My New Blog

Hi Everyone,

SCFS is proud to announce its affiliation with Mortgage Release Services, a company designed to assist homeowners who are experiencing difficulty paying their mortgage. We want people to know that no matter how dark your days may be now, there is hope. Forclosure  may  be avoided with prompt action.  The team of experienced negotiators at Mortgage Release Services will provide homeowners the following options:

1. Forbearance. This option is a repayment agreement designed to cure your default over a period of time.

2. Modification . This option can either add the delinquent amount to your loan balance or temporarily reduce the interest rate as well as the principal amount to assist in curing  the default.

3. Short Refinance or Short Sale. This option is for homeowners who can demonstrate financial hardship and for properties which have little or no equity. Mortgage Release Services will attempt to negotiate with the lender to forgive a portion of the debt owned and accept a percentage of current market value as payment in full in order to expedite the sale of refinance of the property. SCFS would handle the refinance or would assist in selling the property by bringing investors to the table or enlisting the services of real estate partners to market and sell the property.

4. Deed In Lieu. This is a last resort option. In the event that modification or repayment terms are not acceptable, and negotiations for a short refinance or sale fall short of expectations, the homeowner could  voluntarily return the property to the lender, provided the lender is willing to accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Please let us know if anyone you know is  in need of these services. We are here to help during these trying and tumultuous times.

Warm regards,

Sharon Cohen

Are we having fun yet? Hang onto your hats because the roller coaster ride is not over!

The Federal Reserve dropped the Fed Funds Rate by three quarters of a percent signaling their concerns of the growing financial crisis. This follows a Sunday cut of the discount rate by a .25 pt. The rate cut was the first time in 30 years that such a cut has taken place on a special Sunday meeting.

This most recent action by the Fed is as a result of the continued volatility in the markets after Fridays announcement by the number 5 ranked investment banking firm in the U.S. Bear Stearns announced problems with liquidity causing their stock price to drop from $70 a share to an agreed upon sale of the company to J.P. Morgan Chase at $2 per share on Monday. With the announcement by Bear Stearns on Friday, the Fed also agreed to fund up to $30 Billion of illiquid high risk assets that are in the Bear Stearns portfolio to aid the Buyer with the transaction.

Interesting side note - Joe Lewis, a British born billionaire who owns a 10% stake in Bear Stearns has lost over a $1 Billion on his investment in two trading days. For all of those concerned about foreign investment in to the U.S. this is an excellent wake up call. No investment comes without risk as Mr Lewis can attest to. Foreign investment and acquisitions will help prop up the markets and infuse the necessary funding required to create more liquidity.

Also contrary to what many are saying, had the Fed not taken the aggressive measure of facilitating this sale and propping up Bear Stearns, the failure of Bear Stearns could have triggered a systematic collapse of the markets with horrendous consequences. Clearly the Fed is watching the markets very closely and taking an extremely aggressive position to make sure further erosion is minimized. The Fed Rate cuts will ultimately be a big boost to the economy but I have yet to see them loosen up the credit crunch that has taken a strangle hold on the financial markets. Without adequate liquidity in the markets, the economic recovery will take much longer even with the Fed Rate cuts.

Given the size and scope of the current crisis, the Federal Reserve alone will not able to turn this around. Intervention by more government monetary agencies such as the European central bank and others will be necessary to restore some confidence to return to normalcy. Thus far it appears the Federal Reserve has taken the lead and others have been slow to follow.

In regards to the new higher conforming loan limits, the pricing has just been released and is not as favorable as was hoped. It is about 1% higher than rates for conforming loans of $417,000 and under but also, about 1% lower than jumbo loans. As I suspected, the pricing landed somewhere in the middle.

Until next time,

As always..your loan conusltant for life,

Sharon Cohen

More news on the Mortgage Front

Well it is almost official. The senate passed the anticipated bill raising the conforming loan limit to $729,750, up from $417,750. Now the President just needs to sign it. This does not mean that loan amounts above $417,000 will receive the exact same pricing as loan amounts under $417,000. There will be some sort of add on pricing but it will be a whole lot better than where jumbo loans are priced right now. This move will hopefully stimulate buyers who have been sitting on the fence waiting for house prices to drop. After all, this is only a temporary move, good until the end of the year. This should help to make properties more affordable in the short term.

