Rates continue to be fantastic today! while economic news is still mixed and will probably remain mixed for the rest of this year at least. The stock market is up slightly, but as long as the Feds continue to purchase mortgage bonds, rates will remain at these beautiful rates. I don't know what else to call it - rates UNDER 5% are beautiful and should help a lot of people keep their homes, in spite of a lot of gloomy news. Average rate for 30 year fixed rate mortgages last week was at 4.7%, per a spokesperson from Fannie Mae. The foreclosure moratorium has been lifted. Lenders are once again filing new Notices of Default, which is step one in the foreclosure process. With unemployment looming at 25 year highs in March, the number of foreclosures will continue to increase as well. Fifty thousand (50,000) new notices of default were filed in March alone. Currently, California is leading the nation in the number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process (per capita - which makes the numbers even uglier, since California is also a national leader in population numbers.) Capital One and Bank of America are both reporting that credit card payment defaults are also on the rise, which could lead to some downside earnings surprises if this trend continues with banks and credit card issuers. Capital One announced today credit card charge offs up 9.33% in March alone. Today is April 15th. For those of you who have not yet filed your tax returns, please read below. It looks like the IRS is ready to show us some mercy this year. Meltdown 101: Can't pay your taxes? Don't panic By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, AP4 hours ago It's here, April 15, the deadline for filing income tax returns, and the IRS has some reassuring words for procrastinators, especially those who can't pay what they owe: Don't panic. The agency also has some advice: File a return anyway, or at least file for an extension. "The worst thing you can ever do with the IRS is ignore them," said Jackie Perlman, an analyst with the Tax Institute at H&R Block. "They don't like to be ignored." The Internal Revenue Service expects to receive more than 20 million tax returns this week. The agency had received about 102 million as of the end of last week. With job losses mounting and the economy in shambles, the IRS has promised to be kinder and gentler to those who are struggling to pay their tax bills. The agency is offering to waive late penalties, negotiate new payment plans and postpone asset seizures for delinquent taxpayers who make a good-faith effort to settle their federal tax debts. But agents will continue to impose big penalties on those who simply neglect to file an income tax return. "We also have to be tough on those who flout the law and won't pay what they owe," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "The American people who play by the rules every day expect us to go after those taxpayers who don't pay their taxes." And, in recognition of TAX DAY, some restaurants and fast food companies want to help us out. McCormick and Shmidts is offering several menu items priced at $10.40 (Form 1040 of your tax return?) for today only. Cinnabon is giving away FREE bite sized cinnabons. Sorry - the announcer was talking too fast for me to write down all the offers, but there are a few other food specials happening today as well. Enjoy the day today. The weather forecasters are promising us sunshine and 80 degrees this weekend!! Best regards, Shelby Bateson Town & Country Mortgage 10228 SW Capitol Highway Portland, OR 97219 503-819-6545 phone 1-866-626-2828 fax Lic # ML-3604 http://www.shelbytncmortgage.com * Best rates apply to borrowers with Loan to Value at or below 90% and credit scores of 740+. ** Best FHA rates apply to credit scores of 620 and up. There are upward rate adjustments for lower credit scores on all loan programs. Some lenders are offering better rates for higher credit scores on all loan programs. All rates are subject to change without notice. These rates are NOT APRs - do not include closing costs.
The stock market is up slightly, but as long as the Feds continue to purchase mortgage bonds, rates will remain at these beautiful rates. I don't know what else to call it - rates UNDER 5% are beautiful and should help a lot of people keep their homes, in spite of a lot of gloomy news. Average rate for 30 year fixed rate mortgages last week was at 4.7%, per a spokesperson from Fannie Mae.
The foreclosure moratorium has been lifted. Lenders are once again filing new Notices of Default, which is step one in the foreclosure process. With unemployment looming at 25 year highs in March, the number of foreclosures will continue to increase as well. Fifty thousand (50,000) new notices of default were filed in March alone. Currently, California is leading the nation in the number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process (per capita - which makes the numbers even uglier, since California is also a national leader in population numbers.)
Capital One and Bank of America are both reporting that credit card payment defaults are also on the rise, which could lead to some downside earnings surprises if this trend continues with banks and credit card issuers. Capital One announced today credit card charge offs up 9.33% in March alone.
