FHA Mortgage Expert - Tri-State Area - New Jersey/PA/Delaware

Great post Jeff, and it's very good to see you back. Guess you have your end of year pipeline worked out!:)

Thanks for the link love too. I agree that the unintended consequences to government actions may be the biggest factor to slowing down our recovery in 2010.

Gerry Suarez, Jr.

Your FHA Loan Pro!

Thanks for the post.  I just am not quite sure what the best answere are for the government.  Actually, I do have some solutions but they are for a different day.

Welcome back Jeff.  Love the fact that your posts make us think.  I do agree that we must fix the problem.  How to get rid of the Greed and Selfishness is the question. 

GERRY..... . those consequences could be what brings us down as a country, because of the selfishness and greed. Politicians use to work for the public... and I have now second guess them for the last 2 years and wonder who they work for. In my own assumptions, I can with all honesty say that it doesn't seem to be for the American people....  I wish I was wrong.  And thanks for the polite compliment.

MICHAEL.... .sure, it can be tough to find the best answer. But I will say, this rediculous government spending is not going to help. What happened to cutting the deficit?  And who pays for this so-called government spending?  the printing press where this money comes from?  PS.. I would love for you to come back and give some of your solutions... please, I need some hope.  ;o)

TIM..... . thanks for the hello and for the compliment.  And yes, how do we get rid of this greed and selfishness?  Help... answers?  Suggestions?   thanks

Jeff,

Welcome back! I've been watching for Christmas photos of your sisters kids.

To the subject at hand.

"Conclusion: I am just fed up with the misleading information that circles from the government, to the media, and then to the consumer. I don't want to make this political, but there are some major political issues and this free spending will put us deeper in the hole. What we need is less government interaction and more small business interaction and private investment.  What do you say?  Think?"

I think the "nuts" are among the electorate! Anyone who voted for McCain in the premieres or Obama in the general election is getting what they deserve! I believe the sins of these voters will damn all our progeny!

 Bill

Jeff, put my name on the list of those who are glad to see you back.

Excellently done and your links to Gerry and JP really helped to flesh out your absolutely on target message.

#2 Foreclosures. Why oh why do the banks let a house go to foreclosure when a buyer and a seller want to negotiate a short sale. The EXTREME procrastination is what is hurting the housing market and escalating the amount of foreclosures.

Welcome Back ! I cannot wait till 2010 elections. There are few Democrats we can vote of office here but I will find some. Printing money is the way of the future.  Lets have no new laws passed for a year and we can improve.

We need to thank China for leving the value of their currency alone. This keeps prices and inflation down.

Ellie, Foreclosures, there may be more profit in foreclosures than in short sales.  It all depends on what someone paid for the mortgage. They may have paid 60 cents on the dollar.  Many are in it for the profit which makes it common sense.

Jeff~ I have heard that the New Good Faith Estimate is a nightmare. I have heard many lenders state that they don't know what is really the correct way to do things.  I have a 4 hr class tomorrow on the HUD 1 and I took a class in October and I guess it is obsolete now... Does anyone have any common sense?

WILLIAM.... . thanks Bill... but u said watching or did u mean, have seen?  I have posted a few on facebook.  In any case, I hate to point fingers and such, but I will agree with your comment. thanks for your feedback.

BILL.... . thanks for that polite compliment... much appreciative. I hope that we can get this message out to the public and to those in office. I want accountability.. thanks

ELLIE.... . unfortunately there is a reason for everything.  Eric does make a good point and what might not make sense to us, might make sense to others.  I guess time will tell.

ERIC..... . thanks for that polite welcome back... and yes, no new laws might actually work some. And yes, to thanking China in some cases. Overall, I just hopes it gets better sooner than later.  Rut row ... I just said the "hope" word....  hhhmmmm...

MONIQUE..... . it's not really as much as a nightmare as some loan officers assume...  it's just long with BS... but to me, it's not consistent to how I do business and how I try and help borrowers. I think it will also make shopping for a mortgage a mess, especially with the new laws in 2010, that state that you can't give a good faith estimate unless you meet 6 types of triggers.  This will make shopping for a mortgage harder. So, it's not just the new GFE, but the other issues at hand.  thanks.... PS>.. and I think many have common sense... they just don't use it because they are thinking of themselves...

