Today I had the pleasure of sitting in on a courtesy closing at a local title company. The courtesy closer was great!!

We were closing for:
Fidelity National Title
4540 FM 1960 West
Houston, TX 77069

Upon my arrival at the closing I discovered that the Final HUD-1 approved by me, my processor and my closing department had been altered. A $120 fee for the seller had been inserted at the last minute. The final HUD had been shared with the client before closing and she had a cashier's check in hand. A happy day for my single mother and First Time Home buyer turned sour. Right in the middle of the heated discussions the client came in to sign. Thinking that we had the issue handled we allowed her to sign everything but the HUD.

After several phone calls and emails back and forth by my processor back at the office and fudelity... you will not believe this..... The title company representative asked me for my phone number. What in the world would she need my phone number for you ask? Well, so she could.... and I quote: "Call me if there are any more last minute changes". <= You would have thought that I had pulled out a pistol.... the look on the faces of the closer, buyer's agent and buyer told me that I must have turned purple with rage as I tried to control my anger and maintain my composure.

In the end.... the seller being Fannie Mae.... we were told that the loan would not fund without this fee. So the client had to bend over and take it in the shorts. <= I guess the closing gift just got a little more expensive for me. Which I am fine with that.... I am just not fine with how my client was treated.

Let me tell you, I have seen some real turds in this business... but Fidelity National Title in Houston, TX is absolutely the worst experience ever!!!!!!!

Now if you think that is bad enough.... this is the very same title company who told us for 3 WEEKS that the "survey was on the way"..... do you know how much money it costs to extend the lock on a loan for that long?

As you can guess.... we are ALL going to file complaints with everybody we can think of in this business. But I have a feeling that they will be punished plenty when I hit 'publish' on this keyboard. Because that $120 fee will cost them more in revenue down the road if I have anything to do with it......!!!

What would you do?

What should I have done?

How would you deal with a scam like this? Who would you report a scammer like this to anyway?

Tom Burris
DallasLoanGuy.com
Dallas, TX

"Your Dallas Mortgage Consultant"

http://www.dallasloanguy.com/


Texas Home Loans

The Death of 100% Financing? Is the End Near?!?!?

I got notice late yesterday that beginning March 1st, loans above 97.01% will no longer be eligible for PMI.

3% down payment may be the name of the game going forward.... and FHA Loans have never looked so sexy!!

Monthly PMI on Gov't loans is 1/2 of what you are charged on conventional loans. Yet, many consumers have opted for 100% financing because they do not have money for the down payment. Not to be confused with the client who 'elected' 100% Financing, these people who are paying twice as much for PMI are doing so for a reason. They simply cannot put any of their own money down on a real estate transaction. And that lack of cash reserves equates to more people walking away from their mortgage obligations when times get tough.

See the full text letter from PMI Mortgage Insurance Company.
http://www.pmi-us.com/guidelinechanges/media/pmi_miguidelinechangesltr.pdf

Is this the end? The good old days are over? Well, that remains to be seen..... but it looks like the PMI companies are tired of paying off when homeowners simply walk away from their obligations.

Other changes include reduced Loan-to-Value (LTV) for reduced documentation loans and loans for homes in Declining Markets.

Stay tuned for future developments!!!

Tom Burris
DallasLoanGuy.com
Dallas, TX

"A Home Loan for Every Texan"

http://www.dallasloanguy.com/


Texas Home Loans

Fannie Mae Guidelines changing.... What does this mean for your home loan?

I got this announcement in an email from a lender. =>Fannie Mae Guidelines It contains some good news and some bad news for marginal credit borrowers. These changes will take effect May 19th
Seems as though Fannie Mae may be getting a little more conservative on their approvals for the High Risk, High LTV/CLTV loans. What does that mean? Quite simply, some high risk loans will be getting approvals with 'Levels' attached. Which means that they will be paying .5% to 1.5% higher rates than a low risk client. I see this as prudent and very fair for the borrowers. These levels have always existed, so that is nothing new. But the higher risk stuff will be getting 'leveled' more often now.
Another announcement, and this is a biggie, is that they do not require collections be paid regardless of amounts. Remember the "collections allowed up to $5,000"? They will now allow unlimited collections that do not affect title. So, the guy who has a 6yr old chargeoff for $5,500 can get into a conforming loan without paying off his collection. Fannie Mae used to require all collection paid if they added up to over $5,000. The presence of collections will still go into the risk analysis of the loan.
I could speculate on why these changes are being made..... but it would only be a guess. Who knows what all goes into their risk analysis thinking. But I suspect that Fannie is learning what we knew all along. Some borrowers with old collections can still pay their kmortgages on time. And that an arbitrary $5K limit did not make sense. The net result is going to be a little higher rate for the 100% loans as a result of the Expanded Level Approval. And some folks with great recent credit may be able to get into conforming rates regardless of old collections.
Is your loan officer running EVERY FILE through Automated Underwriting? They should be..... because a lot of these people in subprime loans probably would have qualified for something better..... a Conforming Loan.
Tom BurrisDallasLoanGuy.com

Texas Home Loans

How should Realtors respond to the recent tightening of Subprime Loan Programs?

How should Real Estate Agents respond to the recent tightening of Subprime loan programs?
We have seen the writing on the wall. Now, the hammer has dropped. Many subprime lenders tightening up their loan guidelines and 100% financing for subprime borrowers is getting harder to find.
How should Real Estate agents respond?
1. Align yourself with loan officers who have access to FHA/My Community loans.
2. Ask your lender if they have access to the 'Community Reinvestment' loans offered by the large banks.
3. Become the trusted advisor. If you have a client with credit challenges, help them get educated about credit. A good starting point would be having them preview my free e-book titled "About Credit'. http://www.dallasloanguy.com/docs/about_credit.pdf . Although this is just a start, it will give your clients a good foundation of knowledge to build upon.
4. Beware of the credit repair companies.... who are more interested in collecting fees for credit repair than they are in DOING credit repair.
5. Be mindful of where your referrals are coming from. You may want to reconsider how much of your marketing dollars go to the referral sources that send you subprime business.
6. Talk to your lender. Don't be caught off guard by tightening loan guidelines. Get the clients prequalified as early as possible.
The world is not coming to an end.... but there are going to be some clients who could qualify last year that will not be able to get a loan this year. Don't let this be an excuse for a lack of business..... arm yourself with the tools to weather the changes.

http://www.dallasloanguy.com/

http://www.dallasloanguy.com/contact.shtml <== Free Texas Home Loan Chat

Subprime Mortgage Loan Implosion

A lot has been said about the Subprime market implosion... What about the other programs?

http://lenderimplode.com/is tracking the 'who's still standing' amongst sub-prime lenders

The Alt-A market is feeling some of the same pressures.... Loan guidelines are changing daily..... so much so that it is hard to keep up with what can and cannot be done.
The good news is.... the 'Full-Doc' loans are ok... the people who can verify income and a little money in the bank have much less foreclosure rates.
But, the 'Stated-Income', 'Stated-Assets', 'No-Doc', ect loans are the ones that can no longer get 100% financing. It is even harder if the loan is for a non-owner occupied property. So, if you cannot verify income and assets, you should be able to get a hold of enough cash for 5% -10% down payment.
The market is changing.... people may have to downsize on their dream homes and put a little money down. But the market will come back some once the foreclosure rate comes back.


Tom Burris
Sr. Loan Officer
http://www.dallasloanguy.com/

http://www.dallasloanguy.com/contact.shtml <== Free Live Texas Home Loan Chat