MY SAFE FLORIDA HOME – The My Safe Florida Home program has spent the majority of its money, despite being short of its target goal of 400,000 free hurricane inspections.
SUBPRIME MORTGAGES – United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the Bush administration remains opposed to any type of government bailout when it comes to dealing with the mortgage crisis. “I think what we need is to help the markets work the way they’re intended to work and avoid those foreclosures that are preventable,” Paulson says.
FORECLOSURES – What’s the primary cause of foreclosures? So far, evidence seems to point to the usual culprits: job loss, sickness and divorce, instead of ARM resets. Data from Countrywide Financial Corp. shows that almost 60 percent of the lender’s loan defaults in the first 10 months of this year were due to customers having their income cut; just under 2 percent resulted from ARM payment adjustments.
IS EVERYBODY HAPPY? – Despite turmoil in the mortgage market in 2007, borrowers’ overall satisfaction with the mortgage lending industry has remained steady since 2006, says J.D. Power and Associates’ 2007 Primary Mortgage Origination Study. The study measures customer satisfaction with application approval, interaction with loan representatives, closing and problem resolution. “While it’s true that borrowers with weaker credit and those seeking larger ‘jumbo’ loans experience longer approval times and requests for more documentation, satisfaction has remained steady among the 75 percent of mainstream borrowers with good credit applying for moderately sized loans,” says Tim Ryan, senior director of the mortgage practice at J.D. Power. The study concluded that consumers were more satisfied when they worked directly with the lender rather than through a broker. It also found that customers who demand clear communication from their lender are more likely to get it. And customers who supply required documentation upon application have a smoother loan process. The overall mortgage lender satisfaction ranking was based on a 1,000-point scale:
Wachovia, 827
SunTrust Mortgage, 818
Bank of America, 760
National City Mortgage, 759
CitiMortgage/Citibank, 753
Chase, 752
Industry Average, 750
Wells Fargo, 749
Countrywide Home Loans, 745
GMAC Mortgage, 744
ABN AMRO Mortgage, 740
American Home Mortgage Corp., 736
WaMu, 733
First Franklin, 595
HOUSING STARTS – Housing construction fell in November and single-family activity dropped to the lowest level in more than 16 years, according to numbers released this morning by the U.S. Commerce Department.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT – Turmoil in local housing markets could move to the rental market in the form of stalled apartment construction, growing number of renters and record-high rents. But many recent investment homebuyers find they still cannot charge enough rent to cover the mortgage.