When are they going to spend the porkulus monies?

Maybe they shouldn't

Maybe they should UNAUTHORIZE IT!!!

Oh... that wouldn't do.

No.... they want to wait and spend it around election time.

EVERY thing the government has touched has been a major disaster.... including the regulations that got us here....

Do you think the realtor referals are going to be more important to lenders such as your self in the new enviroment. I envision the Wells Fargos and Chases will be overwelmed the way they do business. They have to screen many more borrowers for winners.

Welcome back Jeff, we missed you.  Thanks for another excellent thought provoking post.

Hhhmmm, inquiring minds want to know what they were smoking.

Yeah, that's what I want to know...smoke and mirrors and who loses? John Q Public~

Jeff I think you are so right with your information, when the government takes over, like they have, we are in deep trouble(s)

Politicians feel that they must stay in office if they are to make a difference. Some of the common sense actions that should be taken might cause them to lose the next election-- or so they believe.

If you were in charge of making the decisions, what would (could) you do?

At this point in time it might be instructive to go back and review the actions and rhetoric of the Hoover administration just as the depression was getting under way. Many of the same arguments against government involvement were being thrown around at that time.

Deficit spending is always a popular bugaboo, but I believe history showed that we should have been quicker to spend more, and that only the enormous deficits caused by World War II brought us out of the depression.

TOM.... . wait, do you mean... could have, should have, and would have?  lol  I will agree, basically most things the gov't has touched has been a disaster.... and to me, the writing on the wall in the last year has been, me, me, me....  and nothing about us as a country.  It's beyond sad and frustrating.

ERIC.... . here is what I hope... that realtors such as yourself come to people such as myself, no matter what company I work for... knowing that you are dealing with an honest, dependable, etc, etc loan officer... and not just send their client to the largest lenders.  And these real estate companies that have affiliates with other lenders, that is what is hurting a lot of my business... and in all honesty, it will hurt the borrower also. Why?  Because I would say 50% of these loan officers and or lenders are just buying the business, which means real service will fall by the waste side...it will just be average. You get what you pay for. Just my opinion, but I have seen it for the last decade.  thanks

GABE.... . thanks for your support and for the compliment.  Here is to an excellent 2010 for your business.

VANESSA.... .  yes, the end result is that the public suffers.  Sorry, but I am starting to call these politicians mad scientists....  they just do whatever, and not so worried if it fails.  As long as they get what they want and get that vote.  They have proven this same theory to me...  and to many others... it's sad and we need to do something about it.

DEBORAH.... . well, it certainly has happened more in recent years. Look at the packages of large monies given to the banks... that wasn't watched closely.... and that big bonuses were paid from some of this money.  What are people thinking?  AH, greed.... themselves...

THOMAS.... .  you asked me this... "If you were in charge of making the decisions, what would (could) you do?"

I will write a whole blog on this in a few days.... I just can't say what I want in a few sentences.  But I will say this... the governments spending habits are terrible... and not accountability for their actions. We need to make them more accountable.  I have some ideas and I will share these later and send you a link.

You did hit the nail on the head about War World II.....  we didn't truly pull out of the recession/depression of '29-'34 until War Wolrd II....  and right now, we have no war like that which would stimulate growth and jobs.  Many factories opened up because of that war, which led to thousands of jobs.  Thanks for your feedback...

The politicians don't listen, pay attention, or obey the people anymore because of two things:

1. The people don't finance their campaigns.  They get huge amounts of money from organizations and big companies.  The politicians listen to the money.

2. There are so few good candidates who run against incumbents, that most people don't vote anymore.  How can a common sense candidate with little money beat a well financed incumbent?  The few people who do vote tend to vote for the name they hear the most or the incumbent who gave them another entitlement.

Most large organizations give almost the same amount of money to both major parties, Dems and GOP, so both parties are equally beholding to the money sources, not the people.

The solution:  Term limits on every politician everywhere - one term or two terms maximum, no exceptions.  Enforced campaign contribution limits for every office, no loopholes, no exceptions, $100 per person or company or organization or anything.  Make them influence candidates with ideas, not money.

