Temecula CA home loans, real estate loans, home finance information – George Moring

mortgagewithgeorge Blog

Credit Scores and "internet" Credit Reports

February 4th, 2010 10:56 AM

This conversation comes up often with people that have credit score monitoring or have received a credit report form one of the ever-popular online credit services.

Q: wondering which credit company you use for pulling reports. I have mine direct from transunion but other lenders have me at 60 points lower than the FICO I have here from transunion which is updated...thanks

1: Time differences. Small changes can mean a lot to a credit score. For example some people charge on a credit card all month long and then pay it off every month. The balance reported when we pull the credit report VS when you do can have a significant impact. Balances over 30% of the limit start to impact you, over 50% it hits it pretty good and getting anywhere over the 75% level will really change the scores a lot. These changes can happen only days from one credit pull to another.

2: Score variances. All mortgage lenders will use all three bureaus, Equifax, Transunion and Experian (the old TRW). Each of them use their own model of score and they use different variables to create their score model so that can create differences in scores alone. We all use the middle of the 3 scores so if your TU one is the highest it gets thrown out anyways. To add to it, there are some credit cards/loan/collections that only report to one or two of the bureaus. For instance, I have seen a couple collections only reported to one of the bureaus, and that will significantly reduce that score. Viceversa, you may have good credit that is only reported to one bureau and the other scores don't use that item in their calculation. The most well known score is the FICO, and like "Kleenex" it has become the branded word for a credit score.

3. Credit score estimates. The most common source of this issue is that the website type credit reports actually do not pull the true credit scores from the vendors. In order to save money they have tried to come up with their own calculation models for the credit scores. The three big guys keep their models a complete secret and only leak out little tips, but nobody is privy to the actual calculations they use. I have personally talked to many people about this situation and several have researched it further to verify that the score used is a "FICO representative score", not an actual one. Unfortunately the score models are constantly being tweaked to represent the current economic conditions so there is no way for a model to exactly replicate the real scores and keep up with their changes. Directly from the Transunion website "These scores may evaluate your credit report differently in order to match the company's specific lending guidelines. Consumer credit scores that you can purchase online use formulas that approximate the most common credit scoring algorithm."

I would think that one of these would be the issue. If you want to discuss it further or your lending needs feel free to contact me at the number below. Whether or not the 60 points is affecting your rate or the chances of getting a loan is another question we can discuss too.

Posted by George Moring on February 4th, 2010 10:56 AMPost a Comment (0)

FHA changes, Rate fluctuations, Happy New Year!

January 21st, 2010 11:15 AM

George Moring Rate update- Over the last week rates stayed pretty consistent with just a little improvement overall. Stay dry, it's another wet one. January 21 at 10:21am

George Moring Three reasons why these first few months are going to be a great time to buy:
Changes coming from HUD http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/19/real_estate/fha_loan_requirements/index.htm

home-buyer tax credit going away (offer accepted by 4/30)

fed's planned backing out of the mortgage buying market (rates expected to rise) http:...//online.wsj.com/article/SB126291088200220743.html January 21 at 10:41am

Harder to get an Uncle Sam mortgage

money.cnn.com

Looking to shore up its weakening finances, the Federal Housing Administration is imposing stricter standards. The agency, which insured nearly a third of home purchases in 2009, will increase the premium ...

George Moring It is true, FHA is removing their 90 day flip rule temporarily starting 2/1/10. Not clear what exactly has to happen after 2/1/10, but assume that contracts written after that date. The only stipulation is that if the sales price increases by more than 20% of the "seller's acquisition cost" then a second appraisal with an "appropriate explanation of the increase" and home inspection are needed. Tue at 11:29am

George Moring

questions on the language- You bet, it is HUD. What exactly can be counted in the sellers acquisition, and what is an appropriate explanation of the increase in sales price. Hud just released this last Friday so now we will see how the investors interpret it.

