What Do Americans Think About the Mortgage Industry? A new survey of public sentiment by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) marked some distinct changes in the way people feel about the mortgage industry – and a potential response by the government to problems engulfing the market.The 2007 National Housing Pulse Survey was conducted by the NAR, which polled 1,000 adults living in the United States in October.The survey found that only 5% of respondents are very or fairly worried about being able to make their mortgage payments over the next year.While 53% of those with fixed-rate mortgages feel little or no strain, more than half of those with variable-rate mortgages say they do feel a significant or slight strain.Almost nine out of 10 consumers still believe that buying a home is a good financial decision, and 59% of respondents also agree that now is a good time to buy a home.“Owning a home continues to be a good, long-term investment, and most consumers understand that,” said NAR President Pat V. Combs. “This new survey clearly shows that people believe in the value of homeownership and know that owning a home is one of the best ways for most families to build a nest egg.”While general sentiment about mortgages remains fairly upbeat, people have become increasingly critical of the mortgage process.Americans are more concerned about obtaining a mortgage and having enough money for down payment and closing costs than they have been in five years of polling. Almost six in 10 respondents say it’s hard for people in their area to obtain a fair and affordable mortgage. More than eight in 10 say having enough money for down payment and closing costs are obstacles for home buyers in their area, up 17% from a 2005 survey. Roughly 63% also think the mortgage approval process is an obstacle, up 13% since 2005. Meanwhile, 32% of those surveyed feel the rate of foreclosures in their area to have increased over the past year, 39% report the rate has remained about the same.About 6% believe the foreclosure rate has actually decreased in their area. About 38% of respondents said foreclosures were a very big or moderate problem, but 51% said foreclosures were only a slight problem or not one at all. In the wake of the rising foreclosures and problems with predatory lending, Americans are split on the need for more federal government oversight. Approximately 47% believe the federal government should take a more active role, while 45% believe oversight should be a matter for the private sector. Almost seven in 10 survey respondents are concerned about the cost of housing in their area. For Americans, the lack of affordable housing continues to be a greater concern than jobs, crime or terrorism.
Thank you,
Jeff Sargent
Jeff Sargent
President – Residential Mortgage Division
ONB Bank & Trust Co
8908 S Yale Ave, Suite 250
Tulsa, OK 74137
Office: 918.392.6572
Cell: 918.636.0630
Fax: 918.392.6550
jeff_sargent@onbbank.com
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Tulsa County Bond Money Update/Letter To Client
Jennifer,
Bond money is available on a "first-come, first-serve" basis. When the money is gone, we must wait for another bond issue to take its place.
There is $8,000,000 coming on 11/15/07 and I would expect that to last approximately 60 days. I will send you some more information about the bond program in next e-mail, but it basically gives the buyers 3% of loan amount as assistance. For example, if the loan amount is $100,000, you would receive $3,000 in bond assistance to use towards down-payment and closing costs. This is combined with an FHA loan, which requires a 2.25% down-payment. You can then ask the sellers to pay the remainder of your total costs, as they are allowed to pay up to 6% of your costs to purchase. You may see advertisements stating that you are eligible for 4% bond assistance in the newspaper. This is how it is often advertised; however the bond authority "takes back" 1% for their fee which leaves you with actual assistance of 3%.
When bond money runs out, it usually takes about 2 months for a new bond issue to arrive. It is ordinarily best to at least get qualified and know that you are able to participate and what you can qualify for so that you can at least begin looking at homes and get an idea as to how much you would like to spend on a home purchase and also know monthly payments, cost to acquire home, etc. Attached, please find a pre-qualification application that you can print, complete by hand and return via fax or pdf/scan e-mail.
Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Darryl Baskin and we will be happy to help.
Have a great day.
Thank you,
Jeff Sargent
Jeff Sargent
President - Residential Mortgage Division
ONB Bank & Trust Co
8908 S Yale Ave, Suite 250
Tulsa, OK 74137
Office: 918.392.6572
Cell: 918.636.0630
Fax: 918.392.6550
jeff_sargent@onbbank.com
Bond money is available on a "first-come, first-serve" basis. When the money is gone, we must wait for another bond issue to take its place.
