Posted on 08/24/2007 11:11:03 AM PDT by Hydroshock
Until a few months ago, it seemed that anyone who could fog up a mirror could get a mortgage.
Now, with a credit crisis roiling the industry, some consumers might think they have a better chance winning the lottery than finding a home loan.
The truth is that you can still get a mortgage. It just may not be as easy--or as cheap--as it was over the past few years.
"If you have good credit, can document your income and have money for a downpayment, its largely business as usual," says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com.
Borrowers seeking non-"jumbo" mortgages of $417,000 or less and have good credit "will get the red carpet rolled out for them at the bank," McBride adds.
But if you are lacking in any of that criteria, or need to get a jumbo loan, be prepared to be turned down or pay a much higher rate.
"Tough Sledding"
"If you have poor credit, cannot document income, or looking for 100% financing -- it's tough sledding," says McBride.
Subprime loans for people with credit scores of 600 or less? Forget it. The standards have been tightened to the point that subprime mortgages, 20% of the mortgage market last year, are a thing of the past.
Also gone are a variety of products ranging from "no-money-down loans" with low teaser rates to interest-only mortgages that increase the amount owed to the lender over time.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
It’s back to the way it should be.
We have a young couple in our church. He’s a mortgage broker, and he got himself one of the fancy loans. He just lost his house, and now has horrible credit. He’s married with 1 child and another on the way, and he’s living at his parent’s house.
He’s still in shock that he lost his home.
The older couples in our church just think he made a risky decision. We also think that he needs to change jobs and get something that does not work off of commision.
We live in California, and we have a large home for the area. A lot of people think we must have a huge mortgage.
There’s a big difference also between having a 500K mortgage with 0 equity in a home, and no savings.
We have a 500K mortage with almost a million in equity, and we also have lots of savings. Our home already dropped in value, and we could handle the swing. If something happens to my husband’s job, then we have savings to handle home payments for awhile.
I think a lot of young homebuyers in California thought they would buy their house, and it would appreciate very quickly. People that have lived in the area long enough know that you have to be able to ride out waves where homes don’t appreciate fast. Our first home didn’t go up in value for the first 5 years (then it skyrocketed). We made sure that we had enough money to handle that situation.
Common sense is a beautiful thing.
Some Demos are already talking about the Government coming in to this and helping homeowners. I would be against Government throwing money to individuals, but perhaps there is a way for the FED to assist on a more indirect level?
Back in 1981 when I lived in Simi Valley, Ca. and it had been growing for years my neighbor was still building his second spec house after getting his contractor’s license three years earlier.
He made the equivalent of a year’s wages on the first house and quit an assembly line job at GM in Van Nuys with his wife quitting soon after to raise a family; by June, 1981, the house was nearing completion and his second daughter was crawling around all over his paperwork and plans.
Come November, the house was finished and on the market and he was trying to sell, he had a surprising number of prospective buyers, especially considering that the house was listed for $375,000 and surrounded by newer homes that were appraised at only $175-200 thousand.
The banks were all in a hunkered down mode and financing wa more than hard to come by. Three times a deal fell through because of buyers giving up on qualifying and his own note was due on the spec house, his own house and just about everything he was able to borrow on to get to that point.
When the bank called in his loan, the interest rate was 18.75%; he, his wife and their two children packed up and said goodbye to their house of ten years that he so wanted to save.
They landed on their feet in Fremont and both went back to work for GM at the plant to build Corollas and Geo Prizms, wiser but sadder.
When we get to that point again, wake me up and we’ll both scream.