Tue at 11:31am ·

George Moring A real tragedy happened in financing late last year. The last major investors pulled out of manufactured home financing within a 2 week period of eachother. When it happened in November they said it may be temporary, but nothing new yet. Yes this does affect the 433 foundation manufactured homes. Any sources that anyone knows of would be helpful to me. January 15 at 12:00pm

George Moring Rates did a little improving this last week, but not catching up to those low levels of a few weeks ago. Rate guru's are putting out their predictions for the year. With a turbulent environment it is no surprise that expert opinions range from "staying about where we are in the low 5% range" to "seeing fundamental changes over the year that will see rates in the high 6% or even 7%" (I paraphrased, not exact quotes). January 12 at 12:21pm

George Moring Any lenders out there? This new GFE is gonna be fun. who ever thought that giving a borrower less information was better?? In the words of my wise mentor I have to ask ask: What is HUD spelled backwards? January 5 at 1:37pm

George Moring I wish everyone a Happy New Year Celebration! Also, to keep you updated- Rates have been performing HORRIBLE the last week and a half. We are way off the lows of 2009 at this point. Have buyers complaining that their rates went up? Make sure your recommended Loan Officer has their finger on the pulse and doesn't just "hope" for improvements. December 31, 2009 at 10:21am

George Moring FHA delays their version of HVCC (the appraisal lottery, we can't choose our own expert appraiser rule). It was set for 1/1/09, but has been extended to 2/15/2010. The conventional rule started a year ago has been blamed for longer closing periods, more expensive fees and frustration from buyers, agents and lenders. Hopefully FHA is reconsidering the rule. December 23, 2009 at 11:14am

George Moring Rates have been on a bad path this last week. Mainly due to being overbought, so lots of profit taking from the bond market and MBS, and putting the money in the stock market (so I read). We did lose about .25 in rate this last week so when the "avg rates" come out (based on last weeks rates) it'll already be old news. Have a great rest of the week. December 22, 2009 at 1:06pm

Posted by George Moring on January 21st, 2010 11:15 AMPost a Comment (0)

Happy Thanksgiving! and Early December 2009, Five year fixed rates very low.

December 15th, 2009 10:21 AM

George Moring rates overall on a negative path last week (good news on unemployment and consumer confidence). Little advice: Always discuss tax laws with a professional (not an agent or Lender). Think the first time credit is pretty simple? Did you know that if the buyer is a dependant on someones taxes they can't get it??? That's tax law for you! December 14 at 11:58am

George Moring what a beautiful weekend to lead us into rain today. Gotta work anyways right, might as well be raining. Rates trended a little worse this last week, but still in those low ranges, certainly nothing to complain about.

George Moring What a crazy month November was! Rates are awesome right now and we now have a source with 5 year fixed in the mid 3% range! Maybe we forget too soon???? Jumbo's have also gotten much better, but NO, stated income is not on the radar at all. December 1 at 11:35am

George Moring Is the month over already? That is how you have to work these last few days, huh. How many people do you think want to close before the 4-day weekend? yep, everyone! Sorry to say, but there are gonna be some bottlenecks at every stage (especially the banks as sellers, probably all taking the week off). November 20 at 2:21pm

George Moring Just checked out if a condo was VA eligible. It is easy, and a public site, fill in the info on this site http://condopudbuilder.vba.va.gov/2.2/frames.html but it is a little quirky, like willowhaven won't show up because it is willow haven so I can check them for you if you want to make sure. Also, all these faceboo...k posts are copied to my website http://www.mortgagewithgeorge.com/MyBlog in case you wanted to find something like this in the future.

Posted by George Moring on December 15th, 2009 10:21 AMPost a Comment (0)

Updated 11/16/2009 Rates, first time buyer program EXTENDED!

November 16th, 2009 4:25 PM

George Moring Rates have been doing well the last few days. Making a run towards those ulta low levels at this point. Great time to buy a home.... for those that fit the paramaters. November 16 at 3:41pm

George Moring Loan limits were announced by FNMA today, and they will remain the same at 417k for 1 unit (they go up for multiple units up to 4). The high cost loan limits will also remain in available for 2010, 500k in Riv. county and 729,750 four our highest cost areas (OC, SF, etc.) No surprise here, but at least they didn't go DOWN! Fri at 1:58pm

George Moring WOW, those rates continue to stay low. Again, an excellent opportunity for those that CAN get into a home. Great price, great rates, possible tax refunds. No wonder we have so many buyers! Also, today is beautiful, enjoy it, cause 11/10/09 will only happen once. November 10 at 1:12pm

George Moring All you agents know the FTHB (First Time Home Buyer) tax credit was officially extended. Devil is in the details, and there are a lot of them. Best advise is to have a good article or link to give your buyers, and DON'T tell them they will or will not get it. Lots of gray areas when there are co-borrowers, move up buyer time frames and income limits (that just changed!). November 6 at 2:25pm

