While virtually all of the 100% financing programs have evaporated there still remains a great resource for securing a good value on your next home purchase and an unbelievable deal on financing.  Homes which have been foreclosed on and taken back by HUD under the FHA insurance guarantee program provide virtually 100% financing for qualified borrowers.   

These homes are made available through various designated asset management companies throughout the country.  These asset management companies then market homes for HUD through locally approved Brokers and an ONLINE bidding process.  We have recently become an APPROVED BROKER for HUD home resales. 

What Types of Homes are Available?

Homes available for purchase through HUD reflect the loan limits associated with FHA loans.  As loan limits have increased over the years so has the value of the properties financed with FHA loans.  Currently FHA loan limits are $346,250; which means that the homes for sale through HUD would not have exceeded $359,000 in sales price at the time they were financed.  Regardless of the area you want to live in there will generally be a HUD home of some sort there. 

Who is Eligible to Buy a HUD HOME?

Anyone may buy a HUD home including investors and non-profit community revitalization organizations.  However HUD always gives first priority to buyers who are purchasing a home to live in for a minimum of one year.  Owner occupants will be required to sign a certification reflecting this and can not purchase another HUD home for two years.  Investors may purchase as many HUD homes as they like, but are not eligible for the $100 down payment financing. 

How do I find HUD HOMES?

You may access all HUD homes available for sale in Georgia through our web site which provides access to the designated asset management company for the area.  You will need an approved HUD Broker to gain access to HUD properties. 

How do I Make an Offer on a HUD HOME?

All available homes will appear on the web site.  All new HUD home listings appear on Wednesdays and are offered for the first 12 days only to owner occupants.  Price Reduced listings appear on Friday and owner occupants are given a five day priority to purchase during that time.  Properties available for Daily Bidding are available to all buyers. 

Are There Incentives for Buying a HUD HOME?

YES.  Qualified buyers will only be required to put down $100 to purchase a HUD home.

YES.  If you use an FHA 203k loan you can also include all necessary repairs and improvements in the loan amount,

YES. You will receive a $1,000 sales allowance if you go under contract in the first 30 days that a property is on the market.  This is not available for investors. 

What is the Process for Buying a HUD HOME?

• Get pre-qualified for a loan.
• Get a qualified and approved real estate Broker to represent you. HUD REQUIRES YOU HAVE A BROKER.  So get a good one.
• Go and see the properties that meet your needs and review the Property Condition Report provided on line for every HUD property.
• Review the sales contract and forms on line and discuss them with your Broker.
• Have your Broker submit your offer on line.
• Have your Broker execute and deliver the signed contract and earnest money to the designated asset management company within two days.
• Conduct your inspection.
• Prepare to close 45 days after contract on a regular FHA loan or 60 on a 203K loan.

So, you have an adjustable rate mortgage, what to do, what to do?

A lot of consumers took advantage of low mortgage rates five years ago by taking out an adjustable rate mortgage.  These mortgage loans, generally fixed for 3 years or 5 years, 7 years or 10 years, allowed consumers to save thousands of dollars in interest by having an interest rate below the rate of a fixed rate mortgage.

For example, on a $300,000 mortgage, in November of 2004, you could get a 5/1 ARM (principle and interest payments) at 4.5%.  The comparable 30 year fixed rate loan at the time was around 5.375%, giving the adjustable rate mortgage a monthly savings of $159 per month . . . or $9,540 over the first 60 months (5 years fixed term).  Saving $10,000 is good, not toxic, or exotic, or evil as the media has vilified ARMs; a $10,000 savings is a good thing.   In fact, in 2004, Alan Greenspan agreed that savings thousands of dollars is a good thing, stating that ”American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage.” (source: usaToday.com here). 

My prediction — the NEXT big headline against the mortgage industry (give it 12 to 24 months to materialize) will deal with consumers with ARM’s NOT refinancing to fixed rate mortgage when rates were at an all time historic low (ala, now).  The media will likely talk about how confused consumers, not fully understanding the terms of their risky exotic mortgage  . . . (breathe, 1, 2, 3 . . . more on that next time).

So, for any consumer who HAS recently refinanced their ARM in to a fixed rate mortgage, EVEN if you spent $6,000 in closing costs to refinance, you have still saved $3,540 when compared to the 5.375% fixed rate mortgage you could have started with.  And, in addition to that savings, you now have a rate in the high 4’s, where if you would have still have had the 5.375%, you may have just kept it, because the difference between the two is probably not enough to warrant the refinance (an additional $115 in savings per month). 