About government subsidies:  For every group that is helped, other groups are harmed.  Example:  Keeping interest rates artificially low helps borrowers but hurts savers.

Mark Cohen, Broker, Eyemark Realty, Gainesville, Florida USA 
  

Jeff: Great post. Nice to see you back here-I missed your thoughts. I agree with everything you say. The government has a way of sugar-coating everything which ignores the deeper problem. I expect 2010 to be tepid at best. In fact, I'm not even sure 2011 will be lights out. In Europe, unemployment has been 10% for years which has been a huge drag on growth. If we expect unemployment to markedly improve next year, we are sadly mistaken. Obviously, the other problems aren't going to vanish quickly either. Again, thanks for the post. Our President better wake up or he'll be a one-termer remembered for huge deficits and an economy that never gained traction!

Government is inherently corrupt, but a necessary evil.  What we need to do is limit the size and scope of government; reform is only short term. 

The quickest way to change the attitude and direction of goverments is through revolt. The best way is through term limits...:)

We've always had and still do possess the greatest weapon of all. Our vote. But the problem is the liberal voting block is growing by the day. We will see the conservative vote shrink in the days and years to come because we've sas on our hands and watched our government allow soooooo many illigal and corrupt votes to enter the voting block.

Jeff, great post. I agree with you 100%. The government must be held accountable, but we really have no one to blame but ourselves. We continue to vote for these people and let them off. I for one have had it, I've sent more letters, emails and phone calls to my representatives in the past 18 months then I have in the previous 10 years. Unfortunately that's not the solution. They don't care what Americans think anymore, unless you have large numbers behind you (unions, special interestes, etc....) they don't care. You asked for a solution... here it is, TERM LIMITS. We limit the Presedent to two terms so no one individual can have too much power. We must do the same with Congress. If you look at the problems in Congress its the representatives that have been in office 15,20,25+ years. 4 terms in Congress is more than enough to serve the people without getting too much power. Just my two cents.

Supply-side clap-trap again.  Look at the history of the Great Depression.  Hoover and those around him sang the same song you are..with disastrous results.  If the government had increased the deficit and helped the populous, and poured money into institutions you wouldn't have had people starving in the streets.  The same situation happened in 2008 - those in charge saw what happened during the Great Depression and for once LEARNED from it and did the opposite.  

Thanks for the post,  How the heck do the government agencies view the new GFE as being  better.. it fails on many levels and will result in consumer viewing a direct lender or credit Union / Bank loan as being less expensive for many reasons...Hmmm... seems to be a message here.. the lobbying by the large banking industry has prevailed. The number of loans originated by Mortgage Brokers is plummeting and shall continue to give market share to the large banks. That is the plan simple .

interesting how the "lenders" (banks, direct lenders, credit unions) have the option of disclosing the fees "built into the rate" or margin of profit. The mortgage Brokerage MUST disclose their margin and MUST give it to the consumer.. If the money is identified as belonging to the borrower with the new rules,,, then why do the banks get to keep it all AND NOT DISCLOSE IT???

additionally the interpretation for the OR state licensing and new fed licensing has added costs to the mortgage brokerage business while providing little to no protections for the consumers. Just more licensing fees which shall be passed to the consumer in higher origination charges.

Here in Oregon the license of mortgage broker does not allow for the party to originate loans...they now must purchase a separate license for each originator and retake the state and fed proctored tests...with added costs for prepatory classes and travel..etc..to go to the test location..

Here is state and fed governement at work again.. oh yeah and they have added staff at the state level to audit every brokerage every two years forever..who is paying for this? the consumer again.. of course the added jobs with benefits and great salaries is required to protect the consumer..sounds like yet more government jobs created by the government staff stating how only they can protect the consumer and the current laws are deficient...give us all a break...where will this end?

I also am dismayed by the lack of awareness of the general and professional public..where is the outrage at both parties...no more government  just better use of current rules.

And he is back folks. Welcome back Jeff. I hope all is well with you, and perhaps you have just been very busy with business.

You make some excellent points. If only we could go back and undo some of the things that were done and decisions that were made. Unfortunately, we have to continue moving forward with the regulations set for us as of Jan 1st. Yes, that includes that Tax Credit they approved. Having a 'pay back' plan set in place makes sense, as you mentioned. Hopefully they wont extend it again in July.