So anyone you know who is thinking about buying a home, and it has to be an owner occupied home, please have them call me. Also, anyone who has an interest rate between 6 and 7% should definitely call me to see if we can perhaps refinance and lower that rate. The big problem has been having enough equity in the property to allow for refinancing. Most lenders are taking an additional 5% off the purchase price or current appraised value for what they are calling "Declining Market". So, call me and I will have a comp check done to see if your property will qualify for a refinance.

Another issue that has recently arisen is that lenders are now freezing some borrowers existing equity lines, not allowing them to draw on them. They are doing this on properties they suspect do not have enough equity in them. This just does not seem fair, does it? If you are self employed and need your equity line to carry you through the slow times or, are planning to use your line of credit for home remodeling, purchasing a new car, etc...then you might want to consider calling me as well to look into refinancing. You do not want to get yourself in a compromising position with your equity line.

These are  difficult times but perhaps I can suggest some creative solutions to some current and potential challenges. I would very much like to help so please give me a call and together we will persevere!

I just wanted to drop you all a line to wish you a happy Thanksgiving. I am particularly thankful this year as I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer a couple of months ago. I underwent a full hysterectomy and have been told that I am now 100% cancer free! So thanksgiving has special significance for me this year.

Now for a bit of business:

You've no doubt heard or seen the headlines about adjustable rates loans and the fact that up to 2 million homes could be going into foreclosure, and millions more will be impacted by payment recasting - between now and the next 18 months.  I'm concerned about those homeowners with a mortgage like the type described above. According to  a recent poll, 1 out of 3 homeowners have no idea what type of adjustable loan they have. Normally, under better market conditions that might be okay. But with the current market conditions and daily loan underwriting guideline changes, it's imperative you and or anyone know be aware of exactly what kind of loan you have. Even more importantly, when and if that loan will Recast with devastating payment increases!

I've set aside time on my calendar over the next two weeks to offer a free mortgage analysis and review. Their may be nothing to be concerned about. But if there is a risk that your mortgage payment could suddenly rise( and sharply), you should be prepared and have the information you need to make an informed decision. Reviewing you home loan now, will give the time you need to avoid an unexpected payment recasting and possibly avoid other more serious financial challenges down the road. Please tell your friends, family and business associates to have their mortgages reviewed as well. Call me today at (818) 783-7381 for your free mortgage review.

If you are going out of town for Thanksgiving, have a safe trip. I am driving to Sacramento where my father and stepmother have relocated. They just moved into an independent living facility at age 89(good genes).

Dear Friends,

I want to alert you to a major development in the mortgage world. CMG Financial Services, a leading mortgage lender, has just introduced a revolutionary new line of credit that could enable you to own your home free and clear in about half the time, save thousands in interest – and all with no change to your spending. Sound too good to be true? It’s real. It’s called the CMG Home Ownership Accelerator.^TM

The San Francisco Chronicle notes that it is “designed to help borrowers accelerate their principal payments as painlessly as possible,” and the East Bay Business Times hails that it “could revolutionize the way Americans pay for their homes.”

Here’s how it works. You deposit your entire paycheck into the CMG Home Ownership Accelerator line of credit, dramatically reducing the principal balance. Since interest is computed on your daily balance, you start saving interest immediately.

You pay all of your expenses out of your line of credit using the unlimited checks, the go-anywhere ATM/Visa^® P.O.S. card, and online bill-pay, just like your old checking account. Until you need the money though, it stays in your account, keeping your balance lower, saving you thousands in interest costs, instead of lounging around in your low-interest checking account.

And paying less interest leaves more of your money for principal, so you could pay off in about half the time (sometimes even sooner) – with no change to spending habits!

We truly believe that your best mortgage is no mortgage. Log onto http://www.cmghome.com, play the 4-minute movie, and then plug your own numbers into the patent-pending simulator to see when you could pay off and how much you could save. You’ll be a believer after that.

Then call me, and let’s discuss how the Home Ownership Accelerator can help you “kiss your mortgage goodbye” sooner.

Best regards,

Sharon Cohen