?Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.? ~ Kurt Vonnegut Last month I suggested here that due to the refinance boom the number of recorded mortgages in our market was headed towards 2004-2005 levels. My prediction was based …
It?s like D?j? Vu all over again! ~ Yogi Berra I certainly didn?t see this coming. A couple of months ago I wrote here that I was optimistic that we?d get a modest increase in refinances to help soften the effect of the expiration of the homebuyer tax credits. Well it turns out that new …
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. ~ Benjamin Franklin Monroe County mortgage originations in May continued at ten year low levels. The national media reports that despite a few signs of improvement, foreclosures continue to be a problem and the housing market is in danger …
??We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!? ~ Doug Adams Trying to figure out what?s in store the next few months for the local mortgage finance industry? Good luck with that! The only certainty is conflicting influences. The spring home purchase market is stronger but will it be offset by expiring federal homebuyer …
Never mistake activity for achievement.? ~ John Wooden In? the? real? estate? finance? business? there?s? still? a? disproportionate? amount? of? energy? being? expended?relative?to?the?number?of?loans?being?made.?Of?that?I?m?certain?after?looking?at?the first?quarter?numbers.?Our?historical?barometer,?mortgages?with?a?stated?amount?between?$50K? and?$500K,?was?only?marginally?better?than?2008?s?dreary?fourth?quarter.?In?fact?the?totals?are? the? smallest? first? quarter? in? the? last? ten? years.? Yet? due? to? new? compliance? and? regulatory? overhead,?we?all?feel?like?we?re?treading?water. As?far?as?the?federal?homebuyer?tax?credits?are?concerned,?there?s?no?evidence?yet?that?they?re? actually?bringing?more?buyers?into?our?market.?A?closer?look?at?the?sales?disclosures?filed?with? the? State? of? Indiana? Department? of? Local? Government? Finance? in? the? …
?Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status.? ~ Laurence J. Peter Thank?you?regulators!?This?month?s?commentary?is?dedicated?to?all?the?fine?state?and?federal?regulatory agencies?whose?actions?kept?me?from?worrying?about?a?decline?in?the?mortgage?market?the?first?two months?of?this?year. Comparing?the?first?two?months?of?2010?to?the?same?period?of?2009?is?surprising.?Dollar?volume?of mortgages?with?a?stated?loan?amount?between?$50,000?and?$500,000?(mortgages?that?typically?represent first?mortgages)?declined?a?whopping?46?percent?from?$123?million?to?$66?million.?That?s?significant. In?fact,it?s?the?slowest?first?two?months?since?the?year?2000?when?only?$50?million?in?mortgages?were?originated. (see?charts) Yes,?the?bureaucrats?made?sure?that?I?was?busy,?even?if?the?market?was?off.??If?the?mental?energy?expended on?compliance?issues?could?be?harnessed,?the?U.S.?Defense?Advanced?Research?Projects?Agency?would?not need?a?LOTS?of?Energy?program. Had?it?not?been?for?the?regulators,?I?d?be?sweating?bullets?worrying?about?silly?little?inconveniences?like payroll?and?rent.?So?instead?of?begging?my?employees?to?bring?back?office?supplies?from?home,?I?m?trying?to understand?and?explain?new?RESPA?rules?and?learn?the?new?software?acquired?to?comply?with?them. Closing?statements?are?being?done?twice?one?way?for?RESPA?and?then?another?way?for?Truth?In?Lending. The?Title?Insurance?Division?(that?s?the?TIEFF?fee?funded?regulator)?of?the?Indiana?Department?of?Insurance is?weighing?in?on?a?myriad?of?customary?title?industry?practices.?Clair?Voyant,?our?vice?president?of?things we?don?t?know,?is?busily?staring?into?her?crystal?balls?trying?to?predict?what?s?coming?from?that?direction. The?names?and?license?numbers?of?all?the?professionals?that?do?work?on?each?residential?file?that?we?close must?now?be?entered?into?a?temperamental?online?state?licensing?data?base?(INREAL).?It?s?supposed?to eliminate?mortgage?fraud.?We?ll?see. Who?d?have?thought?that?I?should?be?worried?about?the?market!?So?here?s?a?big?shout?out?to?the?regulators. Thanks?so?much?for?the?distractions! ~John?Bethell
?Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.? ~ Arnold Bennett Many of us are directing an enormous amount of energy towards understanding and complying with the new RESPA rule changes. The new rule is over 100 pages long. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, the RESPA …
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