Got the news this week that Taylor Bean was shut down. A sad day
for mortgage brokers and Realtors. Taylor Bean had been one of the
biggest players in the residential mortgage business. They focused on
the customer with the best rates, and one of the few big banks with
empathy. The sudden shut-down surprised everyone.
http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/08052009_tbw_shuts_down.asp
What this means for the customer, is increased turn times, higher
rates, more thorough examining of every file. I supposed it is good in
the long run to really hold these banks accountable to a very high
standard, but the fact is: The ability for a lot of mediocre credit
buyers to get a good loan is going away again. As we see underwriting
start to tighten up, and rates start to rise again, this can only mean
a further deterioration of housing prices.
The First time home buyer credit expires in about 3 months. If you are looking to buy, do it now for three primary reasons:
1. $8000 tax credit
2. Great interest rates (still under 6% as of today)
3. The ability to get financing
Prices will keep sliding for quite a while, but look at these numbers:
A $150,000 house financed at 5.25% is $852 per month.
that same house could drop 10% to $135,000, and at 6.75% would costs more, $876 per month.
We may or may not see another 10% drop in housing prices, but you decide where rates will return to:
http://mortgage-x.com/trends.htm