I couldn’t help reading more about the issues that have been presented about how loan officers make their money, and how things are being disclosed. The challenge? These mortgage companies are going to have to let people go, and become a one man operation. While it isn’t conducive to anyone’s sanity during a busy time, it certainly spells trouble for everyone in terms of job loss and being able to run an office efficiently.
I know personally what that must feel like for loan officers across the board, but I work for myself and I know that when I get busy I wish I had more hands. I certainly hope that those who run a one man office are able to keep a processor because I know how hard that can be.
I guess my bigger issue is, I don’t have a problem paying anyone for a service that they provide, and even though some were unethical in their business practice that doesn’t mean that I was, and I have to make a living. I work hard, and while I do believe I work harder than most I just don’t see how cutting back on compensation helps anyone. The regulators are much better off by ensuring that buyers and homeowners get educated before borrowing money, and that they get what they need when they take out a mortgage loan.
Whether a current homeowner wishes to refinance, or someone else is looking to buy, the real problem was making sure that borrowers were actually getting loans that they needed and that were of benefit to them. That was the real issue, and before the regulators spend too much time on the wrong things, they need to get really involved in how these modifications are going and how they are being handled, along with the foreclosures.
-Mayer Dallal
Showing posts with label foreclosures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreclosures. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Principal Reduction in Mortgages
Foreclosures are being filed left and right and are killing the country. The “robo-signing” issue is still being discussed and no one can seem to find a good way of making sense of it all and settling things down. Everyone has thoughts on how to help correct it, but no one has come up with a good answer yet. While we all keep thinking, it seems that we can’t think fast enough.
A group of attorneys decided to confide in one of their friends from Iowa, Attorney General Tom Miller. What these state attorneys asked for was nothing more than to review in fairness what could be done to tone down the foreclosure issues by reducing the principal on these loans. Could principal be reduced enough so that families won’t lose their homes?
The focus initially isn’t on the process itself, but on principal reduction. If the principal reduction actually makes a difference than they should do it, but if we are only getting the principal reduced and still foreclosing on these families what is the real benefit? The primary argument is that if the modifications aren’t done, then we will continue to see the prices of homes go down and have too many homes with negative equity in them. The other dilemma is that you have a group of people that believe that by doing this, that those who haven’t paid are getting rewarded.
I don’t know I would call it a reward, but there plenty of reasons why modifications are good. I would say that the good outweighs the bad, and we just have to look at the situation for what it is. Everyone was greedy; brokers, lenders, banks and borrowers. However, what we need to do now is admit what we did to screw it all up and move on. Let’s fix what we can, and accept what we cannot change.
-Mayer Dallal
A group of attorneys decided to confide in one of their friends from Iowa, Attorney General Tom Miller. What these state attorneys asked for was nothing more than to review in fairness what could be done to tone down the foreclosure issues by reducing the principal on these loans. Could principal be reduced enough so that families won’t lose their homes?
The focus initially isn’t on the process itself, but on principal reduction. If the principal reduction actually makes a difference than they should do it, but if we are only getting the principal reduced and still foreclosing on these families what is the real benefit? The primary argument is that if the modifications aren’t done, then we will continue to see the prices of homes go down and have too many homes with negative equity in them. The other dilemma is that you have a group of people that believe that by doing this, that those who haven’t paid are getting rewarded.
I don’t know I would call it a reward, but there plenty of reasons why modifications are good. I would say that the good outweighs the bad, and we just have to look at the situation for what it is. Everyone was greedy; brokers, lenders, banks and borrowers. However, what we need to do now is admit what we did to screw it all up and move on. Let’s fix what we can, and accept what we cannot change.
-Mayer Dallal
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Best Judgment
I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with the story about Judge Votolato, who established a mediation program for homeowners who are facing foreclosure. Under the mediation program the lenders aren’t required to present a borrower with a modification program, but they are expected to work with the borrowers in good faith. This is the best thing that has ever happened, because the homeowners that are out there buried and feeling the desperation need to feel like someone cares. The banks still haven’t done all they can to make things right. While it is true that banks cannot completely change the situation, we are each responsible for doing what we can do. If we know that something is right and we don’t do it, shame on us.
This loss mitigation program was implemented initially in November of 2009, and will hopefully continue as long as is necessary. This housing crisis won’t end right away, or at least within the next few months. It is critical that homeowners become aware of their options so that they can ask for the modification application and go from there. While very homeowners do get approved, it is still in their best interest to investigate and review their options.
