Mortgage Rates Today

Private Lenders - Craig Garcia featured in Daily Business Review

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:46:13 -0400

Private Lenders - Craig Garcia featured in Daily Business Review:

Private lenders are generally funded by wealthy individuals, hedge funds and other large pools of private capital. Private lenders normally have less strict underwriting requirements than banks�?�

Rehab Loans - Not Gone, But Forgotten?

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:45:27 -0400

Rehab Loans - Not Gone, But Forgotten?:

Rehab Loans - They have been getting tougher to obtain, but they are still out there.

If you are a high quality borrower we have a lender doing a very attractive rehab loan.

For primary�?�

Down Payment Assitance - Elvis is leaving the building Oct. 1st

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:45:07 -0400

Down Payment Assitance - Elvis is leaving the building Oct. 1st:

It�??s official.

The housing rescue bill that President Bush signed into law does some good things for housing, but it effectively kills some prominent Down Payment Assistance Programs aimed at�?�

Bank Atlantic Sues Media Figurehead Bove

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:48:23 -0400

Good for them.

Bank Atlantic is suing analyst Richard Bove over what they claim was a report he made guessing which bank might be the next to fail.

The report used a small snapshot of information on banks, and according to Bank Atlantic�??s CEO, �??he only examined holding company data which, in at least our case, is meaningless information. This is shocking.�??

Bank Atlantic shares dropped over 32% after the news.

If it�??s true what they are saying I hope they nail the guy. The media has so much power, and they can do damage so quickly that more care must be taken to ensure accuracy. The consequences can be tremendous.

As was said by the wise Ben Parker:
�??With great power, comes great responsibility�?��??

Miami Real Estate - Blue Light Specials Draw Attention From Abroad

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:18:10 -0400

Five Places to Buy Bargain Real Estate - TheStreet.com

�??But something funny is happening in South Florida �?? sales are creeping up across the board for all types of properties.�??

This is the quote from TheStreet.com regarding Miami, FL. Miami clocked in at number 2 on their top 5 bargain real estate locations.

Activity is certainly increasing, even while lending programs for the most part, continue to tighten.

Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac may not need taxpayer money.

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:07:58 -0400

Taxpayer Bill for Fannie/Freddie May Be Zero - TheStreet.com

The proposed Treasury Department legislation authorizes the use of funds, but that doesn�??t mean the money has to be spent. Peter Orzag, Director of the CBO, wrote:

�??The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that there is a significant chance�??probably better than 50 percent�??that the proposed new Treasury authority would not be used before it expired at the end of December 2009. If the proposal is enacted, private markets might be sufficiently reassured to provide the GSEs with adequate capital to continue operations without any infusion of funds from the Treasury�?�Under that scenario, the temporary authority would not be used and thus would involve no budgetary cost.�??

The gist of this good article, and it�??s good news for the real estate market is this:

Simply by the Federal Government showing they will stand behind these entities, the market gains confidence in them. They will not need to go to the well to borrow from the FED if they can raise sufficient capital on their own. So if FNMA and FHLMC can continue to raise sufficient capital, then this can take the taxpayers off the hook.

Good move made here - the willingness to act may lessen the need to.

Very recently we saw the opposite of this occur with Indymac Bank. When public statements were made about the possible need for Government intervention to help this ailing bank, it crushed confidence in the bank. Depositors lined up to withdraw their funds, quickly causing it to shut down.

Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm offering Home Loans, Refinances, Purchase Loans, Commercial Loans and more. Get Real Time Mortgage Rates On-Line using the Mortgage Rate Search Engine. They also offer Investor Loans that use private lenders to fund Hard Money Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518.

Mortgage Refinancing - Suprising New Lending Source for Investors

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:43:36 -0400

Mortgage Refinancing - Suprising New Lending Source for Investors:

Go figure.

Banks are a mess. The government is trying to help, but lenders keep closing. Rates are getting worse even as the economy sinks�?�

Lenders are lending less, and less.

Even�?�

New Homes For Sale - Less = Better For Housing Recovery

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:03:13 -0400

New Homes For Sale - Less = Better For Housing Recovery:

Good Video from The Street I thought I would share.

Cramer talks about the relatively small number of new homes being built, and how that is one supply factor which is working in the right�?�

HUD Loans - FHA waiver of 90 day seasoning for sellers not what it appears to be?

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:14:19 -0400

HUD Loans - FHA waiver of 90 day seasoning for sellers not what it appears to be?:

HUD Loans - The investor community got excited (me included) when the news was released that the 90 day seasoning for sellers to be on title had been waived.

For those not familiar, FHA loans�?�

Real Estate - Best US Places To Invest, Biggest Drops Ahead, Most Recession Proof

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:17:56 -0400

Real Estate - Best US Places To Invest, Biggest Drops Ahead, Most Recession Proof:

Three interesting top ten lists in a story by Forbes.com.

Best Places in the US to Invest in Real Estate.

10. Orlando, FL
9. Phoenix, AZ
8. Las Vegas, NV
7. Chicago, IL
6. Boston, MA
5�?�.

Home Mortgages - IndyMac Closes - Wachovia rolls out the red carpet for refinancers.

