Podcast from May 12, 2012 http://www.600wrec.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=jogarner

Good morning Memphis! Happy Mother’s Day weekend to everyone! You are are on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me Jo Garner, Loan Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. In the studio with us today we have Deanna Vaughan of King and Vaughan Consultants—certified Shelby County property tax appeal appraisers

Jeremy Veldman is visiting today- Jeremy was one of our January shows. His company is Memphis Turnkey Properties.
Today our topic is “Get More Mileage Out Of Your Money: Lower Your Mortgage Rate and Your Property Taxes”

It is a full time job just trying to stay up with all the news these days. Is it because a lot more than usual is happening? Or is it because we are bombarded with more and more media devices everyday?
But we do have some mortgage and real estate highlights for you.
Let’s start out with some GOOD news… Home sales in the first quarter of 2012 were the highest seen in any first quarter since 2007 according to data released today by the National Association Are we starting to come up for air? In some of the more in-demand areas in Memphis the city made a slight conversion in March of this year from a buyers market to a sellers market. What are values doing in YOUR neighborhood?
In other good news mortgage rates stayed steady on the low end due to a disappointing jobs report back in April. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 3 basis points to 4.02 percent.The 15-year fixed rate fell 5 basis points to 3.2 percent. The average rate for 30-year jumbo mortgages, or generally for those of more than $417,000, fell 8 basis points to 4.54 percent. The 5/1 ARM fell 3 basis points to 2.99 percent. With a 5/1 ARM, the rate is fixed for five years and adjusted annually thereafter.
More good news is that the HARP2 program (that stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program) is going like gang busters. If you have been paying your mortgage not more than 30 days late over the last year AND your mortgage has been backed by the quasi government agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since before May 31, 2009, you just may be qualified for the HARP program. The HARP program is designed to help any one who’s underwater on their loan. In other words they owe more on the house than the property is currently worth. There is no appraisal needed in most cases. Oh, and this program works for your primary residence, second homes AND RENTAL PROPERTY.
Just as you thought there could not be any more good news—politicians and banking organizations have been tossing back and forth the idea of expanding the mortgage refinance opportunities. They have several ideas on the board.
My very capable assistant Susan Belew and I have been working from early morning to late nights making sure OUR customers get to closing as quickly as possible. It is normal for our customers to save about $300 or $400 per month on a refinance—or MORE. We would like to give you a free mortgage evaluation to see if we can save you money on your mortgage by lowering your rate and payment or shortening your term. Our direct number off the air is (901) 482 0354.
One good thing about being teamed up with Tom and Deanna at King and Vaughan Consulting is that while we are getting you more mileage on your money by lower your interest and payments, Tom and Deanna can try and save you quite a bit by lowering your property taxes Deanna, tell us a little about what you see on a daily basis when you go out to lower someone’s property taxes….
(more info on the podcast)
Questions answered by Jo Garner: What other refinancing programs besides HARP are available to help homeowners get some relief?
1. Right now the Harp program is the most popular of course, but there are other plans to give homeowners relief too.
2. FHA is coming out on June 11th with a program for homeowners who currently have an FHA loan and just want to refinance into a new FHA loan. The mortgage insurance is going to be a WHOLE lot less. Call me and I we can talk about it
3. VA has a streamline program too
Questions answered by Jo Garner : You have referred some of your refinancing customers to us to lower their taxes. What are some examples of how the refinance benefits your customers.?
Real Estate Tip of the Week: If you are short on funds to close when you are purchasing a home, ask the sellers to pay all of your closing cost and prepaid taxes and insurance. In order to make the real estate transaction work for you AND the seller—be willing to pay a higher price for the house if you ask the sellers to pay all of your costs. (Remember the house will need to appraise for a value of at least your offer) If you offer more for the house in lieu of asking the sellers to pay your costs, the sellers can still make a net profit that is acceptable to them and YOU get in for the least amount of money—especially if you use a down payment program.
Deanna Vaughan answers questions about how the property tax appeal process works and info about the deadlines and cut off times
Jeremy Veldman spoke briefly about the advantages of buying real estate investment property
Jo Garner, Loan Officer Evolve Bank & Trust (901) 482 0354 www.MoneyShoppe.NET
If you are looking for real estate financing solutions, let me be on your team for solutions. If you have questions about mortgage refinance rates and terms, a home purchase, or anything else related to real estate financing, contact me.

Jo Garner

To hear podcast from the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe radio program go to:

http://www.600wrec.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=jogarner

Que’ Bueno and Good Morning Memphis on this Cinco de Mayo! You are on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. With us in the studio we have Holly Swogger, Holly Swogger – Investor with Homevestors. And we have our telephone hotline guest from Florida……… Attorney Chris McClatchey,.
Our topic today is “Buying Real Estate With Nothing Down

Here’s some ideas for starters— In the news this week the job market report was TERRIBLE. The silver lining in the cloud? Mortgage rates went down even more because investors poured their money into Treasury bonds—the ones that back mortgages so mortgage rates dipped down even further.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.05 percent, compared to 4.09 percent the previous week. The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.25 percent from 3.28 percent the previous week, and the benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.02 percent from 3.03 percent.
Did you know, its cheaper to buy a house than rent one in many areas around the country—especially in Memphis!
It’s also cheaper to refinance today especially on a program that does not require an appraisal. The HARP program for underwater borrowers helps homeowners who are underwater but have a good mortgage payment history. The HARP program is especially for those owe more on their home than their house is worth.
If you want a free evaluation to see if you qualify for the HARP program or any OTHER program, let’s talk after the show on my direct line (901) 482 0354 or check out my blog at www.mortgageloansblog.com
If you have an FHA government mortgage and want to refinance on the FHA streamline with no appraisal, FHA has some great news for you coming up. They are lowering the upfront FHA mortgage insurance upfront and monthly.
More good news– buyers who have good credit, stable income, little debt and an acceptable down payment seem to be jumping off the fence as they realize this is their chance to buy low, There are plenty of down payment assistance programs out there too and other strategies you can use to buy a house with little or nothing down.
Speaking of little or nothing down, Holly Swogger from Homevestors (We Buy Ugly Houses) –let’s get Chris on the line to talk to everybody…..
Question 1 for Chris: How can I buy a real estate property with nothing down? …….
Question 2 for Chris (Kevin and Holly to ask the questions of Chris

Questions for Jo Garner to answer : Where do you find down payment money for your borrowers?
Question for Jo Garner to answer: You were talking about the special government HARP program earlier. We interact with real estate investors everyday. Is the HARP program with no appraisal available for residential investment property too?
Question for Jo Garner to answer: You work for a traditional bank. Do you have nothing down financing programs at Evolve?
Real Estate Tip of the Week: on podcast
Chris shared a little about how to get nothing down real estate deals:

Today we have a special guest on the phone all the way from Florida, Investor and Attorney Chris McClatchey, Chris is our featured guest at MIG this Thursday May 10th and all day on Saturday for a special workshop on May 12th. Chris will be teaching us, among other things how to find and do “No Money Down Deals.”

Chris studied and became an attorney, that is a pretty lucrative career, how and why did you make the switch into real estate?

So you do no money down deals. I can tell you that the number one questions that our members are asking today is where to get the money, sounds like you may have found an answer, tell us about that.

Give us an example of a recent deal you did with no cash out of your pocket.

You write in your course that you have to get creative to get the deal done, we have talked about that on this show before and it is so true, especially in today’s market. Can you talk a little about that?

You really have to listen to what sellers are saying. Can you talk about some of your techniques you use to get folks talking to you because this is a hard and scary thing for folks new to real estate to start doing.

In your course you have a section called “quick turn for the long term” and you talk about the velocity of money and how to really make your money work for you. Tell us about that.

You also have a Massive Action Plan or M.A.P. where it seems you have outlined a step by step guide with a lot of forms and checklists.

Jo Garner Evolve Bank & Trust 6070 Poplar Ave Ste 100 Memphis, TN 38119

If you are interested in buying real estate for nothing down, call me at (901) 482-0354 Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer at Evolve Bank www.MoneyShoppe.NET If you want the best terms on a home refinance call me. We have the HARP and other refinance programs you can use all over the country.

http://www.600wrec.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=jogarner

Good morning Memphis! You are on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me, Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust and today we are talking with R Attorney Ron Cohen affiliated with the Memphis Law Firm of Ballin, Ballin & Fishman and an owner of Premium Title. Ron? We also have Don Swogger of Homevestors in the studio talking with us today. Don? Our topic today is “Preparing For A Smooth Real Estate Closing: Tips To Prevent The Pitfalls.”