-Mayer Dallal
This loss mitigation program was implemented initially in November of 2009, and will hopefully continue as long as is necessary. This housing crisis won’t end right away, or at least within the next few months. It is critical that homeowners become aware of their options so that they can ask for the modification application and go from there. While very homeowners do get approved, it is still in their best interest to investigate and review their options.
-Mayer Dallal
Decrease in Foreclosure Activity
A decrease in foreclosures is what we have been hoping for, unfortunately it just isn’t nationwide. The inventory is still growing, but there are patches of metropolitan cities where foreclosure filings are decreasing. One thing to keep in mind is that we are only at the end of January, and so we have to be mindful of what this New Year holds.
RealtyTrac just released its year end Market Foreclosure Report for 2010. There is no dispute that foreclosures are higher than they were in 2009, but the activity has slowed down significantly in certain areas. There were ten metropolitan areas in which foreclosure activity increased in states like Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho on the low end of that category.
Overall in 2010, foreclosures were five to ten times higher than they ever were throughout history, and this is linked to joblessness. We always see a trend when the rate of unemployment goes up, so does the rate of foreclosures. The city that reported the most foreclosures in the United States was Las Vegas, Nevada, and the numbers equal out to one out of nine homes or buildings being foreclosed on. Modesto, California was one of the metropolitan cities that experienced a decrease since 2009. Hopefully as the year progresses, we will see a slowdown in other cities.
-Mayer Dallal
RealtyTrac just released its year end Market Foreclosure Report for 2010. There is no dispute that foreclosures are higher than they were in 2009, but the activity has slowed down significantly in certain areas. There were ten metropolitan areas in which foreclosure activity increased in states like Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada, and Idaho on the low end of that category.
Overall in 2010, foreclosures were five to ten times higher than they ever were throughout history, and this is linked to joblessness. We always see a trend when the rate of unemployment goes up, so does the rate of foreclosures. The city that reported the most foreclosures in the United States was Las Vegas, Nevada, and the numbers equal out to one out of nine homes or buildings being foreclosed on. Modesto, California was one of the metropolitan cities that experienced a decrease since 2009. Hopefully as the year progresses, we will see a slowdown in other cities.
-Mayer Dallal
Sunday, October 31, 2010
What's The Risk?
Is it just me, or does anyone else not see potential issue with having a robot sign foreclosure documents? I think that all the banks and lenders need to be taking a closer look at their process and who is overseeing these things. While it is hard to manage everyone in a large organization, it is imperative that a large organization knows how to make it run like a well-oiled machine.
Having the proper supervisory people in place makes the world go round and having employees that contribute make it all worthwhile and a lot easier to endure. I will say that most companies have it all wrong, and want to get the best around for the least amount of money. When banks and lenders hire these people, they should most certainly get their view on money, and how it works, along with how they wish to see other people become more successful financially. If they don’t share that vision, they have no business working in finance.
Once investors begin to lose confidence, business is down which makes matters worse and properties get sold for a lot less money and less frequently. There is no great mystery behind what is going on, but the only mystery is regarding who will take a stand for what is right? The financial industry has suffered some staggering losses and will continue to do so if no one takes a stand.
-Mayer Dallal
Having the proper supervisory people in place makes the world go round and having employees that contribute make it all worthwhile and a lot easier to endure. I will say that most companies have it all wrong, and want to get the best around for the least amount of money. When banks and lenders hire these people, they should most certainly get their view on money, and how it works, along with how they wish to see other people become more successful financially. If they don’t share that vision, they have no business working in finance.
Once investors begin to lose confidence, business is down which makes matters worse and properties get sold for a lot less money and less frequently. There is no great mystery behind what is going on, but the only mystery is regarding who will take a stand for what is right? The financial industry has suffered some staggering losses and will continue to do so if no one takes a stand.
-Mayer Dallal
Is All Well That Ends With Wells Fargo?
Wells Fargo decided it might be best to take a closer look at its foreclosure process which was a smart move. Banks are being examined closely in the wake of a time when no one is able to make ends meet, or is struggling too. Banks are also just filing papers quickly without much review. So, with all the review Wells Fargo thought it was a good idea to go ahead and analyze their processes a little bit further.
Affidavits must be signed and finalized by someone before the foreclosure becomes official. Many large companies pay someone a nice salary to do this job and review the papers before they are signed. With this being said, Wells Fargo states that they have the proper processes in place to make sure that the right papers are signed by the right people and that no stones goes unturned.
This process can only be run from the company’s data, meaning the figures on the mortgages and the database showing who is on the list to be processed etc. This is simply a part of quality control, and is done to ensure the accuracy of all paperwork. The story of a man getting his home foreclosed on when he didn’t owe the bank anything is down- right hideous. Think about it; no matter how much you were being paid to sign off on foreclosure documents, would you not review those things to make sure they are correct? Would you want to be out on the street?