George Moring I think I missed my rate update last week. Anyways, they have been slowly improving so getting down to those low levels again. Under 5.0 is within reach for just a % of a discount point to the best borrowers out there. Big news again is the unemployment this friday. Fed meeting today was as expected. November 4 at 4:15pm

George Moring hears all the buzz about the first time buyer program these last few days. I sure hope it get's extended, take some pressure off these "almost approved" short sales in the pipeline. Positive thoughts everyone. October 29 at 2:10pm

George Moring Those rates sure are wild this week. Still nice and low (up from the very lowest), but very volitile. October 21 at 6:01pm

Posted by George Moring on November 16th, 2009 4:25 PMPost a Comment (0)

10/20/2009- 100% financing, rates, and first time buyer tax credit

October 20th, 2009 11:13 AM

George Moring

We are really getting down to the last days to get an offer accepted for the first time homebuyer tax credit. Remember, it currently expires 11/30/2009. Check out the calendar and you will see 11/30 is a monday, right after Thanksgiving. Loans will have to fund the 25th!! to record the 30th. AAAAHHHH, hope it gets extended!

October 20 at 10:49am

George Moring

Rates have gotten a little worse this last week. Nothing too big, but we may come off the lows and never see them again based on the things I am reading. This link kind of explains why rates were so low this year and why this may not be sustainable. http://moneyfeatures.blogs.money.cnn.com/2009/09/23/whats-really-keeping-mortgage-rates-down/

What's really keeping mortgage rates down? - Personal Finance blog - Money Magazine's More Money

Source: moneyfeatures.blogs.money.cnn.com

Mortgage rates are below 5% again. But they might not stay that way for long — even though the Federal Reserve reaffirmed its ridiculously low, 0% to 0.25% target for the federal funds rate.

October 16 at 12:49pm

George Moring

USDA Rural Housing 100% financing loans are back. Just a couple weeks that they weren't available this year. Still OK in french valley, Menifee, Sun City, and the other "outside areas". Did you know the 2010 census will change the areas? Probably take the whole valley off the eligible list.

October 13 at 11:13am

Posted by George Moring on October 20th, 2009 11:13 AMPost a Comment (0)

10/2/2009 Have questions about these posts? Feel free to call or email me

October 2nd, 2009 11:09 AM

George Moring
It's gotta get worse before it can ge better right, let's hope this is the worst. 236k jobs lost, 175k were expected, 9.8% unemployment rate. Maybe a worse sign was the average workweek and the avg. hourly wage decreasing. Unfortunately these two will need to improve before hiring will start. My thought is that this news leaked yesterday since rates improved mid-day Thursday but have done nothing on the news today.

George Moring
This week will be a heavy hitter for financial news. Tomorrow starts it with consumer confidence, and friday finishes big with the unemployment report. In the middle we just have 2 different manufacturing numbers, GDP (revision for 2nd quarter), Personal income, Spending and Consumption (3 separate numbers)

George Moring

USDA fiscal year ends 9/30/09 and of course congress has not allocated funds for 2010. The USDA offers one of the few 100% financing loans available today. If offer is not accepted and loan submitted, like now, they won't make it. In years past some lenders would close and keep the loans until funding returned, but I don't see that option from my sources.

George Moring
Rates are still hanging on to those low levels. Good news from the FOMC (fed's) yesterday- They will continue the Mortgage Backed Security purchase program through 1st quarter 2010. They will not increase the 1.25T, but spread the remaining sum over a longer period. Smoother transition by slowly wheaning us off that gov't drip of $$.

George Moring Rate update- Rates stayed pretty strong this week with a little more volatility but definately keeping in that lower (not the lowest however) range of the year.

Posted by George Moring on October 2nd, 2009 11:09 AMPost a Comment (0)

Update 9/9/09

September 9th, 2009 3:22 PM

Remove

George Moring check this out. Local Realtor raising money for YMCA pledges to ride his BICYCLE 3,000 miles in September. 100 miles a day! He must ride fast, but it's got to be a few hours on the bike. For those mathmatically challenged, a penny a mile pledge is $30. visit- http://www.ridefortheymca.com/

ridefortheymca.com

Source: www.ridefortheymca.com

Rates have really been on a good trend this week. Stock market losses are homebuyers gains. These are those low ones that spurred major refinancing and bogged down the system a few months back.... get ready for that again! Combine these low rates ...with the first time buyer credit and low prices and and you have a great time for first time buyers- Guess that's why there aren't enough houses on the market!