Our big news in the real estate mortgage world is still the HARP program. If you or anyone you know owes more on their home than the current value, the HARP 2 program is working very well to help these underwater borrowers. If your mortgage loan is backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and has been backed by them since before May 31.2009 and if you do not have any over 30 day mortgage late payments in the last several months, you should be able to lower your mortgage interest rate and improve your terms without the appraisal in most cases.

My assistant Susan Belew and I have been having fun working with our customers refinancing to the HARP program. Everyone likes a happy customer and there is a lot to be happy about when you are saving $200–$300—–$400 or more per month on your mortgage payment OR shortening the number of years on your mortgage and eliminating a few years of making payments—THAT’s where you can easily save 10’s of thousands of dollars overall. .

If you would like for us to do a free evaluation to see if you or someone you know qualifies for the special HARP program give Susan and me a call directly off air at (901) 482 0354. That number again to talk privately and not on air is (901) 482 0354.

The White House has made a proposal which would allow homeowners whose mortgages are NOT backed by the federal government—and who have fallen outside the scope of previous government refinance initiatives—to take advantage of low interest rates by locking into a government-backed loan. This program is rife with problems and has not made it off the ground yet and may take several months. So if the deal on the table works for you today—do it today.
Foreclosures and shortsales are still one of the more predominant type real estate sales right now. Most everyone knows that a foreclosure is when the homeowner falls behind on payments and the bank takes the house back. (the NO PAY NO STAY rule). Short sales , however, happen when the homeowner convinces the mortgage company to reduce the amount required to pay off the mortgage so that the home can be sold for the lower market price without the homeowner having to pay the extra mortgage balance over and above the lower sales price. ( in other words, you are selling the home short the full balance owed on the mortgage).
Fannie Mae this week established new timelines to expedite residential short sales for these homeowners needing to sell their homes for a lower price than the mortgage balance..”Expediting short sales and avoiding foreclosure is in the best interest of borrowers, communities and taxpayers,” said Fannie senior vice president Leslie Peeler.
“By requiring quicker reviews and improving servicer reporting requirements Fannie Mae will make the process more efficient and transparent” she added. You know, Don and Ron, we’ve been saying for a while now that there is nothing “short” about a short sale. Maybe now Fannie Mae will be able to help more of the distressed homeowners needing to sell their homes using the shortsale method.
Word to the wise: If you are going sell a house or buy a house involving a shortsale, please review the special requirement by your lender.
The Federal Reserve said they would continue buying mortgage backed securities—and what that really means to you is our rates should stay low for a little while longer.
Mortgage rates fell for the third week in a row, and the rate on the most popular mortgage hit a record low, thanks to the Fed and the ongoing European debt crisis.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.09 percent, compared to 4.1 percent the previous week. The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 3.28 percent from 3.32 percent the previous week, and the benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell to 3.03 percent from 3.05 percent.
If you are trying to refinance or purchase a home, the traffic lights along your way are all green. You got the lowest mortgage rates in 50 years along with the best Affordability Index since 1970. Lenders have plenty of down payment assistance programs for qualified borrowers too. Susan and I want to help you. Call us directly to talk personally at (901) 482 0354. That’s (901) 482 0354.

Now if you want to talk with us today about your mortgage, getting preapproved to buy a house, planning for a smooth real estate closing, or any OTHER real estate related question, please call us on the air at (901) 535-9732 . That’s (901) 535 WREC. Let’ talk.
Don Swogger of Homevestors is also here to talk with you. Don has lots of experience buying and selling real estate. I met Don almost 10 years ago when he was saying “We Buy Ugly Houses.” He buys pretty ones too.
Attorney Ron Cohen, affiliated with the Memphis Law Firm of Ballin, Ballin & Fishman and an owner of Premium Title is on our hotline today to talk with you about “Preparing For A Smooth Real Estate Closing: Tips To Prevent Pitfalls”. So Ron, what are some of the most common pitfalls homebuyers experience when they go to close on a home?
Questions for Ron to answer:
Estates: The Title Insurance Perspective

Tips To Avoid Closing Snafus

(Alternatively: Confused Minds Say)

Alternatives to Court Proceeding

Jointly Owned Property

Decedent owns property with other(s) and there is a right of survivorship.

Trusts

Property is conveyed to trustee to hold for the benefit of another.

Court Proceedings

Probate

Existence of a Will

Property sold pursuant to will (generally, with court approval)

Non-Existence of a Will

Property sold pursuant to intestacy statute.

Affidavit of heirship required.

Pitfalls:

Incomplete affidavit of heirship

Claims against the estate such and tax liens.

Questions for Jo Garner to answer: What are some of the most common delays you are finding for borrowers going to closing.

1. For refinances AND for home purchases—the most common delay in getting to closing is misjudging how long it takes to get a loan processed and through underwriting and closing. We have a great team behind us but mortgage companies around the country are operating way over normal capacity. The key to success to getting to closing on time is to get your supporting documents and lender requested items to the lender within 24 hours of their request. Every hour counts
2. If you are refinancing and have a 2nd mortgage that needs to be resubordinated behind the new first mortgage, go ahead and get the 2nd mortgage holder to agree to resubordinate to the new first. Don’t wait til close to closing day. Some companies take up to 2 weeks to get the subordination agreement worked out.
3. Another common delay to closing is old paid off liens that have never been released from the title. These can take time too—sometimes up to 3 weeks or more. Get help from the attorney or closing office as soon as the title work comes back early in the loan process. Jenett Rochester, the Memphis manager of Premium Title does an excellent job helping our customers get old liens cleared off.
4. The other common closing pitfall is when we have a clouded title due to an estate situation where there are heirs and other interests who remaining on the property that have never been released. Ron can speak more on this.

Question for Jo Garner to answer: What are some ways you and Susan prepare your customers to prevent pitfalls when you begin the process with them?

1. One of the most important questions we ask a customer is “ Are you married, not married or separated. Believe it or not, we have actually had borrowers who did not disclose to us that they were married because they knew their spouse would not be supportive of the home purchase or refinance. Go ahead and let us know your legal status. Other documents turn up during the loan process that can indicate your marital status. In the State of Tennessee, (in most cases with some exceptions) your spouse is required to sign 3 documents at the loan closing even if they are not on the loan nor the title. There is nothing more frustrating that for a customer to spend their money on an appraisal and all the time it takes to process the loan, only to get to closing to discover that their estranged spouse will not cooperate. Talk about a pitfall. That would certainly be one.
2. Closing with a property belonging to a trust. If the borrower is using a trust to hold a property, the lender will need all pages of the trust agreement. The terms of the trust must meet underwriting guidelines. It is best to have the trust agreement approved by underwriting long before closing time.

Real Estate Tip of the Week: if you are buying a house and you choose to pay for a home inspection, it is usually better to get the home inspection report back before paying another several hundred dollars to get the mandatory appraisal. If the information you see on the home inspection is a show-stopper—you will not want to spend the several hundred additional dollars to get the mandatory appraisal.

Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer Evolve Bank & Trust (901) 482-0354 www.MoneyShoppe.NET

The mission statement for the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program on AM 600 is to offer you financial solutions to your real estate needs. This podcast features Ron Cohen of Premium Title talking about real estate title issues.

To hear podcast from 4-21-12
Click http://www.500wrec.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=jogarner

Good morning, Memphis! You are on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me, Jo Garner Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. With us today are Troy and Lynn McDonald of Erin McDonald Allstate Insurance Agency Our topic today “Shelter From The Storm: Structuring Your Insurance and Your Mortgage.”

