Bill McCord's Blog

Until recently the only hope of buying again after losing you house through default was with FHA, and for many that will still be the best voice.

 However, a new option is now possible.

The much maligned Fannie Mae is now allowing some people who avoided Foreclosure through either a Short Sale or a Deed in lieu of Foreclosure to get a regular Conventional Mortgage again.

The good news is that Fannie Mae will buy those loans from Banks that make them. It does not mean that all Banks will offer them.

Banks that do offer these loans will typically apply tougher standards than normal to offset what they might consider an increased risk.

To qualify you must have had good credit before and since the Short Sale / Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure.

If you can meet this requirement here are the times after which you will have a good chance to buy your own home again (at vastly lower prices and interest rates than you had before).

TWO (2) Years up to Maximum 80% Loan to Value | 20% Down Payment

FOUR (4) Years up to Maximum 90% Loan to Value | 10% Down Payment – Subject to Private Mortgage Insurance underwriting guidelines.

SEVEN (7) Years above 90% Loan to Value | with less than 10% Down Payment – Subject to Private Mortgage Insurance underwriting guidelines.

If you don’t want the lowest interest rate for as long as you own your home don’t bother reading this.

Everyone (except me) is telling you to just take a 30 year fixed mortgage.

 I’m saying that may be true for a lot of people, but is not true for the majority.

Q1. Are interest rates on 30 year fixed mortgages at all time lows? YES

Does this mean that everyone buying or refinancing should get a 30 year fixed mortgage? NO

Q2. Are interest rates on 5 and 7 year fixed rate ARM’s also at all time lows?  YES

Q3. Is the interest rate the same on all types’ of loans? NO

The rates on both 5 and 7 year ARM’s are substantially lower than the 30 year.

Q4. Is the difference worth bothering about? YES

Take a $300,000 30 year fixed mortgage at 4.0%. Payment is $1,432/m

Take a $300,000 7 year fixed ARM at 3.75%. Payment is $1,389/m. Savings after 7 years $3,162.

Take a $300,000 5 year fixed ARM at 3.5%. Payment is $1,347/m. Savings after 5 years $5,100.

Q5. If Bob and Alice are buying their first home and plan to start a family after 3 years is, it likely that the nice little 2 bed, 2 storey townhouse they get will suit them for the next 30 years? NO

Q6. Would it be smart for them to take a 5 or 7 year ARM and save thousands of dollars which will be useful when they inevitable move up to the detached house with a garden when the children come along. YES

The golden rule of mortgage selection is that one size does not fit all.

Your mortgage should be the one best suited for you at this time in your life and considering your future plans and expectations.

IF YOUR LOAN AGENT DOES NOT ASK YOU HOW LONG YOU EXPECT TO BE LIVING IN THE PROPERTY THEN THEY CANNOT ADVISE YOU WHAT WILL BE THE BEST LOAN FOR YOU.

TURNING 26 YEARS INTO 30 YEARS.

It’s not always a good idea to refinance a mortgage simply to lower the Monthly Payment.

Before you refinance a 30 year mortgage which has 26 years to go, and take a new 30 year loan, you must compare the total amount which will be paid over the life of each loan before deciding whether it makes economic sense.

The smartest way to take advantage of lower interest rates would be to calculate the amount you would have to pay each month in order to have the new loan paid off in 26 years, and then make an extra payment each month to achieve that highly desirable result.

If the new lower payment plus the extra to make it a 26 year loan is less than the amount you are currently paying then go for it. If not then you should reconsider other options before proceeding.

I cannot go into details regarding other options within a simple post such as this, but I can assure you they do exist. However the regular Loan Officer is not going to bring them to your attention. 

A recent nationwide survey asked a wide age range of Homeowners the following question:

“When is it smart to pay points to get your mortgage”?

Amazingly 83% of the respondents answered NEVER. This displays either an astounding ignorance of basic economics, or a desire to help Banks get richer.

The CORRECT ANSWER should be “When it saves me money with no extra risk“.

Put simply you pay points to get a lower Interest Rate. If you keep the loan for at least 5 years you will be showing a Profit. Every year from then on you add to that profit.

BUY IN HASTE, REPENT AT LEISURE.

John and Dave are as close to identical as is possible without actually being twins.

They both work at the same company, make the same money, had saved up the same 20% down payment for  a nice 2bed 2 bath condo in the same favourite complex for up to $250,000.

Problem was that only one unit was for sale back in April. Being good friends they agreed to spin a coin to see who got to buy 1st. John won and bought that one, and Dave waited for the next listing to come up.

That duly came up in late May and Daves offer of the same amount that John had paid was accepted.

They both got their 30 year mortgage for the same amount from the same Broker 6 weeks apart.

