Scott Swinford

Lately I have been writing about people you should know. This week, I am focusing on someone in the Real Estate community, hence my posting here.

The subject of today's post: Dave Woodson, the Mad Mortgage Machine.

Although Dave and I are both in the Indiana FHA mortgage and Indiana mortgage refinance business, Dave and I work different areas in the Indiana FHA market and have different focuses, so it's probably OK that I write about another Indiana FHA broker.

Besides blogging and tweeting (@davewoodson) Indiana mortgage information and Indiana mortgage rates, Dave also does a nice job working with Real Estate agents in his local area teaching them how to Tweet and blog. He is very big into the social media aspects of Real Estate; even instructing classes on Wordpress at the recent rebar camp in Indianapolis.

It's very true that the online world of Real Estate is ever evolving and I fully expect Dave to continue to be one of the movers and shakers in our local area and beyond. You can contact Dave by emailing dave@davewoodson.com.

Scott

The U.S. Treasury has ordered a review of all mortgage modification trials set to expire on or before Jan. 31, 2010, as part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to accelerate permanent mortgage relief and rescue more borrowers from foreclosure. This is according to a recently published article.

Administrators of the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, posted the announcement on its website alerting servicers that they need to “reach out to borrowers.”

“Treasury has been working with servicers to ensure they reach out to borrowers in active trial modifications, collect all necessary documentation from borrowers, make eligibility determinations in a timely manner, and convert eligible borrowers into permanent HAMP modifications,” administrators said in a statement.

Visit here to read the entire blog post on Mortgage Modification Trials

Scott Swinford, your Northwest Indiana Loan Guy

Your source for Indiana FHA loans, Indiana FHA 203(k) Streamline loans, Indiana USDA Rural Development loans, and much more.

Are you familiar with the term "Stealth Inflation"? It's kinda like raising the prices on something without anyone really noticing.

For instance, say you love a particular brand of peanut butter and always buy the 16 oz jar for $3.49 (I'm just making up numbers here, so stay with me). The next time you buy your favorite peanut butter, it is still $3.49, but the jar contains only 14 oz. To make it worse, the company got sneaky and is using the same size jar, but the bottom is now concave so it holds less without being obvious about it.

Chances are, you may not have noticed as they do it over time. If you have, congratulations. My personal favorite (hint of sarcasm intentional) is that my soap now looks like someone has been whittling out the middle of the bar. The price has not gone down, but I get fewer uses from the soap.

Would a mortgage company do this? Sure... why not?

To read the rest of the story, please visit the Northwest Indiana Loan Guy blog

Scott Swinford, your Northwest Indiana Loan Guy

Your source for Indiana FHA loans, Indiana FHA 203(k) Streamline loans, Indiana USDA Rural Development loans, and much more.

I found the following in an Associated Press article on March 18, 2009. Let’s look at it and break it down a little….

WASHINGTON - If you’ve got a good job, solid credit and your home’s value hasn’t fallen dramatically, you’re likely to benefit from the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary action Wednesday to help drive mortgage rates to historic lows and revive the U.S. housing market.

The Fed’s plan to buy up to $300 billion of long-term government bonds and $750 billion in additional mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, should benefit many — but not all — borrowers.

It’s likely to produce a big drop in mortgage rates. Analysts expect rates will fall 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points as soon as Thursday.

***************

If you have a good job, solid credit and your home’s value hasn’t fallen dramatically…..

Unfortunately, a lot of people are not so lucky with the increasing unemployment numbers and financial hardships that many are going through. Even the value of the home, once thought to always increase at various rates, has fallen due to local foreclosures, among other things.

The Fed’s plan… should benefit many - but not all - borrowers.

For those in foreclosure, it may be too late. For those who have faithfully been paying their mortgage, but have delinquent credit cards and other obligations may have (will have) poor credit scores that could prevent a refinance.

Analysts expect rates will fall 0.25 to 0.5 percentage points as soon as Thursday.

On Wednesday, as I write this, the rates have decreased anywhere from .125% to .25% during the day. It would be foolish to think that the lenders would allow rates to drop too low. I say this for two reasons…

If you would like to read the rest of the story, visit the Northwest Indiana Loan Guy blog

Scott Swinford, your Northwest Indiana Loan Guy

Your source for Indiana FHA loans, Indiana FHA 203(k) Streamline loans, Indiana USDA Rural Development loans, and much more.

Ever since I though about moving out from under Mom and Dad's roof, I had the notion to purchase a house instead of rent. Probably all those horror stories from others about bad landlords. Of course, I don't recall the storytellers having intimate information; mostly it was hearsay. That's OK!

Now that I own a few rental homes, I like to think that I am a good landlord and take care of my clients. Of course, I ask that they take care of my house, but it's a two-way street. I can certainly see why some people like to rent and, as a mortgage planner, why others have to rent.

During a discussion the other day about interest rates and home prices, it occurred to me that there really may not be a better time to convert renters to buyers if possible. Here are my top four reasons in no particular order. Tell me what you think...

1. Mortgage rates are at near 35 year lows. Although I do not advocate shopping by rate along, this is really frosting on the cake. Even with good rates, an estimated 60% of potential homebuyers are sidelined due to credit issues. Fortunately, this is something I can help with. Visit my site at www.usccraonline.com and tell me what you think.

2. Home prices are still low. We are still in a buyers market and the buyer has a lot of options, including asking for the seller to pay their closing costs. While FHA will still allow 6% towards closing costs and prepaids, etc., they do require a downpayment of 3.5% currently. This can be either gifted from a family member or gotten from a secured loan or a loan from a family member.

3. The government has just given first time homebuyers an (up to) $8,000 tax credit. For full details, click here. The good news is that if you have not owned a home in greater than three years, you are now a first time homebuyer. Here's an idea.... get a loan for the downpayment, close before November 30, 2009, and then file an amended return or wait to file on your 2009 taxes for the credit and pay back the loan. Disclaimer: I am neither a CPA nor an attorney... consult yours first.

4. This may be one we are not talking about much, but we will. As more and more people unfortunately lose their homes to foreclosure, they will have to live somewhere. Combine the law of supply and demand with mini monopolies, and you will start to see rent increase. While those post foreclosure may have to pay the inflated costs, those that have been renting can now buy those same homes that were given up and get great deals. What about having that first time homebuyer purchase a bank-owned or HUD home and be able to borrow up to $35,000 to fix it up. How far will that and a tax credit check go for someone who has been renting????

As you can see, and please comment on, this is a great time to get the renters off the fence and into a home of their own. If you need some other suggestions, please contact me. If you are a Realtor in Indiana, let's talk about how we can work together to get more people into homes of their own.

Scott Swinford, your Northwest Indiana Loan Guy

Your source for Indiana FHA loans, Indiana FHA 203(k) Streamline loans, Indiana USDA Rural Development loans, and much more.

Credit Issues? Not an issue for us! Visit www.usccraonline.com.