Back with a vengance! Jeff, you couldnt have spelled it out for the consumer any clearer than what you have. I think all news broadcast, government press conferences, and Presidential Addresses should come with a warning lable.

So far I have seen nothing in the form of new regulation that will actually address the protection of a consumer, rather it creates and endless stream of buecratic paperwork and processes that will only impede the markets. Ideas mostly always look good on paper but they fall flat on their face when applied.

Welcome Back Jeff!

JP Lowry

PS

Thanks for the link!

EYEMARK Realty aka MARK..... . you make two excellent comments in regards to why this is happening. It's funny... my always said that I should be a politician, because for the most part I am direct and honest.  And I said.... with whose money?  lol 

Overall, I also like your solutions... as several have stated, have a term limit and maximize funds from contributors. The problem I see is... which politician is going to vote this into congress?  lol Especially the term issue.  But hey, we need to start some where, right?  One thing though about the lower interest rates?  It will hurt everyone down the road, even those that got the low rates.  We will all be paying for this some time soon.

PAUL.... . I hate to say this, but the President doesn't need to wake up.  He is smart enough to know what is going on. The problem is, he has an agenda and he simply just doesn't care.  Come on people, the writing is and has been on the wall by the Presidents actions.  I hate pointing fingers, but I have talked to some very smart people about this and we need to stop giving him the benefit of the doubt. He won't change and he is bringing us down just for his own ways and those pulling his strings, because of previous promises and handshakes.  And thanks for the warm welcome back...

GENE.... . I agree and many have basically stated the same thing. The question is, how do we get these corrupt politicians out by next term?  And who do we trust not to do the same and sell their souls to the devil per se.

JEFFREY.... . two excellent answers... and in regards to the revolt... ask my parents about my thoughts on this?  I need to be careful because of big brother.... but this could be a solution.. but the consequences if caught nowadays are much worse than back during the revolutionary war time.  Ps... to many ears out there to listen in and disrupt any such revolt.

JOHN & JANIS.... . sure, the vote.  But that vote is corrupt on many levels by those lying or buying votes... or misleading until it's too late. We need to wipe the slate clean of all politicians and start over.  But how?

CURT.... . yes, we are partially to blame ourselves... and many believe that if you vote, you can make a difference... but sorry, choice A or B usually suck now. So then what?   One nail that you hit on the head and I am a firm believer on is that ... yes, they don't care about us Americans anymore... and this is sad and pathetic.  SO how do we go about this?  Yes, I agree, we need to limit the terms. But again, how can this be done?  You think Congress is going to vote this in?  hhhhmmmm... Me thinks not... so then what?  How?  Thanks for your feedback, input, and for the polite compliment.

RUTHMARIE..... . I do thank you for your comment... but I am trying to get a good read on it and to understand it. I think you are saying that I am stating the same things as a solution as the Hoover administration has stated?  And then you go on to say, "If the government had increased the deficit and helped the populous, and poured money into institutions you wouldn't have had people starving in the streets."....

Is that what the Hoover administration said?  What our current gov't has said?  I will say this... I don't believe in that thought process and I argued that same point above, in my post. I don't believe that kind of spending will solve our problems..  It might be a very quick fix... which will prolong this economic problem for more years to come. Again, just my opinion....  but we have nothing else to fall back on to actually drag us out of this mess. We don't have anything close to a World War II in the near future to help us... so then what?  How?   thanks

Jeff,

I love how you write; no mincing words with you!  My answer is..... there are NO BOLTS holding things together..... we just have an overabundance of NUTS!!!

Jeff, we're doomed. I can't think of anything positive to say.

I guess you did not get the memo I think it was in August when Bernanke declared the recession was over ???????????

I wished you were wrong.  

I have been become more and more convinced over the last couple of years our country's is in deep trouble and direction we are headed is only changing for the worse.

Mark i completely agree with you. I think we had this little conversation about the seller down payment assistance program that was in place (little to no cost to the American tax payer) vs the homebuyer tax credit program (huge cost to the tax payer). The artificially low rates have already started their creep higher and cost the tax payer billions. What is going to happen to the rosy economic reports that some in the current administration would have you believe once rates move higher. I wrote a post about the increased down payment and higher score not meaning squat if someone loses their job. Add of this in with more and more regualtion imposed by people who have no knowledge about our business and i think you have a recipe for disaster.

