One of the most important parts of my job is to help clients with their credit scores. With today's lending climate, good scores are a must. And your credit score is becoming a bigger part of your life everyday. From getting hired for a job, insurance quotes; the list is getting larger.
Here is an article from Liz Pulliam Weston of MSN Money that gives a great breakdown the highly misunderstood (and with good reason) world of credit scores
Five Ways to Kill Your Credit Scores
by Liz Pulliam Weston
One of the questions I'm asked most often about credit scores is exactly how much certain actions affect people's scores.
What good is a good credit score?Until now, the best I could do was say, "It depends." That's because the company that created the leading credit score, the FICO, has been wary about releasing specifics.
Fortunately, that just changed. At my request and for the first time, the company (also known as FICO) has released details about how specific actions, from maxing out a credit card to filing for bankruptcy, can affect people with different credit scores.
I asked the company to compute the results of those actions for two examples: a person with a 780 score, which is an excellent score on the 300-to-850 FICO scale, and someone with a 680 score. The results:
Effect on a 680 score Effect on a 780 score
Maxed-out card -25 to -45 -10 to -30
30-day late payment -90 to -110 -60 to -80
Debt settlement -105 to -125 -45 to -65
Foreclosure -140 to -160 -85 to -105
Bankruptcy -220 to -240 -130 to -150
Source: FICO
The results are given in a range because FICO is still a little nervous about revealing too much about its proprietary scoring. But the range is fairly tight, and we can clearly see the disparate impacts of the different actions
A guide, not a guarantee Before we go further, I have to make this clear: Your mileage may vary.
People with the same credit score can have very different credit profiles: more or fewer accounts, a different mix of accounts, a longer or shorter credit history, use of more or less of their available credit, etc.
Because of those differences, the same action -- maxing out a card, say -- can have different effects on people with the same score, depending on the details of their individual credit profiles.
For the sake of this exercise, FICO assumed both people had several active major credit cards as well as a mortgage, a car loan and student loans.
The person with the 780 score:
Has at least 10 credit accounts in total and a 15-year credit history.
Uses 15% to 25% of her credit card limits.
Has no late payments on her credit reports.
Has no collection accounts or other major negatives.
The person with the 680 score:
Has six credit accounts and an eight-year credit history.
Uses 40% to 50% of her credit card limits.
Was 90 days late on an account two years ago.
Was 30 days late on another account one year ago.
Here's what you need to know about each action and the effect it had:
Maxing out a credit card: Using 100% of your limit on any credit card puts you at risk of over-limit fees. It also takes a bite out of your credit score.
Our person with the 680 score might lose 10 to 30 points from this one action, while the 780 scorer could shed 25 to 45 points.
The difference points up an important fact: The higher your score, the more points you tend to lose from "bad" actions. That's because the scoring formula is sensitive to any sign you're getting in over your head. Maxing out a credit card is considered one of those signs.
You also should know that it typically doesn't matter to the formula if you carry a balance or pay off that maxed-out card as soon as you get your statement. What's usually reported to the credit bureaus is the balance on your last statement. Even if you pay the debt in full before the due date, the maxed-out card will hurt your score.
Skipping a payment: Mailing a payment a few days late normally won't hurt your score, although you may incur late fees and trigger higher interest rates. The big hurt comes when you miss a payment cycle entirely.
A 30-day-late report would shave 60 to 80 points from our lower-scoring person and 90 to 110 points from our higher scorer. In other words, one lapse of attention could plunge the 680-scorer into subprime credit territory, and our 780-scorer could find credit much harder to get and more expensive.
This is why it's so important to set up automatic payments to ensure your bills get paid on time, all the time. With credit cards, you can set up automatic payments that take the minimum payment out of your checking account to ward against a late payment. You can always make a second payment that reduces your debt or pays it off entirely. You can sign up for automatic payments on the Web site of your card issuer.
Settling a credit card debt: All the advertisements about "settling your debt for pennies on the dollar" make debt settlement sound like a great solution. But failing to pay what you owe a creditor will take a serious toll on your score.
Video: How to fix your FICO score
The 680 scorer would lose 45 to 65 points with this maneuver, while the 780 scorer would shed 105 to 125 points.
Our scenario assumed that our borrowers would miss one payment before settling the debt with their credit card companies. In reality, debt settlement negotiations can drag on much longer, with each missed payment taking another chunk out of your score.
Settling a debt with a collection agency would hurt less, probably much less, because the FICO formula is set up to weigh more heavily what the original creditor says about you than what a collection agency reports. But if our borrowers were settling with a collection agency instead, their scores would be lower to begin with, because they would have collection accounts on their records.
Also, you should know that the amount of debt your creditor "forgives" in a debt settlement solution is typically added to your taxable income. So you may save some money by settling a debt, but you'll give some of it back to Uncle Sam in higher taxes.
Losing a property to foreclosure: Foreclosure deals a severe blow to your credit score: 85 to 105 points for our person with the 680 score and 140 to 160 points for the one with the 780 score.
Foreclosures have implications for your future ability to get a mortgage as well. Although your score may start to improve as soon as the house is gone, mortgage lenders may not be willing to extend you another home loan until two to four years have elapsed.
In an attempt to protect their credit, many people attempt short sales, selling their houses for less than what's owed, with the lenders' permission. Unfortunately, these transactions, even if successful, are often reported as settlements. And a settlement, as you've seen, is pretty bad for credit scores. To lenders, a short sale isn’t quite as bad as a foreclosure, though, and it may be easier to get another mortgage once you’ve rebuilt your credit.
Filing for bankruptcy FICO spokesman Craig Watts once called bankruptcy the nuclear bomb of credit actions. Filing for bankruptcy would shave 130 to 150 points from the 680 score and 220 to 240 points from the 780 score.
This is different from the other black marks, where the higher scorer was still left with better numbers than the lower scorer. In this case, both would wind up near the bottom of the credit barrel. Getting new credit, particularly in the current credit-crunch environment, would be extremely tough.
Sometimes, of course, bankruptcy is the best of bad options. (See "Quiz: Should you file for bankruptcy?") But if you can't pay your bills, you should at least explore the other possibilities: forbearance, credit counseling or even debt settlement.
Finally, if you have any of these five black marks on your record, remember two things: The impact on your score may differ from what's shown above, and regardless of how many points you lost, you can rebuild your FICO score over time.
You can start by using a free FICO score estimator, such as this one at Bankrate.com, or MSN Money's credit score estimator, which similarly models a score on Experian's 330-to-830 range, to see where you stand.
Or you can sign up for free credit scores from sites such as Quizzle, Credit.com and Credit Karma, which use the actual information on file about you with the credit bureaus. But the scores you get still may not be the ones lenders actually see.
Or you can buy your Equifax or TransUnion FICO score from MyFICO.com. (Experian no longer sells FICO scores to consumers, although it continues to sell the scores to lenders.) With paid scores, you'll get specific advice about how to improve your numbers. In general, when you're trying to build a credit score, you should:
Pay your bills on time, all the time.
Reduce your credit utilization; below 30% is good, below 10% is better.
Have a mix of credit on your reports, including installment loans (mortgages, auto loans and personal loans) and revolving accounts (credit cards and lines of credit).
Refrain from closing accounts.
Apply for new credit sparingly.
Great article Liz!
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, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Going Back In Time
I was sent this article from 2005. It is really interesting reading when you consider what the housing market was like back then and what it has become since then. It is amazing to listen what people were talking about back in the good old days.
The Mortgage Trap
By Dean Foust, with Peter Coy in New York, Sarah Lacy in San Mateo, Rishi Chhatwal in Atlanta, and bureau reportsBusinessWeek Online
Lenders are cranking out an ever-growing array of financing schemes and lowering standards to keep the housing boom going
Nicki Randolph, a San Francisco real estate agent, hasn't been scared off by talk of a housing bubble. Although she already owns both a home and a condo in Palm Springs, Calif., Randolph just closed on a third property -- dropping more than $1 million on a 1,400-square-foot loft in the heart of San Francisco. How does she juggle so many properties in the overheated California market? Lots of leverage, thanks to banks all too willing to provide ever more.
To finance her loft purchase, Randolph took out a mortgage that lets her pay only interest for the first five years -- a tactic that helps her ease into the hefty monthly payments. "Fears that the market is going to crash are way overstated," she says confidently. "It's a seven-mile-by-seven-mile city and a premier place people want to live. You have to be more aggressive here because the prices are so high."
PRESSURE KEEPS BUILDING.
Randolph's story is a familiar one -- and it shows the lengths to which buyers are willing to go to snatch up real estate as well as the extremes lenders will stretch to accommodate them. As prices continue to skyrocket in much of the country, banks and lenders are cranking out an ever-growing array of products ranging from no-money-down or interest-only mortgages, to special "Payment Power" loans that allow homeowners to defer monthly payments altogether twice a year.
Such creative financing is letting even marginal buyers purchase houses with price tags that used to appeal only to the rich and famous. In the process, banks and mortgage companies appear to be taking on more risk than ever before -- and if rates rise sharply or prices tumble, many of their customers could find themselves in deep trouble, too.
All those innovative mortgage products are a sure sign that lenders are doing everything they can to keep the housing boom going and to capitalize on yet another round of falling interest rates that no one expected. There are plenty of other signs of frenzy as well. Home appraisers complain that mortgage originators are demanding the optimistic appraisals needed to close on loans. "They started warning me to 'be a team player' and to 'hit the number' they needed to seal the deal," says Robert Burnitt, an appraiser in Midlothian, Tex.
SUPPORTING A STRETCH.
Enticed by juicy commissions from all those deals, others are jumping into the mortgage biz. Among them are John Switzer, an 18-year-old high school grad from New Bern, N.C., who put off college so he could start work as a mortgage rep for Houston-based Franklin Bank Corp. (NasdaqNM:FBTX - News). "Right now, mortgages are a little more interesting" than college studies, he says.
Yet nothing screams "frenzy" louder than the huge popularity of innovative -- and risky -- mortgage products that allow buyers to stretch for those million-dollar studios and multimillion-dollar suburban colonials. With interest-only mortgages now offered by everyone from ditech.com to Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM - News), such loans now account for 20% of all new mortgages, up from under 5% two years ago.
