A Sacramento mortgage lender's vision

Mortgage Protection Life Insurance is a big topic now. The economy is in a bit of a rut and the topic of financial security gets thrown around a lot these days. But what exactly, is Mortgage Protection Life Insurance- or Mortgage Life as it is sometimes called? For that, you can read our page here. Today, we're going to tell you what Mortgage Life is not.

The top 7 myths about Mortgage Protection Life Insurance:

1. Myth: Mortgage Protection Life Insurance is just life insurance. Fact: There are key differences. Yes it's a life insurance policy in that it pays out upon passing of the policy holder-but it pays off the entire mortgage.
2. Myth: I already have life insurance- can't get/don't need Mortgage Life. Fact: You can have your cake and eat it, too. A mortgage life policy can close key holes in your traditional policy coverage.
3. Myth: My traditional life insurance policy covers my home. Fact: Most life insurance policies DO NOT cover the loan balance. Probate/estate legal messes can make it hard on the family to deal with real estate. Mortgage life insurance makes it simple.
4. Myth: I already pay Mortgage Insurance(PMI)- that's the same thing. Fact: PMI is NOT Mortgage Protection Life Insurance! PMI only pays your lender if you stop making payments- it does nothing for you.
5. Myth: I have insurance which pays my mortgage if I lose my job- that's the same thing. Fact: It's not- those policies are called "Mortgage Protection Insurance", they only cover a few months of payments and not your loan balance.
6. Myth: I got Title Insurance, PMI, Home insurance and a home warranty when I bought my home- why something extra? Fact: All these insurance coverages are for specific purposes- and most don't even benefit you or your family
7. Myth: There is only one type of Mortgage Life Insurance. Fact: There are several, including Decreasing Term and Level Term. The idea of Mortgage life insurance may seem complicated, but it can fit your exact situation.

We hope this clears up some of the common misconceptions. If you are still unsure about your situation or need more information, feel free to call us at 916-729-2000. You can also read more about Mortgage life insurance on our website.

Arnold Schwartzenegger signed the death warrant for the 'loan modification industry' on October 11, 2009. Senate Bill 94 prohibited the collection of advance fees for a loan modifications.

The good: Loan Modification companies, mostly staffed by former subprime mortgage pros, did such awful things to american consumers that things could end no other way. Not all of these companies deserved this rap, but the majority were about, and only about, the money- charging thousands of dollars upfront for their service with little, if any, result.

The bad: In one stroke of a pen the government made loan modifications business unprofitable. While slimy, these companies were the only alternative from the consumer dealing directly with their lender (ouch).

The ugly: Banks and servicers have become much longer, harder and insane for the consumer to deal with in the meantime. The Goverment aside from some half-assed efforts is either sitting on its hands or pushed around by the banking lobby.

The facts: It is almost impossible for the average person to navigate through the overwhelming amount of forms, paperwork, customer service mazes, government programs, rules, regulations and all the other chains that lock affordable mortgage payments away from the consumer. The worst part is in most cases there is a better alternative such as a Short Sale or Government aided refinance.

What to do?

ModifyMortgageMyself.com

Is the only true 100% Free product in the world which can help you get a loan modification on your own.

• Analyze your scenario to see your unbiased chance of getting that loan modification (edit, tweak and recalculate as much as you want)
• Discover alternatives to a loan modification. The software will preapprove you for over 7 other options such as a Short Sale.
• Strategize with payment calculators, note taking systems, customized news feeds and bank contact info and more
• Attack create customized, on-the-fly loan modification documents like financial summaries, hardship letters, required paperwork lists

It's true. You don't need a loan modification company nor do you need a degree in mortgage law to help yourself. Best of all, the software is 100% online and cross compatible- No downloads. Sleep easy as your data is protected by McAffee Secure and state of the art SSL technology.

Did we mention:

• NO credit card number and NO charge to you (ad supported)
• NO social security, DOB or personal info required
• NO commitment, NO contract
• NO way your lender will know about your Account
• NO steering- 100% non biased

The banks will only make the process  harder. Take your mortgage into your own hands and Sign up for your FREE account now.

These are tough times for the mortgage industry, true. However, Sunrise Vista Mortgage is alive and well. In fact, we are growing!

If you want to join a true, legit FHA Broker with 2 decades of lending experience and a product line from Access to USDA, and you have the following qualifications:

• 3+ Years experience as a Loan Officer
• Strong sales background & phone presence
• Able to commit to 20 hour week in office

DRE licence preferred. This is a full commission job with split DOE. We are a high-tech operation and the ideal candidates will have experience with CRM software, loan processing software(we use Pipeline but can accommodate files from CalX, etc), call capture, remote access etc. A background in blogging, social networking/media etc helps even more.

We produce our own internal leads from search engines (google "sacramento FHA"), as well as partnerships with Zillow and Trulia. We also receive Lending Tree leads. Our LO's get fresh real time leads but those with their own referrals really clean up.

Click here to learn more about us and to apply for a position.

OK- a little lagged here, but for those that don't know, Taylor Bean Whitaker closed it's doors last week. More correctly, (and not wholely unexpectedly) the Fed closed the doors for them. TBW, 12 largest consumer mortgage lender in the US (and 5th largest FHA/VA lender) was accused of, among other things, concealing an investigation by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to HUD. HUD took swift action as you can see in their press release on Tuesday, August 4th. All too telling is the press release TBW sent out the next day to those wholesale brokers. TBW Press Release 08052009.pdf .

