It looks like the Senate has reach a tentative decision in whether or not the Federal Government should give the struggling auto makers a bridge loan. Not a bail out. Not a gift. A bridge loan to help the big 3 survive for another couple of months. There will be conditions that must be met for the auto companies to get their cash. They will come under great scrutiny, deserved or not.
Living in the Detroit area, I have a great interest in this latest round of "begging for survival" money. The majority of people in the Greater Detroit Metro area are involved with car companies one way or another. If they don't work for the Big 3 directly, they might work for a supporting company that supplies parts or other services. And even if they don't work somehow in the car industry, all businesses are affected. Restaurants, retail stores, theaters...all are hit hard because the slump in the auto business.
Now there is a lot of blame for this economic slump. I'm sure the execs at the car companies could have done a better job. Was it all their fault? Certainly not. However, I agree with the Senate that the Big 3 must do business a different way than they did in the past. Ford, GM and Chrysler must prepare for the future and retool. They must have products that are fuel efficient and are wanted by consumers.
I just love how the Senators act so high and mighty about this. I didn't remember the investment groups having to go through this when they got their bailout. I like what Jay Leno said concerning the Senate auto hearings: "You've got guys owing trillions yelling at guys owing billions!". The Senators are the last ones that should be criticizing anyone for bad management decisions and budgeting issues.
The Senators also will want a Car Czar to oversee that the car companies will change their approach to business once they are granted this special gift. This ruling person will decide that if the Big 3 do not tow the line, The Car Czar (I love saying that by the way!) can pull funding and make the car companies file for bankruptcy.
Pretty important position, eh? Does it make you feel good that this person will be appointed by President Bush? How great is that? We can always count on the Prez to do the right thing.
I hope the Feds have taken notes on these procedures involving the financing of the auto industry. I hope they have written down what to do and what not to do. What works and what doesn't work.
Because you and I know, they are going to go through this again with yet another industry that needs a hand. Tourism, retail, trucking, farming....take a guess.
Because when someone is handing out money, the line gets real long fast.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
It's Very Sad......
In an article from CNBC.com (http://www.cnbc.com//id/27701737), Diana Olick, who writes a column called "Realty Check", wrote about the failure of the Hope For Homeowners program to actually help anyone. If you recall, the Hope For Homeowners program is a FHA program that was suppose to help those homeowners with mortgages that were in big trouble and knocking on the door of foreclosure. The idea behind this program was that lenders who currently hold these troubled loans were going to write down the principal that was owed to them up to 90% of the current appraised value. This would reduce what was owed to the lender and allow these troubled homeowners to refinance into something more affordable.
This sentence from the article says it all:
"I’ve just seen the latest numbers on the recently launched government Hope for Homeowners program, and I’d call them laughable if the whole thing weren’t so blatantly sad. "
Once again, that's "blatantly sad".
The article goes on to say on how only 19 applications have been accepted by lenders for this program and how lenders are reluctant use the program because their costs are to great. So the homeowners (taxpayers) who really need this program can't use it because the lenders don't want to play.
Think of the comic strip Peanuts. Charlie Brown is going to kick a football which being held by Lucy. As Charlie starts to kick the ball, Lucy pulls the ball away and Charlie falls on his behind, embarrassed and angry.
I have to imagine that is all the distressed homeowners feel: embarrassed and angry. The government can use billions of the distressed homeowners tax dollars to bailout large financial firms (because it's good for the economy!) but a program designed by the government to help the people who are days away from losing their house, really doesn't help anyone.
That's hard to believe, isn't it.
Let's bailout the taxpayers before we bailout anyone else.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
This sentence from the article says it all:
"I’ve just seen the latest numbers on the recently launched government Hope for Homeowners program, and I’d call them laughable if the whole thing weren’t so blatantly sad. "
Once again, that's "blatantly sad".
The article goes on to say on how only 19 applications have been accepted by lenders for this program and how lenders are reluctant use the program because their costs are to great. So the homeowners (taxpayers) who really need this program can't use it because the lenders don't want to play.
Think of the comic strip Peanuts. Charlie Brown is going to kick a football which being held by Lucy. As Charlie starts to kick the ball, Lucy pulls the ball away and Charlie falls on his behind, embarrassed and angry.
I have to imagine that is all the distressed homeowners feel: embarrassed and angry. The government can use billions of the distressed homeowners tax dollars to bailout large financial firms (because it's good for the economy!) but a program designed by the government to help the people who are days away from losing their house, really doesn't help anyone.
That's hard to believe, isn't it.
Let's bailout the taxpayers before we bailout anyone else.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Monday, October 27, 2008
True Confessions, Part 2
When we last spoke together (just to you. nobody else.), I wrote on how bad it was talking to homeowners who are in trouble with their mortgages and how the word "foreclosure" comes up in almost every conversation when I talk to new clients looking to refinance. Foreclosure is now a budget strategy for most people because they have no where else to turn. By no fault of their own these troubled homeowners do not have any other options because they now owe more than their house is worth and therefore can't get financing to help bring their payment down.
Because the values here in the Detroit area have plunged so much, most of the people I talk to are upside down, owing much more than their house is worth. So, without a government "bailout" for people who are on the brink of foreclosure, we are going to see a whole bunch of trouble.
And I mean a whole bunch of trouble.
On the other hand....
One of the coolest things I get to do is help first time buyers get financing. I'm not saying that it's fun securing a mortgage payment for these folks for the next 30 years, what I'm saying is that it's satisfying to help people get their part of the American Dream: Home ownership.
While thousands of home owners are struggling to keep their home, we still have people wanting to buy their part of the dream. Because whatever size house they buy, it will be their castle. As a participant of many closings, whether it was my own or a client's, I'm still amazed at the amount of paperwork we need signed. I have never seen so many people sign documents that they have no idea what they are signing. The closer at the table shoves a document towards the buyer, gives a 10 second overview of what the doc is all about, and expects a signature. In the meanwhile, the buyer(s) are confused with all the text on all the docs and are wondering to themselves "Should I be reading all this stuff?"
The most important documents are the mortgage and the note. All other mortgage related documents are either disclosures (CYA) or final editions of documents the buyers signed at application.
I wonder.......Do you think that much of this sub prime loan mess was due to miscommunication at the closing table? And that if the note and the details of note were explained in great detail, instead of being rushed over because of the great amount of closing docs, do you think that buyers with sub prime mortgages would understand what they were getting into?
Well it's too late to wonder.
However....IF...down the road if the housing market gets better (can it get much worse?) and we revert to some "imaginative" mortgage lending again, maybe we can take some extra time at closing to explain what a buyer is really getting into.
Hopefully, it won't scare them right out of the closing.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Because the values here in the Detroit area have plunged so much, most of the people I talk to are upside down, owing much more than their house is worth. So, without a government "bailout" for people who are on the brink of foreclosure, we are going to see a whole bunch of trouble.
And I mean a whole bunch of trouble.
On the other hand....
One of the coolest things I get to do is help first time buyers get financing. I'm not saying that it's fun securing a mortgage payment for these folks for the next 30 years, what I'm saying is that it's satisfying to help people get their part of the American Dream: Home ownership.
While thousands of home owners are struggling to keep their home, we still have people wanting to buy their part of the dream. Because whatever size house they buy, it will be their castle. As a participant of many closings, whether it was my own or a client's, I'm still amazed at the amount of paperwork we need signed. I have never seen so many people sign documents that they have no idea what they are signing. The closer at the table shoves a document towards the buyer, gives a 10 second overview of what the doc is all about, and expects a signature. In the meanwhile, the buyer(s) are confused with all the text on all the docs and are wondering to themselves "Should I be reading all this stuff?"
The most important documents are the mortgage and the note. All other mortgage related documents are either disclosures (CYA) or final editions of documents the buyers signed at application.
I wonder.......Do you think that much of this sub prime loan mess was due to miscommunication at the closing table? And that if the note and the details of note were explained in great detail, instead of being rushed over because of the great amount of closing docs, do you think that buyers with sub prime mortgages would understand what they were getting into?
Well it's too late to wonder.
However....IF...down the road if the housing market gets better (can it get much worse?) and we revert to some "imaginative" mortgage lending again, maybe we can take some extra time at closing to explain what a buyer is really getting into.
Hopefully, it won't scare them right out of the closing.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
True Confessions
Sometimes, I don't know what to say.
In the past week I have talked to many desperate people on the brink of foreclosure looking for any way to save their homes, saw yet another "rescue plan" by the government to help some banks, wrote to my United States Senator and got to do one of the things I enjoy the most, help a young couple buy their first home.
Whew!! What a roller coaster of emotions. From one extreme to another.
Let's begin.
A local newscast reported on the existence of the "Hope for Homeowners" program which was part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act which was signed into law July 30, 2008. This program requires lenders to write down the size of the existing mortgage to a maximum of 90 percent of the home's current appraised value. The homeowner is then refinanced into a FHA insured fixed mortgage.