Option adjustable-rate mortgages, or "option ARMs," have also become all the rage in superheated markets such as California and Washington, D.C. With an option ARM, borrowers can choose among three different payment plans each month, continually changing what they fork over as their budgets shift. The options: a regular payment of both principal and interest, just the interest, or one that may not even cover the interest -- so the overall balance owed on the mortgage could continue to grow.
TREND TOWARD RISK.
The question is, will the proliferation of interest-only and option ARM mortgages leave many buyers strapped down the road, causing higher default rates? David Liu, a mortgage strategist for UBS in New York, notes that after similar products were introduced in the red-hot California market in the late 1980s, they ultimately incurred a default rate that was three times as high as conventional mortgages when the local economy went into recession in the early '90s.
Already there are signs that current option ARM borrowers are straining to make their monthly payment: Liu notes that among a bundle of mortgages originated by Washington Mutual and scrutinized into the secondary market last year, fully 60% of borrowers made only the minimum payment this past March. "That's definitely a sign that people are stretching,"says Liu.
There's plenty of other evidence suggesting that homebuyers and their lenders are climbing out on a limb. According to a survey of homebuyers released last November by the National Association of Realtors, 25% of those polled were able to get a mortgage with no money down, vs. 18% in early 2003 and virtually none in the late 1990s -- a trend that could leave many of these new homeowners under water if home prices take even a small dip.
"FROTH" SPILLS OVER.
At the same time, lenders are extending far more loans to borrowers who have had credit problems in the past. According to the Mortgage Bankers Assn., the share of new loans made to so-called subprime borrowers -- usually lower-income individuals with spotty credit histories -- rose to 28% in the second half of 2004, a sharp jump from the less than 5% of all lending that subprime represented back in 1994.
"I think there are going to be some blowups," says Bert Ely, a bank consultant based in Alexandria, Va. "These are people who are most vulnerable to job loss."
If the housing market swoons and homeowners get into trouble, the mortgage industry won't be far behind, many critics worry. "I'm very nervous about the risk of higher foreclosures down the road," says Stuart A. Feldstein, president of SMR Research Corp., a mortgage research firm in Hackettstown, N.J.
And on June 9, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan revealed his unease when he warned Congress that "the apparent froth in housing markets may have spilled over into mortgage markets." He noted that the increasing use of interest-only and other "relatively exotic" mortgages are "of particular concern."
TOUTING SAFEGUARDS.
Lenders insist that worries about their standards are overblown. They maintain that, thanks to the advent of automated underwriting during the 1990s, their ability to analyze statistical trends in lending is far better than before, enabling them to better price loans according to risk.
"Underwriting is still more of an art than a science, but we're making it far more of a science," says Joe Anderson, a senior managing director at Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE:CFC - News), a Calabasas (Calif.) mortgage lender.
And lenders note that they've instituted more safeguards since the last housing boom in the 1980s, such as requiring that borrowers have several months of liquid assets to assure that they can keep paying their mortgages in the event of a job loss. "On a scale of 1 to 10 -- with 10 being the worst-case scenario -- my concern level is only around a 2 right now," says D.C. Aiken, senior vice-president for pricing and products at HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:HMB - News), a large lender in Atlanta.
Still, regulators are redoubling their efforts to make sure the banks are right. The Federal Reserve and other bank regulators recently ordered lenders making home-equity loans and lines of credit to do a more in-depth analysis of borrowers' income and debt levels and their ability to repay loans -- instead of relying heavily on credit scores, as many lenders have been doing. And regulators say they're busily drafting similar guidelines for mortgage lending as well.
DEPENDENT ON A ROSY SCRIPT.
State regulators are also starting to rein in hyper-aggressive lenders. In Illinois, legislators passed a bill that would give a state agency the power to review mortgage applications in lower-income areas to determine whether borrowers should be required to attend loan counseling -- paid for by the loan originator -- before receiving the loan. That, lawmakers figure, will discourage brokers from extending loans to high-risk borrowers who have a high probability of ending up in foreclosure.
Of course, Nicki Randolph and many more like her who have used lenders' aggressive mortgage offers to expand their fledgling real estate empires aren't normally thought of as high-risk borrowers. But if interest rates and housing prices don't follow the rosy script that Randolph and so many others are banking on, a whole lot of homeowners could be caught in a painful trap.
If only we knew then what we know now. I'm sure we still wouldn't have believed 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
The Mortgage Trap
By Dean Foust, with Peter Coy in New York, Sarah Lacy in San Mateo, Rishi Chhatwal in Atlanta, and bureau reportsBusinessWeek Online
Lenders are cranking out an ever-growing array of financing schemes and lowering standards to keep the housing boom going
Nicki Randolph, a San Francisco real estate agent, hasn't been scared off by talk of a housing bubble. Although she already owns both a home and a condo in Palm Springs, Calif., Randolph just closed on a third property -- dropping more than $1 million on a 1,400-square-foot loft in the heart of San Francisco. How does she juggle so many properties in the overheated California market? Lots of leverage, thanks to banks all too willing to provide ever more.
To finance her loft purchase, Randolph took out a mortgage that lets her pay only interest for the first five years -- a tactic that helps her ease into the hefty monthly payments. "Fears that the market is going to crash are way overstated," she says confidently. "It's a seven-mile-by-seven-mile city and a premier place people want to live. You have to be more aggressive here because the prices are so high."
PRESSURE KEEPS BUILDING.
Randolph's story is a familiar one -- and it shows the lengths to which buyers are willing to go to snatch up real estate as well as the extremes lenders will stretch to accommodate them. As prices continue to skyrocket in much of the country, banks and lenders are cranking out an ever-growing array of products ranging from no-money-down or interest-only mortgages, to special "Payment Power" loans that allow homeowners to defer monthly payments altogether twice a year.
Such creative financing is letting even marginal buyers purchase houses with price tags that used to appeal only to the rich and famous. In the process, banks and mortgage companies appear to be taking on more risk than ever before -- and if rates rise sharply or prices tumble, many of their customers could find themselves in deep trouble, too.
All those innovative mortgage products are a sure sign that lenders are doing everything they can to keep the housing boom going and to capitalize on yet another round of falling interest rates that no one expected. There are plenty of other signs of frenzy as well. Home appraisers complain that mortgage originators are demanding the optimistic appraisals needed to close on loans. "They started warning me to 'be a team player' and to 'hit the number' they needed to seal the deal," says Robert Burnitt, an appraiser in Midlothian, Tex.
SUPPORTING A STRETCH.
Enticed by juicy commissions from all those deals, others are jumping into the mortgage biz. Among them are John Switzer, an 18-year-old high school grad from New Bern, N.C., who put off college so he could start work as a mortgage rep for Houston-based Franklin Bank Corp. (NasdaqNM:FBTX - News). "Right now, mortgages are a little more interesting" than college studies, he says.
Yet nothing screams "frenzy" louder than the huge popularity of innovative -- and risky -- mortgage products that allow buyers to stretch for those million-dollar studios and multimillion-dollar suburban colonials. With interest-only mortgages now offered by everyone from ditech.com to Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM - News), such loans now account for 20% of all new mortgages, up from under 5% two years ago.
Option adjustable-rate mortgages, or "option ARMs," have also become all the rage in superheated markets such as California and Washington, D.C. With an option ARM, borrowers can choose among three different payment plans each month, continually changing what they fork over as their budgets shift. The options: a regular payment of both principal and interest, just the interest, or one that may not even cover the interest -- so the overall balance owed on the mortgage could continue to grow.
TREND TOWARD RISK.
The question is, will the proliferation of interest-only and option ARM mortgages leave many buyers strapped down the road, causing higher default rates? David Liu, a mortgage strategist for UBS in New York, notes that after similar products were introduced in the red-hot California market in the late 1980s, they ultimately incurred a default rate that was three times as high as conventional mortgages when the local economy went into recession in the early '90s.
Already there are signs that current option ARM borrowers are straining to make their monthly payment: Liu notes that among a bundle of mortgages originated by Washington Mutual and scrutinized into the secondary market last year, fully 60% of borrowers made only the minimum payment this past March. "That's definitely a sign that people are stretching,"says Liu.
There's plenty of other evidence suggesting that homebuyers and their lenders are climbing out on a limb. According to a survey of homebuyers released last November by the National Association of Realtors, 25% of those polled were able to get a mortgage with no money down, vs. 18% in early 2003 and virtually none in the late 1990s -- a trend that could leave many of these new homeowners under water if home prices take even a small dip.
"FROTH" SPILLS OVER.
At the same time, lenders are extending far more loans to borrowers who have had credit problems in the past. According to the Mortgage Bankers Assn., the share of new loans made to so-called subprime borrowers -- usually lower-income individuals with spotty credit histories -- rose to 28% in the second half of 2004, a sharp jump from the less than 5% of all lending that subprime represented back in 1994.
"I think there are going to be some blowups," says Bert Ely, a bank consultant based in Alexandria, Va. "These are people who are most vulnerable to job loss."
If the housing market swoons and homeowners get into trouble, the mortgage industry won't be far behind, many critics worry. "I'm very nervous about the risk of higher foreclosures down the road," says Stuart A. Feldstein, president of SMR Research Corp., a mortgage research firm in Hackettstown, N.J.
And on June 9, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan revealed his unease when he warned Congress that "the apparent froth in housing markets may have spilled over into mortgage markets." He noted that the increasing use of interest-only and other "relatively exotic" mortgages are "of particular concern."
TOUTING SAFEGUARDS.
Lenders insist that worries about their standards are overblown. They maintain that, thanks to the advent of automated underwriting during the 1990s, their ability to analyze statistical trends in lending is far better than before, enabling them to better price loans according to risk.
"Underwriting is still more of an art than a science, but we're making it far more of a science," says Joe Anderson, a senior managing director at Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE:CFC - News), a Calabasas (Calif.) mortgage lender.
