An escrow reserve account is used to collect and “reserve” the real estate taxes and home owners insurance portion of your monthly mortgage payment for when your taxes and insurance bills are due. In Washington state, property taxes are paid twice a year and home owners insurance is paid annually.
A compromise for waiving your escrow reserve account
September 26, 2012 by 3 Comments
Tis the Season for Vacations
August 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Many families are squeezing in a vacation during the remaining days of summer. I can’t blame them, I’m just back from one myself! If you are in the mortgage process, it’s critical that your let your mortgage originator know of any vacation (or business travel) plans.
If you’re going to be in a spot where you can receive important documents and respond to emails, it may not be a huge issue. If you’re going off the grid, it may impact your rate lock commitment if your loan is currently locked. Your mortgage originator will need to price out a long enough lock period for your loan (if you’re locking) or you may opt to float and not lock in the current rates available. And of course, if you run out of time with your lock, the rate lock commitment may be extended.
Another factor is signing your final loan documents. Escrow companies can email (I do not recommend sending final docs via email) or send your loan documents via something like FedEx or UPS. This can be a bit risky as well as if a signature is missed or something is not notarized properly, your transaction may be delayed.
The more notice you can provide your mortgage originator about vacation or business travel, the more time they will have to prepare your options for the mortgage process.
President Obama’s Refi Plan for Non-HARP Qualified Homeowners #MyRefi
February 1, 2012 by 3 Comments
On last week’s State of the Union Address, President Obama announced a plan to help underwater homeowners who do not qualify for a Home Affordable Refinance. In order to qualify for a Home Affordable Refi (aka HARP 2.0) the home owner’s mortgage needs to have been securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to June 1, 2009 and meet other qualifications. If the home owner currently has a jumbo loan, they are instantly disqualified for HARP 2.0. since jumbo mortgages are non-conforming (not Fannie or Freddie programs). HARP is also restricted by existing conforming loan limits and in the greater Seattle area, the current conforming loan limit is $506,000. Even if you have a conforming loan amount of $567,500 (last year’s conforming loan limit in Seattle), current HARP guidelines limit you to a $506,000 loan amount.
President Obama’s proposal is to help underwater home owners who have made their mortgage payments on time and who do not qualify for HARP 2.0 is to allow them to have an FHA insured mortgage without an appraisal. FHA insured mortgages have different loan limits than conforming. In the Seattle area, the FHA loan limit is $567,500. Obama’s new refi program, should it come to fruition, will be limited to FHA loan amounts.
FHA mortgages are a great program, however they’re also very expensive when compared to conventional loans. This is because they have both upfront and monthly mortgage insurance fees, which are constantly being raised by Congress. FHA mortgages have both upfront and monthly mortgage insurance regardless of the loan to value of the property.
As of 8:30 this morning, an FHA rate on a loan amount of $567,500 in Seattle – Bellevue with a 720 or higher credit score is 3.750% for a 30 year fixed rate (apr 4.767). Principal and interest with the financed UFMIP is $2,654.46 and the monthly mortgage insurance premium is an additional $515.85 for a total (PIMI) payment of $3,170.31, not included property taxes and insurance. This PIMI payment equals an interest rate in the low-to-mid 5% range if you compare it to a conventional mortgage.
This program is also costly as Obama plans to pay for it by charging banks additional fees and we all know that this trickles down to the consumer. The Temporary Payroll Tax illustrates how banks have increased mortgage rates AND the cost to extend a rate lock commitment.
It’s reported that the new program will not require an appraisal or proof of income and will be available for primary residences only. Employment will need to be verified and mortgage payments must have been made on time for the last 6 months. Although this is “Obama’s Refi Plan”, we have to wait and see if Congress approves it and how the big banks and lenders will embrace this program.
If you currently have an FHA insured mortgage, you don’t need to wait and see if Obama’s refi plan will help you. You may already be able to refinance with an FHA streamlined refi without an appraisal.
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If you are interested in a mortgage for a home located anywhere in Washington state, I’m happy to help you! I have been originating all types of loans at Mortgage Master Service Corporation since 2000. Click here for your no-hassle mortgage quote on your Washington property.
Mortgage Update for the Week of October 10, 2011
October 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Today we recognize Christopher Columbus which means that the bond markets are closed. Did you know that October 9th is Lief Erikson Day? Speaking of Europe, the DOW is up 277 as I write this post (10:35 am) since it looks like Europe may be getting closer to solving their financial crisis. There are no economic indicators scheduled to be released today.
Here is what's scheduled for the remainder of the week:
Wednesday, October 12: FOMC Minutes
Thursday, October 13: Balance of Trade and Initial Jobless Claims
Friday, October 14: Retail Sales and Consumer Sentiment (UoM)
Remember, typically good news for the stock markets tends to drive mortgage rates higher as investors will trade the safety of bonds (like mortgage backed securities) for the greater returns possible with stocks. Last Friday was an example of this when the Jobs Report was released with better than expected data.