The idea behind the H4H is that it might be a better business deal for lenders than having to go through the cost of foreclosure with all the mortgages out there heading for default. It trades a bad note for a good one that the lender can hold on to. For lenders, this could be used as another way to avoid losses.
And naturally, when the word got out during the local television broadcast that was even a glimmer of hope of help, our phones went crazy with homeowners looking for anything they could use to help them keep their house. We even had people walking into our office with all their paperwork in hand, ready to apply right then, just because there was a glimmer of hope. Our normal office routine came to a screeching halt!
When I was calling some of these troubled homeowners back, I realized that this country has a problem that needs to get fixed right now. We have so many people on the verge of foreclosure that if their problems aren't solved quickly, this country will be headed for an economic disaster that we have never seen.
As I spoke to these folks looking for help with their mortgages, I was told some of the saddest stories I have ever heard. Loss of jobs, death of a spouse, accidents, even rate increases. Whatever the reason was, these folks were in a lot of trouble for reasons that weren't necessarily their fault. Fate had delivered to them some cruel twist and now they have to deal with the possibility of losing their home.
I couldn't take it any more and I had to stop making phone calls. It was too sad.
These desperate people didn't want a "bailout". They are perfectly willing to pay back what they owe. Heck, they are even willing to pay back more if they have to. What ever they need to do.
They just need help now. Just some temporary help until they can get back on their feet and catch up with the mortgage payments.
The tone on the phone was the same with all of these calls. These folks were so happy to talk to someone. Anyone. They all called their current lender but never got a call back. Some of them called FHA and they never got a call back. So when they finally got a human on the phone, someone who would listen, they unloaded.
I mean the average time on the phone was a half an hour. They wanted to tell their story to someone whether the person they were talking to could help them or not. They just wanted to talk to someone who might be able to help them.
The sad thing was, I couldn't.
(To be continued)
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
In the past week I have talked to many desperate people on the brink of foreclosure looking for any way to save their homes, saw yet another "rescue plan" by the government to help some banks, wrote to my United States Senator and got to do one of the things I enjoy the most, help a young couple buy their first home.
Whew!! What a roller coaster of emotions. From one extreme to another.
Let's begin.
A local newscast reported on the existence of the "Hope for Homeowners" program which was part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act which was signed into law July 30, 2008. This program requires lenders to write down the size of the existing mortgage to a maximum of 90 percent of the home's current appraised value. The homeowner is then refinanced into a FHA insured fixed mortgage.
The idea behind the H4H is that it might be a better business deal for lenders than having to go through the cost of foreclosure with all the mortgages out there heading for default. It trades a bad note for a good one that the lender can hold on to. For lenders, this could be used as another way to avoid losses.
And naturally, when the word got out during the local television broadcast that was even a glimmer of hope of help, our phones went crazy with homeowners looking for anything they could use to help them keep their house. We even had people walking into our office with all their paperwork in hand, ready to apply right then, just because there was a glimmer of hope. Our normal office routine came to a screeching halt!
When I was calling some of these troubled homeowners back, I realized that this country has a problem that needs to get fixed right now. We have so many people on the verge of foreclosure that if their problems aren't solved quickly, this country will be headed for an economic disaster that we have never seen.
As I spoke to these folks looking for help with their mortgages, I was told some of the saddest stories I have ever heard. Loss of jobs, death of a spouse, accidents, even rate increases. Whatever the reason was, these folks were in a lot of trouble for reasons that weren't necessarily their fault. Fate had delivered to them some cruel twist and now they have to deal with the possibility of losing their home.
I couldn't take it any more and I had to stop making phone calls. It was too sad.
These desperate people didn't want a "bailout". They are perfectly willing to pay back what they owe. Heck, they are even willing to pay back more if they have to. What ever they need to do.
They just need help now. Just some temporary help until they can get back on their feet and catch up with the mortgage payments.
The tone on the phone was the same with all of these calls. These folks were so happy to talk to someone. Anyone. They all called their current lender but never got a call back. Some of them called FHA and they never got a call back. So when they finally got a human on the phone, someone who would listen, they unloaded.
I mean the average time on the phone was a half an hour. They wanted to tell their story to someone whether the person they were talking to could help them or not. They just wanted to talk to someone who might be able to help them.
The sad thing was, I couldn't.
(To be continued)
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Could You Please Repeat That?
How about this excerpt from an article from CNBC.com. explaining Congress's plan to speed up the financial debt clean up:
"The moves cap a week in which financial markets faced their most serious confluence of crises since the Great Depression in the 1930s and threatened national economies and the worldwide banking system."
The Depression?? Are you kidding me? Nice.
You know it's bad when today's financial crisis is being compared to the worse financial disaster in the history of the United States. The Feds have pledged to throw at least 1 trillion dollars between buying up debt and bailing out financial institutions.
Is 1 trillion enough? Here is a quote from the same article from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson: "We must now take further, decisive action to fundamentally and comprehensively address the root cause of our financial system's stresses.The federal government must implement a program to remove these illiquid assets that are weighing down our financial institutions and threatening our economy."
I think the Secretary is going to find that the roots of this problem are deep and multiplying fast. I give the Feds much credit for stepping up and doing what they can to help solve this financial crisis to give investors confidence in the markets.
As always, the taxpayers are going to pay for this for a long, long time. I only hope that the 1 trillion does the trick and this pre-depression economy gets turned around fast. While I know that we are saving (or trying to) retirement funds, investment funds, stocks, banks, investment companies and whoever else has their hand out, I think that there is one crisis that we need to help and it affects millions: Falling house values.
While it is good (and I guess now, necessary) that these high powered financial companies are getting help, I am concerned about the millions of homeowners who are upside down on their mortgages and now owe more than their house is worth. Expecting when selling their house to at least break even, most of these homeowners have to bring money to close or go through a short sale which ruins their credit. Or even worse, the millions of homeowners that run out of options and have to face foreclosure.
Until falling home prices are stabilized, I believe we are still going to be in crisis mode in this country. The idea of owning a home is truly the American Dream. In most cases, a home is only investment that people have. A home serves 2 purposes. An investment and you can live in it.
I know we have to protect and bailout the big guys. The amount of dollars at risk is to great to avoid.
But lets make sure we save a little out of the 1 trillion for the little guy. To me, saving homes should be the priority here.
We can't let the American Dream become the American Nightmare. After all, didn't we do this in 1929?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
"The moves cap a week in which financial markets faced their most serious confluence of crises since the Great Depression in the 1930s and threatened national economies and the worldwide banking system."
The Depression?? Are you kidding me? Nice.
You know it's bad when today's financial crisis is being compared to the worse financial disaster in the history of the United States. The Feds have pledged to throw at least 1 trillion dollars between buying up debt and bailing out financial institutions.
Is 1 trillion enough? Here is a quote from the same article from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson: "We must now take further, decisive action to fundamentally and comprehensively address the root cause of our financial system's stresses.The federal government must implement a program to remove these illiquid assets that are weighing down our financial institutions and threatening our economy."
I think the Secretary is going to find that the roots of this problem are deep and multiplying fast. I give the Feds much credit for stepping up and doing what they can to help solve this financial crisis to give investors confidence in the markets.
As always, the taxpayers are going to pay for this for a long, long time. I only hope that the 1 trillion does the trick and this pre-depression economy gets turned around fast. While I know that we are saving (or trying to) retirement funds, investment funds, stocks, banks, investment companies and whoever else has their hand out, I think that there is one crisis that we need to help and it affects millions: Falling house values.
While it is good (and I guess now, necessary) that these high powered financial companies are getting help, I am concerned about the millions of homeowners who are upside down on their mortgages and now owe more than their house is worth. Expecting when selling their house to at least break even, most of these homeowners have to bring money to close or go through a short sale which ruins their credit. Or even worse, the millions of homeowners that run out of options and have to face foreclosure.
Until falling home prices are stabilized, I believe we are still going to be in crisis mode in this country. The idea of owning a home is truly the American Dream. In most cases, a home is only investment that people have. A home serves 2 purposes. An investment and you can live in it.
I know we have to protect and bailout the big guys. The amount of dollars at risk is to great to avoid.
But lets make sure we save a little out of the 1 trillion for the little guy. To me, saving homes should be the priority here.
We can't let the American Dream become the American Nightmare. After all, didn't we do this in 1929?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Hey It's A Convention!
Are you watching the Democratic Convention? I'll admit it. I love to watch this stuff. Not that I'm a Democrat or Republican (I vote for the person, not the party.) it's that I find this kind of thing very interesting. It only happens every 4 years and compared to some of the junk on TV, this isn't too bad to watch. You get to listen to the speeches and then the TV commentators tell you what it all means. (you know we can't figure it our for ourselves!)
I know that the convention is a big production. Everything is scripted and preset. Who's going to speak what night and what are they going to say? And most of all, how are they going to say it?