And lenders note that they've instituted more safeguards since the last housing boom in the 1980s, such as requiring that borrowers have several months of liquid assets to assure that they can keep paying their mortgages in the event of a job loss. "On a scale of 1 to 10 -- with 10 being the worst-case scenario -- my concern level is only around a 2 right now," says D.C. Aiken, senior vice-president for pricing and products at HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. (NYSE:HMB - News), a large lender in Atlanta.
Still, regulators are redoubling their efforts to make sure the banks are right. The Federal Reserve and other bank regulators recently ordered lenders making home-equity loans and lines of credit to do a more in-depth analysis of borrowers' income and debt levels and their ability to repay loans -- instead of relying heavily on credit scores, as many lenders have been doing. And regulators say they're busily drafting similar guidelines for mortgage lending as well.
DEPENDENT ON A ROSY SCRIPT.
State regulators are also starting to rein in hyper-aggressive lenders. In Illinois, legislators passed a bill that would give a state agency the power to review mortgage applications in lower-income areas to determine whether borrowers should be required to attend loan counseling -- paid for by the loan originator -- before receiving the loan. That, lawmakers figure, will discourage brokers from extending loans to high-risk borrowers who have a high probability of ending up in foreclosure.
Of course, Nicki Randolph and many more like her who have used lenders' aggressive mortgage offers to expand their fledgling real estate empires aren't normally thought of as high-risk borrowers. But if interest rates and housing prices don't follow the rosy script that Randolph and so many others are banking on, a whole lot of homeowners could be caught in a painful trap.
If only we knew then what we know now. I'm sure we still wouldn't have believed 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
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A Couple Of Points Of Interest
Hello Again!
It's great to be back. After a long absence due to technical troubles (gee, that never happens) and other general issues, it's great to be blogging again. I can only hope that all the issues have been taken care of and are now far behind.
Here we go:
First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit
The time is running out for this credit. If you or any one that you know is looking to buy a home soon, it's time to act right now! The tax credit in it's current form is scheduled to end November 30, 2009. All loans must be closed by that date to be eligible for the tax credit.
But, because of the anticipated rush of closings, lenders are going to be swamped with trying to close these loans before the deadline. This will cause an already slow process to be even slower. So don't get shut out, get the loan rolling today.
And I can't stress this enough, make sure you are even eligible for the tax credit in the first place. Talk to your tax accountant or go to www.irs.gov. for eligibility questions.
I've seen people close on loans and then find out they are not eligible for the tax credit.
Bummer!
FHA Streamline Refinances
Starting in November, FHA is going to change their guidelines regarding how they underwrite a FHA Streamline Refinance as far as credit scores, seasoning , loan amounts and appraisals. The FHA Streamline Refinance was a great tool to help a homeowner lower their mortgage payment with less paperwork and no appraisal. I can't tell you in this housing market how important it is not having to get an appraisal.
So if you are thinking about refinancing your current FHA mortgage, get it going today!
And just a side note, if you haven't seen the episode of "Family Guy" where there are multi-universes, you need to see it. Brilliant!
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
It's great to be back. After a long absence due to technical troubles (gee, that never happens) and other general issues, it's great to be blogging again. I can only hope that all the issues have been taken care of and are now far behind.
Here we go:
First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit
The time is running out for this credit. If you or any one that you know is looking to buy a home soon, it's time to act right now! The tax credit in it's current form is scheduled to end November 30, 2009. All loans must be closed by that date to be eligible for the tax credit.
But, because of the anticipated rush of closings, lenders are going to be swamped with trying to close these loans before the deadline. This will cause an already slow process to be even slower. So don't get shut out, get the loan rolling today.
And I can't stress this enough, make sure you are even eligible for the tax credit in the first place. Talk to your tax accountant or go to www.irs.gov. for eligibility questions.
I've seen people close on loans and then find out they are not eligible for the tax credit.
Bummer!
FHA Streamline Refinances
Starting in November, FHA is going to change their guidelines regarding how they underwrite a FHA Streamline Refinance as far as credit scores, seasoning , loan amounts and appraisals. The FHA Streamline Refinance was a great tool to help a homeowner lower their mortgage payment with less paperwork and no appraisal. I can't tell you in this housing market how important it is not having to get an appraisal.
So if you are thinking about refinancing your current FHA mortgage, get it going today!
And just a side note, if you haven't seen the episode of "Family Guy" where there are multi-universes, you need to see it. Brilliant!
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, September 4, 2009
Are we back on?
For some unfortunate reason, this blog was knocked off line. However, we are back working again so look for more commentary from this blog site coming soon.
Thanks for waiting!
Thanks for waiting!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Where Has The Time Gone!
Has really been a month since I last wrote in this blog?
So much for my New Year's resolution! What happened? It's a combo excuse. Busy, busy and computer issues.
I know. This blog takes 20 minutes to write. And that's once a week.
But sometimes the combination of busy, busy and computer issues helps turn days behind into weeks behind and now the official One Month Behind.
Well it stops here. Let catch up and get back on schedule.
The mortgage process is getting slower and more complicated. Lenders are terribly backed up and there is no relief in sight. There is no such thing as a fast deal and everything needs to be closed at the end of the month when it's crazy busy. It seems that we are jumping through more and more hoops all the time to get deals closed.
However, mortgage rates are still on the low side. And if you are a first time buyer, you could be eligible for a tax credit up to $8000. There even was talk of being able to use the tax credit at the closing table (instead of waiting to get it on the next year's tax refund) where is really needed but HUD put that idea on hold for now.
There are also some good refinance programs out there that may give some homeowners some welcome relief on their monthly mortgage payment.
But most homeowners owe a lot more than the current value of their home, so help is limited. And with Detroit area reliant on the automobile industry, the prospect of economic recovery here is not very bright. The ripple effect of plant closing and layoffs probably will be felt for years to come.
So we dig in and wait it out.
What we are waiting for I'm not quite sure.
But I guess we don't have a choice.
We'll catch up more next time.
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
So much for my New Year's resolution! What happened? It's a combo excuse. Busy, busy and computer issues.
I know. This blog takes 20 minutes to write. And that's once a week.
But sometimes the combination of busy, busy and computer issues helps turn days behind into weeks behind and now the official One Month Behind.
Well it stops here. Let catch up and get back on schedule.
The mortgage process is getting slower and more complicated. Lenders are terribly backed up and there is no relief in sight. There is no such thing as a fast deal and everything needs to be closed at the end of the month when it's crazy busy. It seems that we are jumping through more and more hoops all the time to get deals closed.
However, mortgage rates are still on the low side. And if you are a first time buyer, you could be eligible for a tax credit up to $8000. There even was talk of being able to use the tax credit at the closing table (instead of waiting to get it on the next year's tax refund) where is really needed but HUD put that idea on hold for now.
There are also some good refinance programs out there that may give some homeowners some welcome relief on their monthly mortgage payment.
But most homeowners owe a lot more than the current value of their home, so help is limited. And with Detroit area reliant on the automobile industry, the prospect of economic recovery here is not very bright. The ripple effect of plant closing and layoffs probably will be felt for years to come.
So we dig in and wait it out.
What we are waiting for I'm not quite sure.
But I guess we don't have a choice.
We'll catch up more next time.
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, April 16, 2009
Mortgage Rates Remain Low
In an article from CNBC (http://www.cnbc.com//id/30248657), the topic is lower mortgage rates and how low can they go. The article describes how mortgage rates are over a percentage lower than they were this time last year.
And with these lower rates come with some very small shimmers of hope for the housing market. Home sales are a bit up as well as applications for refinances. This is all good news.
But then the "about face" happens.
As soon as someone is talking about the state of the economy and how there are "glimmers of hope", the speaker at the time has to recant and say something like "But we sill have a long way to go" or "the road is long and tough" or "we are still in a mess".
Listen to President Obama's speech from the other day. Every time he said something hopeful, he just about took it back in the very next sentence. It was like a conversational yo-yo.
We're doing good, but not real good. There is hope, but don't hold your breath. We see some good signs on the road to economic recovery, but the road is another 10,000 miles long.
I understand how as a good leader, the President is thinking. He wants to give the citizens hope but at the same time not mislead us into thinking that we are doing good.
I guess the only good thing is that now there is some positive news about the economy where as before it was all gloom & doom. I guess that is a step up.
I will believe we are recovering when the job numbers are better and home prices start to rise. People cannot buy anything without income. And people should be able to sell their homes with out taking a beating. Even if they just broke even and at least get back what they paid for the house, we would be doing a lot better.
Getting back to the CNBC article, how about this quote from Rick Sharga, Senior VP from Realty Track:
"Mortgage rates are at an all-time low but you have to almost be King Midas to qualify for the loan," "You need a nearly perfect credit score and job history and a significant downpayment to qualify," he said. "That wipes out a huge portion of the buying population."
Well that is not completely true, but he is on the right track. Lending guidelines have toughened for sure. But it is still a good time to buy or refinance with the rates being so low.
What is stopping most people from buying from buying a house or a getting refinanced is the appraised value of the house that they are currently living in. They either can't sell the house because they owe more than what they can sell the house for or they can't refinance because there isn't any lender who will touch them now that they owe more than the house will now appraise for.
Want a glimmer of hope?
Get home prices back up. And I think we would be on the fast road to recovery.
And I'm not going to counter what I just said.
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 TenchallGreat 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
And with these lower rates come with some very small shimmers of hope for the housing market. Home sales are a bit up as well as applications for refinances. This is all good news.
But then the "about face" happens.
As soon as someone is talking about the state of the economy and how there are "glimmers of hope", the speaker at the time has to recant and say something like "But we sill have a long way to go" or "the road is long and tough" or "we are still in a mess".
Listen to President Obama's speech from the other day. Every time he said something hopeful, he just about took it back in the very next sentence. It was like a conversational yo-yo.
We're doing good, but not real good. There is hope, but don't hold your breath. We see some good signs on the road to economic recovery, but the road is another 10,000 miles long.
I understand how as a good leader, the President is thinking. He wants to give the citizens hope but at the same time not mislead us into thinking that we are doing good.
I guess the only good thing is that now there is some positive news about the economy where as before it was all gloom & doom. I guess that is a step up.
