Mortgage fraud

Today was another tough day in the mortgage world. I had a loan approved at a major lender for a 100% loan on Friday. Today PMI insurers made a change in their guidelines. They will no longer insure 100% loans when the borrowers credit score is less than 575. Unfortunately my borrowers credit score is less than 575 and now they will only loan him 95% instead of the 100% they would on Friday.
It is just another sign of how much the banks are tightening up the credit guidelines.

On another front I had a real estate agent arguing with an appraiser. They had a purchase agreement for $250,000. The appraiser could not find a comp that would support a price of over $235,000. The real estate agent was upset with that answer. When my appraiser asked her what comps she used to set a price on the house, this is what she said. Well I sold a house in that sub over a year ago for $250,000. Do you think she might have been a little smarter and realized that the housing prices in Metro Detroit are falling. (and across the country) She didn't want to tell her seller's that the house was no longer worth the $250,000 they paid for it let alone the $50,000 they put into it. The agent wanted to know if my clients had $15,000 to come to the table with. What did she think that we were stupid. Why would we buy a home that would not comp out. She wanted to use comps from over a mile away and disregard the close ones. That agent wanted my appraiser to commit appraisal fraud or mortgage fraud so she could make a commission. Shame on her!!!!

Don't let an agent do that to you. If an appraiser tells your mortgage guy that the house won't comp out to the purchase price. Either the sales price has to come down or you need to move on and find another home. The buyer's agent was smart enough to do just that. And you can too. There is absolutely no reason to overpay for a home in this market.

For more mortgage information go to http://www.russravary.com

May you work with an honest agent that looks out for your interest.
Russ Ravary

Well the stock market has added to Michigan's woes. Many people have been slammed by falling house prices. For many people their homes were their biggest asset. Michigan home values have fallen as much as 20% in some areas. Along with their 401k and mutual funds it has struck people hard.
Now is the time to buckle down and get down to financial basics. Have you gone through your expenses lately? Do you have extra features on the phone such as call waiting, call forwarding, caller id that you could do without? Can you survive on just basic cable? Have you checked prices on your car and home insurance? A friend of mine Bill Tuccini once told me that his dad used to say " take care of the pennies the dollars will take care of themselves".
Cut up the extra credit cards and live within your means. buy what you can afford. Don't use that home equity for nothing. Change it over into a fixed loan. Start paying down your mortgage.
If you are thinking of moving go to http://www.checkmyhousesvalue.comw/ have a great day.