Welcome to MortgageInfo.Today.com

It seems when people begin looking for a mortgage their first stop is always their computer. I like it when people perform some research before attempting to buy or refinance a home, but care should be taken to ensure that the information that you recieve is accurate. There are many garbage websites out there.

Look at Local Mortgage Loans. This is a typical mortgage website that appears to be set up strictly to gather information and earn advertiser dollars. Although there are numerous pages dedicated to getting a home loan in major cities, there is no real information here. Much of the information appears to be written by a fourth grader with a learning disability. There are pages on the site dedicated to Portland Mortgage Loans, Las Vegas Mortgage Loans, Austin Mortgage Loans and many others.

When you find sites like this you should move on to others that appear to be better. Your home is a big investment. Make sure you get the best information possible.

The acting Chief Financial Officer of mortgage giant Freddie Mac was found dead in his $900,000 Vienna, VA home this morning from an apparrent suicide. The Fairfax county police responded to a call to he 911 dispatcher at 4:48 a.m. and Kellermann was found in the basement of the home he shared with his wife and five year old daughter. The exact cause of death has not been released, but police have confirmed that it appears to be a suicide.

It seems like everyday I speak to someone that says “I was looking online and I see interest rates are at X.XX percent. I want to refinance my mortgage.” I’m always amazed by people that look at rates and payments online and assume that those rates apply to them. Typically, the rates listed on the internet are the best available. They assume that you have good credit, have equity in your home and there is nothing out of the ordinary with your situation. MOST websites make a statement to that effect, but some don’t. Take Rochester Mortgage Rates for example:

According to the site with zero points you can expect to receive a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 5.0%. OK, great. Sign me up you say.

Now, read a little further down. It says “All Rochester Mortgage Rates assume qualifying credit and meeting underwriting quidelines.”

Usually, if you have good credit, low debt-to-income ratio and a decent amount of equity in your home you should assume that you will have “qualifying credit and meet underwriting standards.” If you are different than that you should expect different than want is posted.

Websites are great for getting an “idea” of what your interest rates will be, but to get an exact figure you must have your entire situation analyzed.

The new “Making Homes Affordable Program” provides benefits to distressed homeowners that have their mortgage through Freddie Mac. As many of you know, mortgages are frequently sodl through the open market. Also, the bank that services your loan may not be the bank that actually holds the loan. This leaves many homeowners in need of help asking “Does Freddie Mac Own My Mortgage?”

Freddie Mac has opened a new website to help you determine if they hold your mortgage. It is located at https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate. The website is easy to use and will help you to quickly determine if you are eligible for assistance under the new programs.

The Federal Reserve just announced that it will spend up to $300 Billion to purchase long-tern government bonds over the next six months. This drastic step is an attempt to lift the country out of recession by reducing rates on mortgages and consumer debt.

The Fed has left the bank lending rate between zero on 0.25 percent, the lowest in history. It is expected that the rate will be left in this range through the end of 2010.

The Fed’s purchase of the long-term bonds should boost their prices and reduce their interest rates. That interest rate reduction should lead to lower rates on other kinds of debts. The Fed normally does not try to influence long term rates. The last time it did was in the 1960’s when the Kennedy administration enacted Operation Twist.

the Federal Reserves action mimics the Bank of Englands actions from last week. The Bank of England has begun buying government bonds from financial institution and lowered its key lending rates to a record low 0.5 percent. The Bank’s actions were designed to help Britain’s economy rebound.

Fianancial leaders from countries around the world have been discussing coordinated actions from their governments in an effort to help the global economy.

I don’t often talk about about, but I am a combat veteran. I am one of the lucky ones that got to spend a year of my life living in the desert in Afghanistan. I cherish all my days in the Army, particularly the time I got to spend overseas. What those experiences have added to my life can not be put into words. I truly believe that I am a better person for it.

One of the big benefits that us veterans recieve is the home loan guaranty issued by the VA. The program guarantees a portion of the loan amount, which allows eligible veterans and active service members to purchase affordable housing, with little or no money down, even with imperfect credit.