So why are consumers NOT refinancing out of their ARMs in to historically low fixed rate mortgages??  For some it is because they can not refinance their mortgage (low appraised values, loss of income, 2nd mortgage unwilling to subordinate).  But for others, it is because their interest rate has actually gone DOWN.

Continuing with the example above, with a start rate at 4.5% in November of 2004 (lets also assume the ARM in the example is based on the LIBOR index with a 2.25% margin) . . . in November of 2009 at the time of adjustment, the LIBOR index was around 1.95%, which means that the interest rate would adjust to (index + margin), 1.95% + 2.25% = 4.25%.   Assuming this loan is a standard conventional principal and interest ARM, the rate of 4.25% would now be fixed for 12 months, and the payment would go down by $45 per month . . . even more savings!  If your interest rate were to adjust today (February 2010), because the LIBOR index is even lower, the rate would adjust down to 3.25%!

And WHY IN THE WORLD would anyone pay $6,000 in closing costs to refinance out of a 3.25% interest rate??

Here’s why:

1 — Historically low rates will (will) [will] (will) come to an end.  Economist agree that interest rates WILL go up — how quickly and how high is certainly up for discussion.  The Feds program to purchase mortgage -backed securities (MBS)  is ending March 2010 (next month) and supply and demand tells us that rates will go up.  The Feds are providing the demand for purchasing MBS, with them stepping out, the demand will go down, prices will go down, and when prices go down, mortgage rates go UP.

The Feds announced their MBS purchase program in November 2008 and look what happened to rates immediately.

2 — Your next adjustment will be UP (very likely).

Most people assume that when the Feds “raise rates” that mortgage interest rates go up.  While this is sometimes true, the Feds actually move an internal banking rate known as the Federal Funding rate.  While the Fed’s Fund rate is not tied directly to mortgage rates, it does track with the LIBOR index.  And as the Feds “raise rates” the LIBOR index will follow.  The 5 year average for the 12 month LIBOR index is 3.9.  Using this as an assumption of where it might stand a year from now, 3.9% index + 2.25% margin = 6.15%.  Taking the scenario above, and your payment from 3.25% to 6.125% just went UP more than $500 per month! 

3 — Refinancing now is better than refinancing later (likely).

Instead of an increase of $500 per month (3.25% to 6.125%), that $300,000 mortgage could be refinanced at 4.75% = an increase in payment of $260 per month from 3.25%, but a savings of $257 when compared to 6.125%.  Assuming the closing costs are $6,000 to refinance now, and assuming that the following year (2011) the ARM would stay around the 6.125% (which may be the BEST case scenario), the closing costs on a new refinance would take 23 months to recoup.  Which means, assuming that you are going to stay in your current home for more than 2 years from today, you should refinance . . . you should refinance, now . . . unless you think interest rates will go lower . . . which they aren’t . . . so you shouldn’t think . . . so you should . . . refinance. 

You’ll be glad you did . . . wishing I knew the emoticon for “call me.” 

With the continuing decline of home values many homeowners are now reviewing their property tax assessments.  These reviews are resulting in a growing concern to see if their property tax assessments are in line with the true current value of their home. For those of us wondering where our stimulus is, this could be a place to look. 

First of all here is a little information on the recent changes on property tax assessments.  Governor Sonny Perdue signed a bill into law, effective May 5, 2009, that holds assessed property values at no higher than their current levels, until January, 2011.  Georgia Senator Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), the Senate sponsor of House Bill 233, was quoted as saying, “This new law will provide much-needed stability for Georgia taxpayers.  The broken property tax system has not recognized the reality of the market.”  This bill prohibits increases in assessment values on all classes of property subject to ad valorem taxation from January 1, 2009 through the second Monday in January of 2011.  This bill does not prohibit corrections of any manifest, factual error or omission in the valuation of the property by tax officials pursuant to current Code.  Even though the new tax law caps current property values for the purposes of taxation, it does allow for the value of property, and subsequently its tax assessment, to be decreased.  

Also, Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), that represents 502 municipal governments in the state of Georgia, issued a News Release about HR1, a proposed Constitutional Amendment to cap annual property assessment increases.  If HR1 passes in the House and the Senate it will be voted on by Georgia residents in 2010.  HR1 would cap annual assessment increases on residential and non-residential property at 3 percent or the rate of the Consumer Price index (CPI), whichever is less, beginning in 2011.

