Tom Elder, REO Insurance, All Risks, LTD Lender Force Placed, Wholesale Insurance

After a brief leave of abscense here on AR, it is good to be back. In August of last year I was asked by my then employer to stop blogging, as is common with many fortune 50 size companies. I have taken a different direction with my career and have been presented an opportunity to enter into an entirely different sector of the market.

I am proud to announce my recent appointment as Underwriter of Financial Institutions in the National Specialty Programs unit of All Risks, LTD.

All Risks, Ltd. was formed as an excess and surplus lines facility in 1964 in Baltimore, Maryland. They have since expanded into additional territories and product lines over the past 40 years. All Risks business is written exclusively through retail agents and brokers. They are independent. All Risks has been the fastest growing, and one of the largest privately held wholesale brokers in the country for over 10 years.

As Underwriter, I am responsible for developing the Financial Institution programs such as the REO and Lender Placed Insurance services as well as developing new markets.

More exciting than my new career path, though, is being able to be part of such a wonderful and embracing community such as Active Rain once again. I have missed those countless hours of commenting and blogging. Sharing information that is useful to other's careers is extremely rwarding time spent.

I look forward to the differnce that my contributions make as well as the difference that all of this community's contributions will make in my career.

If you are 62 years of age or older and have been considering downsizing, shortly you will be able to downsize without cleaning out the bank, or having to have a mortgage payment every month.

As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Reverse Mortgage will now be acceptable for purchases. The guidelines are unclear and a Mortgagee Letter from HUD (this is a letter that spells out the guidleines) is anticipated before the end of the year and possibly as early as September.

What does this mean for seniors? Simply stated, you will now be able to purchase a new primary home without having to use all of the proceeds of your sale, or clean out your bank account and retirment funds to pay cash, or have to take out a mortgage with an expensive monthly payment.

Many seniors have already found the benefits of reverse mortgages by utilizing them to stay in their family homes and rid themselves of the costly monthly mortgage payments, but for some taking care of that big old house with 3 flights of stairs is no longer an option. This new financial vehicle will open the doors for these seniors to be able to purchase the new smaller home and maintain a respectable quality of life.

For more information on these great new products stay tuned for more details, or contact me directly anytime. Thanks again and may you enjoy retirement to it's fullest.

The baby boomer generation is headed for a shock as it nears the finish line known as retirement. As the day of reckoning grows near, boomers will discover that they are long on life expectancy and short on cash. They are more likely to be asking if "you would like fries with that" than traveling the world and enjoying their retirement.

How can this be you ask? It has been a culmination of economic issues that has brought an entire generation into this financial crisis. In addition to social security benefits, the foundation for retirement income has traditionally been corporate funded pensions and/or employee managed 401k or similar plans.

Boomers have found that they can not depend on the pension being there for them when they need it most (during retirement). With pension cuts, corporate bankruptcies and corporate downsizing, most major companies have foregone the pension plans for the much more cost effective employee managed 401k plans. This has allowed them to push as much as 50% or better of the cost of the plans off onto the employee themselves.

What's wrong with that? Well, to start off let's look at what the average employee knows about managing stocks, mutual funds and the like. NOTHING. I was watching a special regarding this issue and the reporter ask a CEO of a large company if he would let the company janitor manage his retirement portfolio. He said absolutely not. As I am sure we would all reply. So why then do we expect the average employee to be able to properly manage their own retirement funds?

This has proven disastrous for much of the boomer generation. Most of them just went forth with the "set it and forget it" attitude and kept putting money in like the loyal employees that they are, fully expecting for the funds to be there when they retired. The market crash of 2001-2002 took a hefty toll on many of these accounts, nearly wiping some of them out completely. Without the years left for recovery of the funds before retirement, many boomers were left with the tough decision of whether to retire or not. Many felt jaded and disappointed by the not knowing or understanding what was going on with their money. Most people do not have a degree in finance to be able to keep up with the markets and manage their own funds.

The sad reality is that many baby boomers have to sideline their retirement dreams, due to their harsh financial picture headed into retirement. You will see more and more seniors working part time and even full time well into their golden years slowly letting their retirement plans melt away and fade into the distant past.

If you or someone you know falls into this category, then I urge you to get financial advice from reputable, proven professionals. You should be talking with a reverse mortgage consultant, elder law attorney, financial planners and a CPA to determine if there is a way to restructure things no, before it is too late and retirement is upon you or your loved one. Many of these situations CAN be reversed and the outlook can be very positive.

If you or someone you love would like more information regarding Reverse Mortgages, you can request it by email at telder@metlife.com, Or click on the "BOOK NOW" button under my picture and choose Reverse Mortgage Consultaion option, pick a date and time you would like it sent or a call, and provide your contact information and the FREE info will be on the way. I will provide a Free DVD and tons of valuable information that you must know before considering these loans.

©2008 All rights reserved by Tom Elder

With the steady decline and continued erosion of residential mortgage lending guidelines, the question lingers- will the commercial mortgage market follow?