DATE , MORTGNA
04/1971, 7.31
05/1971, 7.43
06/1971, 7.53
07/1971, 7.60
08/1971, 7.70
09/1971, 7.69
10/1971, 7.63
11/1971, 7.55
12/1971, 7.48
01/1972, 7.44
02/1972, 7.33
03/1972, 7.30
04/1972, 7.29
05/1972, 7.37
06/1972, 7.37
07/1972, 7.40
08/1972, 7.40
09/1972, 7.42
10/1972, 7.42
11/1972, 7.43
12/1972, 7.44
01/1973, 7.44
02/1973, 7.44
03/1973, 7.46
04/1973, 7.54
05/1973, 7.65
06/1973, 7.73
07/1973, 8.05
08/1973, 8.50
09/1973, 8.82
10/1973, 8.77
11/1973, 8.58
12/1973, 8.54
01/1974, 8.54
02/1974, 8.46
03/1974, 8.41
04/1974, 8.58
05/1974, 8.97
06/1974, 9.09
07/1974, 9.28
08/1974, 9.59
09/1974, 9.96
10/1974, 9.98
11/1974, 9.79
12/1974, 9.62
01/1975, 9.43
02/1975, 9.11
03/1975, 8.90
04/1975, 8.82
05/1975, 8.91
06/1975, 8.89
07/1975, 8.89
08/1975, 8.94
09/1975, 9.13
10/1975, 9.22
11/1975, 9.15
12/1975, 9.10
01/1976, 9.02
02/1976, 8.81
03/1976, 8.76
04/1976, 8.73
05/1976, 8.77
06/1976, 8.85
07/1976, 8.93
08/1976, 9.00
09/1976, 8.98
10/1976, 8.93
11/1976, 8.81
12/1976, 8.79
01/1977, 8.72
02/1977, 8.67
03/1977, 8.69
04/1977, 8.75
05/1977, 8.82
06/1977, 8.86
07/1977, 8.94
08/1977, 8.94
09/1977, 8.90
10/1977, 8.91
11/1977, 8.92
12/1977, 8.96
01/1978, 9.02
02/1978, 9.16
03/1978, 9.20
04/1978, 9.36
05/1978, 9.58
06/1978, 9.71
07/1978, 9.74
08/1978, 9.78
09/1978, 9.76
10/1978, 9.86
11/1978, 10.11
12/1978, 10.35
01/1979, 10.39
02/1979, 10.41
03/1979, 10.43
04/1979, 10.50
05/1979, 10.69
06/1979, 11.04
07/1979, 11.09
08/1979, 11.09
09/1979, 11.30
10/1979, 11.64
11/1979, 12.83
12/1979, 12.90
01/1980, 12.88
02/1980, 13.04
03/1980, 15.28
04/1980, 16.33
05/1980, 14.26
06/1980, 12.71
07/1980, 12.19
08/1980, 12.56
09/1980, 13.20
10/1980, 13.79
11/1980, 14.21
12/1980, 14.79
01/1981, 14.90
02/1981, 15.13
03/1981, 15.40
04/1981, 15.58
05/1981, 16.40
06/1981, 16.70
07/1981, 16.83
08/1981, 17.29
09/1981, 18.16
10/1981, 18.45
11/1981, 17.83
12/1981, 16.92
01/1982, 17.40
02/1982, 17.60
03/1982, 17.16
04/1982, 16.89
05/1982, 16.68
06/1982, 16.70
07/1982, 16.82
08/1982, 16.27
09/1982, 15.43
10/1982, 14.61
11/1982, 13.83
12/1982, 13.62
01/1983, 13.25
02/1983, 13.04
03/1983, 12.80
04/1983, 12.78
05/1983, 12.63
06/1983, 12.87
07/1983, 13.42
08/1983, 13.81
09/1983, 13.73
10/1983, 13.54
11/1983, 13.44
12/1983, 13.42
01/1984, 13.37
02/1984, 13.23
03/1984, 13.39
04/1984, 13.65
05/1984, 13.94
06/1984, 14.42
07/1984, 14.67
08/1984, 14.47
09/1984, 14.35
10/1984, 14.13
11/1984, 13.64
12/1984, 13.18
01/1985, 13.08
02/1985, 12.92
03/1985, 13.17
04/1985, 13.20
05/1985, 12.91
06/1985, 12.22
07/1985, 12.03
08/1985, 12.19
09/1985, 12.19
10/1985, 12.14
11/1985, 11.78
12/1985, 11.26
01/1986, 10.88
02/1986, 10.71
03/1986, 10.08
04/1986, 9.94
05/1986, 10.14
06/1986, 10.68
07/1986, 10.51
08/1986, 10.20
09/1986, 10.01
10/1986, 9.97
11/1986, 9.70
12/1986, 9.31
01/1987, 9.20
02/1987, 9.08
03/1987, 9.04
04/1987, 9.83
05/1987, 10.60
06/1987, 10.54
07/1987, 10.28
08/1987, 10.33
09/1987, 10.89
10/1987, 11.26
11/1987, 10.65
12/1987, 10.65
01/1988, 10.43
02/1988, 9.89