George Moring
Interest rate note- Rates kind of bounced up and down over the last week with rate changes for better and worse (sometimes both directions in the same day). Overall we ended about the same as last week (low rates compared to last several months). T...his is a market looking for direction basically. I think next months numbers CAN REALLY shake things up if they show signs of growth or improvement in the economy.

Anti flipping rules- All you Agents are aware of the FHA 90 day anti-flipping rule. We have seen a trend lately for VA and conv. to follow that rule. Not all lenders have made a rule yet (options still exist), but if the trend continues (like most... have this last 2 years) we may see that on all loans in the next few months. Keep that in mind while shopping.

George Moring
Feeling a little lost today. Not getting my hourly text messages on the mortgage Backed Securities. overall rates jumped back and forth not gaining either way this week. Tomorrows news is retail sales, the worst part of the economy (the consumer).... Looking at the shopping carts at costo is my indicator- still chicken and milk, remember when every other cart had a giant TV?

Posted by George Moring on September 9th, 2009 3:22 PMPost a Comment (0)

Updated 8/11, economics, rates

August 11th, 2009 5:37 PM

Visit my facebook for more up to date info http://facebook.com/mortgagewithgeorge

George Moring Another beautiful weekend in the valley.... but so many buyers and so few houses. Glad I just run payments and taxes, and feel bad for all you realtors out there in multiple offer situations weekend after weekend. Come-on banks give us some inventory! Yesterday at 11:43am ·

George Moring unemployment numbers today- Very well the biggest impacting report of each month, this one was a surprise. Unemployment rate dipped .1% to 9.4% (breaking a 9 month losing streek) and jobs lost decreased significantly to 247,000. Still negative numb...ers (and heavily debated as to their accuracy) but a positive trend nonetheless. Rates don't like this news but I think an economic recovery is more important! August 7 at 10:58am

George Moring Rate comment- We trended just a little worse again this week. Most buyers will see rates around the mid 5's, up or down depending on loan type credit scores, down payment, temperature outside, and eye color (OK, so joking a bit here). Big repo...rt is certaily unemployment Friday, Current forecasts are calling for the rate to rise 0.1% to 9.6% with 328,000 jobs lost. August 6 at 9:34am

George Moring

Just to add, that unemployment rate (a very flawed report) has been increasing, but the good side is that the better indicator of a turnaround, job losses, have been decreasing over the last few months. The bad numbers have to improve first before we can have good numbers. Like in your car, you can't shift from reverse to forward without slowing down and stopping first.

August 6 at 9:49am

Posted by George Moring on August 11th, 2009 5:37 PMPost a Comment (0)

New source for info

August 4th, 2009 1:22 PM

Well, I found that I am not much of a blogger! I seemed to write way too much, on boring subjects (mortgages) and so much of it only applies to a small percentage of buyers.

I read other blogs around the internet, breaking news that is meaningless until it becomes a reality (how many press conferences has Bush or Obama had in the last 3 years that did NOTHING once the program actually came out)Then you have the satire funny blogs or noninformative advertisement blogs.

I was the way too much information, too long, boring blogger. Yes I will admit it. If you need a good bedtime story read about mortgage nuances written by someone that is very thorough and over-explains things.

Don't get me wrong, I like what I wrote and feel it was very informative and timely to write about but I just don't fit the blogger mold.... or maybe this industry doesn't.

Get to the point- I recently started to use Facebook, and if you haven't used it you might be surprised. I am way behind the curve on this stuff and I was pleased to see my aunts and uncles, cousins and friends posting pictures and stories of what's going on, I had no idea I would actually like it!

I built an account for mortgage info, and you can access it by going to this link Facebook Mortgage Updates you do not have to be a "friend" to view it, but unfortunately their system does require you to log-in.

Otherwise I will take the posts from there and update this blog with them (with a delay of course).

