Mortgage Rates under 3%!

Calling all mortgages with rates over 5.25%! 30 year fixed at 4.5% …

Today rates are below 3% for a 5-year ARM loan; and as low as 3.5% on a 7-year ARM, depending on loan size. It is harder to qualify for the 5-year loan than the 7-year, since the rates is bumped up for underwriting purposes.

Springtime Mortgage News...and International Travel!

Spring is almost here, and I can’t tell you how happy I was to move the clock forward to enjoy more daylight! Rates are enjoying a little down-spring…due to market conditions following the tragedy in Japan. The stock market is off, so we are currently seeing improvement in interest rates across the board.

Please call me for specifics, as rates are all subject to adjustments for loan-to-value, loan purpose, FICO scores etc.

I have a number of clients who are planning remodels and/or upgrades to their homes. We are refinancing their current mortgages at lower or equivalent rates, to pull some cash out of their homes for completion of their home projects. Now is the time to move while rates are so attractive! Current fixed rates are lower than the rates for most HELOCs (Home Equity Lines of Credit) that adjust monthly and only have one way to go…up!

The other big news for loans is this: Although we don’t know exactly how it will look, or if it will go into effect on April 1st, loan officer compensation is scheduled to change. This will have an effect on the competitive pricing of your loan and ultimately is not in the best interest of the consumer.

Finally, the future of the 30 year fixed rate loan may be relatively short…so get it while you can. Projections of changes to the entire mortgage industry, and complete privatization of same (to get it off the taxpayer’s back) will mean a complete switch over to ARM loans. Banks don’t like to portfolio long term fixed rate loans. Period.

From Russia and Portugal…with love

Thanks to modern technology, I’ve had the unique experience of speaking via live video chat with Steve, who is currently in Russia on business, and with my son Kenny, who is in Lisbon with his graduate Architecture program. Yesterday I actually had both of them on my Gmail chat at the same time. Wow! One on video chat and the other on e-chat…

Steve is in Russia meeting with the developers of a luxury residential resort development in St. Petersburg, and had the opportunity to tour The State Hermitage museum among other historical sites.

Kenny is in Lisbon for six weeks and then off to Poland with his traveling school program. In the middle, he will be flying to UC Berkeley to present a paper at a conference entitled “The Death + Life of Social Factors,” A Conference Reexamining Behavioral and Cultural Research in Environmental Design. The conference is sponsored by the Berkeley Architecture Department and the College of Environmental Design. http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/events/conf/deathandlife

He’s also writing articles for publication in a few international design magazines. He doesn’t let much grass grow under his feet!

I have been keeping the home fires going, working at my office and working out at the gym. My latest discovery is BT-Fitness, a new gym in San Clemente. The owners/trainers Adam and Kimberly are passionate about their work and expert trainers offering classes with TRX/Kettlebell and SPX/Proformer systems. Check them out at www.bt-fit.com. Great workouts!

Dana Point Whale Festival

I attended the beach concert in the Harbor last Sunday afternoon with friends. The close of the annual Whale Festival, this is always a super fun and casual event. Families and groups of friends hang out on the sand, and there is dancing both in and out of the water. Lots of smaller water craft float around the barge where the bands play at Baby Beach.

After the concert my friends and I walked over to the island in the Harbor to check out the new Island Bar at Aventura. www.dpislanderbar.com
The restaurant is located above the Aventura Sailing Club with nice views of the Harbor and the ocean. They have live music Thursday through Sunday. We listened to the Flock of 80’s, a favorite of mine and a local San Clemente group who play around South County regularly.

2 Exciting New Mortgage Products!

There are many big changes on the horizon this year. First and foremost, there are two great improvements to programs:

Jumbo Reverse loans

Yes, they are back! We are going to be offering new jumbo reverse loans as high as $5,000,000 for high value homes. This is great news for many Orange County homeowners, since the FHA loan products currently available “cap out” at a $625,000 value.

Make Sense Underwriting – Asset based loan programs

Second, we have a new loan program offering loans to $5,000,000 that are asset based, for purposes of determining income and loan amount eligibility. They will also take assets as “pledged” additional security for loan amounts up to 90% LTV.

For example, if you have assets of $1,000,000 and are 50 years old, you are imputed with monthly income of $5000 a month in addition to income reflected on tax returns. If you have assets of $2,000,000 you are awarded an additional $10,000 a month in income. This “imputed” income is used to determine your eligibility for a refinance or purchase loan. The loans are all 5-, 7- or 10- year terms at competitive rates. THIS IS GREAT NEWS!

Financial planners especially like these programs since the assets are maintained “under management” even if pledged toward the new loan, and if they appreciate substantially they may be released.

Loan Officer Compensation

Last, but certainly not least, the manner in which originators will be paid is up for interpretation at present, due to new legislation l due to go into effect April 1st. No one knows for certain how it’s going to actually work.

Legislators have attempted to cap or limit the fees earned by loan originators so a flat amount per loan. Think of it as a stockbroker or salesman or any other individual paid on a commission basis having their gross commission per transaction limited to a fixed amount. Sound strange? Talk about too much regulation!