There is $8,000,000 coming on 11/15/07 and I would expect that to last approximately 60 days. I will send you some more information about the bond program in next e-mail, but it basically gives the buyers 3% of loan amount as assistance. For example, if the loan amount is $100,000, you would receive $3,000 in bond assistance to use towards down-payment and closing costs. This is combined with an FHA loan, which requires a 2.25% down-payment. You can then ask the sellers to pay the remainder of your total costs, as they are allowed to pay up to 6% of your costs to purchase. You may see advertisements stating that you are eligible for 4% bond assistance in the newspaper. This is how it is often advertised; however the bond authority "takes back" 1% for their fee which leaves you with actual assistance of 3%.
When bond money runs out, it usually takes about 2 months for a new bond issue to arrive. It is ordinarily best to at least get qualified and know that you are able to participate and what you can qualify for so that you can at least begin looking at homes and get an idea as to how much you would like to spend on a home purchase and also know monthly payments, cost to acquire home, etc. Attached, please find a pre-qualification application that you can print, complete by hand and return via fax or pdf/scan e-mail.
Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Darryl Baskin and we will be happy to help.
Have a great day.
Thank you,
Jeff Sargent
Jeff Sargent
President - Residential Mortgage Division
ONB Bank & Trust Co
8908 S Yale Ave, Suite 250
Tulsa, OK 74137
Office: 918.392.6572
Cell: 918.636.0630
Fax: 918.392.6550
jeff_sargent@onbbank.com
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Should the Government Bail Out Mortgage Companies
It is discussed that the federal government's involvement in the mortgage crisis may result in a bail-out. After the bankruptcy of hundreds of mortgage companies, the crisis continues and the effects are far reaching. What role the government will take in the mess is yet to be seen, but it should hold the companies who made the risky loans accountable. Some of the loans were simply ridiculous. Borrowers who had just completed bankruptcy were qualifying for new loans from greedy, predatory loan companies. It is not not the taxpayer's responsibility to bail them out. The extent of the aid from the government should be to prevent a disastrous domino effect from harming the economy further.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Economic Data Update of US Economy
On August 7th, Ben Bernanke and the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) decided to hold steady on the Fed funds rate at 5.25%. They will hold their next meeting next Tuesday, September 18th. The Central Banks around the world have injected vast sums of money into the reserve to contain the crisis of short-term illiquidty. These infusions of cash are the Central Bank's method to add money into the economy so the FOMC does not have to lower the Fed funds rate to 5%. Consumer confidence slipped in August and the world money markets are sitting back waiting to see if the Fed will "bail-out" the Wall Street risk takers on September 18th; many wonder if it will be followed by another .25% cut during the FOMC's next meeting on October 30-31st. Will the rate drop to 4.25% by Spring of 2008? If we had the answer to this, we would be selling our crystal ball and moving to an island in Florida.
30 Year fixed mortgage rates still hover between 6.375% and 6.5% as of this writing. If the inflation lion is still in his cage and remains tame, maybe we'll see more reductions to mortgage rates. Looking back, we were at 6.25% until late May. We can only hope and pray that they fall to that level in the coming weeks (we would all like to enjoy the 6% and below rates we had become used to the past few years). If the fed will begin and continue cutting rates, our US economy may be able to avoid a recession in 2008.
In Tulsa, we should have enough barriers in place to avoid a recession and our economic momentum should carry us into next year like a smooth wave. We Tulsans should continue our optimistic economic outlook and avoid the economic downturns and pitfalls being experienced in other parts of our country because we have been more fiscally conservative in our buying and borrowing practices.
Have no fear when buying a home. Just make sure that you have a good realtor and solid, experienced lenders assisting you. There must be trust established between all of the parties to a transaction. Ask your realtor or lender about any potential businesses you will be dealing with during the home buying process.
