Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Small Business Financing - Buy Your Building

Many small businesses continue to lease their buildings out of fear of the uncertainly. However there are several tax advantages to owning your building and financing has never been easier.

SBA Real Estate loans can offer as much as 90% LTV on the purchase of owner-user buildings. In fact you only need to occupy part of the building.

In many cases it is cheaper to own versus lease even on a monthly basis in addition to the tax advantages.

So if you are planning on buying your building or buying a moving your business to a new building check out www.michaelfoote.com for your SBA needs.

You can also use SBA loans to finance your operations with a refinance. If you don't ask, we can't help. Give me a call today.

Rate Pop-Up

Rates have changed recently, but before you freak out, let's look at a basic example.

Two weeks ago I was offering 3.375@ No points for your basic bare bones 30 year refinance. Today, I am offering 3.375% @ 1.5% points. The reality is both of those refinances rates and fee combos are great historically speaking. But if you are a serial refinancer, who always pays no points and no fees, you may want to do you final refinance and pay some fees.

If you refinance with points and fees the recapture period gets longer. That period is the amount of time in payments it takes you to realize those fees in the form of a payment reduction. But if you aren't planning on refinancing this debt again, paying some fees to get the lowest rate out there may make sense. For more information contact me through my website at www.michaelfoote.com .


Thursday, January 24, 2013

Mortgage Rate Update for 2013


Today was a perfect example of the overall economic recovery impacting mortgage rates. The jobs report plus the stock market has been on fire with the S&P over 1500 today. And what does that do to rates? Here was the commentary from my office this A.M.
 
"Mortgage Bonds opened higher this morning but quickly reversed lower after Americans seeking jobless benefits fell to their lowest levels in five years.

The Dow and S&P 500 continue to move to multi-year highs causing investor dollars to shift from the Bond markets and into more riskier assets.

A locking bias is recommended in the short-term, which is days to two weeks, but in the longer term floating is prudent.

As always keep a close eye on the market for any changes.


MBS -22bps  (Mortgage Back Securities Worse by)
 

Friday, January 18, 2013

Finally a change I can believe in.

Finally!!!

"The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) announced that a new National SAFE MLO Test with a uniform state component will be available on April 1, 2013. With the implementation of this new test, 24 state agencies will no longer require a second, state-specific test component to be taken by mortgage loan originators (MLOs) seeking licensure with their state agency. With the implementation of the new National SAFE MLO Test with a uniform state component, 20 state agencies - DE, GA, ID, IN, IA, KY, MD, MA, MI, NH, NC, ND, PA, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, and WI - will no longer require a state-specific test component as of April 1, 2013. Additionally, four state agencies - Alaska, Kansas, Nebraska, and Vermont - will remove their requirement for a state-specific component on July 1, 2013. Remaining state agencies will continue to require state-specific test components, though additional states are eventually expected to adopt the new National SAFE MLO Test with a uniform state component. The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act) requires MLOs to pass the SAFE MLO test before they can be licensed with a state agency through NMLS. The test was comprised of two parts: a national component and a state component. In addition to passing the national component, MLOs seeking to hold licenses in multiple states were required to pass the state component for each state in which they wish to do business. Under the new National SAFE MLO Test with a uniform state component, a license applicant who passes the test will not need to take any additional state-specific tests to hold a license with 24 state agencies."

Thursday, January 17, 2013

I can close loans in 3 days...???

Even if we could, and we can't, should be so focused on closing quick. Sure it makes sense for the mortgage company the quicker the close, the cheaper the cost in funding in theory. For purchase loans, there are always a targeted close date and in those cases borrowers and mortgage companies need to act quickly to provide a timely closing for all parties.

But for a refinance, the push to close is usually from the Loan Officer and his company.
But why rush? You certainly need to be prompt but sometimes delaying a closing a few weeks could be VERY beneficial in obtaining a lower rate. Typically, rates go up and down in a range during any given short time frame of a few weeks. The trick to getting the best possible rates and costs is being patient and working with you loan officer to target and be ready to take advantage of small improvement of rates. So 30 days sound great, but is you could save hundreds more by waiting a few weeks, isn't that better? 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Adjustable Rates? When to get Fixed?

 
 
Here is the all time 10 Yr Chart. I show you this for one reason. Please look at the BIG hump in the middle and the humps to the right and left of the chart. OK. Pretty clear, rates can go up and down. You can also see they can go up several points per year in some cases. Now no one has a crystal ball, but when you factor in the facts (get it)... that we are in the indisputable all time low for mortgage rates over the past 50 years and we've seemingly bottomed in Real Estate in most metro markets...The question remains at what point do rates rise? Warren Buffet will tell you no one can predict a bottom of anything. But IF you are staying in your home, or don't plan on selling a property for an extended period of time, refinancing short term or adjustable rate mortgage debt to fixed debt takes the insecurity and unpredictability of rising rates out of the equation. Any the economy improves, corporate earnings continue to rise, unemployment drops, and the government slowly lowers its mortgage purchases, I'm betting we get a big rise in rates, and if you haven't purchase or refinanced by then, you will see your your borrowing costs and benefits go down markedly.   


2013 Mortgage Thoughts

So as we all are back at "it" after the holidays now, I thought it an appropriate time to take a look at the mortgage market for 2013. Or at least how it see the year.

As the year wound down last month. It appeared the 2013 year would be a banner year for originations with government programs and ultra low rates spurring more home sales and continued refinancing activity. And I think that is still holding true with an additional few items that could tweak the outlook.

Most notabley, the Fed recently released commentary that some of the governors would like to see fed mortgage purchase volume slow down in the middle to year-end 2013. The 10 yr promptly shot up and mortgage rates spiked. However the move was muted due to the mortgage market absorbing some of the increased pricing by lowering margins. What this does tell us is that rates can move fast and as the government exits, the private party will need to become more involved.

The real issue is that if the private market has to return to the mortgage securities market, they will need higher yields undoutedly, and some clarity with mortgage rules and regulations. All of which seem to be very fluid issues with no clear resolution. The government still participates in 93-97% of residential mortgage originations. So it is clear if they exit, who will pick up the slack, or does mortgage volume plument, driving up costs and rates dramtically. It sounds dire but please take it from a seasoned veteran, rates can very easily rise to several points in a year.

My motto today, is a bird in the hand.  If you got em' lock em'. Which means of course, if you can see benefit from refinancing do it now, before its too late. No one can time a bottom.

If you see value in purchasing a new home, or an investment home. Do it. Rates and programs are very aggressive, and you may never see rates this low again.