It is all hype, designed to make who ever is the hosting party look like they are for the people, that they have the best plans for us and that if you vote for the other guys, you are making a huge mistake.
I get that.
However, I just think it is important. It is important because no matter who wins, that person is going to face some of the toughest problems an incoming President will have to face. And you may think your vote doesn't count, tell that to Al Gore. Remember the mess in Florida? If anything your vote should be about you saying "Here's how I feel."
Now maybe you feel that you can't select either of the candidates because neither of them doesn't do anything for you. I get that too.
Sometimes that's the way I feel about our choices. But whoever I end up voting for will be the person that I like better. Even if it is just a little better. But I will have my say on election day.
I understand that most candidates promise everything but deliver nothing. And they bash each other during the primaries but after the primaries are over they are the best of friends and practically whispering sweet nothings in each others ears.
But this is the system we have (or stuck with for a lack of a better term). So I choose to join it because this is the true meaning of being an American. Forget about the commercials or the signs or radio ads. What it comes down to is you and your ballot because at that moment, you are in charge.
So I like the conventions. It will help me with my decision. Hopefully, it will help with yours also.
But I have a confession.
I like the debates too.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
I know that the convention is a big production. Everything is scripted and preset. Who's going to speak what night and what are they going to say? And most of all, how are they going to say it?
It is all hype, designed to make who ever is the hosting party look like they are for the people, that they have the best plans for us and that if you vote for the other guys, you are making a huge mistake.
I get that.
However, I just think it is important. It is important because no matter who wins, that person is going to face some of the toughest problems an incoming President will have to face. And you may think your vote doesn't count, tell that to Al Gore. Remember the mess in Florida? If anything your vote should be about you saying "Here's how I feel."
Now maybe you feel that you can't select either of the candidates because neither of them doesn't do anything for you. I get that too.
Sometimes that's the way I feel about our choices. But whoever I end up voting for will be the person that I like better. Even if it is just a little better. But I will have my say on election day.
I understand that most candidates promise everything but deliver nothing. And they bash each other during the primaries but after the primaries are over they are the best of friends and practically whispering sweet nothings in each others ears.
But this is the system we have (or stuck with for a lack of a better term). So I choose to join it because this is the true meaning of being an American. Forget about the commercials or the signs or radio ads. What it comes down to is you and your ballot because at that moment, you are in charge.
So I like the conventions. It will help me with my decision. Hopefully, it will help with yours also.
But I have a confession.
I like the debates too.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Thursday, August 14, 2008
What's On The Way?
How about this article from CNBC? (http://www.cnbc.com//id/26192036) It states that filings for foreclosures increased a whopping 50% compared with the same month a year ago. 50%!! And we can only assume it going to worse before it gets better. Because in reality, what has changed to make it better? Nothing that I can see.
Now read this quote from the article. "President Bush last month signed sweeping housing legislation that aims to prevent foreclosures by allowing homeowners to swap their mortgages for more affordable loans, but only if their lender agrees to take a loss on the initial loan. The bill is projected to help about 400,000 households." Did you read that clearly? "Only if their lender agrees to take a loss on the initial loan" And what if the lender doesn't agree to take a loss on the initial loan? Hmm. Did our government pass some legislation that doesn't really help anyone?
Consider this quote from the article: "The number of foreclosures "could start to stabilize as early as the first quarter of next year if the government program gains any traction," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president for marketing. "That's really the unknowable right now." "if the government program gains any traction" (in other words, will the program actually help anyone) Say it one more time, Rick. "That's really the unknowable right now" Rick, I think we know the answer right now.
The lenders are concerned about losing money, not because the new loan amount will be less, but because the appraised value will be less than what is owed on the property. The lender will not want to lend out more money than the property is worth. However, they were the same lender the gave out the money to the home owner when the appraised value was higher when the initial loan was made.
So why does a lender have to lose money in the first place? Can't the lender just restructure the loan dropping the interest rate, keeping the loan amount the same but putting the lost interest in the back of the loan? Can't they raise the rate back up as the property values start to climb back? Isn't this better than waiting to see if the government program "gains some traction"?
Believe me. I know it is not this simple. But by letting so many homes go into foreclosure just makes the housing crisis even worse. It has a snowball effect that we just don't know the scope of yet.
I want the lenders to get paid back what they are owed. That's only fair. But I think the lenders also need to be more responsible to the people who need them the most: their clients.
It doesn't make sense to wait for a program to "gain traction" when the housing market already stuck in the mud.
And sinking fast.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Now read this quote from the article. "President Bush last month signed sweeping housing legislation that aims to prevent foreclosures by allowing homeowners to swap their mortgages for more affordable loans, but only if their lender agrees to take a loss on the initial loan. The bill is projected to help about 400,000 households." Did you read that clearly? "Only if their lender agrees to take a loss on the initial loan" And what if the lender doesn't agree to take a loss on the initial loan? Hmm. Did our government pass some legislation that doesn't really help anyone?
Consider this quote from the article: "The number of foreclosures "could start to stabilize as early as the first quarter of next year if the government program gains any traction," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president for marketing. "That's really the unknowable right now." "if the government program gains any traction" (in other words, will the program actually help anyone) Say it one more time, Rick. "That's really the unknowable right now" Rick, I think we know the answer right now.
The lenders are concerned about losing money, not because the new loan amount will be less, but because the appraised value will be less than what is owed on the property. The lender will not want to lend out more money than the property is worth. However, they were the same lender the gave out the money to the home owner when the appraised value was higher when the initial loan was made.
So why does a lender have to lose money in the first place? Can't the lender just restructure the loan dropping the interest rate, keeping the loan amount the same but putting the lost interest in the back of the loan? Can't they raise the rate back up as the property values start to climb back? Isn't this better than waiting to see if the government program "gains some traction"?
Believe me. I know it is not this simple. But by letting so many homes go into foreclosure just makes the housing crisis even worse. It has a snowball effect that we just don't know the scope of yet.
I want the lenders to get paid back what they are owed. That's only fair. But I think the lenders also need to be more responsible to the people who need them the most: their clients.
It doesn't make sense to wait for a program to "gain traction" when the housing market already stuck in the mud.
And sinking fast.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Thursday, August 7, 2008
It's Not Christmas Is It?
"Retailers are largely reporting disappointing sales in July, with many retailers falling short of analyst estimates, as consumers remain cautious with their spending and are running out of extra cash from their tax rebate checks." according to an article on CNBC.com. (http://www.cnbc.com//id/26049865)
Really!?
Of course the retailers are disappointed. I'm sure they were all waiting for consumers to run in the mall with the rebate checks we all got from Uncle Sam (Thanks Uncle Sam, from the bottom of our hearts!) and buy like there is no tomorrow. Christmas in July? You bet! Because this rebate was going to go right in the cash registers of all these stores.
Well, unless these stores sell gas or food, the expected large windfall most likely will not be at those retail establishments. I guess the choice of either gas or food or the big electronic thing that you would like to buy becomes not much of choice of all.
Forget the rebate checks. If you want to stimulate our economy (actually I mean jump start it), lower gas by a $1 a gallon. I know this move is impossible (because it makes perfect sense?) to do. But can you imagine what this would mean? You know, I can't imagine it.
More car sales, lower food prices, maybe more jobs, more home sales, stronger dollar.
Maybe we would be able to buy the big electronic thing.
I still can't imagine it.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Really!?
Of course the retailers are disappointed. I'm sure they were all waiting for consumers to run in the mall with the rebate checks we all got from Uncle Sam (Thanks Uncle Sam, from the bottom of our hearts!) and buy like there is no tomorrow. Christmas in July? You bet! Because this rebate was going to go right in the cash registers of all these stores.
Well, unless these stores sell gas or food, the expected large windfall most likely will not be at those retail establishments. I guess the choice of either gas or food or the big electronic thing that you would like to buy becomes not much of choice of all.
Forget the rebate checks. If you want to stimulate our economy (actually I mean jump start it), lower gas by a $1 a gallon. I know this move is impossible (because it makes perfect sense?) to do. But can you imagine what this would mean? You know, I can't imagine it.
More car sales, lower food prices, maybe more jobs, more home sales, stronger dollar.
Maybe we would be able to buy the big electronic thing.
I still can't imagine it.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Monday, July 28, 2008
Is The Good Faith Estimate..........Good?
In an article by Jack Guttentag for Inman News (http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/jackguttentag/why-good-faith-estimate-needs-overhaul), Mr. Guttentag is asking for an overhaul on the Good Faith Estimate document that gives a potential borrower the estimate of costs when buying or refinancing a home. Mr. Guttentag feels the GFE in it's current state confuses the borrower more than it helps them and that the GFE should be an easy to read document that a borrower can use to shop for the best rates and costs on their future home loan.
