Jim Lally

WOW, we are hearing a lot about rates the past few days. The FED dropped their interbank rate to 0-.25%. Now I am not exactly sure how or what Mr Bernanke means by giving a range for the Fed Reserve rate but the bond market has reacted and we have finally gotten rate relief for buyers and those looking to refinance.

Are we ready for a refinance boom? Probably not but those with equity and good jobs and credit certainly have an opportunity right now to drop payments, payoff credit card debt and get a low fixed rate.

Now for you Realtors, how about this? Take a buyer, get them pre qualified, and we are doing 100% loans at 5% with NO PMI !!!!!!!

That is incredible. A 5% rate Fixed for 30 years and we can even finance closing costs for the buyer. If you aren't utilizing this program I think you're losing sales. Perfect credit is not required and closings take an average of 22 days.

Let's start now and build momentum for a great '09

Today, with all due respect, I am going to break from my normal Blog post about market changes etc. We want to be totally, completely, unabashed self promoting today. If you are in Lake, Sumter, Citrus,or Flagler Counties we want your business.

Many Realtors are unaware that 100% financing is available and not all that hard to qualify for in these counties. In your counties there are no restrictions as to the area. There is no PMI on the loans, the rates are fixed and reasonable at 6.375% as I write this, and we can close them normally in about 12-13 working days.

The product we do the most of are USDA Gauranteed mortgages and we are proud to say we have led the North Central Flroida in the production of these loans. The agency has been a fabulous partner and our investor lenders have supported our efforts with extraordinary backing.

FHA Down Payment Assistance ends in less than 10 days. FHA has monthly PMI. Our Ultimate Buyer Program beats FHA lending everytime and YOUR counties are eligible. Fannie and Freddie and the PMI companies no longer allow for 100% loans but we have them and know how to get them closed.

The credit scores must be above 580 to qualify at all and at 620 the approval is streamlined. The debt ratios are the same as FHA but do have some flexibility based on compensating factors. Now is the time to take market share. Now is the time to find innovation. Now is the best time for you to sell a house, prices are low, rates are low and you CAN offer true 100% financing thru Osceola Mortgage. Call us or send an email today. We want, apprecaiate and will work for your business.

1-888-624-1179

info@osceolamortgage1.com

God Bless and good selling.

It's official, there will be a RTC type entity created to take bad mortgage paper off the books and balance sheets of the banks so that banks will have access to capital and be able ot loan more again. Also he announced that the GSE's(Freddie and Fannie) will buy more openly.

Markets rallied on the news in fact this week after having nearly 1000 points of loss on the DOW,we ended up essentially where we started. Jim Cramer from CNBC claims we were very close to a full blown financial meltdown and a possible 1929 style depression. I certainly don't claim to have Mr Cramer's expertise but I would concur. Banks have been unable to sell of paper for over 18 months now and that had backed the credit markets up to where it was too hard for people ot get a loan. The pendulum had swung too far to conservative.

Now the new entity will buy the loans at huge discounts, the banks can lend again and more homeowners can get loans modified. This is ALL GREAT NEWS for us. Rates will be volatilefor awhile longer. Today even with all the changes this week, we could write USDA Guarantee 100% mortgage for 6.5%. Not bad for a product that gives 100% and NO PMI!!!!

Anyway, we feel this was a historic day and in the end will be good for all of us, the American people, homeowners, buyers and sellers.

Remember only two things you ever really control, your attitude and your actions.

If I called you 2 yrs ago and said that property values were headed down as much as 40% in some markets, that Fannie and Freddie would cease to exist as we knew them, that Countrywide would be taken over, along with Merril Lynch and that Lehman Brothers would file BK and AIG would become a ward of the Federal Government,,,, you would have thought I was crazy. Well folks that's where we sit today.

Now tonight the Gov't is looking at creating a "RTC type" agency to take the bad paper and thereby help free up capital markets. WOW, thats GREAT news!!!! The RTC was the only time I can ever remember where the Govt did somehting right ( sorry the libertarian in me comes out now and then). If the treas and Fed can get those bad loans at the price they have been marked down to ( and tax advantages already taken by banks) then they can come back to the borrowers still in homes and modify them therby adding stability to prices. Then the new modified loan at today's value can be paid on in a timely manner. For the others they can get the homes fast and liquidate attruly bargain prices and the inventory will drop, again adding stability.

This type action is not a cure all and certainly some will still be hurt. However, this could ( stress) be the best move anyone has made in 2 years. For about 20 months now, the secondary money market has been shut down----banks are going broke and can't get access to capital. That is a key reason that lending has slowed so much. By taking the pressure off the bank's books fromthe bad loans, their capital requirements get relief and they can start to lend again.

Now is the time to plant new seeds. Have great expectations. The ride is bottoming and FAST. If you have survived the last 20 months you have proven your tenancity,NOW we can go forward and prosper. There will be more hiccups to be sure, but now everyone realizes how dire the credit crunch has been and they are finally reacting.

I'm not a Realtor but right now we are focused like a laser beam on marketing to buyers. Creating streams of people that either have never bought before or have been on the sidelines. Imagine when we talk with them and we tell them, "prices are the lowest comparatively than in years, rates are great and if you need it, we can finance you for 100% with NO PMI" Now call me crazy, but I think we can sell that, and in volume.

For those of you that are "consultants" this market may not be for you. If you are a professional sales person, a closer, you can help a lot of people and do a great service the next 5 years. Build a pipeline of buyers now, get good at referrals, find a good mortage professional and go sell something!!!!!

God Bless and Great Selling this weekend

WOW!!! If I had called you up 3 years ago or even a year ago and told you that 265 lenders, 12 Federal Banks and that Fannie and Freddie, as we knew them, would all be gone, you would have said I was crazy.

Well, my friends, this is exactly what has happened. What does it mean for us. Well there are a couple ways to view it all I think. One case is it is one of the most interesting dynamic in American economic history and I could discuss the values or lack therof of the sceuritizations and derivative markets that brought us here for hours, but most of you don;t care about that stuff, lol.

The more applicable case is what will happen to the market. The long term result is probably a good solid stable base being brought back as the giants are taken back to profitability ( with our tax dollars) and then sold off in pieces forming all new smaller companies. The short term result is going to be lower rates and there fore theoretically more sales thereby lowering inventory and stabilizing prices. Today we saw rates from our wholesalers fall about 1/3 of a point overall. That's great news and I think there will be more.

Now of course there must be a downside. Notwithstanding the obvious goverment interference with private enterprise ( nearly never good) you can bet that many credit guidelines will be tightened even more than we have seen this last year. The Treasury needs to retrun these companies back to profit as fast as possible so they can be sold off later.

Finally the best part of this whole thing may be that we in the mortgage business can finally begin to give solid answers and know what the rules are going to be. Far too many days the past 18 months, those of us who practice daily have had to change direction literally in the same month many times. This alone will help us all. Also the USDA has announced new streamlined guidelines that we feel are the most helpful. Did you know that the USDA gives guarantees for up to 102% of appraised value in about 75% of the areas in Florida? The rates are fixed and in our opinion there is no better deal. We have created a private label around the program called the Ultimate Buyer Program.