Greater transparency isn't inducing mortgage consumers to shop around

"Biggest Loser" meal deal

An ING Direct study found consumers may not bother to shop around because new and improved disclosure documents are still too complicated, but that's really not much of an excuse. Asking for help deciphering the documents doesn't take a college degree.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - At some point, housing consumers are going to have to get off their duffs, give their serve-it-to-me-on-a-silver-platter brains a workout and perform due diligence when shopping for a home mortgage.

Federal regulatory overhaul injected greater transparency in the mortgage market with new, easier-to-understand mortgage cost disclosure materials, but most consumers just don't bother to reap the benefits.

Not only is that foolish, it also costs money -- perhaps thousands of dollars in some cases.

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), effective January 1, 2010, mandated a new and improved Good Faith Estimate (GFE) to make it easier to understand and comparison shop for mortgage estimates, but 70 percent of homeowners chose a mortgage provider without shopping around, according to a study by online direct bank ING Direct.

"The Good Faith Estimate is one of the most crucial documents a homebuyer will receive before making the biggest purchase of their life," said Arkadi Kuhlmann, ING's president and CEO.

The study found consumers may not bother to shop around because the documents are still too complicated, but that's really not much of an excuse. Asking for help deciphering the documents doesn't take a college degree.

• More than one in three homeowners (36 percent) described the GFE as "complicated" or a "waste of time."

• Some homeowners described the GFE as being "simple" or "easy to understand," but 68 percent of homeowners surveyed were unable to correctly identify, for example, the purpose of the title services charge on the GFE.

• Fifty-three percent of homeowners spent 30 minutes or less reading and reviewing the GFE.

• One in ten (11 percent) homeowners never reviewed the document.

Home loan originators must give you the mandated GFE within three days of accepting your application.

The three-page GFE, provided by the mortgage broker or lender, shows the loan terms and the settlement charges you will pay if you decide to go forward with a given mortgage. It explains which charges can change before settlement and which charges must remain the same.

Consumers are supposed to use the document as indicated.

The GFE clearly states that consumers should "compare this GFE with other loan offers, so you can find the best loan." It also contains a shopping chart and worksheets to encourage you to shop around and compare several mortgage loans and the settlement costs of each.

Along with the GFE, you'll also receive the new "Shopping For Your Home Loan: HUD's Settlement Costs Booklet" a guidebook that walks you through the GFE as well as the new "Settlement Statement HUD-1."

At closing, the lender must provide borrowers with the HUD-1, the final line-by-line disclosure of mortgage and closing costs.

The HUD-1 is a complete and final list of all your charges and credits. In addition to the cost of the property, your down payment, the financed amount, your monthly payment, and loan terms, it includes your loan type, annual percentage rate (APR), points, commissions, yield spread premiums, originating fees and other loan costs as well as title and escrow fees, closing costs, tax and insurance payments, inspection fees, attorney fees, and information and costs related to rate locks and prepayment penalties -- the works.

You have the right under Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) to inspect the HUD-1 Settlement Statement before settlement occurs and you should.

You should set aside a full day to see your HUD-1 document at least a day before closing, so you have time to go over all costs, eliminate surprises and ask the lender or other professionals involved any questions that might arise.

Get help reading the documents. Ask your real estate agent, broker, lender or other professional to earn their commission by helping you get through the documents.

Some community and social groups as well as you local housing office may also provide assistance.

Samples of all the documents are available at HUD.gov. Use the search feature to find "Good Faith Estimate," "Shopping For Your Home Loan: HUD's Settlement Costs Booklet," and "Settlement Statement HUD-1," before you are in the thick of buying or selling a home in today's market.

Getting familiar with the documents now, can save you money and headaches later.

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© 2010 DeadlineNews.Com

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Feds crackdown on FHA lenders with high foreclosure rates

Tiger Tart does Maxim video

The Feds are being applauded for going after mortgage lenders who may have contributed to the housing crisis by writing bad loans, but they are also criticized for not examining their own underwriting standards, which some say could prolong housing's woes.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2009 DeadlineNews.Com



Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime


Deadline Newsroom - The Feds are going after mortgage companies with questionably high rates of foreclosures on homes they finance.

This week, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Inspector General Kenneth M. Donohue and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David H. Stevens announced an initiative to target mortgage companies with significant claim rates against the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance program.