Today is April 15th. For those of you who have not yet filed your tax returns, please read below. It looks like the IRS is ready to show us some mercy this year.
The agency also has some advice: File a return anyway, or at least file for an extension.
"The worst thing you can ever do with the IRS is ignore them," said Jackie Perlman, an analyst with the Tax Institute at H&R Block. "They don't like to be ignored."
The Internal Revenue Service expects to receive more than 20 million tax returns this week. The agency had received about 102 million as of the end of last week.
With job losses mounting and the economy in shambles, the IRS has promised to be kinder and gentler to those who are struggling to pay their tax bills. The agency is offering to waive late penalties, negotiate new payment plans and postpone asset seizures for delinquent taxpayers who make a good-faith effort to settle their federal tax debts.
But agents will continue to impose big penalties on those who simply neglect to file an income tax return.
"We also have to be tough on those who flout the law and won't pay what they owe," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. "The American people who play by the rules every day expect us to go after those taxpayers who don't pay their taxes."
And, in recognition of TAX DAY, some restaurants and fast food companies want to help us out.
McCormick and Shmidts is offering several menu items priced at $10.40 (Form 1040 of your tax return?) for today only.
Cinnabon is giving away FREE bite sized cinnabons.
Sorry - the announcer was talking too fast for me to write down all the offers, but there are a few other food specials happening today as well.
Enjoy the day today. The weather forecasters are promising us sunshine and 80 degrees this weekend!!
Best regards,
Shelby Bateson
Town & Country Mortgage
10228 SW Capitol Highway
Portland, OR 97219
503-819-6545 phone
1-866-626-2828 fax
Lic # ML-3604
http://www.shelbytncmortgage.com
* Best rates apply to borrowers with Loan to Value at or below 90% and credit scores of 740+. ** Best FHA rates apply to credit scores of 620 and up. There are upward rate adjustments for lower credit scores on all loan programs. Some lenders are offering better rates for higher credit scores on all loan programs. All rates are subject to change without notice. These rates are NOT APRs - do not include closing costs.
If you are having problems negotiating with your lender to get your current loan modified, we are happy to offer the service of referring you to a real estate attorney to hopefully handle this process for you.
We strongly encourage you to try to get your loan modified with your current lender yourself, before calling. We are hearing some wonderful success stories as the Obama administration is calling on lenders for cooperation during these difficult economic times.
Please do not hesitate to call if you have attempted a negotiation with your lender and been declined. You should be aware that not all lenders are cooperating at this time. However, you should also be aware that attorneys do not always accomplish what you are unable to accomplish on your own, no matter how much you pay for the service. AND, there are no guarantees.
As always please feel free to call at any time if you should have questions or concerns. I'm here to help any way that I can.
Shelby
503-819-6545
Happy Good Friday, and Happy Easter this Sunday.
Rates rose slightly yesterday, as the stock market surged on the Earnings report from Wells Fargo. Wells had pre-announced that they expected to show better than expected earnings for the first quarter of 2009, and they did not disappoint. The good earnings report was due, in large part to the incredible number of loans closed. March, and the first week of April have seen historically high numbers of loan refinance transactions. Mortgage rates remain in the upper **4% range for 30 year fixed rate loans. With the stock and bond markets closed today, rates remain unchanged from their close yesterday afternoon.
I attended a training session on the new "making home affordable" program. This is a fantastic opportunity for those of you with mortgages owned by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Once again, in order to find out if your loan is owned by either of these lender, please click on the links below.
http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/
https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/
It is possible that you will get a response back that tells you either Freddie or Fannie do not own your loan. It is critical that you enter your name and address exactly as it is shown on your loan documents. If the website tells you your loan is not Fannie or Freddie owned, you can double check with the lender servicing your loan. They DO have that information. However, many of you have loans that are NOT Fannie or Freddie owned for the following reasons:
1. Sub-prime loan
2. Stated income
3. Loan amount more than conforming loan limits of $417,000
4. Negative amortization loan - Fannie and Freddie did not buy this type of mortgage
4. Your loan was not sold to Fannie or Freddie
Investment properties were often sold to Fannie or Freddie. If you own investment property, you are eligible for the "making home affordable" program. However, you are limited to choosing only ONE loan to refinance through this program. Rates on these loans are pretty comparable to those for traditional refinance transactions, but many more of you will qualify for this program, and Lender fees are lower for this loan. If your loan is owned by Fannie Mae, you can include all closing costs in the new loan. If your loan is owned by Freddie Mac, you can include up to $2500 if the closing costs in your loan. You will have to pay any additional costs at the closing.)