03/1988, 9.93
04/1988, 10.20
05/1988, 10.46
06/1988, 10.46
07/1988, 10.43
08/1988, 10.60
09/1988, 10.48
10/1988, 10.30
11/1988, 10.27
12/1988, 10.61
01/1989, 10.73
02/1989, 10.65
03/1989, 11.03
04/1989, 11.05
05/1989, 10.77
06/1989, 10.20
07/1989, 9.88
08/1989, 9.99
09/1989, 10.13
10/1989, 9.95
11/1989, 9.77
12/1989, 9.74
01/1990, 9.90
02/1990, 10.20
03/1990, 10.27
04/1990, 10.37
05/1990, 10.48
06/1990, 10.16
07/1990, 10.04
08/1990, 10.10
09/1990, 10.18
10/1990, 10.18
11/1990, 10.01
12/1990, 9.67
01/1991, 9.64
02/1991, 9.37
03/1991, 9.50
04/1991, 9.49
05/1991, 9.47
06/1991, 9.62
07/1991, 9.57
08/1991, 9.24
09/1991, 9.01
10/1991, 8.86
11/1991, 8.71
12/1991, 8.50
01/1992, 8.43
02/1992, 8.76
03/1992, 8.94
04/1992, 8.85
05/1992, 8.67
06/1992, 8.51
07/1992, 8.13
08/1992, 7.98
09/1992, 7.92
10/1992, 8.09
11/1992, 8.31
12/1992, 8.22
01/1993, 8.02
02/1993, 7.68
03/1993, 7.50
04/1993, 7.47
05/1993, 7.47
06/1993, 7.42
07/1993, 7.21
08/1993, 7.11
09/1993, 6.92
10/1993, 6.83
11/1993, 7.16
12/1993, 7.17
01/1994, 7.06
02/1994, 7.15
03/1994, 7.68
04/1994, 8.32
05/1994, 8.60
06/1994, 8.40
07/1994, 8.61
08/1994, 8.51
09/1994, 8.64
10/1994, 8.93
11/1994, 9.17
12/1994, 9.20
01/1995, 9.15
02/1995, 8.83
03/1995, 8.46
04/1995, 8.32
05/1995, 7.96
06/1995, 7.57
07/1995, 7.61
08/1995, 7.86
09/1995, 7.64
10/1995, 7.48
11/1995, 7.38
12/1995, 7.20
01/1996, 7.03
02/1996, 7.08
03/1996, 7.62
04/1996, 7.93
05/1996, 8.07
06/1996, 8.32
07/1996, 8.24
08/1996, 8.00
09/1996, 8.23
10/1996, 7.92
11/1996, 7.62
12/1996, 7.60
01/1997, 7.82
02/1997, 7.65
03/1997, 7.90
04/1997, 8.14
05/1997, 7.94
06/1997, 7.69
07/1997, 7.50
08/1997, 7.48
09/1997, 7.43
10/1997, 7.29
11/1997, 7.21
12/1997, 7.10
01/1998, 6.99
02/1998, 7.04
03/1998, 7.13
04/1998, 7.14
05/1998, 7.14
06/1998, 7.00
07/1998, 6.95
08/1998, 6.92
09/1998, 6.72
10/1998, 6.71
11/1998, 6.87
12/1998, 6.72
01/1999, 6.79
02/1999, 6.81
03/1999, 7.04
04/1999, 6.92
05/1999, 7.15
06/1999, 7.55
07/1999, 7.63
08/1999, 7.94
09/1999, 7.82
10/1999, 7.85
11/1999, 7.74
12/1999, 7.91
01/2000, 8.21
02/2000, 8.32
03/2000, 8.24
04/2000, 8.15
05/2000, 8.52
06/2000, 8.29
07/2000, 8.15
08/2000, 8.03
09/2000, 7.91
10/2000, 7.80
11/2000, 7.75
12/2000, 7.38
01/2001, 7.03
02/2001, 7.05
03/2001, 6.95
04/2001, 7.08
05/2001, 7.15
06/2001, 7.16
07/2001, 7.13
08/2001, 6.95
09/2001, 6.82
10/2001, 6.62
11/2001, 6.66
12/2001, 7.07
01/2002, 7.00
02/2002, 6.89
03/2002, 7.01
04/2002, 6.99
05/2002, 6.81
06/2002, 6.65
07/2002, 6.49
08/2002, 6.29
09/2002, 6.09
10/2002, 6.11
11/2002, 6.07
12/2002, 6.05
01/2003, 5.92
02/2003, 5.84
03/2003, 5.75
04/2003, 5.81
05/2003, 5.48
06/2003, 5.23
07/2003, 5.63
08/2003, 6.26
09/2003, 6.15
10/2003, 5.95
11/2003, 5.93
12/2003, 5.88
01/2004, 5.74
02/2004, 5.64
03/2004, 5.45
04/2004, 5.83
05/2004, 6.27
06/2004, 6.29
07/2004, 6.06
08/2004, 5.87
09/2004, 5.75
10/2004, 5.72
11/2004, 5.73
12/2004, 5.75
01/2005, 5.71
02/2005, 5.63
03/2005, 5.93
04/2005, 5.86
05/2005, 5.72
06/2005, 5.58
07/2005, 5.70