• Improvements to the property would be assessed at fair market value and added to the capped value.
• In the event that the property was sold or transferred, the property would be assessed for tax purposes at no more than the fair market value, which is defined as no more than the sales price of the property in an arm’s length transaction. 

GMA has historically had concerns about artificial limitations on increases in the assessed values of property.  Assessment caps artificially suppress the taxable value of property that does not change ownership, resulting in owners of similar properties paying tremendously disparate property taxes.  For example in Columbus, which has had an assessment “freeze” on homestead property for more than a quarter of a century, over 16,000 property owners pay less than $50 in local government property taxes, while newer residents in similar properties may pay upwards of $2000.  There are numerous unintended consequences of implementing an assessment cap.

• Since many local government costs are beyond the control of the local officials, local governments could be forced to raise millage rates in order to provide the services demanded by voters.
• Increased millage rates combined with a suppressed digest due to assessment caps would likely result in higher than normal taxes on new property owners.
• In states with assessment caps, the caps have proven to be a disincentive to purchasing a larger home as families grow, as well as to downsizing during retirement.
• Given the current housing crisis, the last thing that home buyers and new business need is a higher tax burden compared to their neighbors.

Although property taxes are under the purview of each county tax assessor, the state of Georgia Department of Revenue has a website to answer and help with all property tax questions and requests.  If you are still unclear about your next step we encourage you to read Brent Warren’s article, Apprealing Your Property Tax Value, and Robert Koppes article, When to Consider an Appraiser.  We make these suggestions:

1. One of the first things is to get a market analysis for homes similar to yours in your particular subdivision or within a one mile radius of your property.  We can easily pull this information for you.
2. Another piece of information we can provide through Realist tax service is a list of the comparable homes in your subdivision listing their assessed tax values and the annual tax.
3. Consider getting a property appraisal for your property.

Each day the question is asked, “What are you seeing in the market, and what do you expect in the coming months?”  And month by month, the answer continues to be more clarified by what we are seeing in the market place.  January Results seem to further indicate that the road to real estate recovery will be a long one.  

Closings 

Last year the total number of closings in January was the lowest since 2001. That has changed and January 2010 has logged the lowest number of closings since 2001.  NOT ENCOURAGING.

There were a total of 2,604 closings for all single family units in January 2010.  This was a decrease of 8.9% from the previous year. 

Of these closings 2,222 were single family detached homes.  This represented a decline of 11.5% from the prior year. 

We are still seeing approximately half or more of all single family homes fail to close each month.  This is further indication of the stricter underwriting guidelines and the poor condition of many properties. 

Average Sale Prices 

One bright spot in the market was average sales prices for single family detached homes increased by 5.4% from January 2009. 

The average for single family attached units was $142,600 which is a decrease of 8.1% from January 2009.  This is the lowest average sales price since January 2000 at which time it was $139,750.  We expect this to continue through the year as we expect to see thousands of foreclosed, new construction condos come on the market.   THIS YEAR COULD BE THE YEAR TO BY A CONDO. 

Comments 

Please beware that several key factors await us in the coming months.  First the government has all but exhausted funds allocated for buying Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS).  This has been a key component in keeping interest rates low.  Secondly, the tax rebate is set to expire.  In order to take advantage of the rebate YOU MUST BE UNDER CONTRACT BY APRIL 30^, 2010 and you must close before JUNE 30, 2010.

One of the homes we bought recently showed signs of an elevated crack in the lower level slab floor.  Unfortunately it was covered by 1970’s shag carpet so we were unable to really examine it until after we closed and the owners moved out.  It was at this time, under the watchful eye of an engineer that we realized the extent of the problem.  The slab had been poured on top of un-compacted fill dirt, and had no rebar attaching to the poured wall foundation; nor was it poured so that it was supported by the foundation walls. NOT GOOD NEWS.  

THE SOLUTION provided by the engineer was to remove approximately one half of the slab.  This was accomplished by cutting the slab loose in the places that had it wedged so that we could bust it up and remove it through a lower level window.  This we did under the direction of the engineer.  When the final cut was made the entire slab dropped approximately 18”.  The impact shook the entire neighborhood when it dropped to the ground beneath it.  The pour guy standing on it when the final cut was made felt the slab drop from under him as he too dropped 18”.

