Guaranty Mortgage

Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored Enterprises, indicated that it is hard to miss the incentives to act presented by the need to generate income. He was speaking at a hearing on the credit ratings agencies. He said it’s “scary” that the credit rating agencies are profit-driven and suggested that it’s time to remove the “profit motive.” Another congressman criticized the agencies for giving investment grade ratings to loan pools that include stated income and teaser rate loans.

Some Mortgage Rates Move Dramatically, Others Stall
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended September 7 showed a dramatic drop in the 30- year FRM, from 6.42 percent with 1.09 points (including the origination fee) to 6.25 percent with 1 point. Mortgage application volume increased… Read More Now

12 money-saving ways to get ready for the holidays
Don’t wait until 12 days before Christmas to get into the yuletide spirit. With some early holiday planning, you can save money and ease seasonal stress.

Frugal fun with food
Turn your dinner leftovers into lunch the next day.

Save by shopping for generic drugs
Experts say they’re just as safe as prescription drugs, and usually much cheaper.

Schumer Bill Would Lift GSE Portfolio Caps
Congress and the Administration may be headed for a clash on yet another front - the size of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s owned portfolios. On Monday Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation that would… Read More Now

8 ways to cut honeymoon costs
Don’t blow the money you frugally saved on the wedding.

Earnings, Assets & Operations
Second quarter earnings for banks and thrifts decreased more than 2 percent annually to $37 billion primarily due to loan loss provisions — which increased 77 percent year-over-year to $11.3 billion, TheStreet.com Ratings announced. Bear Stearns said in a conference call that it recognized net inventory mark downs in its fixed-income sector of about $700 million during the third quarter ended Aug. 31. Great River Bank & Trust entered into a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, agreeing to ensure its lending management and staff are adequately qualified and trained.

Solid M.I. Volume
During August, $27 billion in mortgage insurance policies were written, the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America reported. Volume was higher than in July and than in August 2008, the data indicated. The number of new mortgage insurance applications jumped from the previous month.

Moody’s Investors Service said it downgraded two tranches from Group I of Chase Funding Trust, Series 2001-3. The three most subordinated classes from Bear Stearns ABS Trust Certificates 2001-3 were placed on review for possible downgrade. Also facing possible lower ratings are seven certificates of subprime mortgage-backed Meritage Mortgage Loan Trust 2004-1 and 2004-2. In the commercial MBS sector, Moody’s announced it upgraded ratings on two classes of Morgan Stanley Capital I Inc., Series 1999-RM1. Commercial Mortgage Asset Trust, Series 1999-C2 received upgrades on three classes, Moody’s reported.

Avoiding estate fights if parent remarries
Poor planning can set up ugly conflicts and court battles between children and their stepparents.

Commercial Production Soars
U.S. commercial production jumped 26 percent from the first quarter to the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association announced. Volume was 40 percent better than a year earlier, the report said. MBA noted a number of large deals contributed to the increase — pushing the average loan size to $15.6 million.

Beware of lemon car buybacks
Avoid a bitter taste when buying a car by researching the lemon law, says Terry Jackson.

8 ways to cut honeymoon costs
Don’t blow the money you frugally saved on the wedding.

Interest-only bridge loan has risk
Interest-only ARM’s monthly payments can increase if it converts to fixed-rate mortgage, says Dr. Don.

Borrower Behavior Shift Blamed for Bad Ratings
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Standard and Poor’s testified before the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday. Subprime loans made from late 2005 through early 2007 behave differently from loans made in prior times — even when the loans share the same credit characteristics, an S&P executive told lawmakers. Historically-rooted behavioral patterns that served as the foundation for analysis lack their prior value, she said.

Hire a professional to help with employee taxes, says CPA George Saenz.

Even before the Federal Reserve’s half point rate cut on Tuesday Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed another dramatic downturn in both long and short term interest rates for conventional mortgages. Read More Now

Fed Slashes Interest Rates By 50 Basis Points
The Federal Reserve slashed benchmark interest rates by a half point in an agressive move to prevent the economy from moving into recession and to ease the pains of the housing bubble. The decision to cut the overnight federal funds rate from 5.25% to 4.75% was unanimous. This is the lowest level since May of 2006 and the first time the Fed has cut interest rates since June 2003. It was the first 1/2 point cut since November of 2002. Read More Now

Wilbur N. Ross Jr. intends to bid on American Home Mortgage’s servicing unit in bankruptcy court. The billionaire investor told MortgageDaily.com that now is the time to start his planned entry into the mortgage business. Ross said he had been studying the industry for more than a year before making the move to acquire the unit.

Schumer Bill Would Lift GSE Portfolio Caps
Congress and the Administration may be headed for a clash on yet another front - the size of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s owned portfolios. On Monday Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation that would… Read More Now

Beware of lemon car buybacks
Avoid a bitter taste when buying a car by researching the lemon law, says Terry Jackson.

Bankruptcy Sends Borrowers Scrambling
Personal Financial Management and Image Masters Inc. sent a letter to its customers informing them that the company had declared bankruptcy. Borrowers were told to start making their mortgage payments directly to their mortgage lender. The company operated a scheme where homeowners borrowed equity from their homes for Personal Financial Management to invest.

