mortgage

This is a very interesting loan product from BECU and has the potential of being one of the best 1st time mortgages for buyers that qualify.

It is called the "Helper" (HLPR) loan. Basically, it's aimed at 1st time buyers buying their first home, but it should also be useful for people who have already sold their homes and are looking for another.

There are income restrictions, credit restrictions and other guidelines, but this particular HLPR product (there are several others, see BECU's site) purports to have an ARM rate that is about 1% lower than the "going" rate. Based on my experience, their fees are also lower than most of the major banks.

This type of loan is great for someone that is looking at short-term ownership of a property. I spoke with several industry pros and they all believe that BECU is probably not making any money - perhaps even losing money - on this loan, but may be using it to bring borrowers into other BECU products that may be profitable.

BECU has had a reputation of being difficult to work with in the past and very slow to respond. It seems that now, though, they've cleaned up their act. They've got 24-hour mortgage reps and a lot of the process has been stream-lined and placed online. This loan is not for everyone, though, and it may not apply to every purchase. In particular, borrowers may have difficulty obtaining loans on new or conversion condos that are not FNMA approved. I spoke with several BECU reps and their answers were all over the board about this.

More info on the site.

During this year, there have been 22 Fannie Mae updates. Fannie Mae has been a semi-independent company. However, its last act as such occurred several weeks ago.

Quoted: Greenspan is either a completely incompetent central banker or a very despicable human being. He messed up everything ...

Good question - I hear it all the time.

I was in Iowa recently; houses are cheap (but I wouldn't want to move and live there!!). Took a look at some homes and was told by the agent that it's common in depressed markets in the midwest to have buyers make offers that are significantly below list price. Wow, what a different market!

Quoted: Question: My wife and I want to buy. Should we wait to see if prices fall, or take advantage of today's low mortgage rates? - Heath Hewett, Columbia, S.C.

A link to a link.

From Crimeth.Inc:

Our favorite radio show, This American Life, recently did a hour show examining the current mortgage crisis— the straw that broke the camel’s back and triggered a global financial crisis, the end of which is nowhere in sight. As the U.S. stumbles forward deeper and deeper into a recession, it would behoove those of us who don’t understand what has happened to take a minute to learn about the economic process—which was truly not a major aberration from business as usual—behind the credit collapse that has many economists warning of a new economic depression.

As usual, TAL makes the dry subject matter absolutely fascinating and entertaining, interviewing victims and perpetrators at every level of the travesty, and as they say:

We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the turmoil on Wall Street? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money.

Listen to the show here, for free, by clicking on the ‘Full Episode’ link. For those looking for more details, another radio favorite of ours, Fresh Air, has some more perspectives here, and here. And of course, Wikipedia comes through with 12,000 words on the subject.

There can be plenty of important reasons why you and other people would want to have their homes refinanced. And the most probable reason for that is people would just want to be able to save some money.

An unintended consequence of foreclosures - the renters that occupy the investor's property. The states with the most foreclosures - Florida, California and Nevada - have a definite problem with this. Since many of those areas also have weak rental markets, renters shouldn't have too much difficulty finding comparable rental properties at comparable prices to move to.

When foreclosure of investment properties happen in stronger markets with fewer rentals, like the NW or NYC, renters would likely face higher rents and fewer choices when they're forced to move.

Quoted: In the growing foreclosure crisis, thousands of families who rent their homes face eviction when owners default on their mortgages.

A summary of what's happening with the Wall Street bailout, in plain, simple English.

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