The moral of this true story is whatever we fill our lives with, or attach ourselves to we should make sure that it will provide the necessary support; because if we don’t it will crack, and when it does it will shake our foundation and affect those around us. 

Automated Valuation Models (AVM’s) have become prominent on the internet over the past few years.  As an appraiser, I have been asked many times, “Why did the appraisal come in lower (or higher) than these AVM’s?”

To give an answer to this question you must consider where all this information is coming from.  For the most part these “figures” are derived from tax records and/or Multiple Listing Services (MLS systems) and in some cases the information used is gleaned from appraisers’ files.  When accessing these services, some AVM’s give options to help narrow down the fields utilized for the calculations.  Most AVM’s include your zip code, the number of bedrooms and the number of bathrooms you may have.  Other AVM’s (the better ones) give you more options such as being able to limit the comparables utilized for the calculations to a specific neighborhood and take into account if a home has a basement, pool, etc. While these do help to give a better value, none of these AVM’s takes into account the condition of the house, size (GLA), any additions that may or may not have been made, the size of the lot, or any of the many factors that an appraiser takes into consideration.  Some of the values given by AVM’s can be off as much as 15% or $37,500 +/- on a $250,000 home.  In most cases, AVM’s use all the sales found and do not consider the date of the sale (I have seen sales in excess of 2 years old used in AVM’s and we all know how the market has changed in the past 2-3 years) or if the sale was a “arms length transaction” (typical sale) or a distress sale.  All these factors play a part in the determination of the most probable sale value for a home.  Please remember that these AVM’s are computer models and are only are as good as the information put into the program.  No computer model can replace a personal walk through of the home and the consideration of the many factors that an appraiser takes into account when performing an appraisal.

We have all seen computer models used on TV to predict the weather and we have all seen the results of these models being wrong.  The same applies for AVM’s.  On my own home these AVM’s give figures of $22,000 to $60,000 over the actual value.  This is due to the AVM’s using a whole zip code area for their calculations.  In my case, there have been several $500,000 to $1,000,000+ sales in my zip code area.  All these sales are factored into their equations (even though my home is not worth those amounts) but I do have the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms and therefore they were included in the AVM’s resulting value for my home.

In conclusion, having an appraiser do a physical walk through of your home and property will give the appraiser a chance to view all the different influences (good and bad) and utilize all these influences to answer the question, “What is my home worth?”

Should you have a need for an appraisal now or in the future, give us a call! We are here to help and give a realistic value of your home so that you can truly make an informed decision for your needs.

Appearances can be deceptive.  What looks clean and safe might not be.  There are obvious exceptional hazards and risks of exposure to intense toxins that are regulated by OSHA, EPA and other environmental agencies.  But that’s not the concern here. What you are more likely to do battle with, are the common place offenders which degrade the daily quality of life and over the years of constant exposure can affect your health and in extreme cases, even threaten to kill.

The reality is that today we spend the majority of our time inside buildings and automobiles.  For better or for worse, there has been a dramatic lifestyle shift in the last century. The 1930 US Census date showed that as much as 80% of Americans lived on farms at that time. But in 1950, 80% of the population was now residing in cities.  This large and rapid shift to urbanization meant that we changed much of our working environment from outdoors to indoors.  Today, people in industrialized countries spend more than 90 percent of their lives inside buildings, equivalent to over 65 years of the average life.

For infants, the elderly and persons with chronic diseases, that percentage of time indoors may be even higher. Full time homemakers and small children may spend over 21 hours per day inside the home, with another 2.5 hours inside other buildings like stores or offices, or in transit vehicles.

Children are more vulnerable to toxic vapors simply because of their higher metabolic rates. They breathe in more than twice as much oxygen, and therefore, toxins too, relative to body size, when compared to adults.  They tend to be more active, which increases their breathing rate and for smaller children especially, they usually play close to the floor where the heavier pollutants settle.  The more modern buildings where children go to school are designed today to conserve energy and therefore are more “weatherized”, they have reduced air exchange with the outdoors. 

Today’s design and construction of the homes and buildings we live and work in has changed.  The energy crisis of the 1970’s forced us to conserve fuel and energy.  To increase building energy efficiency, the architects and builders designed these more air-tight buildings that now enclose a tight box of airborne toxins that have nowhere to go but into their occupants lungs.  A tighter home is good from the standpoint of conserving energy but bad in terms of the air quality inside the home.  There is a growing body of scientific evidence to indicate that the air in our homes and other buildings can be more seriously polluted than the outdoor air in even the largest and most industrialized cities.  In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ranked indoor air pollution among the top five most significant environmental dangers to the American public. Their research concluded that indoor air can be two to ten times more polluted than outside air.

