Mortgage Finance

San Diego area mortgages

2008-12-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage‎ - Write a review

501 West Broadway, San Diego, CA‎ - (619) 615-3600‎

"Everytime I walk into this branch they astound me with their customer service and helpful attidtudes."‎ 1 review

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Wells Fargo Home Mortgage‎ - Write a review

1199 Highland Ave, National City, CA‎ - (619) 336-0154‎

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Mission Home Mortgage‎ - Write a review

1633 W Lewis St, San Diego, CA‎ - (619) 688-0011‎

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Countrywide Home Loans‎ - Write a review

100 Island Ave, San Diego, CA‎ - (619) 687-6000‎

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Home Plus Mortgage‎ - Write a review

3505 Camino Del Rio S # 264, San Diego, CA‎ - (619) 325-8282‎

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US Bank Home Mortgage‎ - Write a review

5787 Chesapeake Ct, San Diego, CA‎ - (866) 292-0136‎

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Mission Home Sales & Mortgage‎ - Write a review

3990 Old Town Ave # A115, San Diego, CA‎ - (619) 682-4900‎

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Home Star Mortgage‎ - Write a review

4909 Murphy Canyon Rd # 460, San Diego, CA‎ - (858) 627-1919‎

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Wells Fargo Home Mortgage‎ - Write a review

4365 Executive Dr, San Diego, CA‎ - (858) 623-0629‎

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Plaza Home Mortgage‎ - Write a review

5090 Shoreham Pl, San Diego, CA‎ - (858) 346-1200‎

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New York real estate

2008-12-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

As expected, commercial real estate is taking a dive in New York

Last year, when the New York real estate market was still frothy, large blocks of office space were hard to come by. Not anymore.

Almost 16 million square feet is currently listed as available in large blocks in 68 office buildings in Manhattan, according to Colliers ABR, a commercial brokerage firm. That is nearly double the space available a year ago, both in terms of the number of large office blocks — which in New York usually means 100,000 square feet or more — and in terms of total square feet.

Those figures are widely expected to go much higher

Interest rates

2008-12-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

Mortgage interest rates are dropping and may be dropping even more.

The housing market may finally be getting some relief, with lower mortgage rates already encouraging refinancing and Treasury officials considering ways to entice new buyers.
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Last week, the Federal Reserve announced that it would buy $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae. Mortgage rates immediately dropped, and that led to a surge in mortgage refinancing activity for the week — even with the Thanksgiving holiday.

On Wednesday, people close to the discussions said that the Treasury had been talking with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about ways to drive down mortgage rates to as low as 4.5 percent. That rate is about a percentage point lower than the going rates for such loans.

Home price freefall

2008-12-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

Home prices are tumbling (registration required). But you might be able to find some bargains in Las Vegas.

Prices fell 32 percent in Las Vegas, the most of any metropolitan area measured, in September to an average of $110.35 a square foot. In Sacramento, the decline was also 32 percent to $137.01, Radar Logic said.

Not every bank is run by an idiot

2008-12-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

US Bancorp appears to actually have competent management.

Richard Davis, CEO of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, refused to underwrite or securitize subprime credit created by mortgage brokers and underwriters that was often packaged with debt and exotic financial instruments. Once the high-yield rage of Wall Street, those loans have proved toxic for institutional investors and hedge funds, for failing banks -- and for homeowners who never should have been underwritten.

Loss Mitigation

2008-12-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

Mortgage Banking Magazine has a short news brief in their November 2008 issue about the danger to mortgage lenders of insufficient loss mitigation.

It's on the second page of this pdf

The Investment Bank Bailout

2008-09-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

Romney says that the government should buy assets of failed investment banks at "fair market value".

That's just nonsense.

Fair market value is what a buyer is willing to pay. If there is such a buyer then they don't need a government bailout. There's no market for their bad paper. Nobody wants it. An official that talks about fair market value is just telling you he knows where the WMD's are. It's a con.

We don't need a government bailout. But congress is taking the idea seriously enough to be willing to buy into the nonsense by arguing about details. The basic idea is a bad one, not matter what the details.

Real Estate Investment

2008-02-07T21:09:00.000-08:00

Real Estate can be an investment instrument. Real Estate that can generate income works as investment income. Apartment houses, warehouses, farm land, and other kinds of income producing real estate are investment instruments.

Your house is not an investment instrument.

When a real estate broker or mortgage banker tells you that you don't have to worry about finance costs of buying a house becuase it's just an investment that will increase in value and the appreciation in value will magically take care of all those nitty gritty mortgage finance problems you need to pack up your papers and run. Stay far, far away from those people.

Your home is a place to live. It has maintenance costs attached. It does not generate income. It is not an investment.

Double Blind has a nice post explaining this idea.

Looking at Your Mortgage Options - down payment (first step)

2008-02-07T18:58:00.000-08:00

The first thing to think of when considering a loan for a home mortgage is the size of the down payment. How much cash can do you have that's available for long term investment in the home?

The standard is twenty percent of the purchase price of the home. If you have a twenty percent down payment (and a decent credit history) you'll be in the driver's seat regarding interest rates, terms, and other options of the mortgage. You'll be able to get a mortgage without that large a down payment, you just won't get one with terms as favorable as you'll be able to get with theat 20 percent downpayment for your home mortgage loan.

The first step in developing your options for a home purchase is to simply add up the cash you have available for a down payment. Multiply by 4. That's how much house you can afford. I'm not suggesting 5 because it's a mistake to use all the money you have available for that twenty percent down payment. You're going to need cash in reserve for unanticapated purchase expenses, move expenses, and other contingencies. So leave yourself some slack by muliplication by 4. That means you'll have an extra 5 percent of the purchase price as a cushion.

Keeping some slack in your estimates is a key factor in making sound financial plans. Always leave yourself some room.

If that amount of money (the cash you have available for a down payment times 4) will buy you enough of a house for your needs then you're in great shape as far as ability to obtain mortgage financing for your new home. Go find yourself a house.

If not, then your mortage options might be more restrictive. In the next post I'll look at a ten percent down payment.