I will believe we are recovering when the job numbers are better and home prices start to rise. People cannot buy anything without income. And people should be able to sell their homes with out taking a beating. Even if they just broke even and at least get back what they paid for the house, we would be doing a lot better.
Getting back to the CNBC article, how about this quote from Rick Sharga, Senior VP from Realty Track:
"Mortgage rates are at an all-time low but you have to almost be King Midas to qualify for the loan," "You need a nearly perfect credit score and job history and a significant downpayment to qualify," he said. "That wipes out a huge portion of the buying population."
Well that is not completely true, but he is on the right track. Lending guidelines have toughened for sure. But it is still a good time to buy or refinance with the rates being so low.
What is stopping most people from buying from buying a house or a getting refinanced is the appraised value of the house that they are currently living in. They either can't sell the house because they owe more than what they can sell the house for or they can't refinance because there isn't any lender who will touch them now that they owe more than the house will now appraise for.
Want a glimmer of hope?
Get home prices back up. And I think we would be on the fast road to recovery.
And I'm not going to counter what I just said.
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 TenchallGreat 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, March 26, 2009
The Good Times Are Here?
Yes, that is right the good times are here. Now keep in mind, when I say good times I mean in a very specific part (a very very small part) of the economy.
I am talking about refinances.
The time is right and the rates are good. If you have any kind of equity position (I know, who does?) then most likely you can refi and drop your rate and your monthly payment. And with as low as the rates are, you might be able to drop your rate 1 percent which can save you a bunch of cash in your monthly mortgage payment and thousands in interest over the life of the loan.
Today, it all starts with the appraisal. So many people have a bigger mortgage balance than their house is worth. And because the house is "upside down", a lender will not take the risk and investment.
Now I can tell you that most of these upside down homeowners are going to be a good investment. They will certainly pay back their loan. They never miss a payment. But because by no fault of their own, they owe more than their house is worth, now suddenly they are not creditworthy.
So you're telling me that someone with a good mortgage history can't refinance but someone who had a foreclosure over 3 years ago can get a mortgage to buy a house?
Do you see how screwed up this finance business is?
Now some lenders may modify the terms for loans that they hold. But most won't. So you have a situation where a good paying customer is turned away and can't take advantage of the lower rates.
And in some cases, 2 years prior, the lender accepted the appraised value of a house and approved a mortgage for a buyer. Now 2 years later, that same lender will not approved a refinance because the value has gone down on that same house.
Now think about this.
The lender would be still holding the loan without doing the refinance. But what do you think puts more pressure on the borrower? The current loan with the higher rate or the new loan with the lower rate?
I'll wait for your answer............
Very good!! I would think , logically, that with the hardships that are associated with this economy, a lender would want to make sure that they would get their money back and allow good payers to refinance if they are upside down.
The word "logic" is open for interpretation.
Somehow the lenders are missing a little piece of trivia. I don't know the stats but I'm sure there are homes that could have been saved from foreclosure by allowing a refinance when the house has dropped it's value below it's current appraised value.
And doesn't that foreclosure hurt values in a neighborhood where that uncooperative lender has other investments?
Logic.
It's a beautiful thing.
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 am talking about refinances.
The time is right and the rates are good. If you have any kind of equity position (I know, who does?) then most likely you can refi and drop your rate and your monthly payment. And with as low as the rates are, you might be able to drop your rate 1 percent which can save you a bunch of cash in your monthly mortgage payment and thousands in interest over the life of the loan.
Today, it all starts with the appraisal. So many people have a bigger mortgage balance than their house is worth. And because the house is "upside down", a lender will not take the risk and investment.
Now I can tell you that most of these upside down homeowners are going to be a good investment. They will certainly pay back their loan. They never miss a payment. But because by no fault of their own, they owe more than their house is worth, now suddenly they are not creditworthy.
So you're telling me that someone with a good mortgage history can't refinance but someone who had a foreclosure over 3 years ago can get a mortgage to buy a house?
Do you see how screwed up this finance business is?
Now some lenders may modify the terms for loans that they hold. But most won't. So you have a situation where a good paying customer is turned away and can't take advantage of the lower rates.
And in some cases, 2 years prior, the lender accepted the appraised value of a house and approved a mortgage for a buyer. Now 2 years later, that same lender will not approved a refinance because the value has gone down on that same house.
Now think about this.
The lender would be still holding the loan without doing the refinance. But what do you think puts more pressure on the borrower? The current loan with the higher rate or the new loan with the lower rate?
I'll wait for your answer............
Very good!! I would think , logically, that with the hardships that are associated with this economy, a lender would want to make sure that they would get their money back and allow good payers to refinance if they are upside down.
The word "logic" is open for interpretation.
Somehow the lenders are missing a little piece of trivia. I don't know the stats but I'm sure there are homes that could have been saved from foreclosure by allowing a refinance when the house has dropped it's value below it's current appraised value.
And doesn't that foreclosure hurt values in a neighborhood where that uncooperative lender has other investments?
Logic.
It's a beautiful thing.
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, March 19, 2009
Just One Man's Opinion
I typically don't use this blog space to spout off on how the world could be better. (I know it would if I was in charge!) And I don't get to political. I vote for the person I feel will do the best job (sometimes that's a hard choice). I don't vote for a party or any certain beliefs or agenda. So I try to keep the content in this blog light or helpful to the reader.
But there are things that have happened in recent days that I feel like commenting on. (This blog is a nice way to get things of my chest.) Here goes:
AIG
Well, what can I say. I feel like most Americans that there is no way that any bonus should have paid out to employees in a company that received a bailout with taxpayers money. With so many tax paying Americans out of work or in foreclosure or have already lost their homes, why is $165 million being paid out in salary instead of helping AIG get back on their feet? Performance? Retention? For a company that was knocking on the door of bankruptcy? You have to be kidding!
This is what Americans get so upset about. Somehow, whether we liked it our not, our leaders decided that the best thing for the country is to help AIG survive. That somehow our economy would be better which I'm assuming means we would all be better for it. (even though none of the leaders thought it was a good idea to bailout the average American)
OK. We bought into it. Make it work. Get us working again. And save our homes. But to slap us in the face with this bonus crap is just to much to take.
Congrats to Congress for passing a bill today that would tax these bonuses at 90%. How legal is it, I don't know. But at least Congress is trying to make it right.
I hope we don't have to go through this again the next time we bail out something.
Drunk Driving
In a nearby community, 4 teenagers were wiped off the face of earth thanks to some drunk driver. The 4 kids were not doing anything wrong. There were just guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The very wrong time.
The victims were doing the usual teen things. Going to the mall, getting a pizza, riding around and having fun. They were smashed by a drunk driving a full size van. This drunk driver had a suspended license due to drunk driving in the past. She had trouble with the law before. If fact, the police were called to house she was at earlier in the day where there was a domestic complaint. The police warned her not to drive.
But she didn't listen.
And now four innocent lives are gone.
What happened is tragic. No punishment the drunk driver gets will ever be harsh enough for the murder of 4 kids. And preaching about drunk driving doesn't work. This will happen again. People should be able to go out, have a couple of drinks and drive home in a responsible manner.
But most of the time, a drunk driver doesn't believe they are a danger. They believe that they are able to handle driving and are in control. We know this isn't true. And the hope is, that a cop pulls them over and busts them so all they hurt is themselves.
It didn't work that way for the teens that lost their lives and for their families and friends who now will suffer for the remainder of their lives.
I don't what the answer is. I can't imagine my children being involved in something like this. I'm hoping more people are more aware when thinking about driving if they are drinking.
Maybe the picture of the teen's smashed up car should be put in every bar in town as reminder of what happens when a drunk gets behind the wheel.
But I have a feeling that wouldn't stop everyone from drunk driving.
I just don't understand.
But there are things that have happened in recent days that I feel like commenting on. (This blog is a nice way to get things of my chest.) Here goes:
AIG
Well, what can I say. I feel like most Americans that there is no way that any bonus should have paid out to employees in a company that received a bailout with taxpayers money. With so many tax paying Americans out of work or in foreclosure or have already lost their homes, why is $165 million being paid out in salary instead of helping AIG get back on their feet? Performance? Retention? For a company that was knocking on the door of bankruptcy? You have to be kidding!
This is what Americans get so upset about. Somehow, whether we liked it our not, our leaders decided that the best thing for the country is to help AIG survive. That somehow our economy would be better which I'm assuming means we would all be better for it. (even though none of the leaders thought it was a good idea to bailout the average American)
OK. We bought into it. Make it work. Get us working again. And save our homes. But to slap us in the face with this bonus crap is just to much to take.
Congrats to Congress for passing a bill today that would tax these bonuses at 90%. How legal is it, I don't know. But at least Congress is trying to make it right.
I hope we don't have to go through this again the next time we bail out something.
Drunk Driving
In a nearby community, 4 teenagers were wiped off the face of earth thanks to some drunk driver. The 4 kids were not doing anything wrong. There were just guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The very wrong time.
The victims were doing the usual teen things. Going to the mall, getting a pizza, riding around and having fun. They were smashed by a drunk driving a full size van. This drunk driver had a suspended license due to drunk driving in the past. She had trouble with the law before. If fact, the police were called to house she was at earlier in the day where there was a domestic complaint. The police warned her not to drive.
But she didn't listen.
And now four innocent lives are gone.
What happened is tragic. No punishment the drunk driver gets will ever be harsh enough for the murder of 4 kids. And preaching about drunk driving doesn't work. This will happen again. People should be able to go out, have a couple of drinks and drive home in a responsible manner.
But most of the time, a drunk driver doesn't believe they are a danger. They believe that they are able to handle driving and are in control. We know this isn't true. And the hope is, that a cop pulls them over and busts them so all they hurt is themselves.
It didn't work that way for the teens that lost their lives and for their families and friends who now will suffer for the remainder of their lives.
I don't what the answer is. I can't imagine my children being involved in something like this. I'm hoping more people are more aware when thinking about driving if they are drinking.
Maybe the picture of the teen's smashed up car should be put in every bar in town as reminder of what happens when a drunk gets behind the wheel.
But I have a feeling that wouldn't stop everyone from drunk driving.
