BlueSpringsRealtor's Blog

Subject: Headline News - Lower Rates!, Call Your Realtor on every Sale

Headline News

Take a look at the headlines for this morning.  Looks like Treasury has finally decided that low mortgage rates are critical to the recovery.  The Treasury will finally start buying mortgage backed securities.  The end result is rates on conforming loans should tighten to treasuries, which means lower rates in the coming months.  Go get the business!

 

*TREASURY PROVIDES $20 BLN FOR CONSUMER ABS LENDING FACILITY

*FED TO BUY UP TO $600 BLN OF GSE DEBT, MORTGAGE SECURITIES

*FED TO LEND UP TO $200 BLN TO INVESTORS IN ABS  :FNM US, FRE US

*NEW TALF FACILITY TO AID CONSUMER, SMALL BUSINESS LENDING

*TREASURY SAYS AUTO, STUDENT, CREDIT CARD, SBA LOANS ELIGIBLE

*TREASURY SAYS TALF WILL IMPROVE ABS MARKET CONDITIONS

*TREASURY SAYS TALF MAY BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE OTHER ASSETS

*TREASURY ALLOCATES FUNDS FROM TARP FOR NEW FACILITY

*TREASURY SAYS CONSUMER ABS MARKET `ESSENTIALLY' STOPPED

*FED TO START BUYING GSE OBLIGATIONS NEXT WEEK   :FNM US, FRE US

*FED TO BUY DIRECT GSE OBLIGATIONS THROUGH PRIMARY DEALERS

*FED TO BUY UP TO $500 BLN OF FANNIE, FREDDIE, GINNIE MAE MBS

*FED TO BUY MBS THROUGH ASSET MANAGERS, STARTING BY YEAR-END

*FED SETS UP TERM ASSET BACKED SECURITIES LOAN FACILITY  :FNM US

*FED PURCHASES OF GSE SECURITIES TO BE OVER `SEVERAL QUARTERS'

 

 

Call Every Agent Every Time on Every Transaction

From the Doug Smith files:

You need to keep your realtor involved through the entire mortgage process.  This will help the realtor trust that you are taking care of the borrower and the loan process - and remember, the more you talk to the realtor (or builder, financial planner), the stronger bond you create.  For every loan that you close, set up an appointment with that realtor and go over the transaction.  What did you do right?  What did could have been done better?  How did the realtor feel about the whole process?  Remember, familiarity creates a relationship, and a relationship means more business.

 

This information provided courtesy of Doug Smith, a national industry speaker and sales trainer.  For more information visit  www.DougSmithOnline.com <https://mail.taylorbean.com/exchange/sgarcia/Drafts/w
ww.DougSmithOnline.com>

Advance Fees and Loan Modification Services

If you are behind in your mortgage payments, you may be contacted by individuals or companies that will offer to help you work out a loan modification with your lender or provide other services to you in order to help you prevent a foreclosure on your home.

You must be very careful if you are asked to pay for any of these services in advance, whether in cash, check or by charging your credit card. First, many states have laws, which regulates "foreclosure consultants", forbids anyone who falls under the definition of a “foreclosure consultant”, as well as a real estate licensee, from collecting any advance fees for these types of services if a Notice of Default has been recorded against your property. If your lender has recorded a notice of default, do not pay an advance fee to anyone. There are non-profit agencies that can assist you without charging you a fee and real estate brokers who can represent you for a fee to be paid after they have completed their work. For information on non-profit housing counseling services, use the following links:

• Federal Housing Administration
• Hope Alliance Web site

The problem is we have more and more people pretending to want to help consumers but really just taking advantage of their situation. No matter what you should not pay money upfront for this tpe of service. a reputable person will work with you and your lender to help you do a loan modification and get paid at closing from your lender just like any other Real estae Closing. There are many people jumping on this bandwagon. It is so new that there is not a certification to assist in this progam leaving you a target for prey. Realtors know the market and work with lenders everyday on clients behalf. You do need representation as right now if you work with the lender directly you may get the loan modifaction they want to give you not one that works for you. Some lenders are reducing interest rates and or xtending the payoff period by many years. I have seen 40 and 50 year loans. Some are ereducing interst rates to 5 % for 5 years and then it baloons. I also see lenders putting your account current by putting what you owe in arrears. What many need is to have the homes valued at what is the true market value not the loan amount. I have one client that owes 389,000 for there home that can't even get it sold for 200,000. He was offered a reduced interst rate but even when the market turns he will never be able to sell for what he owes. Bottom line the home should have never appraised for that amount. In his situation the only way out is to either bring the difference to closing or  a Short Sale. There are many choices for consumers that were not here a year ago. Please know your options. Call your lenders to let them know if you are having problems paying, they do not want to foreclose on you.