Believe me, if anything would make it easier on a borrower I'm all for it. We make borrowers sign so many papers now at closing, it is ridiculous. The borrower doesn't ever have trouble with the note or the actual mortgage document ("6.5%, 30 year fixed. I understand"), it is all the disclosures or the CYA docs we make them sign that make the borrower's head spin.
The problem with Mr. Guttentag's position is that there are too many variables that affect mortgage costs. Most of the costs we have are what I call "pass through" costs (appraisal, title work, flood cert, recording, survey...etc.). We get the invoice and pass the cost on to the borrower. The other costs are fees that vary such as processing fee, underwriting fee and the title company's closing fee to name a few.
Closing costs are costs that are generated by the borrower when obtaining home financing. But what about escrows? (funds collected at closing by the lender so the lender can pay the taxes and insurance). Are the escrows a "cost"? Not really, but if the borrower needs to pay this at closing, you better show this on the GFE. I have seen competitor's GFE's and the escrow section can be hazy at best.
And what about real estate costs? These are not "mortgage" costs but your borrower needs to know that they may need a couple thousand dollars for "tax prorations" (refunding to the seller for taxes already paid). Most loan officers won't put this cost on their GFE's because it is not a mortgage cost and they want to look "cheaper" than the competition.
I'm sure I have lost deals because I go out of my way to try to put all the costs on my GFE. I'm sure the competition has showed those buyers their GFE's without all the costs which makes my GFE look like my costs are way out of the ballpark. But I don't like surprises and I'm sure my clients don't either. Do I want to make a phone call that sounds like this: "Mr. Client, I'm sorry. You need $3000 more to close. Ooops!". I don't think so.
When Mr. Guttentag finds a way to get all the mortgage costs the same, let me know. Because it's a "Good Faith Estimate", not a "Good Faith Written In Stone No Matter How Much The House Costs And What The Taxes Are". Loan Officers need to do a better job on disclosing all the costs.
See if you can get regulation for that, Mr. Guttentag.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Believe me, if anything would make it easier on a borrower I'm all for it. We make borrowers sign so many papers now at closing, it is ridiculous. The borrower doesn't ever have trouble with the note or the actual mortgage document ("6.5%, 30 year fixed. I understand"), it is all the disclosures or the CYA docs we make them sign that make the borrower's head spin.
The problem with Mr. Guttentag's position is that there are too many variables that affect mortgage costs. Most of the costs we have are what I call "pass through" costs (appraisal, title work, flood cert, recording, survey...etc.). We get the invoice and pass the cost on to the borrower. The other costs are fees that vary such as processing fee, underwriting fee and the title company's closing fee to name a few.
Closing costs are costs that are generated by the borrower when obtaining home financing. But what about escrows? (funds collected at closing by the lender so the lender can pay the taxes and insurance). Are the escrows a "cost"? Not really, but if the borrower needs to pay this at closing, you better show this on the GFE. I have seen competitor's GFE's and the escrow section can be hazy at best.
And what about real estate costs? These are not "mortgage" costs but your borrower needs to know that they may need a couple thousand dollars for "tax prorations" (refunding to the seller for taxes already paid). Most loan officers won't put this cost on their GFE's because it is not a mortgage cost and they want to look "cheaper" than the competition.
I'm sure I have lost deals because I go out of my way to try to put all the costs on my GFE. I'm sure the competition has showed those buyers their GFE's without all the costs which makes my GFE look like my costs are way out of the ballpark. But I don't like surprises and I'm sure my clients don't either. Do I want to make a phone call that sounds like this: "Mr. Client, I'm sorry. You need $3000 more to close. Ooops!". I don't think so.
When Mr. Guttentag finds a way to get all the mortgage costs the same, let me know. Because it's a "Good Faith Estimate", not a "Good Faith Written In Stone No Matter How Much The House Costs And What The Taxes Are". Loan Officers need to do a better job on disclosing all the costs.
See if you can get regulation for that, Mr. Guttentag.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Friday, July 18, 2008
Do We Even Have A Choice?
How about this article from CNBC? http://www.cnbc.com//id/25735696 The article discusses how "glum" (how bad does the economy have to be to use the word "glum") consumers have started to save more money and pay down their current debt. I am assuming the reason for this is because consumers aren't sure how much money their going to need in the future. Will gas go up to $10 a gallon? Will vegetables trade higher than gold?
We were caught off guard by gas going over $4 a gallon but we won't be fooled again. We would like to believe that gas just can't go any higher but we still don't know why gas went up in the first place so we have to believe that it can still go even higher.
'"Most of the planned declines in debt and increases in savings are intended as a precautionary measure in the face of a deepening economic downturn," Richard Curtin, director of Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, said in a statement on Friday ahead of Tuesday's release of the poll" from a quote in the article. Which in English means people are scared and now do not have clue if they will have enough of money to survive.
Nobody saw this coming. And now consumers are gun shy and cannot trust anything they see or hear about the economy. With rising gas and food prices, foreclosures, layoffs, banks going out of business everyday and lenders needing a bailout the only thing that consumers can do is take cover by reducing their debt and saving whatever they can.
When you're not sure the floor is going to cave in when you take your next step, you better have the money to fix it when it does.
Hopefully, the step can wait until we have enough cash saved.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
@glmf.com
We were caught off guard by gas going over $4 a gallon but we won't be fooled again. We would like to believe that gas just can't go any higher but we still don't know why gas went up in the first place so we have to believe that it can still go even higher.
'"Most of the planned declines in debt and increases in savings are intended as a precautionary measure in the face of a deepening economic downturn," Richard Curtin, director of Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, said in a statement on Friday ahead of Tuesday's release of the poll" from a quote in the article. Which in English means people are scared and now do not have clue if they will have enough of money to survive.
Nobody saw this coming. And now consumers are gun shy and cannot trust anything they see or hear about the economy. With rising gas and food prices, foreclosures, layoffs, banks going out of business everyday and lenders needing a bailout the only thing that consumers can do is take cover by reducing their debt and saving whatever they can.
When you're not sure the floor is going to cave in when you take your next step, you better have the money to fix it when it does.
Hopefully, the step can wait until we have enough cash saved.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
@glmf.com
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Is There Light.....?
In this clip from CNBC News (http://www.cnbc.com//id/25498530), the article explains that some cities are now experiencing a rise in home sales as banks are selling off more and more foreclosed homes. Some increases in home sales have risen over 10%.
What does this mean? I'm serious. What does this mean? I know this is a good thing. And as someone in the mortgage business, this makes me happy. More homes selling equals more buyers need mortgages to buy these houses. (We know. No stated income, no subprime, no 0% down, no adjustables. Yeah, we got it.)
We are now looking for any hope that is out there. Just some sign that the real estate market is improving. What ever the sign is, we'll take it. It is getting harder and harder to find the good news. Here in the Detroit area, I don't expect good news for awhile. Detroit, anchored by the auto industry, is the first to enter a recession and the last to get out of one. I'm no economic genius, but when gas prices skyrocket, it can't be good for car sales. (I also don't understand that if you make a product, shouldn't you have a major interest in the product that makes your product go? This will be discussed in another blog. Another long blog.)
So the good news is that some of the massive inventory of homes are being sold. The less inventory, the more that sellers can command for their homes. The more they sell their homes for, the more the appraised values in their neighborhood will go up. The more the appraised values go up, the more people will be able to refinance because now maybe they won't be upside down. It's all good.
But....... I believe there are a ton of properties out there that are on the door step of foreclosure. And while good news is good, we know that there are so many things that control our economy that we aren't sure what will fix it. This is a war with many fronts. And no one has an answer because that answer has many parts. Who's in charge of the economy?
So we wait. And wait.
But what exactly are we waiting for?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
What does this mean? I'm serious. What does this mean? I know this is a good thing. And as someone in the mortgage business, this makes me happy. More homes selling equals more buyers need mortgages to buy these houses. (We know. No stated income, no subprime, no 0% down, no adjustables. Yeah, we got it.)
We are now looking for any hope that is out there. Just some sign that the real estate market is improving. What ever the sign is, we'll take it. It is getting harder and harder to find the good news. Here in the Detroit area, I don't expect good news for awhile. Detroit, anchored by the auto industry, is the first to enter a recession and the last to get out of one. I'm no economic genius, but when gas prices skyrocket, it can't be good for car sales. (I also don't understand that if you make a product, shouldn't you have a major interest in the product that makes your product go? This will be discussed in another blog. Another long blog.)
So the good news is that some of the massive inventory of homes are being sold. The less inventory, the more that sellers can command for their homes. The more they sell their homes for, the more the appraised values in their neighborhood will go up. The more the appraised values go up, the more people will be able to refinance because now maybe they won't be upside down. It's all good.
But....... I believe there are a ton of properties out there that are on the door step of foreclosure. And while good news is good, we know that there are so many things that control our economy that we aren't sure what will fix it. This is a war with many fronts. And no one has an answer because that answer has many parts. Who's in charge of the economy?