Lets get into the mortgage news first. We have some good news for those of you who still want to buy a house or refinance one. The mortgage rates stayed new all time lows again this week after threatening to spike upward.
The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.1 percent. The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged at 3.32 percent, and the benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose to 3.05 percent from 3.03 percent the previous week. With THESE mortgage rates it is perfect weather to buy a home or refinance one. Especially since the Home Affordability Index is better than it has been since the index got its start in 1970.
The big news this week has been and still is the special government HARP program for underwater homeowners. The Home Affordable Refinance Program in most cases does not require an appraisal and allows some homeowners to refinance even though they owe more on their mortgage than the current value of their home. My assistant Susan Belew and I are getting a flood of customers in our office to take advantage of the low rates. It has been fun these past few weeks talking with customers getting the HARP program. So many of them thought it was too good to be true. We can save so many $200–$300– $400 per month or more. One of the most common comments I hear is “ why did we not have this program available sooner?” Another most common question is “can I refinance a rental property on the HARP program?” The answer is yes. Under certain restrictions you can refinance your primary residence, a 2nd home, AND RENTAL PROPERTY. .
Susan and I would like to challenge you to call us and let us do a free evaluation of whether you qualify for a refinance without an appraisal on the HARP program. If you can think of a friend or family member who has said they owe more on their house than the current value, Susan and I would like to have an opportunity to help them too. We work with people all over the country—not just in Memphis. The best way to reach me directly off the air is to call (901) 482-0354. That is (901) 482 0354. or visit me on my blog www.mortgageloansblog.com
Word to the wise: Don’t expect these low rates to hang around forever. If refinancing or purchasing a home makes sense for you now—do it now.
If you want to have shelter from the economic storm, consider the fact that rents are on the rise right now and mortgage rates for homes are at historic lows. No one knows what economic conditions to expect in the future, but personally I like having a low house payment on a fixed rate I can count on to stay low for years to come.
If you are renting and have considered purchasing a home, the first step is to get preapproved for a mortgage. Check with your loan officer for other loan program scenarios that might work for you. Of course, I would like very much to work with you. The next step is to find an experienced realtor who has the time and expertise to help you locate the home that will work best for you and your family.
If you own a home but are looking to build up your retirement income, real estate can be a great way to do that. Richard Scarbrough of First National Realty is on our show often and has helped hundreds of people get started on the right track with real estate investing. A few good real estate properties with a healthy positive cash flow can make your retirement much more comfortable.
Here’s some more words to the wise for those who are about to buy a house or refinance one:
1. Be prepared with the right documentation. Set aside time during the loan process to get the loan officer whatever they need within 24 hours of the request. My dad used to say “when the line is long, the movie is good.” The same is true for mortgages. There are a lot of folks in line to buy houses and refinance right now and once the loan is closed, the buyer can enjoy a lot of bragging rights. The more prepared and prompt you are, the quicker you can get your loan closed.
2. Once you lock your rate, then it is REALLY important that you respond with needed documentation right away. If you are having the house appraised, allow the appraiser in immediately. Do not put this off. Delays in processing, underwriting and closing departments are the norm due to the increased flood of traffic.
3. Communicate with your lender. While your loan is in processing or waiting to be underwritten, there may be a few days when you do not hear from your lender. Don’t be afraid to call or email to stay in touch. Also, check your email regularly to make sure you have not missed a notification. Don’t forget to check your email Junk Box. Spam filters send emails from a bank to the Junk Box much of the time.
4. Find out the details on your mortgage rate lock agreement. When was it locked? When does your rate lock expire? What is the rate and terms of your mortgage rate lock agreement?
Hopefully these words to the wise will help you has you build protection from the storm by structuring your mortgage within your comfort level.

Troy and Lynn McDonald of Erin McDonald Allstate Insurance Agency know a LOT about storms and how to protect yourself from them by having the right insurance. How are some ways I can find shelter from the storm by having the right insurance?
Questions for Jo Garner to answer: What are some of the guidelines for HARP.
A. Must have made last 12 months mortgage payments with no over 30 day late payments,.
B. Your mortgage must have been backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since on or before May 31, 2009.
Question 2 for Jo Garner to answer: What other methods are there to refinance without an appraisal if you do not qualify for HARP?
A. FHA Streamline, VA Streamline,
Question 3 for Jo Garner to answer: What if you do not qualify for HARP and your house value is lower than what you owe, but you need to get the payment down?
A. Substitution of collateral doing a cash out on a different property (if there is enough equity)
B. Using gift funds from family. If you late decide to pay it back you can pay it back with the funds you save from the refinance. ( If you are really good, you could pay it back with more interest than they are currently earning on it—which would not be hard)
C. Use a margin loan for short term credit line to pay down mortgage enough to refinance with regular appraisal.
Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer Evolve Bank and Trust (901) 482-0354 www.MoneyShoppe.NET
Troy and Lynn McDonald, Allstate Insurance (901) 849 7101
Contact me with your questions about mortgage loan programs for home purchase, mortgage refinances, USDA, FHA, Conventional, VA, THDA, Down payment assistance, Homepath financing, Homepath with Renovation financing, 203K FHA repair loan program.

The Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program covers ideas on how to get the best mortgage refinance terms and good information on special loan programs for purchasing a home or investment property. The latest mortgage rates and specific information about the Memphis real estate market.

Go to the 4-7-12 podcast: http://www.600wrec.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=jogarner

Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer Evolve Bank and Trust (901) 482-0354 www.MoneyShoppe.NET
Let’s close in the best terms for your purchase or refinance of your primary residence, second home or investment property.

Good morning! Welcome to the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program. I’m Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank & Trust and with us today we have Richard Scarbrough, realtor, buyer, broker with First National Realty and Kevin Perk owner of Kevron Properties and blogger on www.smarterlandlording.com Our topic today is “How To Find and Make Real Estate Deals.”

In the mortgage news this week, the big news is the HARP program that allows homeowners who are underwater with the mortgages to refinance. The program, in most cases, does not require an appraisal and allows people who owe more on their homes than the home’s current value to refinance to today’s low rates. You can refinance your primary residence, vacation home or even a rental property on the HARP 2 program. There are some restrictions to this program, so give me a call on my direct line at (901) 482-0354 and Susan and I can talk with you to find out if your loan qualifies for the special HARP refinance.

In other news the FHA government loan program is clearing the deck to make way for an upcoming program to help borrowers who have FHA loans to refinance to lower rates with less cost. If your FHA mortgage was on the books prior to June 1, 2009 and you have made the last 12 consecutive payments on time, you may be eligible to refinance to a historic low interest rate with less upfront AND per month.

There are several different programs out there that sound alike but are vastly different. There is an FHA Short Refinance out there that requires your lender to reduce the amount you owe before this program will work. You will also have to show perfect payment history over the last 12 months. On the Short Refinance, you loan cannot be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA VA or USDA. There are a few more restrictions on this one.

Now for those of you who are interested in BUYING a house. The time is great to buy a primary residence, vacation home OR investment property. Rates are at a 50-yr low AND the national affordability index is better for buyers than it has been since 1970. Here’s an interesting fact though. Even though mortgage interest rates are at historic lows and houses are at a record affordability, the trend has turned in Memphis for some of the more popular locations, from a Buyers market to a Sellers market.

Word to the wise: Don’t sit around and miss some awesome opportunities to buy a home or build some wealth buying several. If you are a first time homebuyer, we have multiple outlets to get you some down payment assistance with some restrictions. Call us on our direct (off the air) line at (901) 482 0354. We would like to talk with you personally.

Mortgage rates are great whether you are purchasing a home or refinancing one.
This week the rates spiked up but came on back down a little to 4.25% on the 30 yr fixed but eased back down to a comfortable 4% for most loan scenarios with 30 yr fixed rate. The 15 years are still comfortably in the 3’s . The 5-1 ARM (that’s the loan with the fixed rate for the first 5 years and then converting to an adjustable rate). The rate on the 5-1 ARM went up to about 3.15% from his recent low point of 2.625%.

As for lending trends—we have some very definite trend going on right now in lending. Here’s the biggest one in two words TIGHTER RESTRICTIONS. But the terms you get on loans today can be more than worth the hassle. If you have large deposits (maybe not even THAT large on your bank statement that is not payroll, be prepared to document the source of those deposits.
Here’s another one: more and more people are being required to show copies of tax returns. If you are a W2 salaried employee but you own your own business on the side and show a loss on your tax returns, the tax transcripts done by the bank WILL SHOW the loss and it will be deducted from your regular job income. If you write off unreimbursed employee expenses, that amount is deducted from your regular income too.
We can add back to your income depreciation expenses that you show on your taxes for your business or rental real estate property.

We can get into more mortgage and real estate topics later. But for now let’s go to Richard Scarbrough, Realtor, Buyer, Broker for First National Realty and Kevin Perk, real estate investor and owner of Kevron Properties and blogger on www.smarterlandlording.com .
Our topic today is “Finding And Making The Real Estate Deal” Richard and Kevin, I am so glad we have you with us on the program. You guys are the PERFECT experts to educate us. How DO you find and make a great real estate deal? Hear the answers on the podcast 4-7-12.