When I came home I wanted to buy a house and I found that many people did not understand the VA Mortgage Benefit. Even the banks that offered the loans did not understand how to process them correctly. I ended up doing a lot of research on my own and worked with a broker that was willing to learn and listen. (My leg work must have impressed the broker because after I closed on my loan he gave me my first job in the mortgage industry)

Now that I have been around VA loans for a while and understand the mortgage process I am in a position to help other veterans get through the VA Mortgage Maze. That is why I’ve started writing VA Mortgages Made Easy. I’ve designed the site to help veterans understand and obtain their VA mortgage entitlement.

The $7,500 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit created by congress and went into effect on April 9, 2008 and was set to run through July 1, 2009. Many people complained that the credit had to be repaid by the homeowner over a 15 year period and was not really a tax credit, but an additional home loan.

On February 17, 2009 President Barack Obama signed H.R. 1, the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” into law. The act modified the Homebuyer Tax Credit in the following ways:

$8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Credit Details

The new credit is for 10% of the home purchase price, with a maximum credit amount of $8,000. For example, a home purchased for $65,000 would have a credit of $6,500. Homes purchased for $80,000 or more would receive the maximum credit of $8,000. A “Refundable” credit means that if your total tax liability is less than the credit amount the IRS will send you a check for the remainder.

Why Refundability is Important

Many taxpayers’ tax liability is less that $8,000 for the year. According to IRS Tax Tables:

First-Time Homebuyers with income less than stated above will usually get a refund from the tax credit.

Who is NOT Allowed to Take the First-time Homebuyer Credit?

You cannot take the credit if any of the following applies to you:

Definition of a First-Time Homebuyer

For the purposes of this credit a first-time homebuyer is defined as anyone that has not owned a home in the last three years. For married joint filers, neither filer could have owned a home in the past three years.

Income Limitations

If your income exceeds $75,000 for single filers or $150,000 for married filers, a portion of the credit will be phased out. Single filers with income exceeding $95,000 and married filers with income exceeding $170,000 will receive zero credit.

Qualifications for the Home

Recapture Provision

If you sell or move out of the home within three years of home ownership the entire tax credit must be repaid to the government.

When Can the First-Time Homebuyer Credit Be Claimed?

The credit may be claimed on your 2008 or 2009 tax return.

The information contained above is deemed accurate at the time of this writing. Tax provisions do change. Contact your tax professional for more information on the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Credit.

What is a Mortage? Every single day I read something that says the following:

“I need a mortage”
“Can I get a Mortage?
“How much can I get a mortage for?”

Or something similar. Since I am a Mort g age Originator I assume that the person wants a home loan. Since most people only apply for a “Mortage” a few time in their life I let the misspelling slide.

This becomes a little pet peave of mine when it is written by people that are supposed to be real estate or mortgage professionals. Realtors, lenders and attorneys should know better. I know I am just a little anal but if you are sending correspondence to other people in the industry you should at least make sure that industry specific words are spelled correctly.

Am I right or am I write?

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Update: Not an hour after I wrote this I received an email from a Realtor asking how much a monthly “morgage” payment will be…

For many years qualifying for financing on investment properties has been a little more stringent than the qualifications needed for purchasing a home as a primary residence. This is because investment properties typically have a higher foreclosure rate than principle residences and therefore present a higher risk to lending institutions. As a result, investors need to be higher qualified and tend to pay higher rates and fees.

Many lenders, including the institution that I currently work for, have decided to avoid originating mortgages for investment properties altogether. I guess they figure the easiest way to avoid the risk associated with investment properties is to avoid investment properties.

Mortgage Giant Freddie Mac is still issuing mortgages for investment properties. You should contact your lender or broker for more details.

The deep contraction in the economy and in the housing market has created devastating consequences for homeowners and communities throughout the country.