So we wait. And wait.
But what exactly are we waiting for?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Welcome Back!
Wow!! It's been a long time since I wrote in my blog. I knew it was a long time but I didn't think it was this long. Time flies when you're having fun.
Plus the fact that the hard drive in my computer died, which is never a good thing. So between the computer not working, vacations and just being busy, I have slipped on my blogging. I'm now hoping to make Tuesday nights my official blog night. I am better when I have a scheduled time to do tasks than to just remember to do them. I know that I just won't unless it's scheduled.
I have a Dell computer. And while Dell makes great computers and products, anybody who has a Dell computer knows that when you have a problem, it can be an adventure getting help. I had a problem with my computer 2 months ago. It was making a grinding noise. It turned out to be some kind of cooling fan. I called Dell to tell them about my problem. After hours on the phone and me running all kinds of diagnostic tests and relaying the results, the fellow at Dell figured it was a bad fan motor. I believe I mentioned this to the Dell technician when I made the initial call but we still had to go through all the tests.
This new problem was even worse. Before, with the computer making noise, I could still use it (even though I was afraid that the computer could blow up at any time!). But now what was happening was that I was getting a blue screen with wording that would only make sense to a computer geek.
I knew I was in trouble when the Dell tech I spoke to referred to this problem as "The Blue Screen Of Death". This can't be good.
So I call Dell and make my self comfortable. I have a drink, a snack and something to read because I know I'm going to be there for a long time. (thank God for the extended warranty I just purchased in April.) You just can't call directly to the service department. You have to enter the service tag number and the product key which is about 100 numbers long. Then you get to hear the worse sounding music on hold that I have ever heard in my life. This is a high tech, state of the art, latest technology type company and they have music that sounds like the first sounds Thomas Edison heard when he invented the phonograph.
When you finally get someone, you have to constantly say "Pardon me" or "Excuse me" or even "What" because due to the distance of the location they are calling from or the heavy accents, it is not easy to understand what is being said.
With "The Blue Screen Of Death" there is no easy answers. So I know we are going to be running all kinds of diagnostic tests, taking the cover off the computer and plenty of restarts. A couple of the tests actually took so long that the Dell tech told me to call back when it was done.
After all this time and testing the conclusion was that my hard drive was shot. (again I think we could all have figured this out from the very beginning) So a hard drive was sent overnight to a local service company who came out to the house to replace my hard drive in a couple of days. But we weren't done there. I had to call Dell once again to install Windows and all the software that originally came with my computer. I lost everything I had on my old hard drive but a this point I didn't care any more. (although I will be looking in to a flash drive for backup now)
More time on the phone with my drink, snack and something to read.
Thank God I had the extended warranty.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Plus the fact that the hard drive in my computer died, which is never a good thing. So between the computer not working, vacations and just being busy, I have slipped on my blogging. I'm now hoping to make Tuesday nights my official blog night. I am better when I have a scheduled time to do tasks than to just remember to do them. I know that I just won't unless it's scheduled.
I have a Dell computer. And while Dell makes great computers and products, anybody who has a Dell computer knows that when you have a problem, it can be an adventure getting help. I had a problem with my computer 2 months ago. It was making a grinding noise. It turned out to be some kind of cooling fan. I called Dell to tell them about my problem. After hours on the phone and me running all kinds of diagnostic tests and relaying the results, the fellow at Dell figured it was a bad fan motor. I believe I mentioned this to the Dell technician when I made the initial call but we still had to go through all the tests.
This new problem was even worse. Before, with the computer making noise, I could still use it (even though I was afraid that the computer could blow up at any time!). But now what was happening was that I was getting a blue screen with wording that would only make sense to a computer geek.
I knew I was in trouble when the Dell tech I spoke to referred to this problem as "The Blue Screen Of Death". This can't be good.
So I call Dell and make my self comfortable. I have a drink, a snack and something to read because I know I'm going to be there for a long time. (thank God for the extended warranty I just purchased in April.) You just can't call directly to the service department. You have to enter the service tag number and the product key which is about 100 numbers long. Then you get to hear the worse sounding music on hold that I have ever heard in my life. This is a high tech, state of the art, latest technology type company and they have music that sounds like the first sounds Thomas Edison heard when he invented the phonograph.
When you finally get someone, you have to constantly say "Pardon me" or "Excuse me" or even "What" because due to the distance of the location they are calling from or the heavy accents, it is not easy to understand what is being said.
With "The Blue Screen Of Death" there is no easy answers. So I know we are going to be running all kinds of diagnostic tests, taking the cover off the computer and plenty of restarts. A couple of the tests actually took so long that the Dell tech told me to call back when it was done.
The testing took over a couple of days because I wasn't able to call back Dell to around 8PM at night. And every time I called back, I spoke to someone new. However, I was impressed. By giving the new tech the service number, they were able to see how far the last tech I spoke too got. That was really helpful.
After all this time and testing the conclusion was that my hard drive was shot. (again I think we could all have figured this out from the very beginning) So a hard drive was sent overnight to a local service company who came out to the house to replace my hard drive in a couple of days. But we weren't done there. I had to call Dell once again to install Windows and all the software that originally came with my computer. I lost everything I had on my old hard drive but a this point I didn't care any more. (although I will be looking in to a flash drive for backup now)
More time on the phone with my drink, snack and something to read.
Thank God I had the extended warranty.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Friday, May 2, 2008
Can You Really Fall In Love With A Machine?
Hello Everyone!
Here in my blogspace, I usually write about what is going on in the mortgage industry. (which makes sense because I'm in the mortgage industry.) And there has certainly been a lot to write about. Rates going up. Rates going down. Are we in a recession? What about the gas prices? Who is in charge of that? What about the Feds? Do they have a clue? The stock market can soar one day and then tank the next because some report about farming came in .004 of a percentage point different then what was expected.
And while it is good to talk and understand the happenings in the mortgage market, it can be a bit overwhelming and sometimes it's good to take a break from all that sometime depressing news. And this is one of those sometimes.
So what should we talk about? We should talk about (I know. Write about.) one of the most important subjects that hardly gets mentioned but yet is so important to all of us. That's right: Lawn Dethatching.
Now we all know the problem. Our lawns can be starving for nutrients and water if our thatch is too thick. If you mulch when you cut your grass like I do, this can be a serious build up. The only way to get it out of the grass is to rake. And like I always say: "Raking sucks!". I do everything in my power not to rake. I have lawn vacuums. Not the Hoover type but one that picks up leaves and grass so I don't have to rake. Because: "Raking sucks!".
Well now my friends, I have something that will save us all from that horrible job and hopefully help make our lawns nice and green. I'm talking about an invention that in my mind is just short 0f importance next to the artificial heart.
The Electric Power Rake!
This wonderful gadget (from Sears) is a Godsend. I can not believe how much dead grass was in my lawn that I removed. It became a bigger job figuring out how to pick up the brown, dead thatch that was now laying on top of the lawn. I don't usually have a smile on my face when I'm doing lawn work, but I did using the Electric Power Rake. I'm actually looking forward to doing the front lawn tonight to see what I pick up there. I hope it doesn't rain.
I am always looking for ways to save me work. We have enough to do without spending hours after hours of raking and then admiring our brand new blisters. The Electric Power Rake will change all that.
Now the jury is still out on what kind of effect power raking will have on my lawn. (my lawn is on the critical list already) But I'm thinking all that crappy dead thatch was choking my lawn so it has to do some good. It just has to! And being electric helps me to "Go Green" which is important. So give it a try. And let me know what you think.
I didn't want to go there but it would be nice if there was some tool like the Electric Power Rake to fix the economy.
It seems we have a lot of dead grass choking us there too.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Here in my blogspace, I usually write about what is going on in the mortgage industry. (which makes sense because I'm in the mortgage industry.) And there has certainly been a lot to write about. Rates going up. Rates going down. Are we in a recession? What about the gas prices? Who is in charge of that? What about the Feds? Do they have a clue? The stock market can soar one day and then tank the next because some report about farming came in .004 of a percentage point different then what was expected.
And while it is good to talk and understand the happenings in the mortgage market, it can be a bit overwhelming and sometimes it's good to take a break from all that sometime depressing news. And this is one of those sometimes.
So what should we talk about? We should talk about (I know. Write about.) one of the most important subjects that hardly gets mentioned but yet is so important to all of us. That's right: Lawn Dethatching.
Now we all know the problem. Our lawns can be starving for nutrients and water if our thatch is too thick. If you mulch when you cut your grass like I do, this can be a serious build up. The only way to get it out of the grass is to rake. And like I always say: "Raking sucks!". I do everything in my power not to rake. I have lawn vacuums. Not the Hoover type but one that picks up leaves and grass so I don't have to rake. Because: "Raking sucks!".