Mortgage insurance is paid by borrowers, but protects lenders with cash benefits should the borrower default. When lenders foreclose against homeowners with the coverage, it triggers mortgage insurance benefits for lenders to help them bail out.

The investigation was initiated after FHA Commissioner, David Stevens, became alarmed by the incidence of claims against the FHA insurance fund by a number of poor performing companies who had also reached out for federal assistance.

HUD's Office of Inspector General (OIG) served subpoenas to the corporate offices of 15 mortgage companies across the country demanding documents and data related to failed loans which resulted in claims paid out by the FHA mortgage insurance fund.

Served were:

First Tennessee Bank N.A., Memphis, TN
Alethes LLC, Lakeway, TX
Security Atlantic Mortgage Co., Edison, NJ
Pine State Mortgage Corporation, Atlanta, GA
Birmingham Bancorp Mortgage Corporation, West Bloomfield, MI
Alacrity Financial Services, LLC, Southlake, TX
Assurity Financial Services, LLC, Englewood, CO
D and R Mortgage Corporation, Farmington, MI
Webster Bank, Cheshire, CT
Mac-Clair Mortgage Corporation, Flint, MI
Americare Investment Group, Inc., Arlington, TX
1st Advantage Mortgage, Lombard, IL
American Sterling Bank, Independence, MO
Sterling National Mortgage Company Inc., Great Neck, NY
Dell Franklin Financial LLC, Columbia, MD

The Feds are being applauded for going after mortgage lenders who may have contributed to the housing crisis by writing bad loans, but they are also criticized for not examining their own underwriting standards which some say could prolong housing's woes.

"While the FHA should be commended for its vigilance in trying to detect patterns of fraudulent origination and underwriting practices, it is also critical to the risk management process that the actual underwriting guidelines, set in place by FHA, be thoroughly examined as well," said Nancy Osborne, chief operating officer of Erate.com, a Santa Clara, CA-based financial information publisher and interest rate tracker.

"Taxpayers are backing (federally insured) mortgages that have been referred to as "the new sub-prime," with good reason, because they have taken on the role of insuring these risky low down payment loans where a borrower has far too little "skin in the game,' " Osborne added.

The probe comes at a time when the FHA mortgage insurance program represents a significant percentage of mortgages written in the nation.

"That the FHA continues to require such a small down payment, of only 3.5 percent, certainly flies in the face of sound risk management practices in light of everything we've learned in the past few years," Osborne said.

Options available to the HUD OIG are audits, investigations, inspections and evaluations. HUD can also levy administrative sanctions such as suspensions, limited denial of participation, debarment, and civil monetary penalties. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), state and local law enforcers can pursue civil and criminal legal actions against any wrongdoers.

"The FHA market share has skyrocketed," said Donohue.

"Our job is oversight. We work for the American taxpayer. Each loan on this list will be thoroughly examined and we will track down the reasons why it failed. Once we determine the causes, we will look to see whether there is a need for further review or remedial action. We want to send a message to the industry that as the mortgage landscape has shifted we are watching very carefully and that we are poised to take action against bad performers," he added.

Stevens said additional policy steps, to be announced later this month, are underway to hold FHA lenders accountable for high rates of default

"The HUD OIG identified these direct endorsement companies from an analysis of loan data focusing on companies with a significant number of claims, a certain loan underwriting volume, a high ratio of defaults and claims compared to the national average, and claims that occurred earlier in the life of the mortgage. These are key indicators of problems at the origination or underwriting stages. The HUD OIG wants to see why these loans failed," Stevens said.

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Mortgages avoiding credit crunch

You'll probably have to go to homeownership school. You'll have to prove you can really afford a mortgage. You may have to reconsider your location. And you'll have to run a gauntlet of scrutiny. Today's mortgages are a far cry from boom time loans, but they do exist and some lenders have money to burn.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - A new brand of home loan, customized with tighter controls and fewer defects is replacing those old mortgage models that crashed and burned when the economy hit the skids.

Don't expect these new babies to come off the assembly line like those mass-produced subprime rattle traps, but if you stick to the rules of the road, one of these loans could put you in the driver's seat.

Buckle up.

"You have to qualify. You have to prove your income. They have make-sense underwriting," said, Quincy Virgilio, 2009 president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors and broker-owner Realty World CA Property Network in San Jose, CA.