What’s interesting here is that for the next 30 years John will pay approximately $75/month more than Dave. This is due entirely to the drop in interst rates during the time between the 2 purchases.

Obviously John will hope to refinance to a lower rate as soon as possible but there is no guarantee that will be possible.

The most interesting part of this story is that due to the continued econonmic chaos it world wide Bond Markets mortgage interest rates are now even lower that Dave got, and are now at 40 year lows.

My message here is to pay more attention to how mortgages really work , and consider whether the 30 year fixed really is the best for you. For 90% of all buyers it is not.

If anyone would like to know how to make this decision just send me an e-mail and I’ll be happy to explain.

Not just a Mortgage Issue

 Most people know that your Credit Score (FICO) has a significant effect on whether you can get a Mortgage.

What is not generally known is that FICO is increasingly being used by Employers, Insurance Companies,

Utility Companies, Apartment Complexes and a growing list of other organization which provide services for regular payments.

These and many other groups consider it a good indicator of general reliability and whether bills will be paid on time.

Are you a potential 1st time buyer living in Californias Silicon Valley, and expect to live in your new home for at least 5 years/? YES YES YES.

0. Prices in our Valley have pretty much stabilized.

0 Interest rates are at all time lows.

0 There are multiple 1st Time Buyer programs from Cities, Countys, State, and Federal Governments. These can provide down payment assistance, and significantly reduce the cost of owning.

If your answer to my 1st question is negative then the answer is probably NO NO NO.

If you believe that prices are going to drop further and you plan to wait and buy at the bottom, please let me know how you will be able spot that bottom before it has already happened.

What’s the purpose of Credit Scores (FICO)?

To provide a Lender with an independent opinion on the probability that a possible Borrower will pay a Loan as agreed.

How is the score determined?

By looking at the history of payments on previous debts and developing a numerical SCORE which reflects that history. For example:

A score of 800 or more is EXCELLENT. Lenders compete for your business.

A score between 700 and 799 is GOOD. No major problem getting a Loan.

A score between 640 and 699 is POOR. Will pay higher interest rate for a loan.

A score below 640 is BAD. Very difficult to get a Mortgage at an acceptable rate.

NOTE. These examples relate to Mortgages. Other types of Lenders will have different score standards

What exactly is FICO?

The Credit scoring system developed by the Fair Isaac Co and used by the 3 major Credit Bureaus, EXPERIAN, EQUIFAX, and TRANS UNION. Each of these interprets the data slightly differently so produces a slightly different score.

What is MOST important in producing the score?

35% is Payment History. (Do you pay on-time, any Bankruptcies, foreclosures, debt Judgments etc?)

30% is Amount Owed. (Total amount owed as a percentage of credit available.)

15% is Length of Credit History. (Old debts are better than new debts.)

10% is New Credit. (Too much is a Negative.)

10% is Type of Credit. (Credit Cards, Store Cards, Mortgages etc.)

Where can I learn more?

www.MyFico.com is the Public information site for the Fair Isaac Company.

BEWARE of Credit Repair/fixing SCAMS. Anyone who wants money up front should is probably a SCAM.

Many strange things have happened these past few years but here’s one of the most interesting.

John Doe, his wife, and 4 children live in a small city North of San Francisco and had rented till around 2006 when they bought a nice house with more space than they had ever had. All was well till John lost his job in 2009, and 10 months later lost his house to Foreclosure.

He now lives in that same house as a Renter paying $1,800/month rent versus the $2,500/month and mortgage he previously paid as its owner.

This is the result of new type of Real Estate Investor buying multiple Bay Area foreclosed homes to be rented both for short term profit, and long term Capital Gains.

In this case the Investor is McKinley Capital Partners who have joined with a New York hedge fund who have so far bought about 300 homes and plan to add up to 500 more.

Some very basic research has shown me that this process is replicated in many other markets where the values have stabilized and an upward trend is very likely in the near future.

Zillow is one of several Web sites which provide a wide range of Real Estate information useful to the general public. For this I salute it. However, to a great extent it has also created an image of being a free souce of accurate information on the value of individual properties.For this I condem it.

If you want a reasonably accurate valuation of your property there will be 50 local real Estate Agents willing to provide a “free” Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)in the hope that if you are selling you will consider hiring them.

If you need a detailed estimate you can pay a profesional Appraiser between $200-$300 for it. In both cases you will get a valuation based on local knowledge of the house, it’s condition, and the circumstances of the comparable sales i.e. Short Sale, Foreclosure, Probate etc.
Now consider whether a computer program having non of this highly relevant data might be able to provide a more accurate result.
I’m a great believer in the old saying that we get what we pay for. Zillow is a perfect example of that.