Well now my friends, I have something that will save us all from that horrible job and hopefully help make our lawns nice and green. I'm talking about an invention that in my mind is just short 0f importance next to the artificial heart.
The Electric Power Rake!
This wonderful gadget (from Sears) is a Godsend. I can not believe how much dead grass was in my lawn that I removed. It became a bigger job figuring out how to pick up the brown, dead thatch that was now laying on top of the lawn. I don't usually have a smile on my face when I'm doing lawn work, but I did using the Electric Power Rake. I'm actually looking forward to doing the front lawn tonight to see what I pick up there. I hope it doesn't rain.
I am always looking for ways to save me work. We have enough to do without spending hours after hours of raking and then admiring our brand new blisters. The Electric Power Rake will change all that.
Now the jury is still out on what kind of effect power raking will have on my lawn. (my lawn is on the critical list already) But I'm thinking all that crappy dead thatch was choking my lawn so it has to do some good. It just has to! And being electric helps me to "Go Green" which is important. So give it a try. And let me know what you think.
I didn't want to go there but it would be nice if there was some tool like the Electric Power Rake to fix the economy.
It seems we have a lot of dead grass choking us there too.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say!
Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
All This Money For Crude Is Downright Rude
What are you paying for a gallon of gas today? Around the Detroit area, I've seen $3.41 a gallon. Today, we would do anything to pay $2 a gallon. When the price reaches $4 a gallon we are going to be happy to pay that $3.41 I saw today.
In yet another article (http://www.cnbc.com/id/24019177) about the rising cost of crude, I ask the same question, why? Why does the price of gas just rise? I'm sorry to say the only reason I can think of is that the oil companies just want to make a bunch more money. And why do they want to make more money? Because they can.
The article states that the reason for this latest price hike is that a government report stated that U.S. inventories showed a sharp drop before the summer driving season. Perhaps the reason for the sharp drop in inventories is because we didn't have much of an inventory in the first place. And if our inventory is low, can't we order more at the same price that we paid last time.
I know when I'm out of milk, I won't always see a price increase because the store where I buy my milk always has it. Milk is available at many different markets and stores. I assume the inventory of milk goes down. And when it does the person in charge orders more. This is pretty simple marketing. Regardless, we just will accept the idea that our inventories are down on crude. Do they not understand how much crude we use per day? Maybe we can get the person that orders the milk to start ordering the gas.
Or what about cars that run on milk?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
In yet another article (http://www.cnbc.com/id/24019177) about the rising cost of crude, I ask the same question, why? Why does the price of gas just rise? I'm sorry to say the only reason I can think of is that the oil companies just want to make a bunch more money. And why do they want to make more money? Because they can.
The article states that the reason for this latest price hike is that a government report stated that U.S. inventories showed a sharp drop before the summer driving season. Perhaps the reason for the sharp drop in inventories is because we didn't have much of an inventory in the first place. And if our inventory is low, can't we order more at the same price that we paid last time.
I know when I'm out of milk, I won't always see a price increase because the store where I buy my milk always has it. Milk is available at many different markets and stores. I assume the inventory of milk goes down. And when it does the person in charge orders more. This is pretty simple marketing. Regardless, we just will accept the idea that our inventories are down on crude. Do they not understand how much crude we use per day? Maybe we can get the person that orders the milk to start ordering the gas.
Or what about cars that run on milk?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Sunday, March 23, 2008
You Got Me Floatin'........
The circus like atmosphere continues in the mortgage industry as we try to figure out daily what is going on with mortgage rates. This article on CNBC.com (http://www.cnbc.com/id/23724112) addresses this real fact. That not only is it hard to predict what rates will do, we are now having a problem knowing what it is that makes the rates do what they do.
What are making rates move today? Is it the latest cut by the Fed? Is it the stock market making a rally? Is it yet another increase in the price of gas? Who knows? Not the experts. "The reality is that it used to be relatively easy to predict where mortgage rates were going to go," says Mike Larson, real estate analyst for Money & Markets, a business website. "You keep your eye on things like the broader economy. More recently, it's been almost impossible to predict. The thing that's going to make a lasting impact on mortgage rates is whether you can get through this period of credit turmoil." You got that right Mike.
The motto at the office is "Like the Michigan weather, if you don't like the rates, just wait 5 minutes. They'll change!". And that is true! It is common for us to get rate sheets in the morning and then a reprice in the afternoon. It's funny how fast mortgage officers will move to save 25 bps on their yield spread. Certainly makes the day exciting.
Mortgage rates, like the economy, will stabilize. Until then, we'll read everything we can to help us advise our clients concerning rate locks. Their protection is the most important thing we can do.
I'm just hoping someone is out there trying to protect us in the mortgage business.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
What are making rates move today? Is it the latest cut by the Fed? Is it the stock market making a rally? Is it yet another increase in the price of gas? Who knows? Not the experts. "The reality is that it used to be relatively easy to predict where mortgage rates were going to go," says Mike Larson, real estate analyst for Money & Markets, a business website. "You keep your eye on things like the broader economy. More recently, it's been almost impossible to predict. The thing that's going to make a lasting impact on mortgage rates is whether you can get through this period of credit turmoil." You got that right Mike.
The motto at the office is "Like the Michigan weather, if you don't like the rates, just wait 5 minutes. They'll change!". And that is true! It is common for us to get rate sheets in the morning and then a reprice in the afternoon. It's funny how fast mortgage officers will move to save 25 bps on their yield spread. Certainly makes the day exciting.
Mortgage rates, like the economy, will stabilize. Until then, we'll read everything we can to help us advise our clients concerning rate locks. Their protection is the most important thing we can do.
I'm just hoping someone is out there trying to protect us in the mortgage business.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Friday, March 7, 2008
Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too?
In this article on www.cnbc.com (http://www.cnbc.com/id/23520031), it was reported that Countrywide's CEO Angelo Mozilo told a congressional panel that the tightening of mortgage guidelines has gone to far. Mozilo was quoted as saying "For the market to recover, underwriting guidelines need to strike a better balance between providing borrowers with access to loans and lenders and investors with the assurance that these loans will be repaid." That's a great point but who is going to make the first move?
Everyday the challenge for us in the mortgage business is to find something that works for our clients. And everyday it gets harder and harder. We have to remember guidelines from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as each individual lender we work with. What works today may not work tomorrow. What you told your client last week may not be true now. And forget about constant changing rates. You think gas prices are crazy? Try quoting a 30 year fixed rate to someone only to find that rate moved .50% for the worse. That's a phone call you don't want to make. Now, let's talk appraisals.....
Mr. Mozilo made a real good point in his speech before the congressional panel. "I also want to strongly suggest that traditional guidelines be reexamined relative to the appraised value of a home versus the outstanding mortgage so that current borrowers can refinance at lower interest rates," he said. Now that makes sense. It so sad to see people lose their houses because the values nosedived and now no lender wants to refinance them because these poor people are "upside down" (owning more than the market value of their house).
It's not their fault that values have gone in the tank. Nobody had a problem lending money to them to buy the house but now these same people are a "bad investment". The homeowners that are "upside down" should be able to refinance like anyone else.
If these folks don't get help, "upside down" will just be the first move in this real estate tumble.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Everyday the challenge for us in the mortgage business is to find something that works for our clients. And everyday it gets harder and harder. We have to remember guidelines from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as each individual lender we work with. What works today may not work tomorrow. What you told your client last week may not be true now. And forget about constant changing rates. You think gas prices are crazy? Try quoting a 30 year fixed rate to someone only to find that rate moved .50% for the worse. That's a phone call you don't want to make. Now, let's talk appraisals.....
Mr. Mozilo made a real good point in his speech before the congressional panel. "I also want to strongly suggest that traditional guidelines be reexamined relative to the appraised value of a home versus the outstanding mortgage so that current borrowers can refinance at lower interest rates," he said. Now that makes sense. It so sad to see people lose their houses because the values nosedived and now no lender wants to refinance them because these poor people are "upside down" (owning more than the market value of their house).
It's not their fault that values have gone in the tank. Nobody had a problem lending money to them to buy the house but now these same people are a "bad investment". The homeowners that are "upside down" should be able to refinance like anyone else.
If these folks don't get help, "upside down" will just be the first move in this real estate tumble.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sometimes It's Like A Merry-Go-Round
Did you read this article http://www.cnbc.com/id/23372795? It describes how mortgage rates will stay on the higher side even though Federal regulators have eased investment caps on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the biggest providers of mortgage money in the nation. It makes sense that because there is more money available to loan for home loans, that the rates will go down due to this latest influx of cash.
But no! Check this quote out from the article. "In a mortgage market where lack of liquidity has been a recurring issue in recent months, this is a positive step," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "But it's unlikely to result in wholesale changes in mortgage rates overnight, and the impact will probably come at a gradual pace."
And does that "impact" mean lower rates? We'll see. All I know is that this is just another crazy chapter in this wild mortgage free for all. We've seen repricing for mortgage rates just about daily and sometimes twice a day. But today, the rates are higher for a 30 year fixed.