-Mayer Dallal
Affidavits must be signed and finalized by someone before the foreclosure becomes official. Many large companies pay someone a nice salary to do this job and review the papers before they are signed. With this being said, Wells Fargo states that they have the proper processes in place to make sure that the right papers are signed by the right people and that no stones goes unturned.
This process can only be run from the company’s data, meaning the figures on the mortgages and the database showing who is on the list to be processed etc. This is simply a part of quality control, and is done to ensure the accuracy of all paperwork. The story of a man getting his home foreclosed on when he didn’t owe the bank anything is down- right hideous. Think about it; no matter how much you were being paid to sign off on foreclosure documents, would you not review those things to make sure they are correct? Would you want to be out on the street?
-Mayer Dallal
What is the Main Cause of Foreclosures?
I don’t know that the reason for our foreclosure crisis is really a secret, but I do believe that there are multiple reasons. However, if you take a look at the most recent statistics dealing with financial reports, you will clearly see that joblessness is at an all time high, even though rates are at an all time low. It doesn’t balance out, and it doesn’t seem fair.
Rick Sharge, the Senior Vice President for RealtyTrac Inc. spoke with Lisa Murphy on Bloomberg not too long ago and gives us some insight into what is happening. I whole heartedly believe that unemployment is a major if not the main contributing factor for the foreclosures. How can anyone pay their bills when they have no income? They simply can’t, and the funny part is that when you lose your job, your unemployment isn’t instant, yet every credit under the sun expects payment from you. Usually, once you do lose your job you are looking at getting one last paycheck, but even so, it should only be an additional two weeks before you get your first unemployment check.
The point is that with joblessness this high, there is no way that people are going to be able to hold up a mortgage payment, or at least it may not be feasible with very little no savings, and depending on how large that payment is, time could run out very quickly for your family.
-Mayer Dallal
Rick Sharge, the Senior Vice President for RealtyTrac Inc. spoke with Lisa Murphy on Bloomberg not too long ago and gives us some insight into what is happening. I whole heartedly believe that unemployment is a major if not the main contributing factor for the foreclosures. How can anyone pay their bills when they have no income? They simply can’t, and the funny part is that when you lose your job, your unemployment isn’t instant, yet every credit under the sun expects payment from you. Usually, once you do lose your job you are looking at getting one last paycheck, but even so, it should only be an additional two weeks before you get your first unemployment check.
The point is that with joblessness this high, there is no way that people are going to be able to hold up a mortgage payment, or at least it may not be feasible with very little no savings, and depending on how large that payment is, time could run out very quickly for your family.
-Mayer Dallal
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Foreclosure Moratorium Mess
The moratorium on foreclosures is a horrible idea and for many reasons. Look, I don’t have all the answers, but I can tell you what I do know from experience and you can decide for yourselves.
For starters, it doesn’t really resolve the real issue which is related to many things. Many homes went into foreclosures simply because they were underwater on their mortgages. However, joblessness is a huge contributing factor. Much of what is happening could be corrected with jobs abounding and mortgages being modified to truly put a borrower in a better position. The idea behind the modification is to get the borrower’s payments within a reasonable percentage of their income along with their other debts. Many families still won’t qualify, but there is no way to know for sure unless we try it.
The other big issue here is that the reports, facts and figures aren’t going to be true and genuine. They will only make things worse by not giving the facts on what is really happening. Those cases that have been filed won’t go up for modifications, and can’t be listed for short sales until everything has been reviewed. The only real good that could come from this is that the homeowner gets a little more time in their home until they figure out where they can go. This moratorium prevents the supply and demand, so where do we go from here?
-Mayer Dallal
For starters, it doesn’t really resolve the real issue which is related to many things. Many homes went into foreclosures simply because they were underwater on their mortgages. However, joblessness is a huge contributing factor. Much of what is happening could be corrected with jobs abounding and mortgages being modified to truly put a borrower in a better position. The idea behind the modification is to get the borrower’s payments within a reasonable percentage of their income along with their other debts. Many families still won’t qualify, but there is no way to know for sure unless we try it.
The other big issue here is that the reports, facts and figures aren’t going to be true and genuine. They will only make things worse by not giving the facts on what is really happening. Those cases that have been filed won’t go up for modifications, and can’t be listed for short sales until everything has been reviewed. The only real good that could come from this is that the homeowner gets a little more time in their home until they figure out where they can go. This moratorium prevents the supply and demand, so where do we go from here?
-Mayer Dallal
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