I just don't understand.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Pre-Approval or Approval? That Is The Question.
One of the biggest parts of my job (if not the biggest) is analyzing documents from clients to determine if they are eligible for financing for a home they want to buy or refinance. By looking at income docs (pay stubs, W2's, tax returns,etc..), asset statements (checking and savings, 401k & retirement statements etc...) as well as the up to date credit report which will give me the credit scores and current obligations (car payment, credit card payment, mortgage history), I can get a good idea on what my client is able to afford for a mortgage payment.
Sometimes in the case of a purchase, I won't know exactly what a client is approved for because I don't have a property price and I won't know the yearly taxes and homeowners insurance premium. However, what I do is get an idea of what communities a client is looking in to buy and then I will have a good idea of what the taxes are based on the sales price of what I think they can afford.
The next step is running the loan scenario on one of the approval engines on the Internet that are available to mortgage originators. The loan is viewed by the AUS (Automated Underwriting System) which determines credit worthiness based on the information on the application and the current guidelines for the type of mortgage I am trying to obtain for my client.
If I receive a decision of "Approve/Eligible", I know I'm good to go (providing all the information on the application is CORRECT). If receive a decision that reads "Refer", that means that there is something wrong with loan and most likely would not get approved.
So based on all the documentation I have looked at and getting a "Approval" from the AUS, I can tell my clients, they can proceed with buying a house or getting refinanced.
That is a Pre-Approval.
That is not an approval. Because what happens next is that the lender must look at the complete package (along with the appraisal and title work, which I wouldn't have in the pre-approval stage) and decide if they will give my clients a formal approval. No matter what I think or what kind of AUS decision I have, a lender has the final say on if my clients get approved or not.
Assuming that the appraisal and title has no issues, and I have done my job correctly, I am fairly confident that I will get a formal approval from the lender. It doesn't make sense to send a file to a lender that I know will be rejected. Not only do I have to answer to my client, I have to answer to real estate agents as well. I certainly do not want to waste any one's time.
That causes a lot of anger.
There certainly are files (especially with tighter lending guidelines) that are iffy and have a 50-50 chance of being rejected by the lender for some reason or another. As a good loan officer, I will let all parities in the transaction know (without giving out private & sensitive details) that we could see an issue with the file and it may be tougher to get through.
But if the lender is happy with what they see after they examine the whole loan file, they will give the okay to proceed.
This is the formal Approval. (sometimes know as a Conditional Approval)
With this approval, a list of conditions is included. These conditions are where the lender is asking for updated or additional documentation. These extra conditions could include a recent pay stub, bank statement or copy of the credit report. Or they may want to see the appraiser's license or insurance. It could be anything.
But the idea is to send in everything in the file I believe that the underwriter would want to see. You have to look at the file from the underwriter's point of view and anticipate what they possibly they could ask for. By doing this, I save time and make the job of the underwriter easier (which is what I want when they are looking at my files!).
It is better and easier for me and the client to ask for all documents up front that I think the underwriter will need to make a decision instead of making repeated phone calls to ask for new documentation.
When all the conditions are met and the lender is satisfied, the lender will issue the Clear to Close and we can set up the closing.
So that is the difference between a Pre-Approval and an Approval. Some people will tell you that the decision from the AUS is as good as a formal approval. I'm here to tell you it's not. Based on recent experience, I have lenders that will overrule the Automated Underwriting System decision even if you have an "Approve/Eligible" file. The lenders have their own guidelines which can override the AUS guidelines.
Remember, "He who has the gold is King".
Before I go this week, I would like to comment on the Bernie Madoff scandal. Today, he plead guilty (really?) to ripping off billions of investors and is expected to get a sentence of 150 years in prison. He said he was “deeply sorry and ashamed”. Well thanks Bernie!
Short of execution, there is no punishment good enough for someone who rips people off in my mind. The only we can do now as a society is to punish this man so severely that it is a deterrent to anyone think about doing the same thing. I believe that all his assets along with the assets of anyone that would have benefited by Madoff's criminal actions, should be surrendered, sold and then distributed back to the investors by percentages of loss.
I know the punishment should justify the crime, but so should the pain and suffering by the victims justify the punishment.
Let's end this now before I get started.
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
Sometimes in the case of a purchase, I won't know exactly what a client is approved for because I don't have a property price and I won't know the yearly taxes and homeowners insurance premium. However, what I do is get an idea of what communities a client is looking in to buy and then I will have a good idea of what the taxes are based on the sales price of what I think they can afford.
The next step is running the loan scenario on one of the approval engines on the Internet that are available to mortgage originators. The loan is viewed by the AUS (Automated Underwriting System) which determines credit worthiness based on the information on the application and the current guidelines for the type of mortgage I am trying to obtain for my client.
If I receive a decision of "Approve/Eligible", I know I'm good to go (providing all the information on the application is CORRECT). If receive a decision that reads "Refer", that means that there is something wrong with loan and most likely would not get approved.
So based on all the documentation I have looked at and getting a "Approval" from the AUS, I can tell my clients, they can proceed with buying a house or getting refinanced.
That is a Pre-Approval.
That is not an approval. Because what happens next is that the lender must look at the complete package (along with the appraisal and title work, which I wouldn't have in the pre-approval stage) and decide if they will give my clients a formal approval. No matter what I think or what kind of AUS decision I have, a lender has the final say on if my clients get approved or not.
Assuming that the appraisal and title has no issues, and I have done my job correctly, I am fairly confident that I will get a formal approval from the lender. It doesn't make sense to send a file to a lender that I know will be rejected. Not only do I have to answer to my client, I have to answer to real estate agents as well. I certainly do not want to waste any one's time.
That causes a lot of anger.
There certainly are files (especially with tighter lending guidelines) that are iffy and have a 50-50 chance of being rejected by the lender for some reason or another. As a good loan officer, I will let all parities in the transaction know (without giving out private & sensitive details) that we could see an issue with the file and it may be tougher to get through.
But if the lender is happy with what they see after they examine the whole loan file, they will give the okay to proceed.
This is the formal Approval. (sometimes know as a Conditional Approval)
With this approval, a list of conditions is included. These conditions are where the lender is asking for updated or additional documentation. These extra conditions could include a recent pay stub, bank statement or copy of the credit report. Or they may want to see the appraiser's license or insurance. It could be anything.
But the idea is to send in everything in the file I believe that the underwriter would want to see. You have to look at the file from the underwriter's point of view and anticipate what they possibly they could ask for. By doing this, I save time and make the job of the underwriter easier (which is what I want when they are looking at my files!).
It is better and easier for me and the client to ask for all documents up front that I think the underwriter will need to make a decision instead of making repeated phone calls to ask for new documentation.
When all the conditions are met and the lender is satisfied, the lender will issue the Clear to Close and we can set up the closing.
So that is the difference between a Pre-Approval and an Approval. Some people will tell you that the decision from the AUS is as good as a formal approval. I'm here to tell you it's not. Based on recent experience, I have lenders that will overrule the Automated Underwriting System decision even if you have an "Approve/Eligible" file. The lenders have their own guidelines which can override the AUS guidelines.
Remember, "He who has the gold is King".
Before I go this week, I would like to comment on the Bernie Madoff scandal. Today, he plead guilty (really?) to ripping off billions of investors and is expected to get a sentence of 150 years in prison. He said he was “deeply sorry and ashamed”. Well thanks Bernie!
Short of execution, there is no punishment good enough for someone who rips people off in my mind. The only we can do now as a society is to punish this man so severely that it is a deterrent to anyone think about doing the same thing. I believe that all his assets along with the assets of anyone that would have benefited by Madoff's criminal actions, should be surrendered, sold and then distributed back to the investors by percentages of loss.
I know the punishment should justify the crime, but so should the pain and suffering by the victims justify the punishment.
Let's end this now before I get started.
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 6, 2009
Some Help Is Better Than Nothing
I was waiting for the Obama Administration to unveil their "Making Home Affordable" program.
I was hoping that it would help the millions of homeowners that are out there who need help to save their home.
I was hoping that this new program would not end up like the old programs that sounded good but in truth did not really help anyone.
I was hoping the homeowner didn't have to rely on their mortgage servicer to give them help.
Well like the old saying says: "I have some good new and some bad news".
According to the U.S. Department Of The Treasury, Making Home Affordable will offer assistance to as many as 7 to 9 million homeowners to make their mortgages more affordable.
There are 2 parts to the plan:
The Home Affordable Refinance program will be available to 4 to 5 million homeowners who have a good payment history on an existing mortgage owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The issue with so many homeowners is that they are upside down. In other words, they owe more than the house is worth. Under the Home Affordable Refinance program, many of these home owners will now be eligible to refinance their loan and take advantage of today's lower mortgage rates and what is really big, convert an adjustable rate mortgage into a more stable fixed rate mortgage.
Many lenders already have the information on these borrowers on file, so documentation requirements shouldn't be out of hand. And in some cases, an appraisal may not be necessary, which will save the homeowner some costs. This will result in a quicker and less costly refinance.This program ends in June 2010.
The Home Affordable Modification program will help up to 3 to 4 million at risk homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing their current monthly mortgage payment. Loan servicers can begin immediately to modify eligible mortgages under the Modification program so that at risk borrowers can better afford their payments. (This assumes that servicers are willing to modify the existing loan in the first place.) That was the problem with the old "Hope For Homeowners" program, it was hopeless and it didn't help anyone.
The Home Affordable Modification has eligibility and verification requirements so not everyone will be able to use this program.
Like I said in the beginning, some help is better than nothing. This is still too new to determine how effective this will be. I'm sure there will be some bugs that have to be worked out.
But what I don't see is all the media experts, print and television, applauding this program like it is the answer to all our problems. They all seem confused and uncertain what the long term results will be.
I'm hoping their confusion and uncertainly clears up.
And 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
I was hoping that it would help the millions of homeowners that are out there who need help to save their home.
I was hoping that this new program would not end up like the old programs that sounded good but in truth did not really help anyone.
I was hoping the homeowner didn't have to rely on their mortgage servicer to give them help.