Daily Real Estate News  |  October 13, 2008

Atlanta Pro Busted for Mortgage Fraud

An Atlanta real estate practitioner was sentenced Friday to 14 years in federal prison for mortgage fraud.

Joseph Sterling Jetton, the 61-year-old owner of Precision Construction Co. in Woodstock, Ga., was ordered to pay $11.2 million in restitution on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

According to the Department of Justice, Jetton orchestrated a mortgage fraud scheme that involved millions of dollars in fraudulently inflated mortgage loans being provided to unqualified straw borrowers from late 2004 through early 2006. The straw borrowers were paid through shell companies as much as $600,000 per property from the loan proceeds.

Jetton was accused of writing sales contracts for inflated sales prices, then he and 10 others implicated in the scheme skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the loan proceeds. According to court documents, Jetton personally derived more than a $1 million in commissions from the mortgage fraud.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice (10/10/08)

This is what I have been talking about for the last couple of years. Yes it has happened in our area as well. I hope all these people go to prison and the banks can recoup monies from taking all the assets the fraudulent scammers took from them by taking their money homes and other assets. This is the reason billions of dollars are gone and the market crisis is happening.  This one scam was 10 people and look how much money they proved was scammed, believe me I bet there was much more than that and people hold investor seminars and teach people how to do this. So if you are not on the  up and up you will get caught, who knows they maybe watching you right now and just gathering evidence to put you behind bars.  Cases like this take years and meanwhile the fraud keeps happening.  Again this is 90% of the reason for our housing problem and until it is stopped then they will continue, you see they are not affected by the changes, they have money and lots of it to keep doing what they are doing. Instead of the bail out we need something in place to have more man power to bring them down.

Beware. I have online banking and added an account online.  I had no idea that the bank was sending private information about us to sign and mail back. Well they are and they sent me someone elses information along with mine in an envelope mailed to me. It has two peoples First middle initial and last name, date of birth, social security numbers, their account number and phone numberand address. If I was a criminal I could have stolen 2 identities.  I was sent about 6 different envelopes with 4 different acount numbers.  I asked if my information was sent somewhere else, they said probably not but can't guarantee it.  I can not believe a BANK send mail with all this private info by mail without my consent.  I did not see anywhere online where it discloses that nor would I knowingly agree. So bewafre next time you are online banking.

This is a comment from a Mortgage Broker "The requirements set forth in the latest mortgagee letter will take place Jan 1, 2009.  My reference to October 1, 2008 is that lenders have now stopped doing seller down payment assistance as of Oct 1.  Remember, gift money, grants, bonds, charitable contributions (churches, etc.) are acceptable.  We just can’t use seller contributions for down payments.  Sellers will still be allowed to contribute 6% towards closing costs."
So here as before the sellers could participate in a buyers down payment assistance program and it would be a total of 6% to help the buyers get the down payment AND Closing costs paid. This would cover all the expenses to get the loan closed.  NOW..... as this states THE SELLERS CAN STILL GIVE 6% but buyer has to pay 3.5%  WHICH CAN BE RECIEVED AS A GIFT NOT FROM SELLER. So is'nt this just a way to get MORE money to replenish all the monies lenders lost. Then there is now going to be UPMI which is PMI paid up front , this I am sure is to help replinish the billions of dollars depleted from the PMI. There is also monthly PMI. Wow so really I thought this whole new program coming out was to help the people, but sellers are still conceding the the 6 % which in my opinion is way too much and they pay 6% commission, that is 12% just off the top before closing costs of their own.  So will sellers ever get a break? I thought they would. Now the buyer can STILL get 100 % financing by using a charitable contributions from grants, bonds, ect.
So now the Seller pays the same because now the money is needed for all the RAISED COSTS OF THIS NEW PROGRAM, and there is 9 months to a years worth of homes on the market so seller wants to sell and then buyer then gets the 3.5(which was 3% down), from a charitable source so does it not remain the same, the buyer still has 100% financing. In my opinion this Bill is not to help us the people but to help the government which is HUD, Freddie Mac,Fannie May, which are the government backed loans.  This Bill is going to take much more money from consumers to replinish the government money.  What if we all boycott and say for 1 month we won't buy or sell any Real Estate related to these programs. That is what the union does... Why can't we the people do that?

