MortgagesZ

by Syd Johnson

This bill of rights was laid out by Franklin Raines, President of Fannie Mae on January 15, 2000. The Mortgage Consumer Bill of Rights is a pledge of $2 trillion over 10 years to help consumers gain access to home ownership. It also includes an “Open Book” approach to underwriting where customers can see all of the factors that go into evaluating their creditworthiness and the process of applying for a home loan.

One of the most ambitious parts of this plan is to bring more technology to the Mortgage Industry and reduce their paperwork by over 17%. Less reliance on paper, equals more automated evaluations and quicker loan approvals. This means customers who look for lenders and apply online are definitely at the forefront of the Mortgage industry.

The Basic Tenets of the Mortgage Consumer Bill of Rights

All Americans Have A Right to Access to Mortgage Credit
Fannie Mae hopes to decrease the gap in home ownership between whites and blacks, low income earners and middle class families, and other underserved populations. There are more procedures and practices in place to prevent predatory lending, fraud and discrimination. You can be assured that you can find a lender that will approve and finance your loan even if you are not extremely wealthy or you don’t have perfect credit.

Consumers have a right to the lowest-cost mortgage for which they qualify.
Fannie Mae is chartered as a private company to hold down the costs of mortgages. Their strategy is to offer mortgage products that allow lenders to qualify more home buyers for low cost conventional financing. There are mortgage programs to allow lenders to serve the needs of first time home buyers, women, minorities, rural and inner city residents, singles and more. One of their most popular packages is the Timely Rewards Program. If you have less than ideal credit, you can qualify for mortgage rates that are up to 2% lower than the sub-prime market, and the rate can be reduced another 1% if you make all of your loan payments on time for the first 24 months.

Homeowners have a right to know the true cost of a mortgage
Customers have a right know the true cost of their mortgage. There are many components that make up a mortgage package, each with its own variable cost. Make sure that you know what is in your package and the exact dollar amounts before you close on your home loan. Some of the items are down payments, interest rates, points, closing fee, appraisal costs and insurance payment for the first month.

To encourage this open practice nationwide, Fannie Mae has created a True Cost Calculator. Customers can enter their information and see what the true total cost will be for their mortgage, and their options for saving some money.

(more…)

By Jason

Ever wonder how lender’s come up with the rates they do? You can stop wondering, cause I’m going to tell you how. We all answer to a higher mortgage rate power, namely the secondary market. The secondary market is where Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other mortgage lenders ply their trade. These government founded agencies purchase the loans that lenders make, then either hold them in their portfolios, or bundle them with other loans into mortgage-backed securities. Those securities are then sold to mutual funds, Wall Street firms, and other financial investors who trade them the same way they trade other securities and bonds.

As a result investors, rather than mortgage brokers and bankers, are in control of the rates. When economic news suggests the economy is heating up, investors demand higher yields from the lenders. This happens because they don’t want to buy low yield bonds now, in case the Fed raises rates to cool the economy, which would mean they will make higher yield bonds later. The only way that lenders can get their loans sold in this situation is to raise the yields they offer investors. In turn, this drives the rates higher for consumers.

The same thing happens in reverse when it looks like the economy is cooling. Investors start clamoring for bonds, because they figure the Fed will have to cut interest rates in the future in order to get the economy going moving along again. If the investors wait, they’ll end up with lower yielding bonds. Since investor demands are so strong, lenders who control loan supply can offer lower yields. The result is a lower rate for consumers.

(more…)

by Cindy Morus

Of course, these don’t have to be done in any particular order!
Just pick one or two that particularly apply to your situation.

Create your 2004 filing system. This might include new file folders, a new box to hold them or space in a filing cabinet with easy access.

Set up a folder to collect all the important 2003 tax documents which will be arriving soon. Sure to arrive at your house are W-2s, 1099s, mortgage statements, etc.

Set up an appointment with your tax professional early so you get the appointment of your choice. This also gives you a deadline to get your information ready! If you’re self-employed, the next quarterly estimated tax payment will be due on January 15.

