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CNBC’s Diana Olick – Oil and Real Estate: Fannie Mae to the Rescue
“There is no question that while oil has barely brushed the beaches here in Pensacola, the place is awash in fear. But then a ray of hope…from none other than the government-controlled mortgage behemoth Fannie Mae, which is in so much hot water itself that it actually had to delist from the stock market yesterday. “Servicers may immediately suspend or reduce mortgage payments for borrowers whose properties or income are negatively impacted by the Gulf oil spill,” goes the press release.
“We want to give homeowners every opportunity to weather this unprecedented disaster, including relief from their mortgage payment if that will help them get back on their feet and stay in their homes,” said Michael J. Williams, President and CEO. “Our policy is in place to support those who are experiencing a disaster-related hardship through no fault of their own and are acting in good faith to meet their mortgage obligation.”
This is part of the company’s (or should I say agency’s) “Special Relief Measures” policy. Borrowers can get up to 90 days of relief while the servicer “determines the nature and extent of the impact the disaster is having on the condition of the property or on the borrower’s financial condition.” And what then? “At the conclusion of that assessment, servicers have additional flexibilities to evaluate the appropriate loss mitigation alternative based on a case-by-case determination, including an additional three months of forbearance, a loan modification or other customized solution.”
Sounds great, if this were, like, 1997, and the housing market was otherwise fine and dandy. So many Floridians are already in the midst of trying to get loan modifications and forbearance plans, that I’m just not so sure how you separate it all around here. But then I think about the government, which has been trying to pull itself out of the housing market, and is now just dipping itself right back in. I wonder just how this announcement is going to affect underwater borrowers in Florida, even those who don’t live near water. The very process of deciding who is really a victim of oil and who is just a victim of the ongoing housing crisis? Just the mechanics of it! I’m sure far greater minds than mine in the upper levels of our government have already thought of that.”
Suggestions from MBA to the Administration on the Future of the Housing Finance System
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) yesterday submitted a comprehensive response to a series of questions from the administration designed to elicit input on the future of the housing finance system, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the overall role of the federal government in housing policy. Michael D. Berman, CMB, MBA’s Chairman-elect, said “We have spent the better part of the last year and a half looking at how to attract private capital and restore confidence in the secondary mortgage market. We want to work with the administration and Congress to find long term solutions that will ensure sufficient mortgage liquidity in times of market stress.”
MBA’s comments builds on the work of its Council on Ensuring Mortgage Liquidity, a 23-member task force, chaired by Berman, representing MBA’s diverse membership base. MBA established the Council in October of 2008 with a mission to look beyond the current crisis, to what a functioning secondary mortgage market should like for the long term. Discourage a fully private model to fund the US housing finance system, the response states that a fully-government based system may not be optimal, comments on why the role of the government in the core mortgage finance market should be neutral and separate from other housing policy goals, and establishes the need for the government to provide an explicit credit guarantee as the secondary mortgage market transactions are funded with private capital and many more to the boot.
Tax, Jobs Bill Blocked in U.S. Senate
A Democratic bill to extend jobless benefits and raise taxes on investment fund managers failed a key vote in the U.S. Senate Thursday, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama’s push to boost the economy. The bill would have extended popular business tax breaks, stopped a 21 percent Medicare pay cut for doctors treating elderly patients and extended extra Medicaid money to cash-strapped states. Democratic leaders failed to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome solid Republican opposition to the bill, which would have added about $55 billion to the deficit over 10 years. Republican opponents argued that the bill would add billions to an already bloated $1.4 trillion budget deficit. The deficit and $13 trillion national debt are becoming major issues in the November midterm congressional elections in which Republicans hope to gain control of Congress.
Consumer Price Drop Squeezes Profits
Many companies are finding their profit margins squeezed, as U.S. consumer prices fell 0.2% last month from April, even as commodity prices from metal to fuel to food remain higher than they were a year ago. The Labor Department Thursday said that excluding volatile food and energy prices, consumer prices rose a modest 0.1% in May. Compared to a year ago, prices, excluding food and energy, have risen only 0.9%, the smallest increase since 1966. Such a scenario should buoy weary consumers especially at a time of high unemployment and worries about the turmoil in Europe. But it puts many companies in a bind as they digest rising wholesale prices, which push up their production and operating costs. Many companies say they are reluctant to pass price increases to consumers who are still jittery from the recession.
Across the economy, budding concerns about inflation coming out of the economic downturn have morphed into worries about inflation being too low as products face intense price pressures. Outside of energy prices, “there’s nothing out there to point to inflation picking up,” says James O’Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global. “Inflation is very tame.” The one benefit of a weak economy: plenty of available labor, keeping wages under control.