Question 2. answered by Richard and Kevin:
Your philosophy is that, not property, but PEOPLE make a great real estate deal. What are some suggestions or real live stories you can share to illustrate an effective way to deal the PEOPLE involved with the transaction?

Question 3 answered by Richard and Kevin. When trying to FIND a good real estate deal, are there some investigation tools that work better for foreclosures and vacant property and other tools that may work better for other types of property?

Question for Jo : How should an investor best prepare when applying for a real estate mortgage?
-Latest paystubs, (in some cases all pages of the last 2 yrs signed tax returns) check adjusted gross income first. Remember you can add back depreciation usually appearing on the Profit and Loss page.
-Last 2 months bank statements. Remember large deposits other than payroll will require you to document a papertrail on a large deposit.
-If you own real estate properties, be prepared to provide mortgage statements for each property. If the property is NOT escrowed you will need to provide the lender a copy of the tax bills and insurance declaration pages detailing the homeowners insurance cost on each property. If the property is subject to association fees, you will need to document them also.
The lending industry is continuing to tighten restrictions.

Question 2 answered by Jo Garner : What are some sources available for down payment and renovation money?
1. Home Equity lines on primary residence or other property to use to purchase additional property
2. cash out refinance to pull equity out of one property to use to buy another one
3. Borrow against your 401K
4. Evolve does margin loans on your stock portfolio. You can use this money to purchase or fix up real estate.

Real Estate Tip of the Week: Richard and Kevin Keep up your real estate education. Memphis Investor Group is an organization offering top quality, hands-on education and networking . www.memphisinvestorgroup.com

Specific Topics covered by Richard Scarbrough, realtor and buyer-broker with First National Realty (901) 753-3491 and Kevin Perk, investor and blogger www.smarterlandlording.com –Finding and Making the Real Estate Deal

Deals are everywhere, you are just not seeing them because you do not know what to look for. It is like when you want a new sports car, suddenly you mind opens and you see them everywhere you go. However there is still work involved and they just don’t fall out of trees. There is some low hanging fruit but not very much.

Here is what we suggest you do first before going and looking for deals.
1. You need to decide on an area- Pick a place to farm – Why – Discuss
2. You need to decide what you are going to invest in – SFH, Apts, Commercial – Why? Discuss
3. You need to decide the type – 2/1, 3/2, duplexes, etc. Why? Discuss

Most deals are going to be found on the MLS. It is where people go when they want to sell. But you have to know what to look for and you will need access to the MLS for that. You will need a real estate professional like Richard.

What do you look for in the MLS? Bank owned homes – That is the reality today.
Look in the realtor comments section, these are not public comments and you can’t see them on realtor.com – May be vacant, moving, nursing home, estate sales, bring offer. All of these are signs to dig deeper.

When you contact the property owner or their agent, remember the people, not the property make the deal. Here is what you want to try and find out:
Why are they selling? Why do the property owners need the money?

Once you find out these things you may be able to make a deal work by being creative, owner financing for nursing home, trade things.

You should have your money in order because the order of the day may be the one who closes the fastest. Jo, you can set up HELOCS? Like writing a check

Also remember that some deals take time. Many do not realize the true value of their property and may need to be educated or just need time to realize it. We have worked deals for over a year.

Some other options to find deals. Look for tall grass, signs in the windows, look for that unkempt property that just does not look as nice. You can investigate those and then try to contact the owners with a letter or better a phone call if you can find a number.

Ads in the papers and on Craig’s list have worked.

Come to MIG and let others find what you are looking for. There are wholesalers and bird dogs out there.

MIG meets this Thursday, April 12th at 6 PM at the Memphis Hilton at poplar and I-240. This month all about contractors and managing rehabs, we have a contractor panel to answer you questions. Richard will be doing getting started right.

For timely information on getting the best terms and programs for your mortgage refinance or home purchase with mortgage rates and more contact Jo Garner, mortgage loan officer for Memphis and across the country. For good information on how to find and make real estate deals get the latest tips from the real estate experts on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe radio show.

How can you tell if your mortgage qualifies for the no-appraisal HARP program?

1. Your loan has to have been backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since on or before May 31, 2009. If you don’t know, Susan and I can determine if your loan is backed by Fannie or Freddie if you will give us some basic info. Call us at (901) 482 0354. We will check it for you free.
2. You need to have made your mortgage payments on time for the last 12 consecutive months.
3. Your property can be a residential primary residence, second home, or investment property as long as the property is 1 to 4 units—-like a single family home, a duplex, triplex or quadraplex. Your property can be a residential condo, planned unit development, attached or detached. It cannot be a manufactured home a condotel or a cooperative and it cannot have over 4 units to the property.
4. There is no loan-to value limits and there are no combined loan to value limits.
For instance, if you owe $2 or $300,000 on your loan and your property value is only $100,000, we can still refinance you to the lower rate. How great is that?

5. If you have a first mortgage and a second mortgage on your house, we an only
refinance your first mortgage. It will be between you and the bank who holds your 2nd mortgage on whether they will agree to stay in 2nd lien position behind the new loan—and they must to make this whole deal work for you.

6. If you are currently paying private mortgage insurance (that’s not homeowners
Insurance or hazard insurance, in most cases we can still refinance your mortgage and keep your mortgage insurance the same.. Private mortgage insurance , sometimes called PMI or MIP insures the lender in case of your default.

However, if your mortgage is covered by some of the now crippled or defunct private mortgage companies, then we cannot refinance your loan. Susan and I have a list of mortgage insurance companies who are accepted by HARP and those that are not. We may also be able to help you even if your loan does NOT qualify for the HARP program. Our direct line is (901) 482 0354.

7. You WILL have to verify enough income to qualify under Fannie Mae or Freddie
Mac guidelines.

8. You CAN roll in your closing costs AND the amount of taxes and insurance
required to set up your tax and insurance account. The max you can borrow is the amount it costs of your closing and taxes and insurance OR $5,000 whichever is less.

If you are going to take advantage of the lowest mortgage rates and 50 years and the most favorable Affordability Index since the early 1970’s, you will need to have your credit scores in tip-top shape. And you DO want bragging rates on your deal, don’t you? I thought so. Today I want to introduce you to our credit expert –Blake Higgins of Data Facts, Inc.
When Susan and I have a customer whose credit scores need a little boost, Blake is the man with the plan who helps us run with the latest credit score tools like the Credit Simulator, the Rapid Rescore tools and more.
Blake has been with Data Facts for 6 years. He has presented some excellent seminars at the Better Business Bureau for Talk Shoppe. Some of his past seminars can be viewed under the Presentations tab at www.TalkShoppe.BIZ. Blake—just to get started – Question 1. What is a Credit Score and what types of factors affect your credit score?
Listen to our radio podcast dated 3-31-12 to get answers to some of the questions below.

Question 2 for Blake: What are some secrets to getting a higher credit score?

Question 3 for Blake: What are some of the most common mistakes people make that affect their credit scores?

Question 4 for Blake: Can you describe some of the different types of credit and how these types of credit affect your score?
Question 5 for Blake: What other services does Data Facts, Inc offer ?

Question 1 for Jo :
1. We all know how important credit scores are to getting an approval and a great interest rate on a mortgage. What are some ways credit scores affect the rates and types of products available to a borrower.

Jo’s Answer: I can give a couple of examples of a conventional 30 yr rate and price for someone with a 740 score vs someone with a 680 score. Right now if you are applying for a $100,000 loan with a 740 score you could get about 4.25% with zero points. You would simply pay normal closing costs with no extra. However, if you are applying for a $100,000 loan and have a 650 score, you can pay $1,000 to $2,000 more at closing for points, simply because of a lower credit score.
Examples of product offerings. THDA down payment assistance programs. and VA programs we can lend on a credit score as low as 620. If the borrower is just getting a standard FHA and conventional loan, the minimum score is 640. For buyers needing the special FHA Renovation and Repair loan the minimum credit score is 660.

2. Datafacts has available to lenders some expert tools that offer specific strategies borrowers can use to bump their credit scores up to levels they need to get the loan rates or programs they want. You and your assistant, Susan Belew, use these Credit Expert Tools. Want to tell us about how they work for your customers?