If you have questions on Tulsa, Oklahoma homes for sale or commercial real estate, please contact The Baskin Team of McGraw Realtors at (918) 258-2600.
Need a mortgage loan in Tulsa, Oklahoma? Home loans, first time buyer loans, bond money, FHA, VA, Conventional, Jumbo home loans, credit report questions and other mortgage needs in the Tulsa, OK area, you can call our experienced group of professionals at ONB Bank & Trust Residential Mortgage Division, formerly known as Pinnacle Mortgage Corp
@ (918) 481-6833.
Jeff Sargent
President - Residential Mortgage Division
ONB Bank & Trust
8908 S Yale, Suite 250
Tulsa, OK 74137
Economic Data Update of US Economy
On August 7th, Ben Bernanke and the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) decided to hold steady on the Fed funds rate at 5.25%. They will hold their next meeting next Tuesday, September 18th. The Central Banks around the world have injected vast sums of money into the reserve to contain the crisis of short-term illiquidty. These infusions of cash are the Central Bank's method to add money into the economy so the FOMC does not have to lower the Fed funds rate to 5%. Consumer confidence slipped in August and the world money markets are sitting back waiting to see if the Fed will "bail-out" the Wall Street risk takers on September 18th; many wonder if it will be followed by another .25% cut during the FOMC's next meeting on October 30-31st. Will the rate drop to 4.25% by Spring of 2008? If we had the answer to this, we would be selling our crystal ball and moving to an island in Florida.
30 Year fixed mortgage rates still hover between 6.375% and 6.5% as of this writing. If the inflation lion is still in his cage and remains tame, maybe we'll see more reductions to mortgage rates. Looking back, we were at 6.25% until late May. We can only hope and pray that they fall to that level in the coming weeks (we would all like to enjoy the 6% and below rates we had become used to the past few years). If the fed will begin and continue cutting rates, our US economy may be able to avoid a recession in 2008.
In Tulsa, we should have enough barriers in place to avoid a recession and our economic momentum should carry us into next year like a smooth wave. We Tulsans should continue our optimistic economic outlook and avoid the economic downturns and pitfalls being experienced in other parts of our country because we have been more fiscally conservative in our buying and borrowing practices.
Have no fear when buying a home. Just make sure that you have a good realtor and solid, experienced lenders assisting you. There must be trust established between all of the parties to a transaction. Ask your realtor or lender about any potential businesses you will be dealing with during the home buying process.
If you have questions on Tulsa, Oklahoma homes for sale or commercial real estate, please contact The Baskin Team of McGraw Realtors at (918) 258-2600.
Need a mortgage loan in Tulsa, Oklahoma? Home loans, first time buyer loans, bond money, FHA, VA, Conventional, Jumbo home loans, credit report questions and other mortgage needs in the Tulsa, OK area, you can call our experienced group of professionals at ONB Bank & Trust Residential Mortgage Division, formerly known as Pinnacle Mortgage Corp
@ (918) 481-6833.
Jeff Sargent
President - Residential Mortgage Division
ONB Bank & Trust
8908 S Yale, Suite 250
Tulsa, OK 74137
Monday, August 27, 2007
Mortgage Nausea Update
Fears in the mortgage market and housing sectors have been front page news for the past two and one-half months. It has seemed as if the turmoil in the financial marketplace has become like a global virus. There are fears of an even more urgent contagion surfacing, and it seems as if the fear may impede people's buying and selling decisions.
Tulsa area real estate expert Darryl Baskin and Jeff Sargent, president of ONB Residential Mortgage continue telling folks around the area that calm is what is needed in our market. When people watch the national news, their stomachs begin to churn and fear can take over unless the voice of reason can be heard. Yes, there have been problems in the mortgage industry. Yes, there are less products offered to assist people in buying homes. Yes, there are still plenty of programs available for qualified homebuyers. The Tulsa area has not been damaged as other regions in our nation have. Our area is one of financial diversity, as Tulsa businesses invested in other industries after the oil bust in the early 1980s in an effort to keep our local economy stable and maintain future growth. So far, their forsight has proved very effective in maintaining our current lifestyle and growth.
