98% of Americans say, “OH **** before going in the ditch on a slippery road. The other 2% are from Wisconsin and Minnesota, and they say, “Hold my beer and watch this!”
That quip has nothing to do with mortgage banking or renting, but seemed right given the weather in many areas. Every renter has enough worries without concerns about their landlord bailing on the mortgage. This may help: http://www.rentalforeclosure.com/ (Thanks to First Priority Financial for sending it along.)
Was your Lock Desk busier last week? Borrowers are taking advantage of the lower rates, as the MBAA reported that applications hit their highest level in two months (up 8.5%). Purchases were up 4% and refinancing was up over 11%, with refinancing accounting for almost 75% of apps.
Is it my imagination, or is everyone tightening up their guidelines, changing processes and procedures, and making it tough for compliance staffs to do their jobs? And it isn’t only the Fannie 8.0 release; there are many other changes also. Of note, some firms, like GMAC, are giving deadlines to buy Fannie 7.1 loans (Bank of America is February 26th), whereas others, like Wells, are not. This is often a result of loan programs that were acceptable under 7.1 being eliminated, and some large investors were never purchasing those programs.