DPA’s are not going away!!!
 
Chairman Frank and HUD Secretary Preston Negotiate DPA Agreement
Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, has discussed publicly the fact that he has negotiated an agreement with HUD Secretary Steve Preston that will provide for the continuation of privately funded down payment assistance.
The agreement allows HUD to impose risk-based pricing on down payment assistance transactions which provides Secretary Preston the fiscal protection he seeks for the FHA insurance fund.
According to an Inman News article published today, Chairman Frank is quoted as saying "The FHA loved the ban on down-payment assistance (but) hated the ban on risk-based pricing," Frank said at Saturday's hearing. "That seemed to me to offer an opportunity. So (HR 6694) will replace both bans with middle ground -- and it will pass the House, I can guarantee you. What you want to do now obviously is talk to your senators. We think it will go through there -- it has the approval now of the Secretary of HUD."
Thanks to the advocates of down payment assistance, there is significant momentum in this direction. Genesis “Preferred Program” urges all supporters to continue their campaign to save DPA by contacting their Senators and request a swift passage of pro-DPA legislation.
Read the entire article:http://www.inman.com/news/2008/09/10/congress-w
eighs-reprieve-seller-funded-gifts

This means in quick that the down payment assistance will continue to be available with a small pricing adjustment on the interest rate!

Come enjoy the Blue Springs Fall Fun Fest.  Realty Professionals Heartland will have a float and we will have a Booth.  Feel free to stop by and ask any questions you may have.  Anyone of us will be glad to help you.  If you would like a buyers assistance package to help you learn about the proper way to buy a home, or the Sellers Assistance Packet

 

 

What does this mean to you. If you need help with down payment and closing costs you can get help through a seller paid Down Payment Assistance Program. You have to close by the end of September. Thanks to HUD they pushed the program out.  The goverment has stepped in and is taking control adding higher points to get a goverment loan. If you can't afford your down payment and closing costs which is average of 6 % the purchase price you have to borrow from a blood relative.  There are certain cities that have grants but once they run out they are gone until the next roung, usually each quarter.  there is also MHDC money to help.  There is usually a waiting period and now more than ever it will be gone as fast as it comes out.  This goverment tax break they are talking about from my understanding is you can right off a certain amount every year not to exceed 7,500.  The bottom line is they believe it was the 100 percent financing              loans and sub prime loans that has caused  the housing crisis.  I in turn believe it was from a lot of fraud and that was the majority of the reason our market is in turmoil. The people that commited fraud won't be affected because they now have ample supply of monies to commit more fraud by purchasing foreclosures and selling for highr or other properties making there money under the table like before and letting the banks take the loss when they let it go back.

• Before you read this.  I have been drowning this into people
•  that this is why our market is the way it is.  Do you really
• think this is affecting the scammers?  Heck no, they have all
• the money which gives them power to put down what is
•  needed to continue scamming.  LLC’s should have to provide
•  a list of all people in the LLC. Let's see how many LLC's they
•  have to keep better track of them. In my opinion we are
•  going to be demolished because of them, they are not being
•  stopped.  I hope I am wrong but now I am going to have to
• continue furthering my college education to have a back up
•  just in case I am right.
•  

   

• Daily Real Estate News |  September 2, 2008 Mortgage Fraud
•  Up, Despite Tight Lending

•  

• The number of real estate fraud cases rose 42 percent
•  between the second quarter of 2007 and the same period
•  this year,

•  

•  According to a study by Mortgage Asset Research Institute,

   

• The highest numbers of fraud reports came from Florida
• , California, Maryland, Illinois and Michigan.

   

• Tough market conditions appear to be encouraging an
•  increase in fraudulent activities, says Merle D. Sharick, vice
•  president of the

   

• institute.