Jo’s Answer: Credit Essentials and Credit Simulator and gives us an opportunity to put in scenarios for customers to determine what actions would positively affect their credit scores in the least amount of time with the least amount of investment.

Real Estate Tip of Week: If you want to improve your credit scores quickly, one method of doing that is to pay down your credit card balances to less than 30% of the total credit limit. This can affect your credit scores significantly and within the shortest amount of time.
Below are some questions answered by Blake Higgins of Data Facts on the attached podcast of the radio show dated 3-31-12

1. Question- What is a credit score?
Answer- A credit score is a number, assigned by the credit bureaus (TU, XPN, and EFX), and based on statistical data, which represents the creditworthiness of an individual.
They range from 300 on the low end to 850 for the highest. Keep in mind only 5.7% of American’s are in the 800 range.
2. Are all scores the same?
Answer- No. they are all different. FICO (Fair Isaac Company) is what most lenders are looking at.
Car dealerships, Mortgage Lenders, insurance quotes, Retails stores all use different models. All industries look for different data to make a decision.
3. What is the importance of credit?
Credit distinguishes you to a credit lender. This could be a Best Buy on one end or banks when you go to open a checking account on the total other end of the spectrum. This shows them that you can maintain your ability to pay a monthly payment and not be late or miss a certain time line or frame. So it is very important to have good credit so you can have the best competitive rates.
4. What makes up a FICO score?
There is a lot of information here but to make it easier to comprehend, there are 5 key components.
35% Payment History
30% Amounts owed
15% length of History
10% Types of credit
10% New Credit
5. What are some of the things that are not in your score?
Your Race, Color, Religion, Origin, sex, and Martial Status
Age, Salary, Occupation, Title, Employer, Where you live

6. What are the types of credit?
On the positive side, there are Revolving accounts and Installment Loans. Revolving would be your credit cards and home equity lines of credit, you can also have a line of credit with banks.
Installment loans would be anything you have a set monthly payment on. So this would be your auto loans, school loans, mortgage loans and personal loans from the bank.

Negative factors would be, Collections, Bankruptcy, Judgments and Tax Liens. All which have a negative impact.
Both types of credit will typically stay on your credit report for seven years from the date of the last activity.

7. I have heard the word inquiries, what are they? Are they bad?
There are two different types of inquires. The word is used to identify a creditor or bank looking at your file. This is a credit inquiry. Soft and hard.
Soft inquires are those initiated by banks and insurance companies and do not hurt you.
A hard inquiry is consumer initiated and does hurt to a certain degree. Typically a hard inquiry is going to negatively impact the score about 3-5 points. If you have to many, this can actually really hurt your score. Around the Holiday season, I always have to tell my other half not to accept all of those offers about saving 10% at the store because every time she says yes, she is hurting her score point by point. They add up quickly!
8. How do you get your credit started?
First thing to know is that it is never too early. Since 15% of the score is based on length of history, it is better to get an early start. I would suggest opening a credit card with a low interest rate and putting maybe $10.00 or $20.00 on it. Just let that revolve a couple of months and you should see the wheels start to turn. You can also explore the possibility of being added as an authorized user of a parent’s card can help too. This allows you to receive the benefits of good history and spending habits.
9. What are three tips to gaining a positive score?
Pay your bills on time. Since this is 35% of your FICO score, it is extremely important to do everything possible to pay your bills on time. Try not to miss a payment EVER.
Keep your credit card balance low. Having them lower then at least 30% of the credit limit is optimal. Lower the better; just make sure to keep something on them. Paying them off is not always a good idea. Fico likes to see that you can handle your available credit and
Ensure accuracy. Pull a free credit report every year to review for errors. If there is erroneous information found, dispute it with the credit bureaus immediately. Remember that 80% of credit reports have errors on them.

10. What are some of the top 5 credit mistakes?
Maxing out your available credit- This is 30% of your FICO score and this is a big deal when you have them maxed out. It looks like you cannot control your spending habits and therefore you are penalized for this.
Missing Payments- Remember that 35% of your FICO is Payment History. This is weighted so heavily. When you don’t make your payments on time, this shows you have no responsibility.
Closing credit accounts- This one is tricky. I see people that have had a Sears’s card since 1990 and all of the sudden they decide to close it. The problem is that they just wiped all that good payment history.
Stopping all credit activity- Some people get scared when they make a mistake and kind of lock down everything. This is totally not necessary. After six months of zero activity your credit file will actually go dormant. This means you lose the score completely.
Not checking your credit report for errors and omissions- If you do not know that there is an error and you just let it ride, chances are that negativity is hurting you. You have to look and see what is out there.
For more info contact Data Facts, Inc. 8520 Macon Rd Cordova, TN 38018
(901) 685-7599 Blake Higgins
Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer Evolve Bank & Trust 6070 Poplar Ave Ste 100 Memphis, TN 38119 (901) 482-0354
Mortgage rates, information about mortgage programs including but not limited to the HARP program in the Memphis, TN area and all over the country, listen to Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. On this podcast you can also hear tips on improving your credit scores from Blake Higgins, Data Facts.

Good morning Memphis! You are on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust and Attorney Ron Cohen affiliated with the Memphis Law Firm of Ballin, Ballin & Fishman and an owner of Premium Title and Jenett Rochester the Memphis location manager of Premium Title. Today we are talking about “Save Your House With the HARP Program—Save Your Wallet When Buying A Foreclosure or Short Sale”

Before we get into our topic let’s talk about the BIG news this week.

Mortgage rates gave us a little scare this week spiking higher for a few days but they begin to gradually drift back down again at the end of the week.

30 yr rates are about 4% to 4.25$
15 year rates are in the low 3’s to mid 3’s

The HARP refinance program to help homeowners who are underwater –owing more than the house is currently worth—here’s some GREAT NEWS for you! The full Home Affordable Refinance Program with no home value restrictions is now available. My assistant Susan Belew and I have this program available to you at Evolve Bank and Trust with absolutely no value restriction.

In fact we were discussing a loan yesterday where the borrower’s current mortgage balance compared to the current value of his home is over 200%!! This is a perfect example of how the HARP program can be a lifesaver for so many homeowners who owe more on their house than the property value.

Word to the Wise—If you are a homeowner who believes you owe more on your house than the current value—–DO NOT LET THIS AWESOME OPPORTUNITY PASS YOU BY! You can call our direct, personal line at (901) 482 0354. WE WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME BRAGGING RIGHTS when we refinance your loan to these very low rates—without you having to worry about the appraisal value. That number to call to talk personally off the air with Susan is 901 482 0354.

Here is the cliff note version of the hottest loan product that has hit the national market in decades! You can catch the past podcasts of this program on my blog www.mortgageloansblog.com. .

How can you tell if your mortgage qualifies for the no-appraisal HARP program?

1. Your loan has to have been backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since on or before May 31, 2009. If you don’t know, Susan and I can determine if your loan is backed by Fannie or Freddie if you will give us some basic info. Call us at (901) 482 0354. We will check it for you free.
2. You need to have made your mortgage payments on time for the last 12 consecutive months.
3. Your property can be a residential primary residence, second home, or investment property as long as the property is 1 to 4 units—-like a single family home, a duplex, triplex or quadraplex. Your property can be a residential condo, planned unit development, attached or detached. It cannot be a manufactured home a condotel or a cooperative and it cannot have over 4 units to the property.
4. There is no loan-to value limits and there are no combined loan to value limits.
For instance, if you owe $2 or $300,000 on your loan and your property value is only $100,000, we can still refinance you to the lower rate. How great is that?

5. If you have a first mortgage and a second mortgage on your house, we an only
refinance your first mortgage. It will be between you and the bank who holds your 2nd mortgage on whether they will agree to stay in 2nd lien position behind the new loan—and they must to make this whole deal work for you.

6. If you are currently paying private mortgage insurance (that’s not homeowners
Insurance or hazard insurance, in most cases we can still refinance your mortgage and keep your mortgage insurance the same.. Private mortgage insurance , sometimes called PMI or MIP insures the lender in case of your default.

However, if your mortgage is covered by some of the now crippled or defunct private mortgage companies, then we cannot refinance your loan. Susan and I have a list of mortgage insurance companies who are accepted by HARP and those that are not. We may also be able to help you even if your loan does NOT qualify for the HARP program. Our direct line is (901) 482 0354.