According to the American College of Allergists, 50% of all illnesses are either caused or aggravated by polluted indoor air. The National Academy of Science has estimated that 15% of Americans suffer symptoms from indoor air pollution but others have put that figure even higher. One official with the EPA suggested that it is as high as 40%. A subsequent study in the American Journal of Public Health (2002) estimated that each week, 35-60 million U.S. workers have symptoms of illness related to their workplace.

But today many people think that it is the air outdoors that presents us with the greatest risk. However, after more than two decades of solid research, all the facts now point in the opposite direction.  It is actually the air inside our homes, schools, offices, hospitals, factories and other buildings, that is truly the most harmful.  Now that we’ve created this “toxic soup” indoors, an entire industry called the IAQ ( Indoor Air Quality) Industry, has been built.  When considering indoor air quality and how we are affected by it when it is polluted, seven components of indoor air quality must be considered. 

1.  Particulates
2.  Odors
3.  Chemical gases
4.  Biological contaminants
5.  Temperature
6.  Relative humidity
7. Comfort level in the environment

Next month we’ll begin to look at each of these and evaluate them as a group as we take a look at the total problem and its solution.

With the regular flow of foreclosures into the market place prices continue to be impacted and appraisals are often times coming in lower that the contract price.  In previous articles, which can be accessed under the Appraisal category of our blog we have addressed how to approach these issues from the appraisal perspective.  We will now look at additional alternatives to resolving low appraisals.

Contracting Basics

Always include an Appraisal Contingency in your agreement.  This spells out the basic guidelines for resolving low appraisals.  Our state approved and most widely used GAR contracts provided an Appraisal Contingency Exhibit that when used will provide the following terms and conditions regarding low appraisals. 

1.  Provided the buyer submits a copy of the appraisal and an amendment requesting the seller reduce the price to the appraised value within the number of days provided to do so; the seller would be provided a set number of days to respond by reducing the price. The number of days may be as few as one or may extend to the date of closing. In the event the seller accepts the amendment to reduce the price the matter is resolved.

2.  In the event the seller does not agree to lower the price, the BUYER if convinced that the appraisal is low may want to have their lender order another appraisal?  It is a good idea to determine in advance of the second appraisal who will pay for it and what role it will have in resolving the question of sales price.  This should be in writing.

3.  If the second appraisal comes in low also, and the seller will not reduce the price, and the BUYER still wants the house, then consider the following. 

4.  Negotiate with the seller to arrive at a sales price that more accurately reflects the value of the property.  If done prior to having the second appraisal done merely reflect the change in an amendment.

5.  Come up with the extra cash needed to make up the difference between the sales price and the appraised value. 

6.  If cash is a problem request that the seller hold a second mortgage for the difference and work out a payment plan that will not adversely affect your debt to income qualifying ratios.  Quarterly, semi-annual or annual payments are options.

7.  If the seller does not want to hold the mortgage then ask your agent or broker to buy the note from the seller or call us.  The seller can then sell the note for an agreed upon amount and receive all their cash at closing.  The buyer would then make payments to the holder of the note.

This approach will only work with conventional loan types where a buyer is putting at least 10% down. 

8.  And don’t forget; you can always terminate the contract and see how the seller responds to that.  In the end you may get more mileage from this approach that from any other.

We are here to help.  Your comments are welcome.

Although the year ended on a positive note as a result of the ending and reinstatement of the Down Payment Rebate portion of the stimulus package the annual numbers are not very good.  Annual numbers are more reflective of volume and prices from 1999-2001.

Closings 
There were a total of 622 closings for all single family attached units in December 2009, which is an increase of 20.3% over December 2008.

There were 3,357 closings in December for single family detached homes, which was a decrease of 3.9% compared to December 2008.

There were 52,474 closings for all single family units in 2009 which was a decrease of 4.6% from 2008.  Far below the record set in 2006 of 81,071 units and equal to total units sold in 2001. 

Average Sale Prices
The average sales price for all single family attached units in December was $155,819 which is a 7.9% decrease over December 2008. The last time the average for single family attached units was this low was in February 2001. 

The average for single family attached units was $202,135 in December which is unchanged form December 2008, but is $82k lower than the all time high in 2007.