The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan is part of the President’s broad, comprehensive strategy to get the economy back on track. The plan will help up to 7 to 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages to avoid foreclosure. In doing so, the plan not only helps responsible homeowners on the verge of defaulting, but prevents neighborhoods and communities from being pulled over the edge too, as defaults and foreclosures contribute to falling home values, failing local businesses, and lost jobs. The key components of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan are:
1. Refinancing for Up to 4 to 5 Million Responsible Homeowners to Make Their Mortgages More Affordable
2. A $75 Billion Homeowner Stability Initiative to Reach Up to 3 to 4 Million At-Risk Homeowners
3.Supporting Low Mortgage Rates By Strengthening Confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

1. Affordability: Provide Access to Low-Cost Refinancing for Responsible Homeowners Suffering From Falling Home Prices
Enabling Up to 4 to 5 Million Responsible Homeowners to Refinance: Mortgage rates are currently at historically low levels, providing homeowners with the opportunity to reduce their monthly payments by refinancing. But under current rules, most families who owe more than 80 percent of the value of their homes have a difficult time refinancing. Yet millions of responsible homeowners who put money down and made their mortgage payments on time have – through no fault of their own – seen the value of their homes drop low enough to make them unable to access these lower rates. As a result, the Obama Administration is announcing a new program that will help as many as 4 to 5 million responsible homeowners who took out conforming loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to refinance through those two institutions.

Reducing Monthly Payments: For many families, a low-cost refinancing could reduce mortgage payments by thousands of dollars per year:

o Consider a family that took out a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $207,000 with an interest rate of 6.50% on a house worth $260,000 at the time. Today, that family has about $200,000 remaining on their mortgage, but the value of that home has fallen 15 percent to $221,000 – making them ineligible for today’s low interest rates that now generally require the borrower to have 20 percent home equity. Under this refinancing plan, that family could refinance to a rate near 5.16% – reducing their annual payments by over $2,300.
2. Stability: Create A $75 Billion Homeowner Stability Initiative to Reach Up to 3 to 4 Million At-Risk Homeowners
• Helping Hard-Pressed Homeowners Stay in their Homes: This initiative is intended to reach millions of responsible homeowners who are struggling to afford their mortgage payments because of the current recession, yet cannot sell their homes because prices have fallen so significantly. Millions of hard-working families have seen their mortgage payments rise to 40 or even 50 percent of their monthly income – particularly those who received subprime and exotic loans with exploding terms and hidden fees. The Homeowner Stability Initiative helps those who commit to make reasonable monthly mortgage payments to stay in their homes – providing families with security and neighborhoods with stability.

•No Aid for Speculators: This initiative will go solely to helping homeowners who commit to make payments to stay in their home – it will not aid speculators or house flippers.

•Protecting Neighborhoods: This plan will also help to stabilize home prices for all homeowners in a neighborhood. When a home goes into foreclosure, the entire neighborhood is hurt. The average homeowner could see his or her home value stabilized against declines in price by as much as $6,000 relative to what it would otherwise be absent the Homeowner Stability Initiative.

•Providing Support for Responsible Homeowners: Because loan modifications are more likely to succeed if they are made before a borrower misses a payment, the plan will include households at risk of imminent default despite being current on their mortgage payments.

•Providing Loan Modifications to Bring Monthly Payments to Sustainable Levels: The Homeowner Stability Initiative has a simple goal: reduce the amount homeowners owe per month to sustainable levels. Using money allocated under the Financial Stability Plan and the full strength of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, this program has several key components:

A Shared Effort to Reduce Monthly Payments: For a sample household with payments adding up to 43 percent of his monthly income, the lender would first be responsible for bringing down interest rates so that the borrower’s monthly mortgage payment is no more than 38 percent of his or her income. Next, the initiative would match further reductions in interest payments dollar-for-dollar with the lender to bring that ratio down to 31 percent. If that borrower had a $220,000 mortgage, that could mean a reduction in monthly payments by over $400. That lower interest rate must be kept in place for five years, after which it could gradually be stepped up to the conforming loan rate in place at the time of the modification. Lenders will also be able to bring down monthly payments by reducing the principal owed on the mortgage, with Treasury sharing in the costs.

