IndyMac Bank was seized by the Federal Government on July 11, 2008. All of its assets were seized and its retail branches were closed. The bank will reopen on Monday under the control of the FDIC. The bank has been in trouble because of its exposure to the subprime lending crisis and the mortgage market meltdown. IndyMac CEO had released a plan to save the bank then a US Senator made some public remarks encouraging the US Government to bail the bank out, once his comment was released to the public, depositors made a run on the bank to remove their money. This caused the bank to fail. Keep Reading...

Congress is currently debating your ability to obtain mortgage financing in the future.

H.R. 3915 – a newly introduced piece of legislation that is going to be debated on the House floor in the coming days.

Commonly referred to as the “Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007,” this Bill is attempting to make sweeping changes to the way the mortgage market operates.

Here’s what it would mean for borrowers if the Bill were to pass as currently drafted:

• Refinancing transactions would become more difficult and potentially expensive;
• Closing costs and points paid to lower an interest rate could become “out of pocket” expenses in some cases and not allowed to be included in refinance transactions;
• Discriminate against borrowers who have had poor credit histories from getting loans that they might otherwise deserve to get;
• Complicate the loan process for many borrowers as it would eliminate reduced documentation options such as “Stated Income” or “Low Documentation” loans. 

Some of the changes proposed by the Bill are positive and intended to protect consumers. For example, the Bill proposes a licensing program and national registry that would track the activity of every originator, both mortgage broker and direct banker lender, in the country. This would allow for bad loans to be traced back to the originator and corrective action to be taken. Keep Reading...

Anyone watching or reading the financial news over the last few weeks has seen a lot of angst and consternation over the state of the mortgage industry. In fact, one of the larger lenders in the US, American Home Mortgage, was forced to shut down operations recently. But why? What is happening, what does all this mean to you and most importantly… what should you be doing do right now to make sure you are protected?

Here’s the scoop.

Over the past several years, many loans were made to homeowners with somewhat non-traditional or “non-conforming” situations, be it a poor credit history, inability to document income, or any number of factors that do not fit within the traditional “box” for home loans. These loans are often called “Sub-Prime”, or “Alt-A”, meaning that they were somewhat riskier in nature than A credit, prime, or traditional loans. Another type of “non-conforming” home loan is one where the credit and income might be perfectly fine, but the loan amount is higher than $417K, which is the current maximum loan that can be done using pools of money from mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC). If the loan amount is higher, it can certainly be done – it’s called a “jumbo loan” – but the end money comes from private institutions, not from the large government-sponsored entities of Fannie and Freddie. Keep Reading...

I just heard the news that Capitol One has shut down their mortgage unit, Greenpoint, laying off more than 1900 employees. This is effective immediately. So here we go again; if you have any loans with this company you will need to find another lender. This is yet another casualty in this erratic market and more reason to be committed to a company like Citizens Lending Group.  This will be an unexpected shock too many.  If you need someone who will be there today, tomorrow, and in the future, give me a call at 302-703-0727. Keep Reading...

Free Seminar for Realtors & Financial Professionals

The Mortgage Market Meltdown  What it Means to You

The credit markets are in crisis, and the mortgage landscape is changing fast. But, ask yourself this.

Do you understand the key factors that led to the crisis?
Can you clearly and confidently advise your buyers and sellers on how to succeed in today’s market?
Do you have the right systems in place to adjust your business model for the changes yet to come?
If you answered No to any of these questions, you must attend this exclusive Mortgage Market Meltdown session and get the tools you need to stay ahead in this volatile market. This is your chance to protect your clients and your commissions! Keep Reading...

Following the well-publicized subprime crisis earlier in the year, a major disruption in the credit markets broke out on an unprecedented and historic scale this week on Wall Street. This caused major write-downs of loan and security portfolios and brought down one of the top 10 Prime and Alt-A lenders in the country, American Home Mortgage, which stopped funding $800 million in loans beginning Monday and left thousands of home buyers stranded at the closing table with their home purchases. American Home Mortgage was the in house lender for Keller Williams Realty in Delaware and this whole situation has left many Keller Williams clients without loans. This illustrates the value of using a broker who would have been able to flip a loan that was with American Home Mortgage to another lender that is taking American Home Mortgage loans that didn’t fund or close but were approved. Keep Reading...