FHA-insured mortgages

The new darling of the homebuyer set, Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgage programs have for decades been available especially for low- to moderate-income families who may not meet requirements for conventional loans.

But with new loan limits as high as $625,500 they've become especially attractive in high cost areas. FHA loans are expected to account for 25 percent of the mortgages signed in 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors. Because of previously lower loan limits, FHA loans amounted to less than 4 percent of homes sold from 2003 and 2006.

The new FHA model also comes with low down payments and eased credit requirements.

"They are much more lenient (compared to conforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages) on how they look at credit scores. The score can be in the 600s vs. 700s, said Cheryl O'Connor, a finance expert with O'Connor Consulting in Danville, CA.

FHA features include:

• As little as 3 percent down.
• Financed closing costs.
• A 1 percent (of the mortgage) ceiling on the amount lenders can charge for closing costs.
• No prepayment penalties.
• Relaxed debt-to-income requirements.
• FHA-approved lenders only.
• FHA-approved appraisals only.

Virgilio says buyers who don't have 20 percent or more down will pay an upfront mortgage insurance fee amounting to as much as 1.75 percent (of the loan) and a monthly mortgage insurance premium that effectively tacks on another 0.5 percent to the interest rate.

"But you can structure your loan with participation from the seller paying closing costs. Not down payment assistance, but closing costs, but in this marketplace the seller is going for that," said Virgillio.

The best rates (typically fixed, rather than adjustable) go to those who have financial reserves, savings or investments amounting to at least two months worth of a PITI (principle, interest, taxes and insurance) mortgage payment.

Likewise, the best deals go to buyers with a 30 to 33 percent debt-to-income ratio when the debt includes housing and all other monthly debt payments.

In addition to FHA home-buying loans, the "Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008" created "Hope For Homeowners" which allows troubled mortgage holders to avoid foreclosure by refinancing into a more affordable, FHASecure mortgage, provided Uncle Sam gets a piece of the equity-growth action and provided the existing lender approves.

“People used to qualify with stated income. Now there is more documentation. And they aren't just documenting your income, but looking for assets in addition to your income and low debt-to-income ratios and low loan-to-value ratios.”
- Asmaa Egal, mortgage broker, Loan Republic Financial, San Francisco, CA

Membership-required credit unions

Credit unions are also rolling out the red carpet for home buyers.

The typically members-only financial institutions largely survived the credit crunch because, as non-profits, the fundamentals apply. They take in deposits. They make loans based on sound underwriting principles. They charge more on those loans than they pay on deposits.

Without the profit motive, there was no incentive to get involved in the subprime racket, no reason to sell and repackage loans as investments and no need to otherwise venture into untried and untrue investment schemes.

Along with fixed-rate 30-year mortgages at rates often lower than banks they also offer conventional adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) and hybrids all with rates typically lower than conventional lenders (Search "rates," then see "Ratedex").

"Credit unions have a tendency to be more lenient if you have a bank account with a credit union," O'Connor said.

Credit union originations rose a whopping 10.1 percent during the first half of 2008, according to the industry's federal regulator, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Conventional mortgage lender loan originations took a nose dive, falling 17 percent during the same period.

Rural home loans

Don't get your knickers in a knot over the term "rural."

The nation's housing market includes a host of fine country estates -- large and small -- with land and available for a song! What's more, they come with government backed financing.

"Home buyers in the San Jose (and other) area still have one mortgage that is inexpensive and easy to get, but many people don't know about it," says Dan Auld a loan consultant with National Mortgage City.

Loans backed by the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development Housing and Community Facilities Programs are limited, but you don't have to grow corn or raise chickens.

The loans are for:

• People living in designated rural areas where the population is less than 20,000.
• People with incomes under 115 percent of household median income for the area. In most areas, the upper income limit for borrowers will be $60,000 to $70,000 per year.
• People buying homes, not refinancing or taking out equity loans.

USDA Programs include no-money down loans (imagine that), home improvement and rehabilitation loans and grants, construction loans, loans for minorities and true to the work-ethic of rural life, sweat-equity loans that require buyers to help build their own homes.

Money for rural homeownership is available during the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression because of sound lending practices and isolation -- both geographical and financial -- from the boom-bust markets.

The result has been more mortgage money to lend, not less. The federal ag agency's loan volume tripled in 2008.

