Dec Mortgage Update

fishbait · 12-19-2007, 09:52 AM

Interesting time to be in the mortgage business.

Take the current housing situation and then add in an election year, and who knows what will the outcome will be.

First, 30 yr fixed rates are hovering around 5.875% and 15 yr at 5.375%. They have actually been pretty steady for awhile.

You are most likely hearing and reading about all the "reforms" that people feel are needed. No doubt, there will be some changes and hopefully they will be beneficial to all the future buyers. And if some of the people currently in trouble with their house can be helped out, thats a good thing also.

If every buyer out there that is in trouble had taken the time to fully understand the terms of their ARM especially when and how it would adjust and if every loan officer would have made sure to fully disclose all the information and make sure the borrower knew what could happen and then they made a plan for when the adjustment would happen, a significant portion of these borrowers would not be in trouble.

Unfortunately my industry is and has been lightly regulated and less than honest people are/were allowed to write loans. There is no real fix, but I just have to go back to the old axiom of........ Let the buyer beware. In God and our Mothers we trust, everything else gets fully checked out.

As always, if you have any real estate financing questions or (hot fishing tips) please feel free to call me any time. I will guarantee you honest answers and advice.

Joe C · 12-19-2007, 10:06 AM

Keep in mind too that plenty of people without ARMs are in trouble too. I've been trying to relocate up to Oregon since the summer. Homes in my neighborhood in Orange County (a desireable neighborhood to live in) are selling for roughly 100k less than they appraised for one year ago. I can only imagine how much homes have dropped in all the outlying areas (san bernardino, riveside, etc)

Not a fun time to relocate.

We had a solid fixed 30 year loan, but due to the fact that both of our jobs are real-estate related, a move is necessary. The damage is basically done in so cal, vegas, arizona, etc. I realize there are some hardships in Oregon too, but I suppose y'all can look on the bright side when compared with other areas.

I have a feeling things are gonna get a whole lot worse before they get better.