7. You WILL have to verify enough income to qualify under Fannie Mae or Freddie
Mac guidelines.

8. You CAN roll in your closing costs AND the amount of taxes and insurance
required to set up your tax and insurance account. The max you can borrow is the amount it costs of your closing and taxes and insurance OR $5,000 whichever is less.

Today I am so glad we have attorney Ron Cohen with us by telephone. Ron, how are you today? I am so glad you are with us today.

We have been talking about how to help homeowners Save Their Homes from becoming foreclosures or shortsales by lowering the rate for the homeowner without worrying about an appraisal value.

But some of the greatest opportunities out in the market place for people looking to BUY property to live in or to rent out to tenants, is buying houses that have been foreclosed or houses where the lender has agreed to take less on the principal so distressed homeowners can sell their homes on a shortsale and there are some caveats to doing that too. .

Attorney Ron Cohen affiliated with the Memphis Law Firm of Ballin, Ballin & Fishman and an owner of Premium Title is available to talk with you today about title issues with foreclosures and short sales .

Ron, if a real estate homebuyer wants to buy a foreclosed home or short sale, what are some title issues commonly seen on these transactions? ……..Answers on podcast 3-14-12

Question 2 for Ron Cohen to answer:
Would you explain to our audience the difference between buying a short sale and buying a foreclosed property? Answer on podcast 3-14-12

Question 3 for Ron Cohen to answer: What if there are problems (or clouds) on the title? What are some common ways you fix this problem? Answer on podcast 3-14-12

Questions to ask Jo Garner: 1. What are some typical savings you see your customers getting when they refinance ?
There are 3 basic ways we see our customers saving money on a refinance:

1st Lowering the payment because of the unusually low interest rates
Example: refinancing a $200,000 loan to 4.125% would make their principal and interest payment $969/mo.
When they first borrowed the loan the loan amount had a balance of $230,000 with a 5.75% rate with a P& I payment of $1,342/mo.
By going from a 30 yr to a 30 yr they can lower their payment by $373/mo.
They could even use some of that savings to pay the mortgage off early if they choose to do that.

2nd. Shortening the terms to a 20 or 15 year loan from an original 30 yr loan with, say, 25 years remaining—this can save the person refinancing 10’s of thousands of dollars in the long term.

These are only two ways but there are more (cash out)

Question 2 for Jo Garner to answer:
We’ve been talking about caveats on title for properties. What are some caveats to look out for on using the new HARP refinance program?
1st –In some cases if the value is not entered into the underwriting system at a low enough estimated value, the computerized underwriting system may require more documentation on an appraisal, but there is still no limitation on value as far as the first mortgage goes

2nd. Homeowners using the program have to qualify with acceptable verified income. In some cases the person owning the house is now divorced and the other spouse no longer lives there and for obvious reasons, does not want to be on the loan?

The solution for that is to show that the occupying spouse who will be the borrower, has been able to successfully make all the mortgage payments on the mortgage on time and with their own funds with no help from others.

Real Estate Tip of the Week:

Make a friend; Be a Friend. If you or anyone you know wants to refinance their home loan but says they can’t because they owe too much and the value has dropped, please let Susan Belew, my very capable assistant, would like very much to talk with you off the air to see how we can help you. (901) 482-0354.

Some of the information shared by Attorney Ron Cohen:

In a normal market a seller sells a home, pays off the mortgage, delivers clear title to the purchaser and everyone lives happily ever after.

In today’s market, the seller might have a second mortgage on the house, a HELOC or a lien recorded by a contractor for unpaid construction work.

All of these creditors must be paid before anyone can think about moving on.

As a result of current real estate conditions many people have a negative net worth in their homes creating all sorts of title problems. No longer is there sufficient equity to pay off all creditors.

What do we do now?

One option is a short sale. A short sale requires finding a purchaser for your home and then persuading your mortgage lender to accept less than the balance due on the mortgage.

But what about my equity? It is gone.

But what about other liens such as the second mortgage, HELOC lender or contractor?

Those liens will have to be negotiated in order to deliver clear title.

Okay. Then how about letting my mortgage lender foreclosure so that we may get rid of those other liens?

That might be an option to resolve unpaid liens but it could be a lengthy process.

If I don’t have a bunch of liens and my lender refuses to accept a short sale, are there other options?

Yes, of course.

Your lender might consider modifying your loan so that you may stay in your home.

If I want to purchase one of these houses, how can I be sure that I am not buying a bunch of title problems?

Drum Roll:

By obtaining a policy of title insurance.

The title insurance company will search the public records, determine what liens exist against the property and then provide you with an insurance policy so that you may enjoy those much awaited restful nights in your new home.

Where can I get title insurance?

When you are ready to purchase your new home simply contact Premium Title Group…

Ron A. Cohen
Of Counsel: Kusper & Raucci, Chtd.
30 North LaSalle Street
Suite 3400
Chicago, Illinois 60602
312-332-5000
312-346-1145 (direct)
312-332-4663 (facsimile)
rac@kusperraucci.com

Information on the HARP mortgage program by Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer Evolve Bank and Trust 6070 Poplar Ave Ste 100 Memphis, TN 38120 (901) 482 0354
www.MoneyShoppe.NET

For more information about the mortgage HARP 2B program that does not require an appraisal value, contact me for financing solutions with this program or others.

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya! Its St Patrick’s Day and you are on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me, Jo Garner, mortgage officer with Evolve Bank & Trust. Our guests today are Troy and Lynn McDonald with the Erin McDonald Agency of Allstate Insurance. Great to have you on Troy and Lynn….
Our topic today is “Quickest Route To The Gold on Landing Your Mortgage & Making An Insurance Claim.” Before we get into the “Quickest Route To The Gold” lets cover some real estate and mortgage news from the second week in March 2012.

Fannie Mae is rolling out the HARP program this weekend that will help homeowners who owe more on their home than the current value. It may take some lenders a few days to get the program operational and begin the HARP lending process. HARP is good program if your mortgage has been backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009 and you have been making your payments on time.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 4 basis points this week, to about 4.15.The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 4 basis points, to 3.38 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage rose 11 basis points, to 3.14 percent.
If you want a list of the reasons for the rate rise, here are a few:
The economic Leprechauns seem to be out in full force throwing gold around.
Lots of people have been out on shopping sprees at the mall, spending the green stuff in stores, giving retail sales the biggest boost in 5 months.
Maybe one reason so many people were out shopping is because 227,000 of them just got jobs. While the unemployment rate is still high at 8.3%, reports show our labor market has improved for 3 months in a row.
With all of this golden news, the Fed at the Federal Open Market Committee painted a slightly more positive picture of the economy when they met this week.
They did a stress test on our nation’s banks. The Fed evaluated whether banks would have sufficient capital to operate normally and enough money to lend to consumers and businesses during a “severe” economic crisis. Of the 19 banks evaluated, 15 passed the test.
Now for the not-so-golden news…. FHA, the federal mortgage program best known for offering 3.5% down payment programs with more lenient guidelines on credit. They announced recently that they will almost double the upfront mortgage insurance premium they add to the mortgages they insure for borrowers. They will also be tightening up requirements for loan applicants with $1,000 or more in aggregate collection balances. Ouch!
The other not-so-good news is that investors funding home mortgages have stepped up the number of mortgages they are requiring originating mortgage companies to buy back. This has caused ultra-sensitive underwriting with more and more documentation being required of borrowers before and even AFTER closing.
My very capable assistant, Susan Belew, was trying to describe to a customer about why more documentation is being required today than in years past. Susan said “ these mortgage investors have turned into barracudas!” And it really does seem that way sometimes.
If you are on the path to getting a purchase or refinance loan on a house, it is more important today than ever that, WHOEVER you choose, pick an experienced mortgage officer to get you on the quickest route to landing your mortgage. Of course Susan and I would like it very much if you would give us the honor of assisting you in the mortgage process. You can call us directly at (901) 482 0354. Our direct (not on the air line) again is (901) 482 0354.
If you can think of anyone in your circle of friends currently renting who have said they do not have the money to buy a house, please give Susan and me a chance to talk with them. Today we have several different down payment assistance program from ultra low payback plans to grants.
We can get into more details on how to avoid delays and minefields in the mortgage process but first let’s get some wisdom from Lynn and Troy McDonald of Erin McDonald Allstate Insurance Agency….