Review last year’s investments especially in your 401(k), IRA’s etc. Find out what financial planning resources your company or 401(k) plan administrator offers and set up an appointment to talk to them. For non-company portfolios, talk to your investment advisor. You have until April 15 to make contributions to IRA type accounts (check with your tax preparer for eligibility).

What about Quicken or Microsoft Money? If you don’t use software to balance your checkbook, pay your bills and keep track of your savings and investments, this is a great time of the year to get started. My personal favorite is Quicken and for small businesses, you might consider Quicken Home and Business. If you are a small business with Payroll needs, check out QuickBooks.

Medical Insurance reimbursements. If you haven’t submitted all your medical bills to your insurance provider, now is the time to do so.

Will and Estate Planning. No one likes to think about dying, but the best thing you can do for your family is to make sure they are taken care of by creating a will and making sure you have adequate life insurance. Think how easily you’ll sleep knowing you have provided for your family even if you are no longer there.

(more…)

by Lee Dobbins

Moving is a chaotic and stressful time. There’s so many things to arrange, having utilities switched, signing up the kids for a new school, scheduling the movers, packing the house. With all the other things you do it’s not easy to find the time to get everything done!

Using a checklist of tasks, can help keep you organized and make sure you don’t leave out an important moving task. I suggest that you start the list well in advance – a month or more before the move. Just jot a few things down and then leave the list on the kitchen counter or fridge where everyone can see it. As you think of new things to add, write them down right away or it might be too late when you think of them again!

As the time for the move grows closer, you may want to transfer the list to a calendar format. Some of the items like notifying the phone company, will be things you can do in advance so you can assign those a date and then each day check the calendar to see what tasks need to be done. Cross off those that you have accomplished and you can easily see what is left to do. This method also works well if you are delegating some of the items on the list – you can add the name of the person responsible next to the task and this will avoid any last minute “but I though you were going to do that….” problems.

When the day of the move comes, you’ll probably still have plenty left on your to do list so make sure that it’s the last thing you pack up on your way out and the first thing you unpack at your new home. You’ll probably need to add tasks that are specific to your situation, but some common items on your to do list might include:

(more…)

by Kaitlin Carruth

Purchasing a silver charm is just one of the ways that you can help support autism research. Autism is a brain disorder that affects one’s ability to communicate and associate with others normally. Symptoms are usually detected in the first three years of life. Autism affects about 1 out of every 166 people in the United States; however, there is currently very little information about autism. Cure Autism Now (CAN) is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to increasing the quantity and quality of autism research in order to find better treatments. If you are searching for a way to help, there are several different ways, including: purchasing one of the organization’s silver charm bracelets, participating in a WALK NOW event, becoming a corporate partner, starting your own fundraiser, or making a monetary donation.

Silver charm bracelets are now available through the CAN website to raise more money for autism research. Each silver charm bracelet comes with a silver charm heart. For an extra donation, you may also receive five additional silver charms with different designs (a boy, a girl, a cross, a peace sign, and a Star of David). This silver charm bracelet was designed by actress Rene Russo, an honorary board member of CAN. The charm bracelet is also available in gold along with other accessories that will help benefit CAN with your purchase.

In addition to the silver charm bracelet, one can support CAN by participating in a WALK NOW event. WALK NOW is a 5 K (just over 3 miles) walk to raise money and provide awareness for autism. At each WALK NOW event there is an information center where parents and others can learn more about autism and what the current research has found. There are also arts, crafts and other activities to keep the children entertained. There are several WALK NOW events every year in different locations to give a chance for everyone to participate.

Another way to help CAN is to become a corporate partner. CAN is always looking for corporate sponsorship. Some of CAN’s current corporate partners include Johnson and Johnson, RBC Mortgage, and MBNA America. If you have a company that would like to become a corporate partner, CAN would truly appreciate any help you can offer.

(more…)