If your loan payments include (private) mortgage insurance (either lender paid, or borrower paid), you are not eligible yet for this program. It is expected that you will become eligible as early as next month, so please keep watching. I'll let you know as soon as this portion of the program is rolled out.
(Some of you may have Lender paid mortgage insurance and not even realize it. Here's a hint - if your loan IS owned by Fannie or Freddie AND the loan amount was greater than 80% of the appraised value of your home, AND your monthly payment does not show a private mortgage insurance component, it is almost guaranteed that your loan DOES have lender paid mortgage insurance.) Please call if you aren't sure. I can help you figure it out.
Most lenders are open today doing business as usual. However, because the stock and bond markets are closed, no new loan locks are being accepted.
Have a fabulous Easter weekend. It looks like a big rain storm is forecast for Sunday, so you should probably schedule your Easter egg hunts either indoors or on Saturday.
** Best rates apply to borrowers with Loan to Value at or below 90% and credit scores of 740+. ** Best FHA rates apply to credit scores of 620 and up. There may be upward rate adjustments for lower credit scores on all loan programs. All rates are subject to change without notice. These rates are NOT APRs - do not include closing costs. Lower credit scores and higher debt ratios are being accepted for the "Making Homes Affordable" programs.
We are now taking applications for those of you who qualify for HARP refinancing of your current mortgage.
HARP is the Homeowner Affordability Refinance Program being offered for those homeowners who do not otherwise qualify to refinance their current home loan. This is the program that you are hearing so much about, if you watch the Financial News Programs such as CNBC or Bloomberg TV.
If your current loan is owned by either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae (call your current loan servicer to find out), you are probably eligible to refinance your home with HARP funds. We have several lenders offering this program NOW.
This loan will refinance your 1st mortgage only (if you have a 1st and 2nd mortgage). We can finance up to 105% of the current value of your home. This loan is for those who:
1. are underwater - owe more than the house is worth
2. have an interest rate higher than prevailing interest rates (currently under 5%)
3. have an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) that has re-set or will re-set shortly
4. want to refinance but because of the house valuation, will be required to pay mortgage insurance, making the refinance transaction not worth the closing costs.
5. are not eligible to refinance due to a decrease in monthly income (job layoffs, shorter hours, etc)
Please call if you want or need more information about whether or not you qualify. The rates could end up very low - there is no mortgage insurance requirement. In all cases, at least some of the closing costs can be added to the loan.
Best regards
The Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mortgage relief programs are accepting applications beginning today! These are the loan programs that will assist homeowners who are struggling with mortgage payments due to decreased income, increased payments because of an Adjustable rate mortgage rate re-set, or ineligibility for refinance because your loan to value ratio is too high (you can be underwater on your first mortgage within specified guidelines). The easiest way to determine if your mortgage is eligible for these loan programs is to call your current lender to find out if your loan is owned by either Freddie Mae or Fannie Mae. (your loan must be owned by one of these institutions in order to qualify during this phase of the roll-out).
If it is determined that your loan IS owned by either Fannie or Freddie, please give me a call, or send me an email, so I can help you determine if your loan falls within the rest of the guidelines. Remember that this refinance will apply to your first mortgage only (if you have a first/second combo loan), but it can reduce your monthly payments a LOT! The purpose of this program is to help those of you who are struggling to make your mortgage payments due to circumstances beyond your control.
The application process is relatively easy. These loans will require that you document your income, appraisals may not be required. The loan fees are low compared to a regular refinance transaction, but there are fees that may be able to be wrapped into the new loan).
The new loan rate will be determined based on what you can afford, and potentially could be quite low.
By the way, if you are a first time homeowner - "you have not owned a home for at least 3 years" - your home purchase will qualify you for an $8000 tax credit. I'm sure you've heard that. But did you know that you can file an amended tax return for 2009 and get that tax credit within a few weeks after your loan closes?
Please call or email me if you have any questions. Enjoy the sunshine today - according to the news this morning, this warm weather and sunshine will be doing the NW thing and disappearing starting tomorrow or Thursday.
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