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I feel your pain cawireman.

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Many players have cut their 100% programs. We still have a few big guys left (Countrywide, Indymac, etc.). In my opinion these guys will slowly dry up in the next few months. This should put pretty good downward pressure on values.

[guitar187]

re: source of unleased office space.

My source is my title rep for First American. The data is from their list of customers. I’ll try to get specifics from him this week. Will post the results.

[guitar187]

A quick note on the real estate comment. There is currently over 1 million square feet of empty office previously leased by mortgage companies in Orange County.

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I run the retail division of a mid-sized mortgage company. We use something called a FixedFee which is simply our cost plus all 3rd party fees (keep in mind we control escrow).

There are many companies that use similar models and guarantee all costs up front.

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I mean 125% seconds. They were big before the days of double digit appreciation. They’ll be back soon.

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Subsidized and goverment insured are two different things. You have goverment loans (VA, etc.) and convetional loans.

Also, 100% financing will always be available as long as Wall St. is willing to purchase the product. Most true portfolio lenders have stricter guidelines. I can post guidelines for Downey, World, US Bank, etc. Their portfolio products are stricter than what is being passed on as a mortgage backed security.

Give it time, Wall St. is slow to react to change, but they will eventually come around. We’ll see some decent changes by 2008. We’ve already seen PMI become tax deductible (a big wiin) and soon we’ll be able to welcome back the 125% market.

[guitar187]

I think the Campbell Method is quite valuable. I purchased two homes in Phoenix/Glendale based on his method. Both have significant equity and positive cash flow.

The good thing about the method is that it makes you find the numbers for a specific location. Why pay $3995 when you can do the research and develop your own report? His method gives you a great starting point for prospecting.

[guitar187]

Absolutely it will have an effect. But I believe there is still a high demand to sell that is being postponed due to uncertainty.

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I would say the decline is listings is a Stalemate between buyers and sellers. Sellers are waiting, gambling on news like this article, before they list their property. I think most people around here agree that the gamble will not be to their benefit.

More interesting is how people tend to surround themselves with like minded individuals. I’ve never been a real fan of Bush. I just don’t find him very intelligent. Funny how I often feel the same way about many of his staff.

[guitar187]

There are several programs that go 100% Stated NOO. Usual requirement is 12+ months reserves. You would need to know how much this individual can show in liquid assets.

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If I were you I would pretend you are buying right now. Estimate what your mortgage payment will be when you buy. Subtract your current rent and put the remaining amount into savings, cd, etc. If you can make this payment for the next 8 months (comfortably) you will know you can afford a house. You will also have a nice little pot saved up.

Unfortunately, many of my borrowers think they can afford a home, but they do not understand the things they need to give up to make it happen. Don’t let your ego mislead you. It is better to rent and be able to pay your bills then own something you can’t afford. Keep saving until you have a down payment big enough for an affordable payment.

You may have reasons for buying a home before the market reaches the bottom (kids, family, etc.). You don’t have to wait for the bottom to hit. But you do need a payment you can afford. Follow the above and you will be in good shape sooner than you think.

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You are a borrower that paid for a supposedly “useless” drive-by appraisal. By chance did you compare the rate you obtained to lenders that did not require the drive-by?

Fannie/Freddie allowed a 2055 in lieu of a full appraisal. That is to your benefit. In my eyes you obtained a conventional rate with a discount appraisal fee. What’s the problem? Had you gone to a non-convetional product you would have paid a higher rate. The increased rate would cost you more than the drive-by appraisal fee.

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If you are talking about private money financing. I can be of help obtaining clients for you (for a fee of course). But we would certainly need to talk and go over what you are getting into. There has been significant money to be made in foreclosing on private liens. But that is mostly because of the increase in values. If you want to enter this market now you will want to act quickly. As values decrease so will your profits. Also, the sales cycle to turn these properties becomes much longer when people are waiting to buy because they believe values are going down.

[guitar187]

I’ve been a mortgage broker for many, many years. I have seen very little in regards to first time home buyers putting 20% down (+closing costs) recently. But this can be attributed to the high rate of appreciation. Most people opt for 100% financing believing their property will increase and they can refinance at 80% in less than two years. They use what would be a down payment (savings) to offset a mortgage payment they can’t afford. I don’t know the # of first time buyers that have done this. But it seems significant from those that have come past my radar.

We will see what happens as the market turns south. 100% financing guidelines will become much more stringent and many people will have to bring a down payment to get into their first property.

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