"We have a problem, which is that the spreads between the Treasury rates and lending rates are widening, and our policy is essentially in some cases just offsetting the widening of the spreads, which are associated with signs of illiquidity," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in remarks before the House Financial Services Committee.
I'm not so sure you want your Fed Chairman to start off a sentence with the words "We have a problem". There is a problem. There are many problems. The biggest problem is that no one is sure how to solve the problem.
It's like cooking on a stove with 4 pots burning at the same time. Which one are you going to save?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
But no! Check this quote out from the article. "In a mortgage market where lack of liquidity has been a recurring issue in recent months, this is a positive step," said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. "But it's unlikely to result in wholesale changes in mortgage rates overnight, and the impact will probably come at a gradual pace."
And does that "impact" mean lower rates? We'll see. All I know is that this is just another crazy chapter in this wild mortgage free for all. We've seen repricing for mortgage rates just about daily and sometimes twice a day. But today, the rates are higher for a 30 year fixed.
"We have a problem, which is that the spreads between the Treasury rates and lending rates are widening, and our policy is essentially in some cases just offsetting the widening of the spreads, which are associated with signs of illiquidity," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in remarks before the House Financial Services Committee.
I'm not so sure you want your Fed Chairman to start off a sentence with the words "We have a problem". There is a problem. There are many problems. The biggest problem is that no one is sure how to solve the problem.
It's like cooking on a stove with 4 pots burning at the same time. Which one are you going to save?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
And You Don't Even Get Kissed
While reading yet another article on CNBC.com (http://www.cnbc.com/id/23225822), this time about the price of a barrel of oil closing over $100, I thought about what happened to me tonight.
Usually I buy my gas at Costco. It's on my way to work and it is usually cheaper than anywhere else. For the past 2 days, that little irratating "Low Fuel" warning has come on with a dashboard warning and a ring to let you know your tank is getting low. I didn't think this was a big issue because I don't travel far to my office and I wasn't planning to travel a long way. However, when you own an Explorer, you don't need to go far to suck up the little amount of gas you do have left.
Part of the reason I didn't get gas is because I figured the gas I did have left would last and last. And the other reason, and probably the most important, it was to darned cold to stand outside to pump gas. Maybe I'll just wait until Spring.
When the "Low Fuel" warning went off again, I decided to check the warning system that most cars have now to see how many miles I had left until I was empty. "22" was the number. Then the questions start going through my head."Is it really 22 or is it less?" or "Surely, there must be a reserve number of miles they don't tell you about. Isn't there?"
So after awhile of driving to my next stop, I noticed that the "Miles Until Empty" magic number was now 12. Now it is getting dangerous. I had to stop at the nearest gas station. I had no time to shop for the best prices. I was out of my Costco protection zone. Of course, it ended up costing me $3.19/gallon which is extremely high for the Detroit area. So I just put in $10 worth and will fill it up tomorrow morning at our beloved Costco.
$100 a barrel? Does that equal $3.19/gallon?
Who knows.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Usually I buy my gas at Costco. It's on my way to work and it is usually cheaper than anywhere else. For the past 2 days, that little irratating "Low Fuel" warning has come on with a dashboard warning and a ring to let you know your tank is getting low. I didn't think this was a big issue because I don't travel far to my office and I wasn't planning to travel a long way. However, when you own an Explorer, you don't need to go far to suck up the little amount of gas you do have left.
Part of the reason I didn't get gas is because I figured the gas I did have left would last and last. And the other reason, and probably the most important, it was to darned cold to stand outside to pump gas. Maybe I'll just wait until Spring.
When the "Low Fuel" warning went off again, I decided to check the warning system that most cars have now to see how many miles I had left until I was empty. "22" was the number. Then the questions start going through my head."Is it really 22 or is it less?" or "Surely, there must be a reserve number of miles they don't tell you about. Isn't there?"
So after awhile of driving to my next stop, I noticed that the "Miles Until Empty" magic number was now 12. Now it is getting dangerous. I had to stop at the nearest gas station. I had no time to shop for the best prices. I was out of my Costco protection zone. Of course, it ended up costing me $3.19/gallon which is extremely high for the Detroit area. So I just put in $10 worth and will fill it up tomorrow morning at our beloved Costco.
$100 a barrel? Does that equal $3.19/gallon?
Who knows.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Friday, February 15, 2008
Tell Us Something We Don't Know
Today's bit of good news comes from this article from CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/id/23187555
The article explained on how it is getting more and more difficult for borrowers to get mortgages. The guidelines from lenders regarding qualifying is getting smaller and smaller. And we are not just talking subprime, we're also including people with good credit as well. And businesses which are trying to borrow are having a hard time too.
The reason is simple. Lenders and banks just can't afford to take on anymore risk. With $140 billion already written down and an billions more on the way, what lender can take the gamble?
Here's a quote from the article "Credit got terribly easy," said Ronald Hermance, chief executive of Hudson City Bancorp Inc, a $44.4 billion asset, Paramus, New Jersey-based lender that has avoided big losses despite specializing in residential mortgage lending."
Amen, Ron. Credit was easy, but not anymore. But there are programs out there that still work for people. And I believe lenders and banks will ease up down the road but how much easing depends on the beating they take in the coming year.
My drawer full of lenders has gotten smaller as a good portion of them dropped out of the business. And now the remaining lenders in the drawer are reducing their options to the borrower.
I have to get a differant drawer.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
The article explained on how it is getting more and more difficult for borrowers to get mortgages. The guidelines from lenders regarding qualifying is getting smaller and smaller. And we are not just talking subprime, we're also including people with good credit as well. And businesses which are trying to borrow are having a hard time too.
The reason is simple. Lenders and banks just can't afford to take on anymore risk. With $140 billion already written down and an billions more on the way, what lender can take the gamble?
Here's a quote from the article "Credit got terribly easy," said Ronald Hermance, chief executive of Hudson City Bancorp Inc, a $44.4 billion asset, Paramus, New Jersey-based lender that has avoided big losses despite specializing in residential mortgage lending."
Amen, Ron. Credit was easy, but not anymore. But there are programs out there that still work for people. And I believe lenders and banks will ease up down the road but how much easing depends on the beating they take in the coming year.
My drawer full of lenders has gotten smaller as a good portion of them dropped out of the business. And now the remaining lenders in the drawer are reducing their options to the borrower.
I have to get a differant drawer.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Too Little, Too Late?
The news today is that 6 top mortgage lenders and servicers have launched a new program to help homeowners in forclosure work out new affordable terms that may help them save their house (http://www.cnbc.com/id/23126374). Foreclosure proceedings are halted for 90 days while the homeowner and the forementioned lenders try to find away to get the homeowner back to making on time payments.
Hopefully, this will help some of the homeowners that might lose their house. For others, it still won't help. With housing values going down, many borrowers owe more than their house is worth. Or they have so many issues with their credit that lenders just won't take the risk. I have been telling clients and anyone who will listen to please get anyone they know who is having trouble with their mortgage payments to someone that can help. Once the borrower is in forclosure, the only one that can really help them is the holder of the note, the lender or servicer.
As always, this latest help comes to late for the thousands of former homeowners that have lost their house and their good credit already. In this case over reaction is better than slow reaction because there is still unknown thousands of foreclosures waiting to happen. Can we bring out the next program to help these people now? Because if anyone should know how bad it going to be, it should be the one holding the notes that will never get paid.
Ever hear the expression "The future is now"? How about " Now. Or there won't be a future"?
For the latest financial news, go to my home page and scroll to the bottom of the page
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Hopefully, this will help some of the homeowners that might lose their house. For others, it still won't help. With housing values going down, many borrowers owe more than their house is worth. Or they have so many issues with their credit that lenders just won't take the risk. I have been telling clients and anyone who will listen to please get anyone they know who is having trouble with their mortgage payments to someone that can help. Once the borrower is in forclosure, the only one that can really help them is the holder of the note, the lender or servicer.
As always, this latest help comes to late for the thousands of former homeowners that have lost their house and their good credit already. In this case over reaction is better than slow reaction because there is still unknown thousands of foreclosures waiting to happen. Can we bring out the next program to help these people now? Because if anyone should know how bad it going to be, it should be the one holding the notes that will never get paid.
Ever hear the expression "The future is now"? How about " Now. Or there won't be a future"?
For the latest financial news, go to my home page and scroll to the bottom of the page
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Friday, February 8, 2008
Another Side Of The Problem
This article came from http://www.msnbc.com/. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22623144/from/ET/
The article talks about yet another problem that we have in the mortgage industry that is sometimes over looked. The appraised values of housing. Since the values of homes have declined, it is harder and harder to get a residential loan through lender underwriting. The article is originated in Minnesota, but here in Detroit we are getting hit just as hard with no end in site. The first place we start when helping a client refinace is to call the appraiser to see if we even have a chance to get the loan done.