08/2005, 5.82
09/2005, 5.77
10/2005, 6.07
11/2005, 6.33
12/2005, 6.27
01/2006, 6.15
02/2006, 6.25
03/2006, 6.32
04/2006, 6.51
05/2006, 6.60
06/2006, 6.68
07/2006, 6.76
08/2006, 6.52
09/2006, 6.40
10/2006, 6.36
11/2006, 6.24
12/2006, 6.14
01/2007, 6.22
02/2007, 6.29
03/2007, 6.16
04/2007, 6.18
05/2007, 6.26
06/2007, 6.66
07/2007, 6.70
Yea. Lower the rate.
“I hope you are right, I just wish teh return to sanity was sooner.”
....Amen!.....you know I started to feel uneasy about 10 years ago when they were building McMansions across the way from our farm....really huge places with 3&4 car garages...they were selling briskly, but then I started noticing that there were still bed sheets over the windows 6 months after the new owners moved in....in other words those people were so deeply in hock they couldn’t afford curtains....that’s when I began to get a quesy feeling in my gut....I told my wife “when that ship of fools goes down we’re liable to get sucked into the vortex”...and we did...two of our investments went down due to mortgage related issues.....could’ve been much worse....compared to some we’re lucky.
If the FED assists they'll have to raise our taxes to do it. Don't really like to pay for other peoples mistakes, it's enough that I have to pay for my own.
and rare ... unfortunately
THIS IS GREAT NEWS SINCE IT WILL GO A LONG WAY TO RESTORING CONFIDENSE IN THE MORTGAGE PRODUCTS BEING BUNDLED AND SOLD IN THE MARKET PLACE.
Sub prime loans for people with credit scores of 600 or less? Forget it. The standards have been tightened to the point that sub prime mortgages, 20% of the mortgage market last year, are a thing of the past.
A great reason for people to clean up their credit and take advantage of the rewards of a 770-825 credit score.
Also gone are a variety of products ranging from "no-money-down loans" with low teaser rates to interest-only mortgages that increase the amount owed to the lender over time.
All in all really good news. As I said previously, this will go a long way to restoring the needed confidence in the markets.
Years ago when I worked in a bank we used to joke that the fastest way to get a loan from a bank is to prove to them you don't need it.
Sounds like he could use a gift. http://www.daveramsey.com/
Good job! A bit of perspective in a sea of ignorance.
The hard part there is he probably made 3 times as much money in the mortgage business as he would on any salary job - being left with a tough decision - ride out the wave, to ultimately make more money again, or take a lower paying salaried job that will ALWAYS be a lower paying job, and STILL lose the house.
I am just not sure how that would be implemented without throwing bucks at the problem. Would it take more $$$$ to Fannie Mae?
I may have mis-read your post. If so, sorry.
But were suppose to believe that this is the first time this has happened and it is all Bush’s fault.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.