Well like the old saying says: "I have some good new and some bad news".
According to the U.S. Department Of The Treasury, Making Home Affordable will offer assistance to as many as 7 to 9 million homeowners to make their mortgages more affordable.
There are 2 parts to the plan:
The Home Affordable Refinance program will be available to 4 to 5 million homeowners who have a good payment history on an existing mortgage owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The issue with so many homeowners is that they are upside down. In other words, they owe more than the house is worth. Under the Home Affordable Refinance program, many of these home owners will now be eligible to refinance their loan and take advantage of today's lower mortgage rates and what is really big, convert an adjustable rate mortgage into a more stable fixed rate mortgage.
Many lenders already have the information on these borrowers on file, so documentation requirements shouldn't be out of hand. And in some cases, an appraisal may not be necessary, which will save the homeowner some costs. This will result in a quicker and less costly refinance.This program ends in June 2010.
The Home Affordable Modification program will help up to 3 to 4 million at risk homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing their current monthly mortgage payment. Loan servicers can begin immediately to modify eligible mortgages under the Modification program so that at risk borrowers can better afford their payments. (This assumes that servicers are willing to modify the existing loan in the first place.) That was the problem with the old "Hope For Homeowners" program, it was hopeless and it didn't help anyone.
The Home Affordable Modification has eligibility and verification requirements so not everyone will be able to use this program.
Like I said in the beginning, some help is better than nothing. This is still too new to determine how effective this will be. I'm sure there will be some bugs that have to be worked out.
But what I don't see is all the media experts, print and television, applauding this program like it is the answer to all our problems. They all seem confused and uncertain what the long term results will be.
I'm hoping their confusion and uncertainly clears up.
And 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
Friday, February 27, 2009
I Guess I Shouldn't Have Expected Much....
Today's complaint (gee, that never happens) is about the modified First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit which is part of the much besieged American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Let me start of by saying I applaud the efforts by President Obama and Congress to get something to the American people that will help us get out of this economic crisis. The speed that this bill got passed is amazing considering the amount of money that it contained. I guess when you are a president and you are a Democrat, it sure helps when you are wanting to pass a bill that the majority of Congress are Democrats as well!
Now we can debate all day on what this stimulus bill contains is really going to help our economy. Experts on both sides can give you reasons why it will work or why it will fail. (does that make you feel uneasy? It does me.) I like the one comment by an economy expert who said this bill is like shooting a basketball and not knowing if you made the basket until 6 to 12 months later. How crazy is that?
But I think that most people, like myself, believe we have to do something because doing nothing will cause this recession to surely last longer than we want it to. I have to believe that there are some good things about the stimulus package as well as some bad things. So we have to live with that.
But the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit is both good and bad from my point of view.
Why is it good? Well first of all, it a great incentive for first time homebuyers, especially those sitting on the fence deciding if they should buy or not. (Hint: Buy, Buy, Buy!) What a nice thing to get: A credit up to $8000 after buying a house. Most first time homebuyers don't have a lot of cash to work with. So this credit will help with buying furniture, appliances, etc. Or maybe fixing up the house because most first time homebuyers are buying exactly that: a fixer upper. Or the most common payback, paying back mom & dad for lending them the money to buy the house in the first place.
And since I believe that the root of all evil in this recession started with the housing industry, any plan that can help boost home sales is fine by me. This new tax credit doesn't have to be paid back like the previous version and they have extended the tax credit program another 4 months.
So you ask "Dan, why are you having problems with this?".
Why limit this program to first time home owners? Why can't anyone who is buying a primary residence get this credit. Maybe someone selling their home at a loss because home values have gone down so much would feel better knowing that by buying a house they might be able recoup some of the losses on the sale of their house knowing they will get some of that lost money back when buying a new house.
And why limit it to $8000? Why not give the 10% to a buyer no matter what the sale price is? (I suppose you would have to limit it to a reasonable amount.) Isn't the idea here to get people to buy homes? And when buying homes, doesn't that reduce the inventory of homes for sale? And when the inventory of homes is reduced, doesn't that raise home values? And when home values are increased, doesn't that increase property taxes? And isn't better for government to collect taxes and have a surplus of cash instead of having to cut city services?
Do I have to go further?
It's all theory. I get that. But to me, whatever we need to do to kick start the housing market, we need to do. Because people need to be able to buy and sell homes when they want to. If they need to unload a house for whatever reason, that opportunity should be there.
We have seen what happens when it's not.
And now we are using the word "foreclosure" way too much now.
Let's slow down the usage.
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 we can debate all day on what this stimulus bill contains is really going to help our economy. Experts on both sides can give you reasons why it will work or why it will fail. (does that make you feel uneasy? It does me.) I like the one comment by an economy expert who said this bill is like shooting a basketball and not knowing if you made the basket until 6 to 12 months later. How crazy is that?
But I think that most people, like myself, believe we have to do something because doing nothing will cause this recession to surely last longer than we want it to. I have to believe that there are some good things about the stimulus package as well as some bad things. So we have to live with that.
But the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit is both good and bad from my point of view.
Why is it good? Well first of all, it a great incentive for first time homebuyers, especially those sitting on the fence deciding if they should buy or not. (Hint: Buy, Buy, Buy!) What a nice thing to get: A credit up to $8000 after buying a house. Most first time homebuyers don't have a lot of cash to work with. So this credit will help with buying furniture, appliances, etc. Or maybe fixing up the house because most first time homebuyers are buying exactly that: a fixer upper. Or the most common payback, paying back mom & dad for lending them the money to buy the house in the first place.
And since I believe that the root of all evil in this recession started with the housing industry, any plan that can help boost home sales is fine by me. This new tax credit doesn't have to be paid back like the previous version and they have extended the tax credit program another 4 months.
So you ask "Dan, why are you having problems with this?".
Why limit this program to first time home owners? Why can't anyone who is buying a primary residence get this credit. Maybe someone selling their home at a loss because home values have gone down so much would feel better knowing that by buying a house they might be able recoup some of the losses on the sale of their house knowing they will get some of that lost money back when buying a new house.
And why limit it to $8000? Why not give the 10% to a buyer no matter what the sale price is? (I suppose you would have to limit it to a reasonable amount.) Isn't the idea here to get people to buy homes? And when buying homes, doesn't that reduce the inventory of homes for sale? And when the inventory of homes is reduced, doesn't that raise home values? And when home values are increased, doesn't that increase property taxes? And isn't better for government to collect taxes and have a surplus of cash instead of having to cut city services?
Do I have to go further?
It's all theory. I get that. But to me, whatever we need to do to kick start the housing market, we need to do. Because people need to be able to buy and sell homes when they want to. If they need to unload a house for whatever reason, that opportunity should be there.
We have seen what happens when it's not.
And now we are using the word "foreclosure" way too much now.
Let's slow down the usage.
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 18, 2009
What's Your Score?
What is your credit score?
Most consumers don't know or don't want to know. But with loans harder to come by and lending guidelines getting more stricter everyday, it more important now than ever before to make sure your credit score is as high as it can be. The days where if you had a pulse, you got a loan are gone. That's the kind of lending that got us into this economic crisis in the first place.
Another reason that you need to stay on top of your credit score is that 70% of the information that is on a credit report is either wrong or old. Can you imagine that? You could be turned down for a loan based on inaccurate information.
This lending thing is hard enough for most people. Let's not make it harder. Let's review some credit report basics.
Credit scores range from 350 to 850. The credit scores are an indication of risk. The lower the scores, the more risk a lender will have. Remember, whether we like the system or not, the credit report is the only tool lenders have to see how historically you have paid back your creditors.
The scores come from the 3 credit bureaus, (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) who gather up payment history from your creditors (Mastercard, Visa, car payments, etc.....) and use this information based on 40 different pieces of criteria and come up with a score. This "score" is used by lenders to determine your risk factor.
Let's look at what impacts your credit score.
Payment History - 35% Impact.
This one is pretty easy and makes the most sense. On time payments help your scores while late payments kill credit scores. And the more it is late or recent will impact scores even more. And if the late payment is for a good sum of money, that will lower your score as well. I know it is common sense, but making payments on time really helps your score. No matter what the amount of the payment is.
Outstanding Credit Balances - 30% Impact
Keep your balances no more than 30% of your credit limit. I know that is hard to do in this credit crazy world, but keeping those balances below the 30% mark really helps your credit score. When your balance is over 30% of your credit limit, your credit score really takes a beating. For instance, at 30-5o%, your credit score can lose 5 to 25 points. If your balance is 50-75% of your credit limit, it can cost you 20 to 40 points on your score. And if you have a balance on your credit card between 75 - 100% of the high limit, it can cost your credit score 40 or more points!! Ouch!!
So keep those balances down. Way down.
Credit History - 15% Impact
This is the length of time you have had open credit with a creditor. Credit scoring loves longevity and consistency. Your credit score likes to see you have the same cards for many years. It doesn't like to see you have one card for 12 months then close it, then open another one and close it after a short period......etc. You get the picture.
Anytime I see a credit score near the 800 mark (and I haven't seen too many), I know that that person with that score has had the same cards or mortgages for many years without making many changes. You may have card that you have had for a long time but haven't used. Before you close that card, you may want to consider keeping it open and using it once in awhile to keep your scores higher. It's a shame when people close out cards that they have had for many years.
The other bad thing about opening new credit it that it cause inquires from lenders who pull your credit report. This also impacts your credit score but more on that later.
Type of Credit - 10% Impact
This one doesn't carry a lot of weight. But your credit score likes to see a good mix of debt. It's not always possible to do so don't worry about it but a good mix would include a couple of revolving credit cards (Visa, Sears, etc....) an installment payment (car payment, boat payment, etc.....) and a mortgage. But don't go out and buy house just to get a mortgage payment!
Inquires In A 6 Month Period - 10% Impact
A hard inquiry (which is having your credit report pulled by a creditor at your request) can cost you between 2 -25 points. You only have 10 inquires that count against you, but keep them down anyway. Your credit score gets nervous when you try to get more credit. And remember, you don't take such a hit when your credit report is pulled by mortgage or auto companies. You have a little window of opportunity while trying to get the best deal on a mortgage or a car.