And what makes it so bad of course, is that so many people now owe more than what their house is worth. The same lender that excepted an appraisal 2 years ago at $150,000 now is asking us to justify an appraisal for the same house at $120,000. Try telling someone that they have just lost thousands of dollars for doing nothing. And with a large number of adjustable rate mortgages out there, homeowners are not stuck between a rock and a hard place; they are being crushed between rock and a hard place.
And the same thing goes for selling a house. The article has this quote. "Values might have retreated more than the consumer might be willing to admit," said Tom Musil, director of the Shenehon Center for Real Estate at the University of St. Thomas." Which basically means that if you are trying to sell your house and you really want to sell it don't think about just reducing the price by $5K or $10K. Try more like $20K to $30K.
Who can afford to do that? But who can afford not to?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
The article talks about yet another problem that we have in the mortgage industry that is sometimes over looked. The appraised values of housing. Since the values of homes have declined, it is harder and harder to get a residential loan through lender underwriting. The article is originated in Minnesota, but here in Detroit we are getting hit just as hard with no end in site. The first place we start when helping a client refinace is to call the appraiser to see if we even have a chance to get the loan done.
And what makes it so bad of course, is that so many people now owe more than what their house is worth. The same lender that excepted an appraisal 2 years ago at $150,000 now is asking us to justify an appraisal for the same house at $120,000. Try telling someone that they have just lost thousands of dollars for doing nothing. And with a large number of adjustable rate mortgages out there, homeowners are not stuck between a rock and a hard place; they are being crushed between rock and a hard place.
And the same thing goes for selling a house. The article has this quote. "Values might have retreated more than the consumer might be willing to admit," said Tom Musil, director of the Shenehon Center for Real Estate at the University of St. Thomas." Which basically means that if you are trying to sell your house and you really want to sell it don't think about just reducing the price by $5K or $10K. Try more like $20K to $30K.
Who can afford to do that? But who can afford not to?
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Be Good To Mickey And He'll Be Good To You!
A great start to the day!
I got to read an article on one of my favorite websites, www.CNBC.com, about my favorite place in the world, Disneyworld! http://www.cnbc.com/id/23015251
The article was explaining how Disney's quarterly earnings were higher than expected. The stock slumped a bit but is now starting to recover. Let me say this right now: I AM NOT A STOCK MARKET EXPERT! And I can't tell you how Disney's other segments are doing (ABC, ESPN, etc.). But I do know Disneyworld. I go to Orlando at least 4 times a year and visit the parks at least twice that. And believe me, I know what I see.
Even in the tough economic times we have today, even when it's cold in Florida, even is it supposed to be the "slow time" at Disneyworld, the place is rockin'. It's not cheap to get in but it's worth every penny. You will never get better entertainment for your dollar. It is truly, in my opinion, the #1 tourist attraction in the world.
In the article, Matt Kaufler of Clover Capital Management said "It's a great beat, I'm most focused on the attendance level at the theme parks, as well as what their comments will be about business conditions going forward." I'm sure Matt is looking at all the charts and stats and anaylizing the numbers. Thats what he does.
But all I do is see the lines to get in the Disney Parks, the Disney mechandise bags that most every "guest" is carrying loaded with Disney shirts and trinkets, the Disney hotels which always have loads of people staying there with lots of kids waiting for their Disney dreams to come true, and the best part, the look on the faces of kids of every age when they see their favorite Disney character close up (that would be Mickey for me!) and the smiles that take up most of their faces.
Again, I'm not a Wall Street expert. And I know those "smiles" are worth millions of dollars in revenue but even better than that: trillions in happiness. And that is a product that sells itself.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
I got to read an article on one of my favorite websites, www.CNBC.com, about my favorite place in the world, Disneyworld! http://www.cnbc.com/id/23015251
The article was explaining how Disney's quarterly earnings were higher than expected. The stock slumped a bit but is now starting to recover. Let me say this right now: I AM NOT A STOCK MARKET EXPERT! And I can't tell you how Disney's other segments are doing (ABC, ESPN, etc.). But I do know Disneyworld. I go to Orlando at least 4 times a year and visit the parks at least twice that. And believe me, I know what I see.
Even in the tough economic times we have today, even when it's cold in Florida, even is it supposed to be the "slow time" at Disneyworld, the place is rockin'. It's not cheap to get in but it's worth every penny. You will never get better entertainment for your dollar. It is truly, in my opinion, the #1 tourist attraction in the world.
In the article, Matt Kaufler of Clover Capital Management said "It's a great beat, I'm most focused on the attendance level at the theme parks, as well as what their comments will be about business conditions going forward." I'm sure Matt is looking at all the charts and stats and anaylizing the numbers. Thats what he does.
But all I do is see the lines to get in the Disney Parks, the Disney mechandise bags that most every "guest" is carrying loaded with Disney shirts and trinkets, the Disney hotels which always have loads of people staying there with lots of kids waiting for their Disney dreams to come true, and the best part, the look on the faces of kids of every age when they see their favorite Disney character close up (that would be Mickey for me!) and the smiles that take up most of their faces.
Again, I'm not a Wall Street expert. And I know those "smiles" are worth millions of dollars in revenue but even better than that: trillions in happiness. And that is a product that sells itself.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
My Take On The Subprime Mess.
After reading an article on one of my favorite websites, CNBC.com, concerning the subprime mortgage mess (http://www.cnbc.com/id/22901531), I decided to comment on this subject that has plagued our industry and made front page news. (There is nothing like seeing the industry you work in splattered across the headlines like a disaster.)
First of all, there are many sides to blame for this mess. The lenders who gave borrowers loans who most likely did not qualify credit wise but fell in to the lender's now sorry guidelines. The mortgage officers (like myself) who thought we were helping the credit challenged get a house, to give them some hope and to give a brand new start to some people who might have been down on their luck with credit problems that weren't necessarily their fault.
Not only did it not make sense to give loans to people with bad credit, the loans themselves had high interest rates and steep pre-payment penalties. These folks needing a subprime mortgage already have shown that they can't handle payments so let's make it worse by making it real hard to make payments on the biggest loan they'll have. Not real smart.
I always give advice on improving a credit score when sitting down with a client. When selling a subprime loan, it was probably to much advice for someone to understand.
There is a reason that people qualify for a subprime loan. That is what a credit report is for. The credit report screams out page by page why there is a good chance the person who's history is on the credit report most likely would default on their mortgage.
No one listened to the screaming.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
First of all, there are many sides to blame for this mess. The lenders who gave borrowers loans who most likely did not qualify credit wise but fell in to the lender's now sorry guidelines. The mortgage officers (like myself) who thought we were helping the credit challenged get a house, to give them some hope and to give a brand new start to some people who might have been down on their luck with credit problems that weren't necessarily their fault.
Not only did it not make sense to give loans to people with bad credit, the loans themselves had high interest rates and steep pre-payment penalties. These folks needing a subprime mortgage already have shown that they can't handle payments so let's make it worse by making it real hard to make payments on the biggest loan they'll have. Not real smart.
I always give advice on improving a credit score when sitting down with a client. When selling a subprime loan, it was probably to much advice for someone to understand.
There is a reason that people qualify for a subprime loan. That is what a credit report is for. The credit report screams out page by page why there is a good chance the person who's history is on the credit report most likely would default on their mortgage.
No one listened to the screaming.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Recession or Not: That is the Question.
I read an article on CNBC today about if the U.S. is talking itself into a recession or is there really one at all. Experts on all sides are saying we are or will be or they're not sure. I'm not a economic forecaster so I can't say if we are in a recession or not. But I know that sometimes perception is reality.
In the CNBC article is this quote:
"We're over-reacting to the recession word," Dow Chemical Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris told CNBC. "Lots of people get together and talk to each other and people believe the psychology."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/22842552
With all the confusing and mixed data that's even fooling the economic experts, I believe that we won't know if we are in a recession until we are out of it. And if we aren't in one, we must be knocking on the door. We have to think of a name for the economic state we are in now.
I can think of a few, but I won't go there.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,
must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
In the CNBC article is this quote:
"We're over-reacting to the recession word," Dow Chemical Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris told CNBC. "Lots of people get together and talk to each other and people believe the psychology."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/22842552
With all the confusing and mixed data that's even fooling the economic experts, I believe that we won't know if we are in a recession until we are out of it. And if we aren't in one, we must be knocking on the door. We have to think of a name for the economic state we are in now.
I can think of a few, but I won't go there.
If you have any comments on this article, I would love to hear what you have to say! Feel free to comment below.
Thanks for reading!
Dan Tenchall
Great Lakes Mortgage Funding
For FREE Mortgage tips, Mortgage Calculators,
must have articles and much more please visit my website!
Michigan Mortgage Rates
(586) 532-0600
dan@glmf.com
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