With the pandemic pointing toward endemic, it’s a relief that the GSEs are starting to look at removing some of the COVID-related guidelines. Self-employed borrowers may find it a bit easier to qualify for a mortgage now…,just in time as rates head up. Fannie Mae just released an update effective today, February 2, 2022. There is a summary at the end of the announcement. Remember, the devil is always in the details.
As someone who has followed this topic for many years, with many debates, I’ve heard it all. Just today, posts on Facebook brought it up…again! What’s different now is a few weeks ago, I decided to get reliable information from a reliable source. To help clear up the confusion, I am sharing below some of what I have known and some of what I have learned. State and federal governments rely on revenue to function. …
Ahhh…another industry change while volume is at an all time high! Just what we need in 2021! We started talking about the new URLA in 2018; and then it changed…and then it changed again. Finally! After several years of the GSE’s designing formats, revising (adding and deleting) data points, and changing implementation dates…March 1, 2021 is upon us. So is…the URLA, the URLA-Additional Borrower and the Lender Loan Information. Bye-bye Co-Borrower! By now you probably know that …
Real estate transactions are the easiest way to launder money due to the size of the transactions and the amount of money that can be “cleaned”. All financial institutions are required to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act. Money laundering may also involve tax fraud as well as other potential crimes. All “financial institutions” must comply. According to the Bank Secrecy Act, a “financial institution” includes an exhaustive list of entities, including but not limited to: …
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect time to lock in an interest rate. Loan officers are asked on a daily basis, “What are rates going to do?” The fact is nobody knows …
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect time to lock in an interest rate. Loan officers are asked on a daily basis, “What are rates going to do?” The fact is nobody knows …
You wouldn’t know we were in the middle of a pandemic based on the housing market. That conforming limit keeps creeping up. It all seems crazy from when I started in the mortgage business in 1994, the conforming loan limit was $225,000. Fast forward 26 years…the 2020 limit was just increased another 9.0% to $548,250 for 2021. Checkout the Loan Limit Geocoder. Now, all we need to know is…what will Fannie and Freddie be doing come …
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect time to lock in an interest rate. Loan officers are asked on a daily basis, “What are rates going to do?” The fact is nobody knows …
Money laundering is a huge problem for financial institutions and monitoring compliance and reporting is a challenge. As I read through FinCEN’s recent announcement, it became clear…the law is not really clear! Because real estate transactions are large in dollars, they are one of the easiest places to “clean up the money.” If you think Anti-Money Laundering regulations are vague or too complicated, now is your chance to help clarify how current regulations may be …
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect time to lock in an interest rate. Loan officers are asked on a daily basis, “What are rates going to do?” The fact is nobody knows …
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect time to lock in an interest rate. Loan officers are asked on a daily basis, “What are rates going to do?” The fact is nobody knows …
My analogy to guidelines these days is they are like trying to hold jello in the palm of your hand. Squishy, slippery, moving; slipping through your fingers! Patience is a virtue! We need to understand that underwriters spend MUCH more time determining the amount of income that can be used for qualifying, how consistent it is or will be, the job status of employees, viability of employer’s business and documenting the file to meet secondary …
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect time to lock in an interest rate. Loan officers are asked on a daily basis, “What are rates going to do?” The fact is nobody knows …
Recently a mortgage loan originator in another state contacted me for help. He was stuck with an underwriter and was challenged by how to calculate the self employment income. In that conversation he told me how helpful it would be to originators to have a “loan advisor” to consult with. He encouraged me to set up Advisory Sessions and they are now available to any originator who knows the value of time. In addition to …
Why the two tier system anyway? Do consumers realize the difference? For the sake of full disclosure, my business is education. I am a mortgage educator. I write, record and instruct courses for depository and non-depository originators alike. Their job is the same! One could reasonably argue that I have an agenda; I earn my living on education. Does that make the argument for all originators to be educated any less valid? In 2007, I …
The Nationwide Multi-state Licensing System and Registry just posted an update on MLO testing. Here is the list of NMLS test centers opening as of May 1, 2020. The announcement went on to state alternative testing options: Starting in mid-May, SAFE MLO National Test candidates will also have the option to take the test via remote proctoring. More details will be provided soon. Once remote proctoring begins, test candidates will continue to have the option …
Don’t Try to Outsmart the Markets Getting ready to refinance your mortgage but waiting for rates to fall just one more time? Is that extra 1/8th percent ready to drop? Some consumers begin to follow economic news and perform no shortage of due diligence trying to pick the perfect time to lock in an interest rate. Loan officers are asked on a daily basis, “What are rates going to do?” The fact is nobody knows …
April 29, 2020 – The CFPB issued an Interpretive Rule today titled: Application of Certain Provisions in the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule and Regulation Z Right of Rescission Rules in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The rule allows for COVID-19 to be a “financial emergency reason for borrowers to WAIVE the TRID closing waiting period and the three-day right of rescission. “The Bureau understands that the COVID-19 pandemic could pose temporary business disruptions and challenges …
26,000,000 people filed for unemployment in the past several weeks; and it’s not over! The Coronavirus is causing serious financial issues for states. For the first time ever, independent contractors are eligible under the CARES Act , even though unemployment taxes may not have been paid in. When the states start looking at all the workers who were 1099, what action will they take? The IRS is just as interested in independent contractors, even more …