   

• Mortgage fraud used to be a crime of opportunity," Sharick
•  says. "Now it's a crime of necessity for people who are
•  desperate to maintain lifestyles they became accustomed
•  to" during the housing boom years.”

   

• Source: Washington Post Writers Group, Kenneth R. Harney
•  (08/30/2008)

•  

I am Real Estate Professional licensed in the states of Missouri and Kansas.  I am a member of KCRAR and National Association of Realtors.  I am a seasoned Realtor with many years of experience.  In today’s market it is crucial for sellers and buyers to be educated to protect themselves from scams.  One major reason for all the foreclosures are from loan fraud.  Now a lot of the foreclosures are being bought by investors.  I am going on record saying not all investors are fraudulent but many are.  They buy a home for say 35,000 and find a buyer to buy for 45,000.  They do a simultaneous close and make money without using any of their own. They call it whole selling... their buyer which could be you has no idea what is going on.  So you could have bought this home for 35,000 by using a licensed Realtor instead of 45,000 from this investor. What they say makes this legal is "It is not practicing Real Estate because you are allowed to sell your own property."  The illegal part is how they are doing it.  They get a call from a buyer and then they find a home that meets the buyer’s needs and their pockets. The listing agent has no clue when the investor calls to see the property as far as we know they are on the up and up.  The investor says I have a buyer that may want this so when can I bring them to see it?  It goes from there, the investor brings the buyer and says they want it; they do the closing at the same time. TITLE Closers that allow this to happen prepare all the paperwork so the Investor never brings money to close and their name is never recorded on the deed their buyer {you} are like it was from the seller to the investors buyer.  This is highly illegal and is going on.  It is legal to do simultaneous closing as long as everything is disclosed and the investor closes as normal by actually using their own money to purchase, it gets recorded, so now it is legally his property so he can covey the property to their buyer as he owns it. So you see everything is disclosed. {The closer could be a loan officer that the investor is in cahoots with or a title closer.}

  So this can help be prevented as people including us Realtors look for red flags, if your gut tells you something does not seem right, it probably is not.  Call someone, ask questions, and call a title company you trust, talk to your Realtor, and Realtors talk to your Broker.  If us realtors don't sell our listing to someone who is not on the up in up then we can make a difference, because without us they have no inventory, without anything to sell they are out of business. If you have investors calling to buy properties listen to what they say, ask questions, How long have they been an investor?, If they have been doing it a while, why don't they already have an agent they are working with?, Talk to fellow realtors have they heard of this guy or this group?, You will be amazed how much you find out ...you will eventually determine if they are on the up and up or not.  I had an agent tell me that these particular investors are so bad she will only sell them properties but would not list any of the one they buy because of what they are doing.  Here is the thing.... if we don't sell it to them they won't have anything to list thus protected you and me our community from there many scams. We as professionals have to protect our community, our family, friends, and clients.  If you are in the market to either buy or sell a home you are going to be protected best by using a Licensed Realtor, always ask if they are licensed.  Real Estate Agents have like their own police department, we have guidelines and Real Estate Laws we MUST abide by, if not you can call the Real Estate Commission and turn in a complaint which will be though ally investigated.  I am not saying all Realtors are on the up and up either because there are some that have a license for THIER benefit so as an investor they can have access to our Real Estate Forms and MLS.  They don't practice Real Estate but do everything under the table. To know if this is happening to you as a buyer are they signing as the Realtor or just disclosing that they are one, a big difference. This is happening but is rare to my knowledge. I became an agent because of my lack of knowledge when I purchased my first home, I could have saved 1000's of dollars had I known just a few things.  I got into this business as a passion to protect people and educate them so they can have a positive experience with any of their Real Estate needs.  The market has gotten to the point where it is time for education to stop this fraud and if we all take a stand we will turn our community around allot sooner than our country will. I am in the process of developing educational seminars for sellers, buyers , realtors  that are interested in learning about other scams as well, there is so much like cash back at closings, credit repair schemes , and downright just taking your money, putting one in a home one can't afford knowing the buyer  will get foreclosed on.

 People scamming come up with new tricks all the time so my goal is to find out and expose it to stop it!

 Realtor who cares