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:19:53 -0400

Home Mortgages - IndyMac Closes - Wachovia rolls out the red carpet for refinancers.:

Home Mortgages - Indymac Bank officially stopped taking new applications on both its wholesale and retail channels last week. It plans to still close those loans which were issued commitments.

�?�

Mortgage Interest Rates - New Real Time Search Engine

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 08:36:46 -0400

Mortgage Interest Rates - New Real Time Search Engine:

Mortgage Interest Rates - shopping for them on line can be quite a headache. There are so many websites. Some have mortgage interest rates posted in plain view, some want you to just call�?�

Foreclosure Help - Bill hits snag, but still hopeful to go through this week.

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:10:47 -0400

Foreclosure Help - The bill that will allow the FHA to write another $300 Billion in mortgages for for homeowners facing foreclosure, hit a snag over a package of proposed tax cuts for renewable energy was introduced.

With the foreclosure help support from both Democrats and Republicans, it seems unlikely that the bill will not go through. The tax cuts proposed also have the support of both parties, but the Democrats favor a tax increase in other areas to offset the tax breaks. The details of this have not been worked out, and hopefully will not stand in the way of this relief package.

According to the article by the Associated Press on MSNBC,com:

�??The mortgage aid plan would let the FHA insure home loans for an estimated 400,000 distressed borrowers who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for safe, fixed-rate mortgages. Mortgage holders would first have to agree to take a loss on the existing mortgages. They would have a powerful incentive to do so in many cases, given that a government-backed refinance could allow them to recover more money than they would in a costly foreclosure.�??

See the entire article here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25375089/

Craig Garcia is a Managing Member of Bridge Capital Lending, LLC. A mortgage and investment firm offering Home Loans, Refinances, Purchase Loans, Commercial Loans and more. Get Real Time Mortgage Rates On-Line using the Mortgage Rate Search Engine. They also offer Investor Loans that use private lenders to fund Hard Money Loans. Craig can be reached at 877-8GO-GREEN or 954-217-9518.

Cramer: Florida Raises Hope for U.S. Real Estate KO, CSCO, TOL, RIMM, INTC, GOOG, PEP, GS, YHOO, MSFT, SPF - TheStreet TV

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:28:16 -0400

Cramer: Florida Raises Hope for U.S. Real Estate KO, CSCO, TOL, RIMM, INTC, GOOG, PEP, GS, YHOO, MSFT, SPF - TheStreet TV:

Jim Cramer comes out and says he believes that Florida has hit the bottom, and the recovery here should be be about a year ahead of most of the country. If he is right and the end of declines are�?�

Election 08 - Thank you for your support!

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:09:10 -0400

I must say I was quite shocked to learn that someone had thrown my name in to the hat for the Presidential Election. I am truly honored and will do my best to make the country proud! :-)

Real Estate - Cramer says Florida has �??bottomed�??.

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:52:59 -0400

Real Estate - Cramer says Florida has �??bottomed�??.:

FHA Loans - Dumping grounds for lenders bad loans, or fresh start for borrowers?

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:07:52 -0400

Legislation on FHA reform and housing currently in the House of Representative is the last chance at major action before the elections in November. The President has threatened to Veto the legislation, but there are signs that a deal may yet be made.

Many Republicans do not want the FHA to bail out the lenders that had a hand in creating this situation. This is especially true in light of the recent news that the FHA lost 4.7 Billion dollars in 2007. What will happen once the bill has given the green light to accept many more problematic loans?

At the same time, Republicans are facing the pressures of re-election in a bad economy, and do not want to appear to squash the last hope of productive legislation before the elections. So on one hand they don�??t want to bail out lenders, and on the other they don�??t want to look like the bad guy�?�.

Question - if the lenders have to eat a balance reduction for the FHA to take on the loan at a figure closer to new market value, then the lenders would appear to be taking it on the chin? This seems fair if it would indeed play out this way.

It would provide a fresh start to those homeowners who do show the ability to make the payments on the new loans and are going to live in the properties. This will definitely help those most deserving, but those with investment properties, or unverifiable income may still be looking for answers.

Here is the whole article from MSNBC:

Lawmakers to take last shot at housing bill - Mortgage Mess- msnbc.com

Foreclosure Homes - Foreclosures Climb, Mortgage Rates Climb, and (gasp) Multiple Offers in some areas?

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:54:20 -0400

Foreclosure Homes - Foreclosures Climb, Mortgage Rates Climb, and (gasp) Multiple Offers in some areas?:

Foreclosure homes continue to run rampant nationwide, but are at the same time creating opportunities for buyers.

Was reading that, yet again, the number of homes in foreclosure or some stage�?�

HUD Loans - FHA looked to as savior, but for how long?

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:16:30 -0400

HUD Loans - FHA looked to as savior, but for how long?:

HUD loans - Specifically FHA Loans, are loans insured by the federal government which are designed to help low down payment, or credit challenged borrowers.

The mortgage industry has been�?�

Credit Card Line of Credit Going to Get Squeezed next?

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:02:05 -0400

Credit Card Line of Credit Going to Get Squeezed next?:

As if the troubled housing areas did not need any additional pressure from unexpected bank practices, here is this story about what they are doing with Credit card Lines of Crredit now.

�??Banks�?