Mortgage Fraud Task Force Arrests 485 in Sweeping Crackdown
Since the launch of a national mortgage fraud enforcement campaign on March 1, federal efforts led to 485 arrests nationwide, making it the largest-ever collective enforcement initiative against mortgage fraud. The effort, dubbed “operation stolen dreams,” is headed up by US Attorney General Eric Holder, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Robert Mueller III and Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG) Kenneth Donohue. The mortgage fraud crack-down has uncovered 1,215 criminal defendants nationwide — including 485 arrests — who are allegedly responsible for more than $2.3bn in losses.
To date, the operation resulted in 191 civil enforcement actions resulting in the recovery of more than $147m: “From home buyers to lenders, mortgage fraud has had a resounding impact on the nation’s economy,” said the FBI’s Mueller. “Those who prey on the housing market should know that hundreds of FBI agents on task forces and their law enforcement partners are tracking down your schemes and you will be brought to justice.” The types of alleged mortgage fraud cases uncovered and investigated include builder bailout schemes, where builders establish relationships with unlicensed mortgage brokers to “sell” homes to straw buyers at inflated prices. Fraudulent schemes also involved “ghost loans” where straw buyers misleadingly obtain loans on properties that have multiple unrecorded liens without the other lender’s knowledge. As the breeds of mortgage fraud grow more exotic and damaging, federal investigations are also picking up.
DSNews.com – House Republicans Want Penalties for Strategic Defaulters
Tumbling property values have left nearly a quarter of borrowers owing more on their mortgage than the home is worth, and A recent study has shown that when underwater, more and more of these homeowners are opting to walk away from their loan obligation even if they can afford to make the payments. While defaulting strategically is not as frowned upon by the general public as it used to be, there are some lawmakers whose disdain for the practice has sparked a push to institute stronger deterrents for walking away and penalize those that do. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the FHA Reform Act, with measures designed to replenish the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) depleted reserve. The FHA reform bill, including the agency ban on strategic defaulters, has not yet been approved by the Senate. And some onlookers say the part targeting borrowers who up and walk away will be particularly tricky.
Now on to our real estate education section…
Friday File – 15 Minute Resolution: Simplify Your Life
Ever have the feeling you are drowning in data? Can’t seem to find the name or number of a specific person despite duplicate numbers at home, the office, phone, laptop and desktop? Wish there was an easy way to consolidate all your contacts into one simple, convenient place that you can sync and export anywhere at any time…including cross platform from Mac and PC? This weeks’ 15 minute resolution does all that thanks to Google Contacts.
Get Control of Your Entire Social Network
1. Linkedin, Facebook, email, phone, Outlook and others…make a list of all the people and places you visit.
2. Sign up for a Google Contacts Account. It’s simple and free. If you have a gmail account, simply sign-in and click to get started.
3. Export your CSV phone list and save to your computer.
4. Log-in to Google Contacts, click on “import”.
5. Do the same for LinkedIn. Simply “export” the CSV file to your computer then upload to Google.
6. Facebook is a little more complex as it requires the use of a couple add-ons to grab both the phone and email information. Greasemonkey provides a popular script capable of integrating with the Facebook Phonebook exporter script located at http://bradfitz.com/greasemonkey/facebook_phonebook_export.user.js
7. Remove duplicates. Google Contacts handles this effortlessly…just look for the button and click!
8. Sync and Export. If you own an Adroid, no extra steps are required since Google Contacts is already integrated, otherwise, you will need to set up the phone to sync with Google. Likewise, to export the list, simple select the file format, download to the computer and then follow your program instructions to import contacts into the email or other application.
See you at the top!
Chris McLaughlin
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Copyright Loss Mitigation Institute LLC 2010.
All Rights Reserved.
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Finally, a blog for Real Estate professionals
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About the author:
Chris McLaughlin is widely known as America’s top
Real Estate Attorney and Investment Consultant.
* As the top Florida foreclosure and pre-
foreclosure expert, he oversees more than
100 short sale & REO closings each month
* Long-time authority on real estate investing
and rapid reselling of distressed homes. Owns
portfolio of nearly 100 high-value, high-profit
properties
* Owner of one of Florida’s largest Real Estate firms,
running 4 different offices, supporting over
400 agents, uniquely positioning him to help
thousands of investors make money in the
biggest market opportunity ever!
* Highly sought-after speaker, consultant, and
seminar leader for current trends and hot topics
in Real Estate Investing, Entrepreneurship, and
Wealth Building
* Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mclaughlinchris
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