Here is the last week of updates:

George Moring is looking at the silver lining today. Loans are tough in this market, no doubt and we work much harder for each one now. Working right now with someone who pays $1,500 rent and is working on a transaction to put her payment about $1,020 a month WITH taxes, insurance etc. 3.5% down. What an opportunity for so many people out there!Yesterday at 5:28pm

George Moring Rate comment- The market seemed to be looking for direction this week, moving up and down quite a bit on a daily basis but overall staying in the same range. Rates trended slightly worse on the week overall.July 30 at 12:21pm

George Moring Mortgage rates had a fairly stable second quarter but have been very unstable these last 6 weeks or so.
Markets always try to guess ahead, and 2 main factors- Government buying mortgage bond program is halfway through the 1.25 tril and the bad word.. dare I say it... Inflation
See this video by Barry Habib, recognized as an expert in mortgage and housing. http://www.mortgagesuccesssource.com/go/inflation/index.htm

July 28 at 11:47am

George Moring New disclosure rules take affect this week. The forms are not new, but the timeframes and "updated" disclosure rules are. We do an original estimate and send within 3 days like we always have, but if the APR changes by more than .125% (UP or DOWN) it must be re-disclosed, and we cannot draw doc's until 3 days after all buyer's sign. Changes occur often so delays are imminent.

July 27 at 7:46am

George Moring

Putting together my procedures for this new rule and there is an important note for realtors to know- At loan origination no fee can be paid to any party for the transaction until the borrower has seen the disclosures so after 7/30 you must ask your loan officer if it is OK to do home inspections or any other report that the buyer pays for upfront. There is no cure or exception so lenders will not touch any loan with infractions to this rule.

July 27 at 2:15pm

Posted by George Moring on August 4th, 2009 1:22 PMPost a Comment (0)

"George, what exactly do you do?" Purchase transactions Part ONE

February 26th, 2009 10:55 AM

I was asked last week "george, what exactly do you do?" and although I may think it is an obvious answer, it occurred to me that many first time home buyers may have questions about what the lender does in a transaction. What is the separation between an agent, escrow, title, lender, and why do we need so many specialists handling each transaction?

Well, the quick answer is that I help people buy homes by providing the financing for the purchase. Buyers that purchase homes with cash do not need me, but fortunately for me there aren't too many people that have the funds to buy their home available in cash.

What would you expect me to do during your process? Here is a breakdown in somewhat chronological order:

We start with a conversation, basically a pre-qualification that lets me know what type of loan you qualify for and what your choices might be. For many the answer is easy based on down payment or eligibility for specialty financing like VA. For others I may have a choice for you and I will ask some qualifying questions like, how long do you expect to be in the home?, or is a lower payment or lower down payment more important to you?

Once I know our direction I want to establish the needs for a pre-approval. Some complicated borrowers will need to meet with me to accomplish this, other times a quick fax of pay stubs is all I need.

We will discuss the qualifications and set a price range or more importantly a payment range that you are both comfortable with and that I can approve you for. The agent is given a price/payment goal and you are ready to shop.

During the shopping process I like to stay in touch about every 1 to 2 weeks. I always let people know to call with any questions but it seems when I check in there is always a "I've been meaning to ask you....".

If you find a home you like I want to make sure it fits into the pre-approval range we established earlier on. Is there an HOA, are taxes too high, did you wander a little out of your price range. Many times buyers will leave a message and let me know they are interested in a property and I pull up taxes and make sure it meets their goals. A payment calculation is the only way to compare, I have done payments on one house at $220,000 and another on $230,000 and had the $230,000 actually have a lower down payment due to the taxes. (more common than you think really)

When you find the home you want I will do a final pre-approval based on that exact property, and send a pre-approval letter to your agent who will include it with the offer.

At this time we have already discussed payments, time frames, and decided on an offer. Hopefully you are lucky enough to get the first one you try for, but more often than not it may take a few offers before you get one, especially since you are probably offering on "a great home" and other buyers will feel the same. Those "great homes" tend to attract lost of competition.

If you don't get that first one I continue to run payments, answer questions and essentially prepare you for that one you will get.

This part can last a few days or several months. Since education is a big part of this I may talk to a buyer very often as they ask those questions that work associates bring up, or that horror story about their aunt's house or whatever. I get a lot of questions and no matter how strange they may seem they all come from some lending rule or circumstance. Ask away, my biggest concern is that you have assumed someting that may or may not even affect your situation.

I love the questions and every once in a while one stumps me and it gives me the opportunity to research and learn something new.

Part two will bring us through the loan process, so look forward to that next week.

Posted by George Moring on February 26th, 2009 10:55 AMPost a Comment (0)