By the way have a Happy New Year!!

Great post Jeff. I luv it when the real meat and potatoes are thrown out there and people are challenged to face the nonsense that encompasses our economy. Obviously common sense and logic do not keep politicians in office and pay for their campaings/paychecks. I am disgusted to no end to know that NO ONE in office gives a rat's rear about what the vast majority is screaming about. Making things better is not what they want. It looks like they are doing something when they add more garbage and rules. Just enforce the law's we have. They just dont care about the irreversible damage they are leaving behind for others. Don't get me started. Again great post!

Jeff, welcome back!  I really enjoyed this post.  The sad truth is that the govt is keeping the rates artificially low to try and prop up property values and delay a contraction that needs to happen.  Since the majority of this country operates paycheck to paycheck, property values are directly tied to how much a buyer can pay on a monthly basis.  If rates went to 7%, there would still be buyers, but they couldn't afford to pay today's prices and values would probably drop another 20%-25%.  Ouch.

I agree with you that the govt. seems to be kicking the can on this, but what worries me is that they can't kick it forever and economic forces will eventually roll this stone over to reveal all the nasty squirmy grubs underneath.  Unfortunately most Americans are content to be ignorant until that day.  I'm scared of what happens after everyone figures it out.

"You mean the Government has been conspiring to fleece the wealth of it's own citizens?!"

There seems to be a consensus building that we need to impose term limits on our politicians.  Go easy on this!

We need to discriminate between the good ones and the bad ones. Vote the bad ones out but leave the good ones in. It takes a lot of time to learn to be a good legislator. If we are indiscriminately throwing them out we will wind up spending all our time training and getting very little else done.

The opportunity to stay in office provides an incentive to do good work.  What kinds of incentives would there be if everyone knew that he/she would be gone after two terms? It takes time and effort to study the issues and the office holders but if we are not willing to do this, we deserve what we get. Throwing them all out on a strict time schedule is not the answer IMHO.

CK Mortgage aka MICHAEL..... . sure, the number of loans done by mortgage brokers is way done... sure, they are being forced out of the business. But you know what?  My argument isn't about that. Sorry, I have been a mortgage banker 16 of the 17 yrs that I have been in this industry. Sorry, but I don't give a rats ass about that argument... and sorry, but i knew more mortgage broker companies that were sweat shops, that were unethical.We need to hold the broker more accountable. Yes, there are always a few rotten apples in each bunch. But in many cases, the broker didn't care as much once the loan closed, because they weren't held liable for the loan on their warehouse line. Bankers, well,they have a lot more responsibility... and they have more skin in the game.

But seriously...  we could argue that all day. I am not a Bank of America or a Wells Fargo... we are a mid-sized banker, and yes, we don't have to show yield spread.  But come on...  it's way too easy to explain the difference, even if I had to share it or not. Look at the rate, the APR, and the total costs to the borrower. The YSP is not factored in that. An excellent loan officer can explain both sides of this. Not saying you can't... but I really hate this argument.  Let's focus on the rest of the new GFE and how this will affect shopping... the MDIA... and now, that there are 6 trigger points in order to give out a GFE, which will hinder good mortgage shopping.. no matter if you are a broker or a banker. In my opinion....these are the issues that we need to address.

Now, I will agree.... the licensing fees for many states have increased big time... and this will even hurt the good loan officer and or mortgage company. The gov't finding a way to make more money, and giving false hope to the consumer, thinking that they will be protected.  False Hope... something that our gov't is great at.  Deception... I am soooo tired of it.

Lastly... I agree... no more gov't... just better use of what we have... and stop this crap of selfishness and greed... And thanks for that polite compliment... much appreciative.

Ha ! He's back ! ... and didnt skip a beat :o)

I cant make head nor tail of why the new GFE requirements will do anything other than slow the whole process to a crawl, and then throw in the HVCC mandates that caused havoc with out of region appraisers not being as accurate as maybe they should, and we finished the year off on a terrific foot huh !?!?!?

lol

Oh well, I got an iPod Nano 16 gig with video player for Christmas, so some good came from the end of the year ....

