 101.

"Highly Affordable"

Housing affordability remained near its highest level on record for the sixth consecutive quarter, according to the latest survey from the National Association of Home Builders.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) indicated that 72.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold during the second quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400.

That’s up slightly from the first quarter and just shy of the record-high 72.5 percent seen in the first quarter of 2009.

Before 2009, the affordability index rarely topped 67 percent, and had never reached the 70 percent-mark.

But record low mortgage rates and falling home prices have opened the door for more buyers, less the tighter underwriting environment.

Kinda makes you wonder why no one is interested in buying a home these days – maybe affordability isn’t the driver.

After all, a ton of buyers pre-mortgage crisis couldn’t even afford to make their mortgage payments in the conventional sense, so they opted for mortgage programs with teaser rates like the option arm.

Perhaps they were more interested in the thought of home price appreciation, as opposed to simply living in a home.

Syracuse, NY Most Affordable Housing Market

The most affordable major housing market in the country was Syracuse, NY, pushing Indianapolis-Carmel, IN off the top spot, which it held for almost five years.

Nearly all (97.2%) of the homes sold there were affordable to households earning the median family income of $64,300.

Detroit, Youngstown, and Buffalo also made the list of the most affordable metros.

Meanwhile, the New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ area continued to be the least affordable major housing market during the second quarter, with just 19.9 percent of all homes sold deemed affordable to those earning the median income of $65,600.

Los Angeles, the Bay area, and Honolulu continued to linger at the bottom of the affordability scale during the quarter as well.

I am an actual person so if you are interested in refinancing you can receive real time quotes and payment options by calling me directly. You can reach me, Gene Neal at 877-276-6400 Ext 101.

Countrywide Customers Eligible for Free Credit Monitoring

If you provided personal information to or made mortgage payments to Countrywide Financial before July 1, 2008, you may be eligible for free credit monitoring for two years.

The ruling is part of a settlement finalized today by U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell of Paducah, who oversaw more than 36 lawsuits related to a security breach at the company.

The lawsuits are tied to the arrest of former Countrywide employee Rene Rebollo Jr., who was a senior analyst for the company.

Federal investigators claim Rebollo used a flash drive to download personal data from roughly 20,000 customers a week for two years from 2006 through August 2008.

The data included sensitive information ranging from birth dates and social security numbers, to mortgage and credit card information.

He later sold the seemingly valuable data to another defendant, Wahid Siddiqi, for just $500 and the pair earned a combined a $50,000 through sales to third parties, likely mortgage lead companies and similar entities.

Bank of America, which now owns the defunct mortgage lender, denied any wrongdoing, but said a settlement would help the company avoid additional expenses and litigation.

Former Countrywide customers who are able to prove their identity was “stolen” as a result of the breach are eligible for up to $50,000 in compensation for each offense.

The deadline to subscribe for free credit monitoring (Triple Advantage by Experian) is September 7, 2010 – the earliest deadline to file a claim for monetary compensation is October 18.

I am an actual person so if you are interested in refinancing you can receive real time quotes and payment options by calling me directly. You can reach me, Gene Neal at 877-276-6400 Ext 101.

Soon but not yet....

Last week, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) commissioner David Stevens announced plans for implementing FHA's new mortgage insurance premium structure. Based on industry feedback to the announcement, the FHA postponed the premium fee changes on all new case numbers for one month, and will now implement them on Oct. 4, 2010.

"Over this past week, the industry responded with support of the new fee structure, but voiced strong concern about having system changes ready in time to meet the original Sept. 7, 2010 deadline," said US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) deputy assistant secretary Vicki Bott. "Since these system changes impact regulatory disclosures, lenders expressed they must have the additional time to implement and test systems. FHA took this feedback seriously and has accommodated the need for additional time."

FHA will lower its upfront premium simultaneously with the increase to the annual premium. FHA's upfront mortgage insurance premium will be adjusted down to 100bps on all amortization terms and the annual mortgage insurance premium will increase to 85-90 bps on amortization terms greater than 15 years.

The Senate last week approved its version of HR 5981, which allows the FHA it to hike its annual premiums for its single-family program. It allows the FHA to raise its annual mortgage insurance, raising the statutory cap rate to 1.55% from 0.55% — a flexibility that the industry and the FHA says could ultimately reduce the cost of credit insured by the FHA.


I am an actual person so if you are interested in refinancing you can receive real time quotes and payment options by calling me directly. You can reach me, Gene Neal at 877-276-6400 Ext 101.