The answer would appear to be "yes" to the average American seeing the economy screeching to a standstill. But as Mr. Miagy said in the Karate Kid, "Things are not always as they appear".

Commercial mortgages are not likely to see the crash that the residential markets have seen. There are several reasons for this.

Historically commercial mortgages have been approved with a much higher level of diligence. Low document loans and stated loans are the exception as opposed to the rule. The borrowers have had to have much higher credit scores and combined with other factors have demonstrated a much higher likelihood to repay their loans. This has been proven through the commercial mortgage default rates that were just reported for 2007. These reported figures show the numbers at only a fraction of the current residential rates and posting at record commercial lows.

Another reason for the stability in the commercial mortgage market is the fact that these mortgages are secured with income producing properties and even though the current real estate market may be declining, these properties will still produce sufficient cash flow for the owners. The approval process makes sure that these properties have a sufficient NOI (Net Operating Income) to sustain the property.

Lastly, the loan to values have been, and will remain, much lower than those allowed in residential real estate. This allows for absorption of the declining market with equity already invested. Should the bank have to foreclose on the property, there is the ability to recoup the bulk of the mortgage balance through a sale, thus maintaining investor confidence in making the lower loan to value mortgages associated with commercial lending.

With the economy slowing to a grinding halt we have and will continue to see a decrease in new commercial construction. There is currently an excess of vacant commercial space in most US markets due to failing businesses and downsizing of major corporations. This vacancy rate will continue to grow as the US dollar weakens and inflation mounts. This will most certainly slow the growth of the new commercial construction significantly over the next 24 to 36 months.

This economic downturn will also open the door for new growth to emerge in commercial refinance applications. Many businesses will have to utilize the equity that they have built to weather the storm and make improvements to remain competitive. I am already seeing a consistent increase in the number of business owners that are utilizing the equity in their commercial properties to better position themselves to ride the rough waters. These are folks who have been through this cycle before at least once.

I would love to hear your comments and opinions on this topic. To get the latest on Maryland Commercial Mortgages, subscribe to my weekly blog or for commercial mortgage questions, you can contact me directly through the email me function of this blog.

©Copyright 2008 Tom Elder

AS I sit here and receive another URGENT BULLETIN from yet another hurting mortgage lending institution (Chase Bank) about discontinuing the A Minus product line as of today, I realize this is one of a dozen or so that I have received in the last week or two. I allow myself to drift off into the daydream land of the future...................

The Headline reads:

Extra! Extra! Last Mortgage Lenders Go Bust!

The article goes on to say that the the Government has instituted an emergency lending institution going by the name of The New World Order Of Mortgage Lending!

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Below are their guidelines:

NEW WORLD ORDER OF MORTGAGE LENDING GUIDELINES

Max LTV (Purchase or Refinance) = 75%

Minimum Credit Score= 780+

Maximum DTI: 20%/32%

Minimum Seasoning: 5 years

Income Documentation: FULL DOC W-2 ONLY

• Must provide 10 years previous w-2's and written VOE's from ALL employers
• If there is an employment gap of more than 12 hours you must provide a detailed letter of explanation to be approved by our senior board of directors prior to file submission.

Excluded Professions/ Industries:

• Mortgage, real estate, banking, stock broker, insurance agent, appraiser, retail employee, restaurant worker, day laborer, or any other profession determine by our risk assessment department to be way too volatile of an industry. (We reserve the right to refuse any profession/industry based on nothing)

Occupancy Types: Owner Occupied Primary Residence Only

Approved Property Types: SFD homes with 1 acre or more of land.

Appraiser experience: 5 years or more licensed in that state and living within 2 miles of the property.

Appraisal conditions:

• Must provide a minimum of 12 comps within .25 miles of the subject property that have sold in the last 3 months.
• Must submit a minimum of 2 appraisals by appraisers who fit the above appraiser guideline.
• Appraisal subject to review by s senior appraisal committee of not less that 12 licensed appraisers who must all be present and have a secret vote on whether to approve the appraisal or not. This secret vote must then be voted on by a separate and independent panel of 5 appraisers who have 55 years of appraising experience. All 5 members must be physically present (and alive) to give final appraisal approval.

All conditions must be sent in triplicate (all originals please) and in three separate submission packages (due to a high level of misplaced documents). Please reference the loan number on every sheet of paper submitted. Electronic submissions will not longer be accepted, as this method is way too efficient and would not allow us to lose stuff and delay the loan closing.

If the loan package is not submitted in exactly the manner listed above AND on Tuesday before 1pm and after 12:58pm, the entire package (all three of them). This will be sent via international ground and will be getting sent back from India, so please allow 4-6 weeks for return delivery.

We look forward to a lasting relationship with you and appreciate you thinking of us.

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As I clicked my ruby red loafers 3 times and said "There's no place like home", I woke up only to realized that I have recieved 3 more bulletins of discontinued loan products in that short period of time.

©Copyright 2008 Tom Elder