Keeping balances low, on time payments and consistency. It's a simple as that. That's the plan for getting the highest scores possible. And it doesn't matter how much money you make. You can be a millionaire with lousy credit but someone making $15,000 can have credit scores over 750. Just follow the game plan.
You are allowed one free credit report a year. It's important that you check it even if you don't intend on buying anything. 25% of the credit reports have errors serious enough to result in denial of credit. 79% have some mistakes. This is information about you that is out there and you want to make sure it is correct.
You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com for your free credit report. If you would like a report reviewing all the information in this blog, just sending me a note with your email address at dan@glmf.com and I will get it to you right away.
Now check that credit report!
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
Most consumers don't know or don't want to know. But with loans harder to come by and lending guidelines getting more stricter everyday, it more important now than ever before to make sure your credit score is as high as it can be. The days where if you had a pulse, you got a loan are gone. That's the kind of lending that got us into this economic crisis in the first place.
Another reason that you need to stay on top of your credit score is that 70% of the information that is on a credit report is either wrong or old. Can you imagine that? You could be turned down for a loan based on inaccurate information.
This lending thing is hard enough for most people. Let's not make it harder. Let's review some credit report basics.
Credit scores range from 350 to 850. The credit scores are an indication of risk. The lower the scores, the more risk a lender will have. Remember, whether we like the system or not, the credit report is the only tool lenders have to see how historically you have paid back your creditors.
The scores come from the 3 credit bureaus, (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) who gather up payment history from your creditors (Mastercard, Visa, car payments, etc.....) and use this information based on 40 different pieces of criteria and come up with a score. This "score" is used by lenders to determine your risk factor.
Let's look at what impacts your credit score.
Payment History - 35% Impact.
This one is pretty easy and makes the most sense. On time payments help your scores while late payments kill credit scores. And the more it is late or recent will impact scores even more. And if the late payment is for a good sum of money, that will lower your score as well. I know it is common sense, but making payments on time really helps your score. No matter what the amount of the payment is.
Outstanding Credit Balances - 30% Impact
Keep your balances no more than 30% of your credit limit. I know that is hard to do in this credit crazy world, but keeping those balances below the 30% mark really helps your credit score. When your balance is over 30% of your credit limit, your credit score really takes a beating. For instance, at 30-5o%, your credit score can lose 5 to 25 points. If your balance is 50-75% of your credit limit, it can cost you 20 to 40 points on your score. And if you have a balance on your credit card between 75 - 100% of the high limit, it can cost your credit score 40 or more points!! Ouch!!
So keep those balances down. Way down.
Credit History - 15% Impact
This is the length of time you have had open credit with a creditor. Credit scoring loves longevity and consistency. Your credit score likes to see you have the same cards for many years. It doesn't like to see you have one card for 12 months then close it, then open another one and close it after a short period......etc. You get the picture.
Anytime I see a credit score near the 800 mark (and I haven't seen too many), I know that that person with that score has had the same cards or mortgages for many years without making many changes. You may have card that you have had for a long time but haven't used. Before you close that card, you may want to consider keeping it open and using it once in awhile to keep your scores higher. It's a shame when people close out cards that they have had for many years.
The other bad thing about opening new credit it that it cause inquires from lenders who pull your credit report. This also impacts your credit score but more on that later.
Type of Credit - 10% Impact
This one doesn't carry a lot of weight. But your credit score likes to see a good mix of debt. It's not always possible to do so don't worry about it but a good mix would include a couple of revolving credit cards (Visa, Sears, etc....) an installment payment (car payment, boat payment, etc.....) and a mortgage. But don't go out and buy house just to get a mortgage payment!
Inquires In A 6 Month Period - 10% Impact
A hard inquiry (which is having your credit report pulled by a creditor at your request) can cost you between 2 -25 points. You only have 10 inquires that count against you, but keep them down anyway. Your credit score gets nervous when you try to get more credit. And remember, you don't take such a hit when your credit report is pulled by mortgage or auto companies. You have a little window of opportunity while trying to get the best deal on a mortgage or a car.
Keeping balances low, on time payments and consistency. It's a simple as that. That's the plan for getting the highest scores possible. And it doesn't matter how much money you make. You can be a millionaire with lousy credit but someone making $15,000 can have credit scores over 750. Just follow the game plan.
You are allowed one free credit report a year. It's important that you check it even if you don't intend on buying anything. 25% of the credit reports have errors serious enough to result in denial of credit. 79% have some mistakes. This is information about you that is out there and you want to make sure it is correct.
You can go to www.annualcreditreport.com for your free credit report. If you would like a report reviewing all the information in this blog, just sending me a note with your email address at dan@glmf.com and I will get it to you right away.
Now check that credit report!
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 11, 2009
We're Waiting..........
Today the Congress agreed to spend billions of our tax dollars for us on programs that they deem necessary for our economic survival. (http://www.cnbc.com//id/29137238)
And in the meanwhile, the housing market is waiting to be addressed. And I don't mean just throwing some kind of lame program at it (IE: FHA Secure, Hope for Homeowners, etc..), I'm talking about something that will make a huge difference in home values and allow people to go back to normal everyday home business.
You know. Things like being able to sell a house or perhaps being able to refinance to get out of a high adjustable interest rate. Most people don't want help or money. They just want to be able to make wise choices when it come to their homes. Why does foreclosure have to be a business decision?
Believe me, I'm not knocking the current stimulus plan. I hope it works. I hope it creates jobs and loans and whatever else it supposed to do. I certainly am not an economics expert. But I do know one thing.
This mess started with the housing market and that's where we need to stop it. Passing this current package is like taking a shot with a basketball and then not knowing if you made the bucket for 6 to 12 months. We need help now.
I heard someone say on TV that with all the money we are spending on stimulus, we could pay off 90% of the existing mortgages that are out there. Can you imagine? Banks would get a whole bunch of money they could reinvest, homeowners would have more money to spend at the end of the month, home values would rise because of the halting of foreclosures and the demand for homes would be higher.
Too simple, huh? A mortgage guy can dream can't he?
I'm still waiting for a housing package that starts to put the brakes on this housing crisis.
Because if you don't kill the root, you'll still have to pull the weed.
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
And in the meanwhile, the housing market is waiting to be addressed. And I don't mean just throwing some kind of lame program at it (IE: FHA Secure, Hope for Homeowners, etc..), I'm talking about something that will make a huge difference in home values and allow people to go back to normal everyday home business.
You know. Things like being able to sell a house or perhaps being able to refinance to get out of a high adjustable interest rate. Most people don't want help or money. They just want to be able to make wise choices when it come to their homes. Why does foreclosure have to be a business decision?
Believe me, I'm not knocking the current stimulus plan. I hope it works. I hope it creates jobs and loans and whatever else it supposed to do. I certainly am not an economics expert. But I do know one thing.
This mess started with the housing market and that's where we need to stop it. Passing this current package is like taking a shot with a basketball and then not knowing if you made the bucket for 6 to 12 months. We need help now.
I heard someone say on TV that with all the money we are spending on stimulus, we could pay off 90% of the existing mortgages that are out there. Can you imagine? Banks would get a whole bunch of money they could reinvest, homeowners would have more money to spend at the end of the month, home values would rise because of the halting of foreclosures and the demand for homes would be higher.
Too simple, huh? A mortgage guy can dream can't he?
I'm still waiting for a housing package that starts to put the brakes on this housing crisis.
Because if you don't kill the root, you'll still have to pull the weed.
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 4, 2009
Even Mickey Is Cutting Back!
Howdy!
I just got back from 12 days in the Orlando area. It was cold the first few days we were there but the weather was much better than the ugly and miserable winter we had left in Michigan. It finally warmed up for the second half of the trip as the temperatures got up into the mid 70's. Anytime you can wear shorts and a tee shirt in January, it's a blessing. Of course, you can wear shorts and a tee shirt in January in Michigan, but you better be a polar bear or be extremely fast!
But I was able to play 3 rounds of golf (actually 6 rounds if you counted all the strokes!) and go to Disney World without having to put on gear you needed in the Artic Circle. Even 50F degree weather is cold to me in Florida. When I go to Florida, I want it hot, I want to sweat, I want sunburn. If I wanted to be cold, I could have stayed in Michigan.
When I complained to people in Michigan that it was only 50+ degrees when I was in Florida, well you can only imagine what I heard. People can be so touchy.
Back to Disney World.
You can plainly see why Disney World is the number 1 tourist attraction in the world. Everything is done there is first class. The place is clean and spotless. The cast members are so friendly and helpful. They have attractions there for kids of all ages. The pricing is more than worth it when you see what you get.
You can buy into the Magic or not. But it is hard not to. I do buy into it. And when I say buy into it, I really mean it as me and BF (Babyface) have season passes to Disneyworld. We bought a short term rental in Davenport (10 minutes west of Disney) a couple of years ago so we get down to the Orlando area 3-4 times a year to check on our place and vacation. So I have a vested interest in what's happening at Disney World.
So I was perplexed and curious at some subtle changes at Disney. For instance, at the Magic Kingdom, there is a ride called the "Haunted Mansion". This is a cool ride as you are driven through this mansion watching ghosts and goblins. It is normally dark on this ride which helps out in the scary department and also helps you to see the all the ghosts better.
However, it seemed a little too dark. It seemed more dark than I remember it. And it wasn't just me, a friend who was there with us made the same comment. We also noticed it was dark on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride, in the area where the cannons are being fired by the pirates. You couldn't tell who was shooting back because it was so dark.
We also noticed this "black out" at the "Dinosaur" ride at the Animal Kingdom park. And at Disney's Hollywood Studio's, "Fantasmic" which is a great show (BF's favorite!) with fireworks and these awesome water screens that have images projected on them, was being cut back from been shown every night to only 2 nights a week.
When we asked a Disney cast member about the cutbacks in the showing of "Fantasmic" we were giving the pre scripted corporate answer that the reason for the cut backs in the "Fantasmic" schedule was due to slower attendance. That answer was hard for us to accept as he was telling us this info while thousands of visitors to Disneyworld were walking by.