While we hope for good news for our economy and signs of recovery, keep in mind that this may cause mortgage rates to trend higher. Signs of inflation will also drive mortgage rates higher.
Although rates are still historically low, they have been trending higher over this past week.
With the bond markets closed for Columbus Day, some of our lenders are taking the day off and we do others available should you decide you want to lock in a mortgage rate today for purchase or refinance in Washington.
Happy Columbus Day and belated Leif Erikson Day.
“Going Above and Beyond” is Doing Our Jobs
May 22, 2011 by 2 Comments
I received a really nice thank you card from Shannon Ressler at Findwell Realty last week that I want to share with you. We recently helped Shannon's clients buy a vintage bungalow that was a short sell in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle using an FHA insured mortgage. Being a short sell and an FHA insured loan, there was no shortage of paper work and the transaction was coming "down to the wire".
Closing was set to take place on Friday…and early Thursday morning, I received a message from one of our buyers saying he was flying out at noon for a family event…he'd be back on Monday. Luckily Mike was able to reschedule his flight until four, however, we were still in a crunch to get docs out. NOTE: I normally like to have loan docs out several days before signing…but sometimes transactions (especially short sales) don't happen that way.
Extentending contracts with short sales can be a chore since in addition to dealing with a buyer and a seller, you also have the seller's lender. Adding to this, I had renegotiated our clients interest rate lock lower and the lender I had the rate locked with charges a higher extension fee once a rate lock has been renegotiated. We really needed to close on time.
We were able to rush loan docs out to the escrow company. As a correspondent lender, we prepare our loan docs at our main office in Kent and we make our own underwriting decisions (following guidelines, of course)…escrow was gracious receiving loan docs last minute AND THEN, their system crashes. I have to say, I've never had this happen! Mike's flight out was rapidly approaching. We were running out of time and escrow's computers were not cooperating.
Marilyn Porter, President of Mortgage Master Service Corporation (and my sister-in-law) had an additional set of their loan docs printed and we arranged to meet our buyers at Sharps Roasters by SeaTac Airport. While we were heading to Sharps, Mike and Mary obtained their cashiers checks for the estimated amount due for closing. Marilyn even had a couple orders of sliders and fries waiting for everyone…figuring with all the rushing around, they'd probably be hungry.
By the time we were done with the signing, escrow's system was back up and they emailed their docs (escrow instructions, estimated HUD-1 Settlement Statement) to our clients to sign and return. I created a video review of their estimated HUD since escrow was not able to review it with them.
Our job wasn't over. Escrow needed the buyer's cashiers checks before 4:00 that day in order to have them in time for funding tomorrow. We wound up having the wire instructions emailed to our phones and we deposited the buyers checks directly into escrow's accounts.
And, I'm happy to say that we DID fund and close on time.
I am so proud of the crew I work with at Mortgage Master Service Corporation.
Thank YOU Shannon, for your recommendation and thoughtful card! Shannon was an asset throughout this transaction, it was a great team effort from all.
Mortgage Loan Originator Compensation Changing on April Fools
February 25, 2011 by 2 Comments
I’m going to start this post by saying I can bet certain people are going to chime in that this needed to happen and LO’s will still thrive and do fine…and I can also bet that those who will sing that song have not recently been a mortgage originator. They may be exposed to mortgage originators from being employed in the real estate industry, but in my opinion, they are “arm-chair quarterbacks” at best. Enough said…on to my post.
Effective April 1, 2011 rules regarding how mortgage originators (anyone who takes a residential loan application) may be compensated will be implemented. Currently most mortgage loan originators (MLO) are paid by the consumer (points), by the wholesale lender (rebate pricing) or a combination of both. MLOs may also be paid a salary and receive additional compensation based on volume (many banks pay this way). These rules are created by the Fed through modifications to Reg Z. Even though the rule goes into effect on April 1, 2011; lenders will probably enact deadlines in advance (sometime in March).
It’s no surprise to me that there are two different sets of rules based on if the mortgage loan originator is employed by a bank or true corresponent lender (like Mortgage Master Service Corporation) verses a mortgage broker. MLO’s who are employed by a bank or true correspondent are not paid directly by the consumer, they are paid by their employer (also referred to as the “creditor”). Mortgage Brokers are once again kicked in the teeth with the changes to Reg Z. I do wish we all had the same set of rules (including all being licensed) as consumers should not have to determine the type of originator and varying set of the regulations that apply.