I personally was fortunate enough to close the last loan in my pipeline at TBW in July. Other loan officers and brokers have been much less lucky and are having to deal with switching live files. Further complicating the situation is the fact that TBW had some quirky guidelines (niches) that is making it hard to find new homes for these loans. Some wholesalers have stepped up to the plate to aid the transition. The full story is available @ ML Implode- It's a fascinating read as TBW has been spiraling around the toilet for months.

Ironically, TBW's demise might help ease rates. After all, the collapse will [temporarily] lower supply of mortgages, and demand should rebound after the initial panic leading to a lower equilibrium Fannie Mae coupon price and lower rates. But that is very simplistic economics- the market remains very volatile.

Interestingly enough, as of 2009-07-31 Wells Fargo shut down all mortgage lending operations in Canada.

You heard correctly- the Access Program is back. Sunrise Vista did a few of these in 2008 but stopped when the program abrutly ran out of funds. We'd guess that the demand for Access is, if anything, greater than it was last year meaning it is expected to run out quickly.

I heard some things on the grapevine about this program getting uncanceled, so I went direct to NHF's website and was dismayed to find a generic message stating that the "Program was temporarily on hold". Not to be stopped there I burned a call to NHF directly and was pleased to be informed that the Access program will be officially back up August 3rd. So in effect we have a couple days advance notice and I highly recommend that anyone interested jump on this opportunity ASAP- who knows how long it will be around.

For the uninitiated, Access works like this. You still have your normal FHA loan with normal FHA requirements, but as long as your income is lower than the county level (87K in Sacramento, surrounding), Access will make a second mortgage for up to 6% of the purchase price. After the smoke clears you can essentially get a FHA no down loan. Well, since the FHA down payment requirement is 3.5%, and the Access covers 3%, you do have to come up with .5%---but that is essentially a earnest money deposit. Or, you could get a gift from a family member or any other FHA approved source.

Mortgage interest rates have taken a spike recently as shown in this graph from Bankrate.com;

This behavior can directly be explained by the following factors:

• Skyrocketing of US Treasury yields over the last months with the 10 year bond yield climbing near 150 basis points since March
• A corresponding increase in Mortgage backed securities (for the technical as of today the 5.00 Fannie coupon is dominant)

However, these increases, as always are due to economic conditions and recently we have seen:

• An increased threat of inflation and a lessening of deflation
• Smaller unemployment and deficit numbers than expected
• Better retail and spending data than expected
• Federal reserve actions became less effective
• Other players in mortgage security market(primarily China) back down on purchases

An ugly picture once the puzzle is put together. However, the underlying economic data is still very negative- there is a truly enormous pressure of foreclosures very close to hitting the market, as well as a lot more mortgage resets in the end of 2009 and onwards. The current market sentiment that the economy has 'hit bottom' has been called irrational exuberance by some. It is strange to root for the economy to become weaker, but we are in a catch 22. If the economy is recovering, rates will go up much higher than they are currently. If the economy is weakening, rates will go down and homebuyers will be able to afford to enter the market.

Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange commission (SEC) finally levied formal charges against former CEO Angelo Mozillo, former Chief Operating Officer David Sambol and former Chief Financial Officer Eric Sieracki of Countrywide Financial Corp. The charges stem from actions during 2005-2007 and allege that these officers mislead investors about the credit risks the company took to increase its market share. Gee, really? The real meat of the allegations is a charge of falsely assurance to investors that Countrywide was primarily a prime-quality mortgage lender that had avoided underwriting risky loans.

In reality, during 2004-2007 Countrywide, (or rather it's subprime division's alias, Full Spectrum Lending) was one of the largest players in the market for risky loans. Flush with available credit and eyeing strong demand for any type of mortgage securities, Countrywide made billions of dollars in loans with reduced or no income/asset documentation to people with low credit scores. In fact, they were considered to be one of the most aggressive lenders for these products at the time, really pushing guidelines and rates in an attempt to corner the market.

Well it worked, but the ugly truth was that these loans were made on an expectation that home prices would continue skyrocketing. Laced with huge prepayment penalties and steep rate increases, these loans would have been enormously profitable- considering that at the time, the average American homeowner refinanced every 1.5 years. But as we all know, the market ran out of gas in 2006 and all the subprime loans on Countrywide's books shortly ran the company into the ground, forcing a desperation merger with Bank of America Corporation.

In closing, why should the payment for bad subprime loans stop just with three former executives? If you are a victim of one of these bad loans, you should contact us to see about your options.

It has been quite some time since my last blog. Things have been quite hectic with the recently low rates and we are busier than we've been in several years.

A lot has transpired in the market as well, I believe we are up to now the 4th AIG bailout and the Automakers have their hands out again. I promise to deliver some more in-depth market information in the coming weeks.

For now though I just want to promote the new stylistic changes to the website...some pages have been tweaked while the home page and footer has changed drastically.

We are still the #1 ranked mortgage broker in Sacramento, according to Google. In fact, there are almost 100 terms in which at least one of the sunrisevista.com pages is ranked in the top 10, and about 20 terms in the top 3.  According to our service provider, we are one of the most heavily trafficked websites on their network. Our focus on content and quality is paying off by attracting visitors such as yourselves.

Thank you for visiting Sunrise Vista! Be sure to look around.

First-time buyers can claim a credit worth $8,000 - or 10% of the home's value, whichever is less - on their 2008 or 2009 taxes.

This was announced a few weeks ago, but if you didn't know, now you do. The credit is for first time home buyers only(no ownership in last 3 years is the definition believe it or not), does have some income limitations and does not need to be paid back like the $7500 credit in 2008.

To see how this may affect your individual situation please visit Jenica Horn's blog here.