The average price for all single family units in 2009 was $190,682, which was 14% below 2008 numbers and $64k lower that the all time high reached in 2007.  The last time we saw average sales prices this low was in 1999.

For the year the detached units were down 1.8% and attached units were down 14.9%.

Comments
The extension of the Tax Rebate and the government keeping rates artificially low are the bright spots in the market.  Hopefully our employment numbers will improve.

On January 1, 2010, the new standardized (nationalized) Good Faith Estimate went in to mandatory use.  The intent of the form was to create a standard disclosure for all mortgage providers – better allowing consumers to shop for a mortgage, make comparison of loan options, closing costs, etc.  In the first sense (to create a single standardized form), the new Good Faith Estimate has succeeded.  In a few other areas, the new form is a giant headache.  So, to help you understand the new 2010 Good Faith Estimate, here is the good, the bad and, well, what you need to know to avoid getting the previously mentioned headache (the ugly).

First, the good:

• the new form gives a very good summary of loan terms (I honestly think that it should be renamed “A Summary of Loan Terms and a Guarantee of Closing Costs” because that is actually what it is . . . there are only a few items on the form that are actual estimates — other costs must match the costs at closing exactly.  Other details on the GFE answer whether or not the loan has an adjustable rate feature, the possibility of negative amortization, a pre-payment penalty, a balloon payment, and if the lender requires you to have an escrow account.
• the costs on the estimate are categorized and then added together and placed in easy to find boxes.  For example, block A discloses all lender fees as one number = Adjusted Origination Charges 
• the “lender fees” quoted on the Good Faith Estimate (block A) must match at closing.  There are some conditions where the fees can change, but a change in conditions and in fees requires re-disclosure of a new good faith estimate and a three day waiting period before closing can occur.  Thankfully, the low-life business of mortgage bait-and-switch is dead (mostly).
• the interest rate (locking-in the rate) are clear and in writing — basically putting a time-line on how long the current offer is available.  Good idea, but a bit of a headache (read on to find out why)
• fees from required service providers (credit report, flood certification) are clearly outlined
• fees that consumers are able to shop for (title services and closing fees) are put in to a different line

Now, on to the bad:

• customers want to know “What are my total closing costs?”  On most previous Good Faith Estimates, the estimate broke out “closing costs” and “pre-paid expenses”, the new form doesn’t use those two categories.  IF THEY HAD, then consumers could see that the “pre-paid expenses” are going to be the same regardless of who does your mortgage financing (prepaid interest is based on the day you close, tax and insurance escrow are based on your actual tax and insurance amounts).  INSTEAD, the new form has a “Total Estimated Settlement Charges” which totals the “Adjusted Origination Charges” and the pre-paid interest, first year’s insurance and escrow funds.  So, in order to use this figure for any meaningful comparison, consumers need to make sure that each lender they are speaking with is using the same tax and insurance $$ amount. 
• the second thing customers want to know, “How much money will I need at closing?”  Well . . . it’s not on this form.

And the now the ugly:

• the new Good Faith Estimate was created in the hopes of helping consumers shop for a mortgage, but because the form guarantees the interest rate (for a certain time period) and guarantees the closing costs (they must be guaranteed for at least 10 days), and because the closing costs are a product of the interest rate (it’s a whole separate blog post as to why this is really NOT hard to understand), a Good Faith Estimate shouldn’t be given to a consumer until they have completed a loan application . . . so, in order to get 3 or 4 competing quotes, do you need to fill out 3 or 4 loan applications (and provide financial documentation, etc)?
• mortgage professionals are required to issue a Good Faith Estimate within three days after loan application and this should be documented by . . . oops, there’s no signature blank on the new form . . . documented by another form such as a “Good Faith Estimate confirmation of receipt” and then a form to confirm that you got that one, and a form to confirm you got that one (ad nauseum).

So, back to some more good news.  We have created a great tool for walking our clients through the process of getting preliminary figures, through loan application, and through the new Good Faith Estimate and to closing – in a way that keeps the intent of the new form = quote closing costs honestly (don’t hide fees or under quote fees), and quote a real interest rate (not like they do in the newspaper and some places online to get the phone to ring), and then, quite simply . . . keep your word.  Simple, honest, professional is still the key, despite a new, confusing to consumers, 3-page Good Faith Estimate (plus one more page for the itemization of costs, plus the page to confirm receipt of the Good Faith).