Mortgage Brokers will no longer be allowed to receive “dual compensation”. This means that MLOs employed by a mortgage broker will only be able to recieve compensation paid by the consumer OR paid by the wholesale lender. Let’s say that today, a rate priced with zero points is 5.000% (rebate pricing is 1 pt to the broker) and priced with 1 point origination fee paid by the consumer buys the rate to 4.75% (zero rebate from the lender), a mortgage broker could offer these scenarios. If the consumer decided they would like to have the rate of 4.875% and are willing to pay 0.5% in origination fee with the broker receiving 0.5% from the wholesale lender in rebate, this is not allowed per Reg Z. From my understanding, retail mortgage loan officers (employed by banks and true correspondents) will still have this option because the consumer is not directly paying the mortgage originator. I’m very thankful that I work for a correspondent lender, however it’s really not fair for the mortgage brokers.
Mortgage Loan Originators may not be paid based on the terms and conditions of the loan. The loan amount is not considered a term or condition however the interest rate is. This rule also prohibits “steering” a consumer to lender offering less favorable terms in order to increase the loan originator’s compensation”.
Owners of mortgage companies are currently scrambling trying to figure out how to compensate their mortgage originators.
In my opinion, changes to RegZ seem to favor how many big banks have been paying their mortgage originators: volume. How does a consumer benefit when the MLO who is taking care of their purchase or refinance is compensated by how many loans they can close in a specific period of time? Banks will continue to pay their MLOs less per transaction as they complete as many loan applications as possible as they sit and wait for next trusting bank customer to walk into the branch. In my opinion, banks want to pull the industry (quality of mortgage originator) down to their level so they have less competition.
I’m wondering which industry will our government get into next to control how one is paid? With what’s gone wrong in the housing industry, are the commissions paid to a real estate agent low hanging fruit?
If your bank doesn’t charge an overage or points, what do you call this?
How am I paid? (2007)
How Much Info Can Your Mortgage Originator Share – Part 2
January 26, 2011 by 1 Comment
I asked Jillayne Schlicke of CE Forward to chime in on a question (below) that I received from one of my readers. I’m happy to say, she wrote an entire page and therefore, I’m sharing this post, written by Jillayne with you. Part 1 of this article, where I address the question, can be read by clicking this link.
As a loan originator, is it ethical to deny someone for a loan and then turn around and share not only that the loan was denied, but the EXACT reason the loan was denied (for example: too many NSFs, large deposit in checking account, hours cut back at work, etc.) with the applicant’s Realtor as well as the listing agent who in turn shares it with the sellers?
Jillayne’s response:
Disclosure Periods: Three Days Counted Three Different Ways
August 3, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Anyone who's refinanced a home they live in probably remembers having to wait a couple days after signing before their loan can close. This is called the Three Day Right of Recsission. Thanks to all our new guidelines over the past year, we now have waiting periods triggered if your rate changes (for better or worse) with MDIA and once you receive your appraisal thanks to HVCC. All of these waiting periods are for three days and each one is counted differently–go figure! Here's a quick overview.
Home Value Code of Conduct. (HVCC) On residential transactions where there is an appraisal, we are required to provide the borrower a copy of the appraisal three full days before signing. This is very similar to the right of recession where it's "postal days" that are counted. A rush transaction can be put into a pinch if the appraisal is received late. Receive the appraisal on a Friday, and the earliest the borrower can sign is Wednesday.
Three Day Day Right of Rescission: This applies to refinances of a primary residence and is triggered the day of signing. Three, what I like to call "postal days" must pass after you sign before your transaction can fund. So if you sign on Monday, the earliest the loan can fund (close) is Friday; sign on Tuesday, the earliest your mortgage can fund is Monday.
Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act: MDIA has two waiting periods: how soon a mortgage originator can collect funds after an application–depending on how an application is taken AND a redisclosure period if your APR (annual percentage rate) changes by an 0.125% for fixed rates and 0.25% for an adjustable rate. The redisclosure period is also three days however the first day starts after the redisclosure and the earliest a borrower can sign is on the third day. Most Seattle area real estate contracts have language providing an automatic extension of the closing date should closing be delayed due to MDIA (this is different than your rate lock extension).
Lately I've been renegotiating rate lock commitments for my clients, and even when I'm improving their rate, I need to redisclose and trigger the MDIA waiting period. If it's a refinance, I need to be especially careful of not causing a lock extension if we run out of time due to the MDIA disclosure AND the Right of Rescission time period.
What was done "for the best interest of the consumer" has caused some transactions to be delayed. It's important to be aware of the various timing factors that may be involved with your transaction. Delaying your appraisal or not being able to get to your signing appointment in time with a refinance can wind up costing in the form of an extension fee when you factor all the timing periods…which everyone wants to avoid (and is why I like to lock a little longer when possible).
If I can help you with a mortgage on a home located in Washington state, please contact me. Click here if you would like a rate quote for your home located in Washington.
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