Unencumbered by the thought process!

The Sacramento Bee has finally done a story on Loan Modification scams. It's about time... I wish they did the story several months ago before so many people got taken for thousands of dollars in fees.

The national FHA loan limit for HECM will increase from $417,000 to $625,500 (from 100 percent to 150 percent of the conforming limit). HECM loan mortgagors do not undergo the same procedures for credit approval as do mortgagors for forward mortgages. FHA does not deem the credit approval process to be complete until the HECM loan is closed. Therefore, HECM loans closed on or after the date of this Mortgagee Letter are subject to the higher maximum dollar amounts.

In those areas, the maximum claim payable by FHA is 150 percent of the Freddie Mac conforming limits. To avoid potential cases where a claim could be less than the national limit, as adjusted for the special exception areas, HUD had decided not to make the adjustment. Therefore, these few special exception areas will have the same $625,500 limit as all other areas.

FHA will, for a limited time, allow HECM loans that received case number assignments but did not close prior to the effective date of this mortgagee letter to be closed using either the old limit that was used to originally calculate the loan, or the new limits as prescribed herein. An option will be made available in FHA Connection for the lender to choose which rate to use. This option will be available until April 30, 2009.

All the talk about a "mortgage bail-out" makes be think and wonder... and ... I just don't get it.

Didn't Realtors sell homes to people who wanted to buy homes? and didn't banks lend money to those home buyers? and didn't home buyers sign a promise to pay the loans on their homes?

I have always had a dream to purchase a 80' Ketch sail boat... but, I can't afford $1,700,000 - so, it will remain a dream.

Don't people calculate what they can afford for car loans or home loans?

Like I said - I just don't get it... if you can explain it to me - please send me an e-mail

On December 23, 2008, the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and their regulator the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a revised Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), part of their Appraisal Agreement first issued on March 3, 2008. The HVCC would take effect May 1, 2009.

Should the HVCC take effect, lenders will no longer accept any appraisal report completed by an appraiser selected, retained, or compensated in any manner by any third party including mortgage brokers. To view the revised HVCC and Appraisal Agreement, please click here.

This Agreement will shift mortgage business primarily, if not exclusively, to banks, harming consumers by severely limiting competition. Increased appraisal costs will be charged, even though staff appraisers will be paid less. Consumers will see borrowing options curtailed because they receive appraisals that are lower in quality and a less accurate valuation of their housing.

The HVCC severely threatens small businesses and your profession nationwide by preventing mortgage brokers from participating in the independent appraiser process. It is critical for mortgage brokers to maintain an appropriate level of contact with appraisers to ensure appraisal quality and independence. We need to join forces to fight for the consumers and small businesses across America.

The time is NOW to fight this threat. CAMB urges you to support the effort being waged by CAMB and our national representative, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), in three ways:

· Please make a donation towards this fight to ensure your industry’s survival. With your support, NAMB will be taking legal and legislative action. https://www.namb.org/Forms.asp?MODE=NEW&Forms_FormTypeID=-24

· Contact your Congressional Representative, U.S. Senator, and the White House in opposition to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s charging of unnecessary and excessive fees. http://capwiz.com/namb/issues/alert/?alertid=12578401

• Some appraisers are not sure how to get involved in this issue! Call your appraiser when you get this!!!! Share this e-mail with every appraiser you know – the HVCC severely threatens the existence of independent appraisers and small appraisal businesses. Let’s join forces today and keep the HVCC from permanently harming the independent appraisal process.

I must admit... I don't have ANY interest in following the price of my home or the homes in my subdivision. With that said - I was a little shocked when a neighbor placed his home on the market for sale.

So - how do you feel about your home values? I understand that lots of people are very upset that their home value has declined and are looking to place the blame on someone... ANYONE.

I recently had a conversation with a person who assigned blame on appraisers, Realtors, mortgage brokers, banks, Wall Street and the government. After their rant and rave - I pointed out the Tulip Bulb mania in the 1600's... the Beannie Baby craze and the dot-com bubble. I explained that the real blame is on human beings greed.

I did my best to explain... but, I guess I'm one of the bad guys because they didn't understand or believe me...

I guess the truth hurts!

By the way - my home has declined in value by over $100,000 since 2006! But, it's my home where I raise my kids and keep warm in the winter!