“Pay for Success” Incentives to Servicers: Servicers will receive an up-front fee of $1,000 for each eligible modification meeting guidelines established under this initiative. They will also receive “pay for success” fees – awarded monthly as long as the borrower stays current on the loan – of up to $1,000 each year for three years.

Incentives to Help Borrowers Stay Current: To provide an extra incentive for borrowers to keep paying on time, the initiative will provide a monthly balance reduction payment that goes straight towards reducing the principal balance of the mortgage loan. As long as a borrower stays current on his or her loan, he or she can get up to $1,000 each year for five years.

Reaching Borrowers Early: To keep lenders focused on reaching borrowers who are trying their best to stay current on their mortgages, an incentive payment of $500 will be paid to servicers, and an incentive payment of $1,500 will be paid to mortgage holders, if they modify at-risk loans before the borrower falls behind.

Home Price Decline Reserve Payments: To encourage lenders to modify more mortgages and enable more families to keep their homes, the Administration — together with the FDIC — has developed an innovative partial guarantee initiative. The insurance fund – to be created by the Treasury Department at a size of up to $10 billion – will be designed to discourage lenders from opting to foreclose on mortgages that could be viable now out of fear that home prices will fall even further later on. Holders of mortgages modified under the program would be provided with an additional insurance payment on each modified loan, linked to declines in the home price index.

Institute Clear and Consistent Guidelines for Loan Modifications: Treasury will develop uniform guidance for loan modifications across the mortgage industry, working closely with the bank agencies and building on the FDIC’s pioneering work. The Guidelines will be used for the Administration’s new foreclosure prevention plan. Moreover, all financial institutions receiving Financial Stability Plan financial assistance going forward will be required to implement loan modification plans consistent with Treasury Guidance. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will use these guidelines for loans that they own or guarantee, and the Administration will work with regulators and other federal and state agencies to implement these guidelines across the entire mortgage market. The agencies will seek to apply these guidelines when permissible and appropriate to all loans owned or guaranteed by the federal government, including those owned or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, the Federal Housing Administration, Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, Veterans’ Affairs and the Department of Agriculture.

• Other Comprehensive Measures to Reduce Foreclosure and Strengthen Communities

Require Strong Oversight, Reporting and Quarterly Meetings with Treasury, the FDIC, the Federal Reserve and HUD to Monitor Performance

Allow Judicial Modifications of Home Mortgages During Bankruptcy for Borrowers Who Have Run Out of Options

Provide $1.5 Billion in Relocation and Other Forms of Assistance to Renters Displaced by Foreclosure and $2 Billion in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds

Improve the Flexibility of Hope for Homeowners and Other FHA Programs to Modify and Refinance At-Risk Borrowers

3. Supporting Low Mortgage Rates By Strengthening Confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

• Ensuring Strength and Security of the Mortgage Market: Today, using funds already authorized in 2008 by Congress for this purpose, the Treasury Department is increasing its funding commitment to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure the strength and security of the mortgage market and to help maintain mortgage affordability.

Provide Forward-Looking Confidence: The increased funding will enable Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to carry out ambitious efforts to ensure mortgage affordability for responsible homeowners, and provide forward-looking confidence in the mortgage market.

Treasury is increasing its Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements to $200 billion each from their original level of $100 billion each.

Promoting Stability and Liquidity: In addition, the Treasury Department will continue to purchase Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities to promote stability and liquidity in the marketplace.

Increasing The Size of Mortgage Portfolios: To ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can continue to provide assistance in addressing problems in the housing market, Treasury will also be increasing the size of the GSEs’ retained mortgage portfolios allowed under the agreements – by $50 billion to $900 billion – along with corresponding increases in the allowable debt outstanding.

Support State Housing Finance Agencies: The Administration will work with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to support state housing finance agencies in serving homebuyers.

No EESA or Financial Stability Plan Money: The $200 billion in funding commitments are being made under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act and do not use any money from the Financial Stability Plan or Emergency Economic Stabilization Act/TARP.