Cheers brutha !!!!

JOHN.... .  a few things... I think they will extend it in July...  not sure why it was extended for such a short time this time...  but they are just trying to see what it does, again?   lol  Or that they are trying to phase it out?  In regards to about undoing some of this?  That would have never happened... sorry, these politicians are smart enough and know what they are doing.  They are either being stupid about it, or just greedy and selfish. And this is very sad...  Yet, we will pay for these mistakes and these politicians are basically safe on many matters. A life time pension and lifetime health care.... things need to change and change now. In any case, no,not busy... just got burnt out after 3 years of blogging. And thanks for the warm welcome and for the polite compliment.

JP.... . I like that, a warning label... lol  Kind of like the smoking warning labels. And in regards to your comment, I think many of us see this, that many of these new rules and regulations aren't protecting the consumer...  just more work and some smoke screens. In any case, thanks for that awesome compliment...

KATHY.... . thanks for that compliment. I hate to be and or sound negative... but I think that is our problem. So does the gov't and media, hence when so much misinformation is given out there...  we need to hear thr truth.  With the truth being told, then maybe we can come up with real solutions...  thanks

LYN.... . I agree... and just as I told Kathy above you, I hate writing about the doom and gloom.. but you know what, someone needs to and we need to wake up the average consumer that keeps falling for the government's "hope" speeches... especially the president's. I am tired of hoping... I really am. Let's do something about it and stop being stupid in these decisions that take us down the wrong paths.

GREATER MORTGAGE aka ...... .  lol.... the problem with this kind of talk is that the definition of recession is not that good in my opinion. All is takes is one quarter to be .001% in the positive... and this flip flop mentality is what says if we are in a recession or not.  A recession is normally the drop in spending.  And gee, around this time of year, every year, doesn't spending increase over the past, no matter what the activity has normally been?  And all of this is not explained.. yet, the writing is on the wall... it's bad out there.  But we are led by these types of numbers, just when something is slightly good, it is suppose to give us "hope"...  don't get me started on that word and who started to use it often in the last year.  ;o)

MARK.... . hell, this is one time that I wish I was wrong also...  I love being right, and this one sucks in my opinion. How come we have to dig very deep for that news that says that it's bad out there and has gotten worse?  Because the gov't and media controls it and wants us to hear what we want to hear... "hope"... thanks

Interesting that the explosion of equity got us into this mess, and the lack of equity is at the center of the problem. Butt-ugly loans were masked under double digit equity increase, because even those who defaulted could quickly sell in a hot market, so foreclosures were rare - not becasue of good loans, but due to "false equity". Jobs would make a huge difference. And helping people with equity issues probably a much better choice then loan mods (even though they cross lines).

Jeff- I came by to wish you a very happy new year! Your posts are very detailed and full of information. Thank you for a year of very well written and passionate posts. Katerina 

Jeff, Keep up the good work and fabulous posts!  You are like the energizer bunny and the market certainly has changed over the past few years!  Best wishes in 2010!

Hey Jeff just wanted to stop by and wish you a Happy New Year. I just told a local mortgage broker that they should get into blogging and gave them your blog as an excellent reference point for other successful mortgage brokers who do well with it:)

i saw the new screwed up 2010 GFE on Friday...4 pages....how can going from 1 page(which the average consumer/buyer could not understand) to 4 pages suppose to help the buyer?

and it does not show PITI...who makes these decisions

Jeff:  Great post.  I was listening to Caroline Myss yesterday, and she talked about how human beings are "needy and greedy."  I think that applies to our government, too.

I just think all this recent stuff is non-sense.... I don't understand why this merry go round of issues... I think things need to be well thought out before the government goes releasing changes. 

This is a terrible thing to always be reading and applying negative info to my business...it is trying to drown me alive...

I am floating .... but like all thinks that float... it can sink if you don't take good care of the float.

Real estate agents, lenders, and amercans need to be UNITED and stand up to this.... I've been emailing and following up with representatives. 

ARE WE BEING HEARD or WHAT???

Jeff, great post! I wish we had more answers to the problems.  There are immediate economic needs which can be "band-aided" in a way that will hurt us all in the long term, but yet something needs to be done for the nasty now and now...