The loans created by greedy sub-prime investors were meant to fail, and many people fell prey to unscrupulous mortgage brokers and were duped into taking loans that folks eventually could not afford. These companies and those products are dropping like flies. It was this greed that is causing the financial fears felt by all Americans. As we are in the second most stable market in the U.S., we should not hesitate when considering buying a home. Consider dealing with local lenders and make sure that you are an informed buyer. Make sure to ask your lender if they fund their own closings (meaning they bring their own check to your closing). Ask for total disclosure of costs, which is a copy of a Good Faith Estimate, Truth In Lending Disclosure, copy of your loan application (Form 1003), and don't forget to ask what your 3 credit scores are and make sure that you are given a booklet that will inform you about purchasing a home. These are all items that a reputable lender will give you when you apply for a loan. There are many other things to be aware of when considering a lender. You can contact real estate expert Darryl Baskin of The Baskin Team @ 918.258.2600 for any real estate questions or Jeff Sargent, president of ONB Residential Mortgage @ 918.481.6833 for any mortgage lending questions.
Tulsa area real estate expert Darryl Baskin and Jeff Sargent, president of ONB Residential Mortgage continue telling folks around the area that calm is what is needed in our market. When people watch the national news, their stomachs begin to churn and fear can take over unless the voice of reason can be heard. Yes, there have been problems in the mortgage industry. Yes, there are less products offered to assist people in buying homes. Yes, there are still plenty of programs available for qualified homebuyers. The Tulsa area has not been damaged as other regions in our nation have. Our area is one of financial diversity, as Tulsa businesses invested in other industries after the oil bust in the early 1980s in an effort to keep our local economy stable and maintain future growth. So far, their forsight has proved very effective in maintaining our current lifestyle and growth.
The loans created by greedy sub-prime investors were meant to fail, and many people fell prey to unscrupulous mortgage brokers and were duped into taking loans that folks eventually could not afford. These companies and those products are dropping like flies. It was this greed that is causing the financial fears felt by all Americans. As we are in the second most stable market in the U.S., we should not hesitate when considering buying a home. Consider dealing with local lenders and make sure that you are an informed buyer. Make sure to ask your lender if they fund their own closings (meaning they bring their own check to your closing). Ask for total disclosure of costs, which is a copy of a Good Faith Estimate, Truth In Lending Disclosure, copy of your loan application (Form 1003), and don't forget to ask what your 3 credit scores are and make sure that you are given a booklet that will inform you about purchasing a home. These are all items that a reputable lender will give you when you apply for a loan. There are many other things to be aware of when considering a lender. You can contact real estate expert Darryl Baskin of The Baskin Team @ 918.258.2600 for any real estate questions or Jeff Sargent, president of ONB Residential Mortgage @ 918.481.6833 for any mortgage lending questions.
Friday, August 10, 2007
What is happening to the mortgage market?
According to my friends who are connected to Wall Street, we are seeing history in the making in regards to the meltdown stimulated by mortgage defaults.
But, what has caused all of this and what does it mean? First, what it means is there will be many lending institutions go out of business. According to Mortgage lending implode http://ml-implode.com/ there have been 115 lenders gone out of business and 14 more on the "watch list." While money is tightening it will force more institutions out of business and create tighter lending practices for those who remain standing. It also means high-risk loans will either go away or will cost more through higher interest rates.
In the past several years "creative" lending practices spurred a flurry of activity for mortgage lenders. It became common practice to issue loans to those with documented bad credit, those who "stated" their income and assets (absolutely no documentation to verify), and made either little or NO downpayment. "Interest only" and "reverse amortization" loans were also created. On the former, the borrower only makes the required payment and their principle balance never reduces. The reverse amortization loan is when the principle balance of the loan increases if the borrower only makes the minimum required payment. I have had several folks call me literally in tears when they realized after years of payments, they owed more on their mortgage than they did when the mortgage was originated! When housing prices were increasing at historic levels, the borrower could sell their house if they got into a financial bind, but when pendulum started swinging the other direction and housing prices started to decrease, many folks found themselves in trouble.
