Me Media: With Fox 9 Discussing Deliciously Low Mortgage Rates, and The Fed

Just wrapped a piece with Fox 9's Tim Blotz on Today's move by the Fed, Falling Mortgage rates, and what it all means.

Executive Summary: We are testing the all time 2003 lows. Low mortgage rates are fleeting.  Home prices are at 5 year lows. Don't get caught napping if you need to buy or refinance a home.

On at 5PM: Fox 9.

11/25/08 at 01:34 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Interest Rates, Press

Me Media: Mortgage Market Conversation with MPR's In the Loop

Last Friday, we spent about 20 minutes with Jeff Horwich, host of MPR's "In the Loop," discussing the current state of affairs in the mortgage industry, how the latest loan modification initiatives may impact the market, and what it takes to get a mortgage these days.

Here's the segment.  Our appearance is at minute 16.

11/18/08 at 09:18 AM Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Press

Me Media: With WCCO on Walking Away

If you were up early, you might have caught us at the Downtown WCCO studio this morning with Bill Hudson as we discussed the potential impact of homeowners walking away from mortgages worth more than their home. Check it.

08/04/08 at 11:45 AM Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Press

Me Media: Tune in Tonight for WCCO's Good Question Segment

First, catch up here, and here, for the latest in goings on at Fannie and Freddie.

Then, tune in tonight, wherein we help to explain for reporter Jason DeRusha and the good viewers of WCCO land the oft asked question:

"What in the &^%$ is a Freddie or a Fannie and why should I care?"

WCCO/Channel 4: Good Question, Who is Fannie, Freddie [wcco.com]

07/14/08 at 02:05 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Press

Media Appearance: Quick Update

Our interview with KSTP 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, which we teased Yesterday, only to get bumped by a drug bust story, will run at 6:30Pm tonight.

That'd be channel 5 locally, or right here on the interweb: http://www.kstp.com/

Link to the Story Itself Here: http://kstp.com/article/stories/s348369.shtml?cat=63v=1

02/12/08 at 11:24 AM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Press

Media Appearance: KSTP News on Declining Markets

Just completed a quick interview with KSTP News' Chris Keating discussing the impact of what are known as "declining market" lending restrictions on our real estate market.  It is planned for air at 6PM.

Update: Drug bust bumped our story to 6PM, Tuesday the 12th

Tune in.
----------------
For the uninitiated, declining market restrictons work like this:  If a property is in a declining market, the minimum down payment is increased by 5%.  This effectively elliminates the zero down conventional mortgage in our marketplace, as most of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Statistical Area has been deemed declining by either the *lenders, the mortgage insurers, or both.  These rules are put forth by Fannie Mae. See this announcement [PDF!] from Dec 5th 2007 for more detail.

As of this writing, it is still technically possible to purchase a home, using conventional financing, without a down payment, (since not every address in the Twin Cities has been flagged as declining) but we expect that to come to an end within the next 90 days, if not sooner.  FHA remains at 3% down and does not have similar declining market restrictions.

The key take-away here:  Many (if not the majority of) first time home buyers purchase a home with little or nothing down, and the elimination of conventional zero down financing will sharply reduce the supply of available buyers until they are able to accumulate a down payment.  This will obviously bring added pressure to sellers, espcecially in the first time buyer price bands of $100-275k.

Good news is once they save that down payment, prices will be lower.

[*One technical aside: Fannie/Freddie actually leave the determination of a declining market up the originator and the appraiser.  All Fannie does is include language in it's underwriting decision that states (words to the effect of): "This property might be in a declining market, further investigation required." This will soon be a moot point, because the mortgage insurers won't insure a zero down loan in our market - well, there is still one left that will, under certain circumstances, but we digress.)

02/11/08 at 02:33 PM Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Financing Options, First Time Buyer, Press

Behind The Mortgage, UK Edition: Across the Pond with the BBC

One of our very favorite non-finance & real estate related blogs on the planet is English Cut, a little gem by Bespoke Savile Row Tailor, Thomas Mahon.

So, this morning, while coveting bespoke shirts over a cup of coffee, the phone rings and of all things, there's this dude chap with an english accent on the other end:

"Cheerio! Blankety-blank calling from BBC Radio in the UK.  Listen old boy, I've been reading your blog and wondering if you'd be willing to interview for us this afternoon?"

By far the most amusing coincidence we've ever had. Our first thought was: Is this Crank Yankers?

Anyway, at 3:30 this afternoon, Behind the Mortgage goes international as we discuss the topic of Jingle Mail in America with BBC Radio's Rebecca Marsden. We'll try to get hold of an audio clip, if we can, and post it here.

[*We took a little artistic license with the quote.  Couldn't resist.]

02/07/08 at 10:45 AM Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Press

Twin Cities Business: The Business of Blogs

Twin Cities Business Magazine has a nice piece up on the business of blogs.  You might even recognize one of the featured business bloggers pictured above.

This actually ran in the December issue, and we just now discovered the online piece during a vanity google search.
The Business of Blogs [tcbMag.com]

02/04/08 at 12:41 PM Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Press

Media Appearance: KSTP News on Mortgage Fraud

At 1PM today, a press conference will be held to announce criminal charges against two suspects in yet another mortgage fraud ring in the Twin Cities.  The suspects, Donald L. Walthall,  40, of Anoka, and Rahmeen D. Underwood,  30, of Minnetonka, both of Universal Mortgage Inc. (which you might remember from this Story) were arrested Friday.  From the Strib:

...[I]n what has become a widening mortgage fraud investigation involving hundreds of properties...[R]ecords showed that Universal has been at the center of a web of transactions where a small group of investors, including several Universal employees, bought rental properties and quickly resold many at above-market prices.

We'll be sitting down with KSTP's Bob McNaney after the presser to discuss the impact of this latest round of mortgage fraud charges, how it may impact you, and how you can avoid getting caught up in one of these scams.  We expect the piece to air at 5PM 6PM on KSTP, but will update here if this changes. 

12/10/07 at 12:37 PM Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Breaking News, Fraud, Press, Twin Cities

Pioneer Press on Construction Loan Woes

The Pioneer Press has picked up the thread we started last week on the surprising number of Minnesota banks that are hip-deep in non-performing and delinquent construction loans.

The piece, ably penned by Jennifer Bjorhus, ads some excellent context, and digs a little deeper into some of the lingering questions surrounding these institutions.  In other words, how large a problem is this, and are these non-performing construction loans are anything the rank and file bank customer should worry about?

Here's the money quote, from the president of one bank named on the list of top twenty "most-exposed" banks, which basically encapsulates the issue:

"I've been in the business 40 years, and I've not seen it like this," said Gene Haberman, president of Citizens State Bank in Hudson, which has $201 million in assets and nearly $10 million in construction loans unlikely to be repaid...

Haberman and the other bankers insist customers have no need to worry. They're working with their construction borrowers, they said, and the loans pose no threat to financial stability. They dismiss the trouble as a market issue.

"Is it concerning to us? Obviously. Is it an issue of solvency? Absolutely not," Haberman said. "The good news is it is real estate, and it ain't going away. We have collateral."

Housing Slump Stings Area Banks [PiPress]
Construction Loan Woes Hitting MN Banks [BTM]

11/13/07 at 03:51 PM Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Filed Under: Construction Lending, Consumer Protection, Foreclosures, Industry News, Press, Twin Cities