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It will be a busy week in the financial markets so... brace yourself for a little roller coaster in the home loan carnival ride!!!
As you know, rates are extremely low right now for qualified buyers and those who may have not taken advantage of the all time low rates should do so immediately. Potential borrowers may be waiting for even lower rates, but we don't foresee a drop and the market could turn upwards rather quickly, so anyone contemplating a home loan would be well advised to move ahead now. Call us to review.
Fed chief Ben Bernanke says America's economic outlook remains "unusually uncertain," but downplayed the odds of either deflation or a "double-dip" recession. "We remain prepared to take further policy actions as needed to foster a return to full utilization of our nation's productive potential in a context of price stability," Bernanke said earlier in the week. Whatever that means.
Many national lenders are still requiring the use of appraisal management companies (AMC's) to locate and select appraisers for their correspondent lenders. Many experts believe this can lead to flawed valuations as the companies often seek appraisers based on willingness to work cheaply rather than knowledge of the markets where the subject properties are located. While fully complying with the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), FMNB does not rely on AMC's but rather selects appraisers internally based on their proximity to and knowledge of the market area of the subject properties.
The Obama administration, having signed into law an overhaul of financial regulation, will now turn its attention to the review and subsequent reformation of housing finance. It is expected that this administration will seek to move away to some extent from an emphasis on home ownership to focusing on affordable rental housing. Time will tell what that means for our industry. When I was in Washington DC a few months ago I laid out a plan for rental house financing for FHA and Conventional loan programs--- at that time they still had their head in the sand on the topic and tried to ignore the topic..... Bottom line is until the inventory is truly absorbed the values of homes will continue to erode~~~ thus we need to make available an equitable loan program for those who want to be land lords. Right now Fannie / Freddie cap it at 4 properties owned in total and FHA will not even touch a rental house... and the regulators are discouraging banks from even making these types of loans... if you do have a bank that will make an ARM loan on a rental ... they will require 20 -25% down with great credit and great reserves. Source Information by Mortgage Investment Services and Kent Friend.
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