What it all means is this; due to recent events those risky loans will either go away completely or will be available at a much higher interest rate. In the past several months we have seen rates on sub-prime market increase dramatically, last week we saw a huge increase in rates for ARMS and Jumbo loans. We have also seen many loan programs disolve. As recent as today, our "piggy back" loans such as 80/20, 80/15/5, and 80/10/10 now have an added cost. All of the above are cosidered higher risk loans so they will be available at a higher cost.
I feel like we have forgotten that owning a home is a privledge that we must earn through showing financial responsibility. You work, pay your bills on time, live within your means and save money. It is really pretty simple and those people are rewarded.
Let's look at the positive side, we live in a very affordable real estate market - well within the conforming range. The Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors for the Tulsa market reports our average sales price on single-family homes is $124,900. Our real estate market is not as volatile as other markets in the US.
It will be evermore important to use a lender you can trust. Bank of Oklahoma/BOK Mortgage is the top lender in the this area and have solid lending practices. We still have a large variety of programs both through secondary market agencies (Conventional, FHA and VA) and portfolio lending (programs created and funded through Bank of Oklahoma).
Just remember as with everything - this too shall pass. People will still buy and sell homes.
If you to talk about this subject you can reach me at 918-488-7353
Karen Heston, Mortgage Banker
Bank of Oklahoma Mortgage
But, what has caused all of this and what does it mean? First, what it means is there will be many lending institutions go out of business. According to Mortgage lending implode http://ml-implode.com/ there have been 115 lenders gone out of business and 14 more on the "watch list." While money is tightening it will force more institutions out of business and create tighter lending practices for those who remain standing. It also means high-risk loans will either go away or will cost more through higher interest rates.
In the past several years "creative" lending practices spurred a flurry of activity for mortgage lenders. It became common practice to issue loans to those with documented bad credit, those who "stated" their income and assets (absolutely no documentation to verify), and made either little or NO downpayment. "Interest only" and "reverse amortization" loans were also created. On the former, the borrower only makes the required payment and their principle balance never reduces. The reverse amortization loan is when the principle balance of the loan increases if the borrower only makes the minimum required payment. I have had several folks call me literally in tears when they realized after years of payments, they owed more on their mortgage than they did when the mortgage was originated! When housing prices were increasing at historic levels, the borrower could sell their house if they got into a financial bind, but when pendulum started swinging the other direction and housing prices started to decrease, many folks found themselves in trouble.
What it all means is this; due to recent events those risky loans will either go away completely or will be available at a much higher interest rate. In the past several months we have seen rates on sub-prime market increase dramatically, last week we saw a huge increase in rates for ARMS and Jumbo loans. We have also seen many loan programs disolve. As recent as today, our "piggy back" loans such as 80/20, 80/15/5, and 80/10/10 now have an added cost. All of the above are cosidered higher risk loans so they will be available at a higher cost.
I feel like we have forgotten that owning a home is a privledge that we must earn through showing financial responsibility. You work, pay your bills on time, live within your means and save money. It is really pretty simple and those people are rewarded.
Let's look at the positive side, we live in a very affordable real estate market - well within the conforming range. The Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors for the Tulsa market reports our average sales price on single-family homes is $124,900. Our real estate market is not as volatile as other markets in the US.
It will be evermore important to use a lender you can trust. Bank of Oklahoma/BOK Mortgage is the top lender in the this area and have solid lending practices. We still have a large variety of programs both through secondary market agencies (Conventional, FHA and VA) and portfolio lending (programs created and funded through Bank of Oklahoma).
Just remember as with everything - this too shall pass. People will still buy and sell homes.
If you to talk about this subject you can reach me at 918-488-7353
Karen Heston, Mortgage Banker
Bank of Oklahoma Mortgage
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