Fannie And Freddie Increasing Guarantee Fees

The mortgage rates have been incredibly low lately - I'm wondering if this is going to change next week....

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are increasing their Agency "G-Fee" next month and no one knows by how much.... The Agency "G-Fee" is a fee that FNMA and FHLMC charge the lender to do business... And the lender of course will filter it down to the borrower...

I have five (5) loans that are scheduled to close by January 31.... And I am concerned... Lenders are busy.... Borrowers are busy.. Escrow companies are extremely busy and loan documents may not be signed on time... Conditions may not be reviewed in time - There are a number of things that can go wrong and it's a possibility that I may have to extend a lock or two... Now here my concern...

Each lender is handling their lock extension differently... A couple of my lenders - nothing is different - business as usual - a couple of others are charging their normal extension PLUS a another hit.... It's a very strange end of the month...

So here's hoping that the increase is so microscopic that it won't affect a thing....

NMLS Renewal Expired December 31 - RENEW

This week I learned something.... I learned that lenders will not underwrite - draw loan documents - or fund a loan for a broker who has not paid their yearly renewal fee to NMLS... Lenders will not work with you on this - even if the renewal fee has been paid and a receipt showing it has paid can be provided. NMLS must show it on their site... and NMLS is taking over a week to update... And this little tidbit has messed up my fundings this month!

I have two (2) locks (same broker/client) that are expiring tomorrow on Monday... One loan - the loan docs are signed - all the conditions have been signed - there is nothing left except - NMLS - The other set of loan documents did not even make it out of the drawer to create the loan papers - because the document drawer person checked with NMLS and oops - My broker/client's NMLS is expired... Hopefully -NMLS will update tomorrow in time to fund my first loan - the 2nd loan will have to have a lock extension and if all goes well it will close/fund next week.

Today brokers have many more regulations than before and a reminder calendar is most definitely needed to stay on top of it all... NMLS has affected everyone in the mortgage industry -more classes - more money spent - more reports - more a lot of things.. But if you love this industry like I do - You just gotta keep on top of it all - So if you haven't renewed your NMLS - get to it!

January 19, 2012

It's funny to realize that I had started this blog two (2) years ago this month.. I wrote a couple of posts about the "new" RESPA craze and how so many of us in the mortgage industry were not happy with this enormous change... Two years later - I can honestly say that I have made friends with all the new regulations - the changes to the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) - I think is a good thing. Because all of the fees need to be accurate upfront - there are few "fee" surprises at closing and borrowers seem to be much more relaxed because of this.

A Little About Me....

I received my real estate license in 1986 - I was twenty-one years (21) old and decided to be a real estate agent - I soon realized that selling homes at the ripe young age of twenty-one (21) is not an easy thing - I was 5'2 - wore a size two (2) - and looked to be around sixteen years old.... After a couple of years of sitting around in open houses - I decided to go on the other end of the industry - the loan side.. I became a loan officer at a friend's mortgage company... The owners took me under their wings and taught me the loan business - I was soon making money - selling loans. I started processing my loans as well and soon learned I liked processing much better than selling...

I later went to work at a direct lender as a loan processor in their retail division. The direct lender got out of the retail side and I went to work for a very busy broker's office. This particular California broker is ranked one of the top 50 in the nation - busy busy busy -I thrived - I loved it - I think my record closing month was over 50 loans - this was in 1994 so my memory is a little fuzzy... While I was working there - I was approached by one of the lenders we worked with and was asked to come join their team as an underwriter... I jumped at the chance - I worked there until the mortgage industry "crash" in 1995 and their doors closed... To be honest - I wasn't too sad about this - I missed the processing side and decided to become a contract processor... and I decided to start a family.....

It's been almost sixteen (16) since I opened my "doors" to contract processing.. Since then I have been blessed with two girls - they are both teenagers now... I will be celebrating 23 years of marriage next month -And my loan processing business has prospered...

On a side note - Due to the new SAFE act regulations - I received my broker's license and NMLS endorsements this year so that I could continue giving excellent service.. So glad it's done and I passed all tests the first time!