Local, state agencies

O'Connor says don't overlook local -- city, county and state -- housing assistance programs that often cater to first-time and or low- to moderate-income home buyers.

More information is available about state housing efforts from the HUD web site.

Local contacts are available through the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.


Also see land consultant Curtis Seltzer's "How To Be A Dirt-Smart Buyer Of Country Property" (Infinity Publishing, $34.95).

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group -- DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop. Perkins is also a National Real Estate Examiner. All the news that really hits home from three locations -- that's location, location, location!

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California Fire Victims Obtain Fast Housing, Disaster Assistance

by Broderick Perkins
© 2007 DeadlineNews.Com

Deadline Newsroom – The new National Housing Locator is getting its first test under fire just weeks after it was launched to solve past shortcomings in disaster-related housing emergencies.

In an example of federal readiness for the nation's latest disaster, providing shelter quickly became a focal point for the short and long term needs of residents displaced by the California inferno.

Mortgage assistance, special rebuilding help for Native Americans and other relief efforts also poured into the fire-ravaged area by week's end.

With less than 2,000 homes actually destroyed by California wildfires still raging since they erupted last week, the need for housing was a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of housing units needed following Hurricane Katrina two years ago.

But even before fire victims were being released from temporary shelters, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) implemented it's new National Housing Locator and said some 15,000 housing units were available in the immediate California-Nevada-Arizona tri-state area.

That should be more than enough to serve fire victims.

Just weeks before fires ringed Southern California, the American Red Cross and HUD announced a partnership to provide speedy access to critical housing information in order to swiftly put a roof over the heads of people who need shelter after a presidentially declared disaster.

Using housing information from SocialServe.Com, Apartments.Com, HomeSales.Gov, Rentlinx.Com, and other sites, the National Housing Locator allows HUD staff and local housing officials to locate available housing by area, price and number of bedrooms.

The service can also determine whether landlords accept pets and housing vouchers or whether the units are accessible to the disabled, elderly or other persons requiring special accommodation. In most cases, photos and landlord contact information is also provided.

"After these devastating fires, HUD can help families searching for another place to call home," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson in a prepared statement.

"The sooner families can find transitional housing, the sooner they can begin to rebuild their homes and their lives," he added.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff promised during a conference call to Escondido, CA-based North County Times editors and reporters that no Katrina-style trailers would be used to shelter the homeless -- even on a temporary basis.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the immediate housing shortage was perhaps the most indicting evidence that the nation was not prepared for such a disaster.

A national grassroots effort to house homeless Gulf Coast residents met with varied levels of success, but helped prompt the Feds to develop the national locat0r.

The lack of sufficient emergency housing forced hundreds of thousands of residents to flee and never to return to the Gulf Coast area.

For the California disaster, HUD said trained staff was available at disaster relief centers in San Bernardino, Rancho Bernardo, Fallbrook, Ramona, and Rancho San Diego, CA.

HUD also announced $5.2 million in federal funding was available for nearly 100 Native American homes lost to fire on four reservations. Funding is also available in the form a block grants to repair or restore tribal facilities including community centers, clinics and other service facilities. Loan guarantees are also available to repair or replace housing.

The federal housing agency also ordered a 90-day moratorium on some foreclosures on FHA-insured mortgages and offered FHA mortgage insurance to those considering rebuilding or buying another home. The insurance enables a borrower to obtain 100 percent financing.

Elsewhere, housing assistance was available from Apartments.com and Move.com (formerly Homestore.com).

Apartments.com launched the Southern California Wildfires Resource Center to provide displaced residents with quick access to local support and information and a listing of apartment communities offering special discounts or other support for wildfire victims. The center pinpoints relief areas, including Los Angeles, Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego.

Move.com set up a Short-Term Rental Options Online area for rentals available on a weekly or monthly basis. Landlords with available housing can also use the service for free0 to supply temporary housing options to displaced residents.

On the industry front, the California Association of Realtors(CAR), through its CAR Disaster Relief Fund, offered financial assistance both to its members and others in the community with wildfire-related needs. Likewise, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) offered a half million dollar donation through its the REALTORS® Relief Foundation to those in need.

Homeowners should also check insurance policies for coverage that provides benefits to cover the cost of temporary stays away from homes destroyed or rendered uninhabitable.

