Joseph Mazzei

Heres the catch: In order to get this rate, you gotta have at least a 750 middle fico score, an ltv of 75% or below, a loan amount of $250,000 or more (up to 417,000.00) and its gonna cost you 1.5 points total. If its a purchase loan, the cost is only 1.25 points. One last thing, this is a 5/1 adjustable and these rates are for Florida only (other states could be more or less, but i mainly do loans in florida). If you want a little more security, i can do a 7/1 arm at 3.99, same cost. Get em' while they're hot, these rates wont last long! (apr 3.6 and 4.09 respectively and obviously not everyone will qualify for these rates)

Does this blog title sound like a desperate lover who has just been dumped? A jilted lover begging for forgiveness and to be given one more chance? Well, its not about that at all. Its about a borrower trying to convince their lender to modify their loan, only to be shunned like yesterdays news. Trying to get your lender to take you back can be awful similar to trying to get back with your ex. And we know how that usually ends, don't we?.

I've have been doing loss mitigation (loan mods) for some time now, and i am beginning to hear the same story over and over from borrowers who were declined for a loan modification by their lender. That's when it occurred to me that trying to modify seemed a lot like trying to mend a bad relationship, especially when only one of you wants to get back together. C'mon, you know we've all been there! I think it could kinda go like this:

You: "Remember the good times? I was making plenty of money and never missed a payment? I even paid extra!"

Your Lender: "Yeah, but you lost your job and now you have stopped paying all your bills. I cant trust you anymore!"

You: "You're the only one i want to be with!"

Your Lender: "Your just saying that cause no one else wants you!"

You: "But I was faithful. I paid you on time every month!"

Your lender: "But what about all those inquiries with other lenders? You were thinking about leaving, weren't you?!

You: "I promise, if you take me back, i will never be late again!"

Your Lender: "I found some one else, you should too. Plus, i got tarp money, i don't need you anymore!"

I think you get the point. For a lot of people, the lender has just moved on, outgrown you, and is ready to start anew. They just don't care about you anymore (they never did). Its all about the benjamins now. Perhaps it would be best if you moved on too. Besides, there's plenty of fish in the sea, right?

When we last left our hero, Moe Jazzei, he was battling the evil PHANTOM GUIDELINE. Unable to locate this 20% square footage appraisal requirement in any underwriting manual, moe was unsure about the fate of his otherwise perfect loan.

Just then the phone rang, it was the Nuntrust account rep. " I checked with our help desk, Moe, they can't find this guideline either." " That's because it doesn't exist!", Moe quipped. Its a PHANTOM GUIDELINE!!" "Wait there's more. I spoke with the underwriting supervisor and she waived the condition."

"Hal-a- frickin' lew yah!!" Moe shouted. Once again the PHANTOM GUIDELINE was defeated by COMMON SENSE!! Moe quickly contacted the closing department and the loan closed three days later.

There's still hope out there, Moe thought to himself. I just hope we never have to deal with that ugly monster again. Not likely, Moe. As long there are loans to be underwritten, so will exist, "THE PHANTOM GUIDELINE".

That's right people, its time for another episode of the "Attack of the Phantom Guideline"! What's that you say, you're not familiar with that show? Me neither, but apparently it comes on whenever i am trying to close a cream puff of a loan. You know, it's the show where lenders make up underwriting guidelines that no one (me) has ever seen or heard of before, and then have no way of backing them up.

This week's episode: "The 20% Square footage guideline."

Our show begins with our mild mannered mortgage broker, Moe Jazzei, who we find has just received his conditional loan approval from his preferred lender, Nuntrust Mortgage, who has taken eight days to underwrite his loan. Eager to close his loan, Moe quickly reviews his approval. Loan to value: 46% -check. Credit score: 795-check. Loan term: 15 year - check. Interest rate: 4.375 - check.

Now, on to the underwriting conditions. Great Scott! There is only one. But what's this? OH NO!! It's the PHANTOM GUIDELINE!!! The underwriter is requesting two new comparable sales due to square footage being off by more than 20%!!! That's right, unbeknown to our intrepid mortgage broker, apparently the square footage of the comparable can not be 20% greater or less than that of the subject property!! To make matters worse, she is quoting guideline!!

This can't be, Moe says to himself. I have never heard of this. They must be mistaken. Trying to keep his composure, Moe decides to contact his appraiser, as he realizes even though he is a very knowledgeable broker, perhaps this is a section of the Fannie Mae underwriting guide he just plain missed. But much to his dismay, his appraiser of twenty years experience is also puzzled. "Never heard of that one", he quips.

Getting no satisfaction from his appraiser, Moe decides to contact the underwriter. After several phone calls and messages (shocker) to the lender, Moe finally reached the underwriter.

He asks, "Is this a Fannie Mae guideline or a Nuntrust guideline?" "Fannie Mae", she says. Moe quickly responds, " I cant find it in the guide, do you have a copy?" " No, I don't", she quickly replies." "How am i supposed to get it then?" "Check with Fannie Mae." " I did, and i could not find it." " Well, if you don't have it, and Fannie Mae doesn't have it, how am i supposed to know it exists?" "I will have to get back to you on that one".

Will the underwriter be able to obtain the Phantom Guideline in writing? Will our broker be able to get this loan closed before his locks expires? Tune in next week kids for the exciting conclusion of " Attack of the Phantom Guideline!"

This is basically just a follow up to my previous post. 4.25 is available, but it will probably cost you two points or a little more depending on your broker (I can do it for two points). But its been over 50 years since these kinds of rates were available, so it just might make sense to pay the points and take advantage of what the market has to offer.