All these cutbacks now make sense after reading this article from CNBC:(http://www.cnbc.com//id/29011933)
The article interviews Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney. In one quote, Iger says "We faced a challenging first quarter with many of our businesses impacted to various degrees by the economic downturn." Which translated means that most of the businesses that Disney owns like everything else in the economy is tanking. So all the Disney businesses have to make cuts (including turning off lights) to save cuts to protect the empire.
It's really hard to believe that Disney is losing any money when you see all the Disney bags full of merchandise at every park. People are standing in line waiting to spend hundreds of dollars buying shirts, hats or other souvenirs that have Mickey's or Minnie's picture on them. I believe Disney wanted to, they could open a park just with stores! Can you imagine getting a Fastpass?
Like I always say, be good to Mickey and he'll be good to you.
I really don't know what that means but I like saying 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
I just got back from 12 days in the Orlando area. It was cold the first few days we were there but the weather was much better than the ugly and miserable winter we had left in Michigan. It finally warmed up for the second half of the trip as the temperatures got up into the mid 70's. Anytime you can wear shorts and a tee shirt in January, it's a blessing. Of course, you can wear shorts and a tee shirt in January in Michigan, but you better be a polar bear or be extremely fast!
But I was able to play 3 rounds of golf (actually 6 rounds if you counted all the strokes!) and go to Disney World without having to put on gear you needed in the Artic Circle. Even 50F degree weather is cold to me in Florida. When I go to Florida, I want it hot, I want to sweat, I want sunburn. If I wanted to be cold, I could have stayed in Michigan.
When I complained to people in Michigan that it was only 50+ degrees when I was in Florida, well you can only imagine what I heard. People can be so touchy.
Back to Disney World.
You can plainly see why Disney World is the number 1 tourist attraction in the world. Everything is done there is first class. The place is clean and spotless. The cast members are so friendly and helpful. They have attractions there for kids of all ages. The pricing is more than worth it when you see what you get.
You can buy into the Magic or not. But it is hard not to. I do buy into it. And when I say buy into it, I really mean it as me and BF (Babyface) have season passes to Disneyworld. We bought a short term rental in Davenport (10 minutes west of Disney) a couple of years ago so we get down to the Orlando area 3-4 times a year to check on our place and vacation. So I have a vested interest in what's happening at Disney World.
So I was perplexed and curious at some subtle changes at Disney. For instance, at the Magic Kingdom, there is a ride called the "Haunted Mansion". This is a cool ride as you are driven through this mansion watching ghosts and goblins. It is normally dark on this ride which helps out in the scary department and also helps you to see the all the ghosts better.
However, it seemed a little too dark. It seemed more dark than I remember it. And it wasn't just me, a friend who was there with us made the same comment. We also noticed it was dark on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride, in the area where the cannons are being fired by the pirates. You couldn't tell who was shooting back because it was so dark.
We also noticed this "black out" at the "Dinosaur" ride at the Animal Kingdom park. And at Disney's Hollywood Studio's, "Fantasmic" which is a great show (BF's favorite!) with fireworks and these awesome water screens that have images projected on them, was being cut back from been shown every night to only 2 nights a week.
When we asked a Disney cast member about the cutbacks in the showing of "Fantasmic" we were giving the pre scripted corporate answer that the reason for the cut backs in the "Fantasmic" schedule was due to slower attendance. That answer was hard for us to accept as he was telling us this info while thousands of visitors to Disneyworld were walking by.
All these cutbacks now make sense after reading this article from CNBC:(http://www.cnbc.com//id/29011933)
The article interviews Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney. In one quote, Iger says "We faced a challenging first quarter with many of our businesses impacted to various degrees by the economic downturn." Which translated means that most of the businesses that Disney owns like everything else in the economy is tanking. So all the Disney businesses have to make cuts (including turning off lights) to save cuts to protect the empire.
It's really hard to believe that Disney is losing any money when you see all the Disney bags full of merchandise at every park. People are standing in line waiting to spend hundreds of dollars buying shirts, hats or other souvenirs that have Mickey's or Minnie's picture on them. I believe Disney wanted to, they could open a park just with stores! Can you imagine getting a Fastpass?
Like I always say, be good to Mickey and he'll be good to you.
I really don't know what that means but I like saying 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, January 19, 2009
Hail To The Chief!
Tomorrow is the day that Barack Obama is sworn in as the next president of the United States. Tomorrow is the day that many have marked as one of the most historic days in this country.
Tomorrow is the day that many believe will be the start of a new way the world looks at us.
I could go on. But the point here is that so much is riding on having President Obama in office that it seems that no one could live up to so many expectations. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican or black or white or man or woman or young or old, it seems that so many citizens of this great country are expecting great things from this new president.
And we all know what President Obama gets for being the "winner" of the last presidential election: The worst economy since the Great Depression, 2 wars which it seems that there is no ending or solutions to, the United States' position as a global leader, crime, education, race relations and whatever you care to add to his overloaded platter of what's really important.
No matter what group of people I mentioned earlier (or didn't) or whatever cause you want the new president to fix (I know I didn't cover everything. There's too much.), there is one common thread that runs through us all that hasn't been there in a long time. One idea that unites us like never before. One thought that lift spirits and hearts. One unmistakable feeling that makes anything impossible possible:
Hope.
A simple premise. A simple idea. A simple thought. But a monumental feeling of hope is riding through this the people of this country because of everything that is going on. Barack Obama is the new president, not the "Miracle Worker". It will take time and a great deal of luck. It will not be an easy road. It is a road filled with land mines. I hope he's aware of what's out there.
And I hope, we are too.
Good luck President Obama.
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
Tomorrow is the day that many believe will be the start of a new way the world looks at us.
I could go on. But the point here is that so much is riding on having President Obama in office that it seems that no one could live up to so many expectations. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican or black or white or man or woman or young or old, it seems that so many citizens of this great country are expecting great things from this new president.
And we all know what President Obama gets for being the "winner" of the last presidential election: The worst economy since the Great Depression, 2 wars which it seems that there is no ending or solutions to, the United States' position as a global leader, crime, education, race relations and whatever you care to add to his overloaded platter of what's really important.
No matter what group of people I mentioned earlier (or didn't) or whatever cause you want the new president to fix (I know I didn't cover everything. There's too much.), there is one common thread that runs through us all that hasn't been there in a long time. One idea that unites us like never before. One thought that lift spirits and hearts. One unmistakable feeling that makes anything impossible possible:
Hope.
A simple premise. A simple idea. A simple thought. But a monumental feeling of hope is riding through this the people of this country because of everything that is going on. Barack Obama is the new president, not the "Miracle Worker". It will take time and a great deal of luck. It will not be an easy road. It is a road filled with land mines. I hope he's aware of what's out there.
And I hope, we are too.
Good luck President Obama.
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, January 5, 2009
Happy? New Year!
Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope the holidays were good to you. I don't care what anyone says: It is the most wonderful time of the year! Whatever holiday or religious time you celebrate, it is a great chance to be with family and friends. Whether or not you exchange gifts, the only gift that matters is how you can make someone happy. It can be as simple as a phone call or an email.
I know we are all ready to say goodbye to 2008. Goodbye and good riddance. What an economic tailspin! Can it get much worse? I suppose but hopefully we have seen the bottom and 2009 will bring us hope. Maybe we won't be all the way back but maybe we will be to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I believe 2009 will be an exciting time for the real estate business. We know our economy is going to change. We will have a new president who will have a new agenda. I'm sure president-elect Obama will make the economy the number concern in his new administration and it seems that he has surrounded himself with experts in the financial field who know what they are doing.
Also, mortgage rates are lower than they have ever been. If you are going to buy a house or refinance, this is the time. There was talk of the Treasury Department lowering the 30 year rate to 4.5%. That would be crazy.
Lenders are working more with borrowers on the brink of default. Instead of making these troubled homeowners go through foreclosure, the lenders are modifying the mortgages so that these people can keep their houses. It's way too late for the ones already who lost their homes, but maybe now with less foreclosures, more homes will keep their values. That would cause more people to be able to sell their house because the difference between what they owe and what the house value is won't be so great.
So we are in 2009. I have made some resolutions (which I will keep to myself!) that will help me obtain some personal goals. I hope you keep your resolutions and they will help you to be a better and richer person. And when I say "richer", I don't necessarily mean monetary.
I wish you the best in 2009. No matter what you do make it a good one. I hope you have many joyous memories and occasions.
Like when you read this blog!
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 hope the holidays were good to you. I don't care what anyone says: It is the most wonderful time of the year! Whatever holiday or religious time you celebrate, it is a great chance to be with family and friends. Whether or not you exchange gifts, the only gift that matters is how you can make someone happy. It can be as simple as a phone call or an email.
I know we are all ready to say goodbye to 2008. Goodbye and good riddance. What an economic tailspin! Can it get much worse? I suppose but hopefully we have seen the bottom and 2009 will bring us hope. Maybe we won't be all the way back but maybe we will be to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I believe 2009 will be an exciting time for the real estate business. We know our economy is going to change. We will have a new president who will have a new agenda. I'm sure president-elect Obama will make the economy the number concern in his new administration and it seems that he has surrounded himself with experts in the financial field who know what they are doing.
Also, mortgage rates are lower than they have ever been. If you are going to buy a house or refinance, this is the time. There was talk of the Treasury Department lowering the 30 year rate to 4.5%. That would be crazy.
Lenders are working more with borrowers on the brink of default. Instead of making these troubled homeowners go through foreclosure, the lenders are modifying the mortgages so that these people can keep their houses. It's way too late for the ones already who lost their homes, but maybe now with less foreclosures, more homes will keep their values. That would cause more people to be able to sell their house because the difference between what they owe and what the house value is won't be so great.
So we are in 2009. I have made some resolutions (which I will keep to myself!) that will help me obtain some personal goals. I hope you keep your resolutions and they will help you to be a better and richer person. And when I say "richer", I don't necessarily mean monetary.
I wish you the best in 2009. No matter what you do make it a good one. I hope you have many joyous memories and occasions.
Like when you read this blog!
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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