Fed Slashes Interest Rates By 50 Basis Points
The Federal Reserve slashed benchmark interest rates by a half point in an agressive move to prevent the economy from moving into recession and to ease the pains of the housing bubble. The decision to cut the overnight federal funds rate from 5.25% to 4.75% was unanimous. This is the lowest level since May of 2006 and the first time the Fed has cut interest rates since June 2003. It was the first 1/2 point cut since November of 2002. Read More Now

Every week I predict what will happen with mortgage rates. I’ve guessed correctly 18 times in the last 52 weeks, for a batting average of .346.

Housing Starts Hit 12-Year Low
Housing starts in August hit the lowest level on an annualized basis since July 1995 The news would have been even worse if it were not for a substantial increase in activity in multi- family housing starts. Construction on projects with… Read More Now

Yields up, rates down
Yesterday the Federal Reserve cut its target for the overnight federal funds rate by half a percentage point. The 10-year Treasury has gone up 13 basis points since last Wednesday.

Mortgage Fraudsters Finding Ways To Exploit Bubble Bust
It is hard to find a tragedy in the world that some heartless rat can’t find a way to exploit and the current and growing incidence of foreclosures doesn’t violate the rule. “Recent statistics suggest that escalating foreclosures provide criminals with the opportunity to exploit and defraud vulnerable homeowners seeking financial guidance. Read More Now

Populists get their rate cut
The elitists quietly envisaged a quarter-point decrease in the federal funds rate, and the populists cheered for the Fed to slash the rate by half a percentage point.

Save by shopping for generic drugs
Experts say they’re just as safe as prescription drugs, and usually much cheaper.

Putting the FHA on the hook
This week, the House passed H.R. 1852, known colloquially as “FHA modernization” and officially as the “Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007.”

Every week I predict what will happen with mortgage rates. I’ve guessed correctly 18 times in the last 52 weeks, for a batting average of .346.

8 ways to cut honeymoon costs
Don’t blow the money you frugally saved on the wedding.

Some Mortgage Rates Move Dramatically, Others Stall
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended September 7 showed a dramatic drop in the 30- year FRM, from 6.42 percent with 1.09 points (including the origination fee) to 6.25 percent with 1 point. Mortgage application volume increased… Read More Now

Mortgage Market Disruptions Short-Lived According To NAR
Lawrence Yun, senior economist for NAR said that unusual disruptions are dampening the outlook for home sales, notably for August and September. “There’s been an unusual hit to home sales, starting in March when subprime problems emerged and more recently when problems spread to jumbo loans, with many potential buyers on the sidelines. “However, the jumbo loan market is now beginning to settle, and…” Read More Now

Populists get their rate cut
The elitists quietly envisaged a quarter-point decrease in the federal funds rate, and the populists cheered for the Fed to slash the rate by half a percentage point.

HSBC Finance Corp. will shut down its Decision One Mortgage subsidiary, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will direct its focus to consumer operations under the HFC and Beneficial brands. An executive for London-based parent HSBC Holdings plc, noted in the statement that the subprime wholesale unit represented just a small part of its U.S. business.

IRS will tax deductible IRA
If you haven’t filed IRS form, you will have to prove nondeductible IRA contributions, says CPA George Saenz.

Fitch Ratings announced it is encouraged by Thornburg’s recent efforts toward improving funding through a $575 million convertible preferred stock offering and reducing borrowings under its warehouse financing lines with proceeds from a recent collateralized mortgage obligation transaction. IndyMac was downgraded to junk status by Moody’s Investors Service, according to an announcement. Capstead Mortgage Corp. announced it plans to make a public offering of 8.5 million common stock shares. Freddie Mac will buy securities backed by around $6 billion in residential loans.

Foreclosure Remedies
The U.S. Senate recently approved $200 million in aid for organizations that counsel borrowers in preventing foreclosures. The U.S. Treasury announced its Community Development Financial Institutions Fund awarded over $27 million to 68 organizations serving economically distressed communities in 30 states. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices reported that states are leading the way in developing solutions to prevent foreclosures and future problems, noting that the percentage of mortgages entering foreclosure this year hit its highest level in 28 years.

Mortgage Market Disruptions Short-Lived According To NAR
Lawrence Yun, senior economist for NAR said that unusual disruptions are dampening the outlook for home sales, notably for August and September. “There’s been an unusual hit to home sales, starting in March when subprime problems emerged and more recently when problems spread to jumbo loans, with many potential buyers on the sidelines. “However, the jumbo loan market is now beginning to settle, and…” Read More Now

8 ways to cut honeymoon costs
Don’t blow the money you frugally saved on the wedding.

Gas-saving devices mostly a scam
Government tests show most gadgets don’t do a thing to help improve mileage.

Treasuries Sour Late Thursday
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.3 percent, inching up from a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac’s latest survey. The 15-year reportedly averaged 6.0 percent, also edging higher. But the benchmark for such rates, the 10-year Treasury note yield, experienced a sharp increase late Thursday.

Mortgage Fraudsters Finding Ways To Exploit Bubble Bust
It is hard to find a tragedy in the world that some heartless rat can’t find a way to exploit and the current and growing incidence of foreclosures doesn’t violate the rule. “Recent statistics suggest that escalating foreclosures provide criminals with the opportunity to exploit and defraud vulnerable homeowners seeking financial guidance. Read More Now

The elitists quietly envisaged a quarter-point decrease in the federal funds rate, and the populists cheered for the Fed to slash the rate by half a percentage point.