Likewise tax professionals can explain casualty loss write-offs and extended tax filing periods related to a declared disaster in which homes are destroyed or damaged.

• The Legacy Of Living In A Hot Spot
• HUD, Red Cross To Speed Delivery Of Disaster Housing
• Sites To See: Browsing For Specialized Housing
• Browsing For Katrina Cottage Housing
• Free Shelter From The Storm Not Free Of Risks
• Free Shelter From The Storm

© 2007 DeadlineNews.Com

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist of 30 years, is publisher and executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service, and the new Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's new backshop. In both cases, it's where all the news really hits home.

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HUD, Red Cross To Speed Delivery Of Disaster Housing

by Broderick Perkins
© 2007 DeadlineNews.Com

Deadline Newsroom – The next time a major disaster hits America, victims may not have to resort to a refugee-like exodus that takes them far from the area, as hundreds of thousands did following Hurricane Katrina.

And those who have housing available can quickly get it filled provided they are in the system.

The American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a partnership this week so that those forced from their homes will have speedy access to critical housing information that could swiftly put a roof over their heads.

With the refined National Housing Locator system ready to go, HUD will gain access to Red Cross shelters in the earliest stages of a presidentially declared disaster so it can begin to house eligible HUD-assisted families, the elderly and others in need.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the immediate housing shortage was perhaps the most indicting evidence that the nation was not prepared for such a disaster.

The lack of sufficient emergency housing forced hundreds of thousands of residents to flee and never to return to the Gulf Coast area.

After the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency shipped in some 120,000 problematic so-called "FEMA Trailers." About 60,000 remain in use.

Sierra Club tests of dozens of the trailers found high formaldehyde levels in 83 percent of those tested and residents complained of noxious fumes, headaches, burning eyes, running noses, asthma and other health problems in early 2006.

The Centers For Disease Control has yet to make official government tests.

Scores of trailers also remained empty and unused creating FEMA Trailer Shanty Towns that were easy pickings for vandals to strip.

What compounded matters was that the outpouring of generosity fromprivate individuals and others offering housing, often for free, was put off by federal and emergency agencies unable to quickly integrate grassroots-generated housing into bureaucratic and non-profit systems.

Private individuals offering shelter also couldn't overlook the potential for liability (for them as property owners and for any agency approving the use of private housing, among others). Tenants' rights to perhaps stay on after property owners changed their mind and the potential for fraud or crime stemming from putting up strangers, also became issues.

Recognizing the crucial nature of housing after disaster, HUD and the Red Cross hope to change those shortcomings in time for the next Big One.

Homeless experts say a roof over your head does a lot more than provide shelter from the storm, which certainly is a good start.

A home provides a sanitary place to store and prepare food and water, bathe and groom. A home provides privacy, a place for dignified respite at the end of a long day, and a location from which to receive regular medical or emergency assistance.

A home is also an address to leave for prospective employers and others who need to reach you and it's a place where you can stay put and reconnect with family, friends and others.

"These large disasters often leave behind despair and confusion in the hearts and minds of disaster survivors. All of us who work to help these individuals must keep this in mind, and do all that we can to get the necessary services to them as quickly as possible," said Joe Becker, Red Cross Senior Vice President for Disaster Services.

HUD's line to the Red Cross during an emergency will give it the authority to help displaced residents with

• The National Housing Locator . The system is an outgrowth of housing assistance efforts and lessons-learned following Hurricane Katrina. It was finalized earlier this year to combine federal housing resources with those of several commercial apartment locators and housing websites. The one-stop emergency housing locater is up and running at all times and can be used by anyone, but properties are often rented or sold based on certain income and need requirements.

• Immediate foreclosure relief. Once the President declares a major disaster, HUD issues a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and forbearance on foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured home mortgages.

• Making mortgage insurance available. HUD's Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims who have lost their homes and face rebuilding or buying another home. Borrowers are eligible for 100 percent financing, including closing costs.

• Making insurance available for both mortgages and home rehabilitation . HUD's Section 203(k) fixer-upper loan program enables those who have lost their homes to finance the purchase or refinance of a house along with its repair through a single mortgage. It also allows homeowners who have damaged houses to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home.

More information about disaster assistance from HUD is available on line.

© 2007 DeadlineNews.Com

Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist of 30 years, is publisher and executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service, and the new Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's new backshop. In both cases, it's where all the news really hits home.

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