Troy and Lynn, what are some of the trends you are seeing right now with insurance? Tell us about the Quick Route to the Gold on Getting Insurance Claims handled…..
Listen to the 3-17-12 podcast to hear Troy and Lynn McDonald of Erin McDonald Allstate Insurance talk about ways to get to the gold when you are dealing with insurance claims.
Hear their tip of the week about calling your insurance agent first and NOT the 1-800 # to save getting a claim logged to your record when there is no claim.
Also hear their tips on how to do the math on determining if you should file an insurance claim or cover it without a claim.
The McDonalds talked with callers about items and situations are not covered on a regular homeowner policy. Some examples are trees that did not fall on the house and were not struck by lightening and flood insurance.

Questions answered by Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer at Evolve Bank & Trust:
1. How can a home buyer or someone refinancing their home best prepare for the mortgage process?
A. Review your online free credit report to make sure there are no errors, surprise collections or recent late pays reporting. (Most of the time on the free credit reports you get online, the scores reflect much higher numbers than you will see on a mortgage Fico rating. Because the online scoring systems are on a much different rating scale than the traditional FICO credit scoring system. Check out www.myfico.com for more information. )
B. Review your bank statements. Be prepared to document the source of any large deposits other than payroll that appear on your statements.
C. Check your last two years tax returns on the 3rd page to make sure your accountant has not shown unreimbursed employee expenses on the return. The mortgage company will deduct any unreimbursed employee expenses from your regular income. This could make the difference between qualifying for your mortgage and not. Truck drivers and salespeople almost always have unreimbursed employee expenses because they write off traveling expenses and marketing expenses. .

2. What are some things a home loan borrower can do to avoid negative surprises during the loan process?
A. If the homeowner is refinancing their home, we try to do some preliminary research to get an educated guess on where we think we will hit on an appraised value. The homeowner can do this too by checking www.zillow.com and www.trulia.com . Another step to take if the borrower is concerned about what value they may get is to consult an experienced realtor who is familiar with the neighborhood. Ask a trusted realtor for a free full analysis of sales like the borrower’s house in that borrower’s neighborhood over the last 6 months. By reviewing all the recent comparable sales in that neighborhood over the most recent 6 months, we can get a fairly good idea what to expect on an appraisal value before the homeowner pays for an appraisal.
B. If you are BUYING a home, get your contract accepted subject to a satisfactory home inspection. Don’t order an appraisal until you are satisfied with the home inspector’s report. The appraisal can cost several hundred dollars upfront. Don’t pay for the appraisal until you are sure the contract will be accepted at your price and the home inspection is clear.

Real Estate Tip of the Day: If you are about to apply for a mortgage for buying a house or refinancing one, do not pay down or pay off or adjust anything about your credit or assets before talking with an experienced loan officer. My assistant and I are trained on using Credit Simulators and working with the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac automated underwriting systems.
Sometimes a loan officer can analyze the borrower’s current financial situation and give advice on how to adjust assets or credit to help get the borrower a better rate or better terms on the approval.
Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer Evolve Bank & Trust (901) 482 0354 www.MoneyShoppe.NET
Give me an opportunity to work with you or someone you know on a mortgage on a primary residence, second home or investment property. I work help borrowers get mortgage financing on properties in the Memphis, Tennessee area and nationally.

http://www.600wrec.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?podcast=jogarner

3/3/12 podcast
WREC AM 600
Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe

Good Morning Memphis! Are you ready to make some money? Are you ready to build some wealth? You are on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe with me, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. In the studio with us today we have Richard Scarbrough, Buyer & Broker with First National Realty and Kevin Perk, investor and blogger for SmarterLandlording.com . Today our topic is “What Is A Real Estate Deal?”

Before we jump into building your wealth, let’s cover some important news for home mortgage financing.

The big news is that FHA is almost doubling their upfront insurance fee as of April 1st , 2012. What is FHA and what does it do? The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures mortgages on single-family and multi-family homes. They do not loan money, but they are the largest insurer of mortgages in the world, offering borrowers a chance to purchase with very little cash investment. FHA is the most popular home loan program for people looking for flexibility in calculating household income and payment ratios. FHA is also the most lenient on requirements for funds to close.

As of April 1st FHA will raise the upfront mortgage insurance from 1% to 1.75%. For example if you were getting an FHA mortgage for $100,000. Today you would have $1,000 added to your loan amount to cover the upfront mortgage insurance payment, so you would be borrowing $101,000. But in less than a month, you will be adding $1,750 to your $100K loan. That is an extra $750 added to your loan if you are borrowing $100K .

FHA is also going up on the monthly mortgage insurance. Today you would pay a monthly mortgage insurance on a $100,000 loan of $96/mo. But as of April 1st you will be paying 104/mo. That is an extra $8/mo if you are borrowing $100K –even more if you are borrowing more.

Word to the Wise: No matter which mortgage company or bank you are working with– Get your FHA purchase loan or refinance loan closed BEFORE April 1st . With the mortgage companies working at past capacity right now, the name of the game is get your loan application today and now later than Monday and be ready to supply all of the supporting documents within 48 hours. You can call me and my very capable assistant Susan Belew right now on our direct line (901) 482 0354. That direct number again is (901) 482 0354.

The computerized underwriting system and pricing should roll out March 17 for the HARP 2B program to help underwater borrowers—that would be the refinance program to help homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage—in other words, they owe more on the house than the current value of their home. There are restrictions for the program. Your loan must have been backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since before May 31, 2009 and you need to have been making your payments on time. Don’t know whether your meet the criteria? My assistant Susan Belew and I will be glad to do the research for you. Call us at (901) 482 0354.

There is a newer refinance plan that the President mentioned on his State of the Union address but is not officially on the table yet. This is the refinance program to refinance underwater borrowers that have mortgages NOT backed by Fannie and Freddie—and this program was supposed to be dead on arrival but Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama wants to hear more about his program to help the housing market. Do YOU want to hear more? If you want this program, you need to talk to YOUR senator and let them know how you feel and what you think about it.

The number one question for callers at my office this week “ What is the mortgage rate?”
Actually there is not A RATE. Your mortgage rate is determined by your loan amount, loan type, loan-to-value and credit score. But, Wednesday and Thursday this week the mortgage rates spiked up because investors are getting nervous about what is going to happen in Europe and what is going to happen with our employment numbers. Yesterday the good news is the mortgage rates slid back down a notch

Today we are back at a comfortable 3.875% to 4.25% on the 30 yr fixed rate loans and low to mid 3’s on the 15 year. The big winner this week is the 5-1 ARM coming in at a cool 2.625% to 3.25%. The 5-1 Arm is a fixed rate for the first 5 years and then converts to an adjustable rate with safety caps. If you are not going to be in the loan for more than 5 years OR if you are paying down a very large chunk of the balance within the first 5 years, then let’s talk about how the 5-1 ARM could work for you.

Are you ready to make some money? Are you ready to build some wealth? We have Richard Scarbrough, buyer and broker with First National Realty and Kevin Perk, investor and blogger for smarterlandlording.com Our topic today? “What Is A Real Estate Deal?”

Want to talk with us about this or any other real estate topic on your mind? Call us at (901) 535-9732 . That is 901 535-WREC.

Richard and Kevin, What IS a real estate deal?…..
Define a real estate deal – You have to work backwards from what you want to do with a property, retail, wholesale or buy and hold. A deal is not $185,000 for a “$200,000” house. You paid retail.

Retail Deal – Have to know the current market value for the area and work backwards from there. If the retail price is $200,000, then subtract

Repairs – For example $30,000 (Figure your repairs then add 50% more)
10% for the cost of the sale- Commissions, holding costs, etc. $20,000
10% profit or $10,000 which ever is greater – Here it is $20,000

So a deal for this $200,000 house would be $130,000

Be sure to know your retail market. Be sure to know how long it might sit,
What will you do if it does not sell in 3 months? 6 months? What is backup plan?

Wholesale Deal – Figure your ARV – After Repaired Vale – using the latest comps and use the foreclosure comps because that is your competition. Whole to Retail and Landlords

For Retail, maximum allowable offer is about 60% of the ARV, less any necessary repairs. So a $100,000 ARV house is a good wholesale deal at $60,000. If there is $10,000 of repairs needed, then the deal is had at $50,000.

A quick method to use for landlord deals is to multiply the monthly rent by 100 and divide by 2. So if rent is $800 per month. Multiply times 100 = $80,000/2 = $40,000 That is a decent wholesale price for a landlord customer.

Be sure to add your wholesale profit in. $5,000 or $10,000 depending on the deal.

Buy and Hold Deal – Cash flow is the name of the game. What is cash flow? Cashflow is what is left over in your monthly rent collections after all monthly expenses are paid. It is not a deal if you are breaking even. Do not bet on appreciation – You may be writing checks every month rather than collecting them.
What are monthly expenses? Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance, Maintenance, Vacancy Credit, Management Expense – After all that is paid, you should have between $150 and $200 per month cash flow left over – Profit for a deal to be good.

Figure the cost of your money P and I, taxes, insurance, 10% gross rents for maintenance, 10% gross rents for vacancy credit and place a little aside for that roof you will need to replace one day. These expenses will determine the price you can pay.

MIG – Is this Thursday on March 8th at 6 PM. We are featuring Buck Clark, developer of Clark Tower – Taking about real estate development, some of his past projects and what he sees in the real estate future. This is local expert knowledge on local real estate trends. Also offering an all day class on Wholesaling on Saturday the 10th, Be at MIG this Thursday to hear all the details.

Jo’ answers to on-air questions:
1. Evolve Bank offers financing for buying investment property as long as the borrower does not own over 10 financed properties. What are some of the loan programs you can offer a real estate investor?
Jo to discuss the difference between financing for an investor with LESS than 4 financed properties and an investor with more than 4 financed properties and not more than 10
2. What is the biggest difference between financing for a real estate investor buying a rental property as compared to someone buying a house to live in as a primary residence?

Jo to discuss the fact that rates are unusually low right now for investors so the rate would be only less than 1/8th higher than the terms offered on a primary residence. The biggest difference is the investor must pay down between 20% of the price of the house and 30%. The person buying to occupy the home would only be required to pay around 3% and usually not more than 10%.

Also, for investors, the seller is only allowed to pay 2% of the home price toward the buyer’s closing costs. Whereas the seller can pay 3 to 6% of the price toward the buyers closing cost if the buyer is purchasing a home where he intends to live.

3. Where can investors get money to use for down payment

Real Estate Tip of the Day: Richard and Kevin.

Or If you or someone you know is trying to buy a house or refinance one using FHA financing, they need to get in HIGH GEAR to get this done before April 1st. With processing and underwriting backed up with a record number of borrowers waiting in line, you need to be comfortably completed with your loan in the next 2 weeks to be assured of a closing before April 1st.

Real estate home loans, financing and mortgage solutions is the mission of the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe radio show.

Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer , Lynn & Troy McDonald, Erin McDonald Insurance Agency Allstate Insurance

http://www.600wrec.com/cc-common/podcast/single_page.html?more_page=1&podcast=jogarner&selected_podcast=Jo_and_Troy_and_Lynn_2-11-12_1329176700_18832.mp3

The podcast link leads you to the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me, Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust.  We are talking with Lynn and Troy McDonald of Erin McDonald Allstate Insurance Agency.  We cover money-saving tips for you to keep your insurance costs at their lowest without giving up adequate coverage. Also keeping your mortgage rate low with the best terms for your individual situation.  

For those of you who have been patiently waiting for the HARP 2B program to roll out so you can refinance to a lower rate the appraisal value being no issue—well, so far the automated underwriting systems for that program are supposed to be rolled out March 17^th.   Move to the front of the line by getting your loan in early. My assistant Susan Belew and I are getting your loan info now so that you don’t have to wait when the program is rolled out.  call me on my business line right now at (901) 482 0354  That is (901) 482 0354.  Susan and I can crunch some numbers with you.

The President talked about an even newer refinancing program –not the HARP program that  would not require an appraisal at all and would remove some other barriers as well .  Don’t hold your breath waiting on the newest one because, for now, there are just too many barriers to cross.  The HARP 2B program we have been talking about week after week is still slated to roll out on March 17^th but NOT the one the President talked about during his State of the Union Address.

This newer program puts even less restrictions on the borrower and the President says he wants this program available to people who have been making their payments on time whether there loan is backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or some other program.   If you WANT this newer program to roll out sooner, my suggestion is that you call your Congressman or Senator and tell them that you want this newer program available.

Keep listening to our show and we will keep you updated on any new developments. You can also hear our past shows on my blog  www.mortgageloansblog.com 

Here’s some good news for our military personnel arriving back home. HOPE NOW,  a national mortgage relief program, are focused on assistance to military homeowners and foreclosure mediation. If you know a veteran that needs help, they can call (888) 995-HOPE.

Here is the news on mortgage rates:  With what looked like a possible agreement from Greeceon how to effectively handle their debt, Mortgages Rates started to creep up yesterday.  But today one of the political leaders inGreece said his party would not back the bail out agreement so our mortgage rates begin a slight downward motion.  Are you getting seasick yet?    With the on-again-off again financial battle overseas, it is enough to make one dizzy.

Rates are being quoted a little higher this week– 3.875% to 4.375% on 30 yr mortgages depending on how many points you want to pay, your loan amount, loan type, loan-to-value and credit score. The 15 yr is still in the low 3’s to 3.75%.  Susan and I would like to do a personal analysis on your financing to see how much money on a refinance we can save you per month with a lower rate  or by shortening your loan term. We can do comparisons for you on financing to purchase a home.   Call us on our direct line at (901) 482 0354.

Susan and I are focusing this next week on first-time homebuyers.  If you have heard a friend say they can’t buy a house because they don’t have enough money to put down, please give me chance to talk with them.  Susan and I are trained on many first-time homebuyer special programs, we stay up-to-date on the old stuff AND the new stuff to help first-time homebuyers who need down payment assistance getting into their first home with a loan program tailored to them.  Of course we can help those who are NOT first-time homebuyers too.

Some questions answered byLynnandTroyabout keeping your insurance low and your property covered: The benefits of bundling your coverage with the same insurance company.  Some examples of this benefit.

The importance of having adequate insurance on your car & ways to keep premiums low.  Because of lawsuits over car accidents, it is like you are driving around with all of your assets in the car trunk.

Benefits on having renters insurance preceding your future homeowners insurance policy

Benefits to renters insurance to the landlord.

Weighing how much to make the deductible.

Why you never want to call the insurance company 1-800 number.  And other trouble with 1-800 call centers.

Questions answered by Jo Garner about mortgage financing.

1. Jo, you mentioned that your focus this week is to help first-time homebuyers get into their first home with the Lowest Movein costs with down payment assistance programs.  What are some of the most popular down payment assistance programs you are using?
2. A lot of people want to get the best rate in town on their mortgage.  How do you get the “best rate?”The best rate is not always the lowest rate.  The best rate for you is the one that saves you the most money with the least amount of costs and that best suits your financial plans. 

A.The first thing I will ask you is “How long to plan on staying in this house or how long do you plan on keeping this house?”  If you say you are keeping the house for over 5 years, we can begin by looking at fixed rate loans instead of variable rate loans. If you plan on keeping the house less than 3 to 5 years, then an ultra-low rate that is fixed for only the 5 years you are going to be in the house before  converting to an adjustable rate may be the best deal to allow you to enjoy a below-market rate with a low payment during the years you know you will be in the house.

B. The next question I will ask you is “Is your focus on paying the loan off quickly or just on saving the most money per month?”  If you are 10 years from golden years making a house note, you may want to look at a 15 year loan or 10 year loan instead of a 30 year commitment. Hear the story of the  customer who wanted to travel when she retired and did not want the house note.     Hear the story of someone about to put children through college and wanted a low note even if it was a 30 yr.

1. Or maybe you will be coming into a large amount of money from the sale of a home, an inheritance or cashing in on an investment within a year or two—In that case you may want to look at a very, VERY low rate and payment you get from an adjustable rate and enjoy a below normal payment until your large amount of money comes in.  Use that large amount of cash, when you get it, to pay down over 20% of the balance on your mortgage. Then when the rate becomes adjustable, your payment should not go up and in so many cases come down considerably because the balance has been significantly reduced and on the adjustable rate, each year when it adjusts, your payment will only be calculated on the unpaid balance.  Hear the story of the family member selling their house in town and buying land and a bigger house out in the country  Buying new house first and later having the lump sum from the sale of the old house to put down larger than 25% toward the balance on the new loan within less than 12 mos. Why this family went with a 1 year ARM and came out better than ever, paying off the house in less than 10 yrs.

More about mortgage financing options, little known facts and tips for saving on insurance.