Nov. 3, 2012: Photos of NY flooding; Housing stats to amaze your friends; lots of lender updates; church humor

Nov. 3, 2012: Photos of NY flooding; Housing stats to amaze your friends; lots of lender updates; church humor Rob Chrisman

Anyone not aware of the flooding in New York should take 90 seconds and scroll through: http://gizmodoemergency.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/the-ultimate-gallery-of-flooded-nyc/.

Ever wonder where all the actuaries and college statistics majors went? Many went to the Census Bureau. The number of owner-occupied homes reached 75,076,000 in the third quarter, increasing from 74,832,000 in the second but down from 75,251,000 a year ago, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. At the same time, the nation’s homeownership rate remained at 65.5 percent. The number of housing units in the third quarter was 132.8 million. To put that in historical perspective, in the first quarter it was 65.4%, the lowest since the first quarter of 1997, when the rate was also 65.4 percent. The homeownership rate peaked at 69.2 percent in the second quarter of 2004. The rate measures the proportion of households owning their primary residence, computed by dividing the number of households that are occupied by owners by the total number of occupied homes. The Census Bureau also reported the homeowner vacancy rate fell in the third quarter to 1.9% nationwide, down from 2.1 percent in the second quarter and 2.4 percent one year ago. The homeowner vacancy rate—the proportion of the homeowner inventory for sale that is vacant for sale—is at its lowest level since the third quarter of 2005. The rental vacancy rate—the proportion of the rental inventory that is vacant for rent—in the third quarter remained at 8.6 percent, the lowest level in 10 years, underscoring a shift in housing patterns.

But wait! The Census Bureau has more for us! The number of housing units for sale in the third quarter was 1,476,000, down from 1,595,000 in the second quarter and 1,862,000 in third-quarter 2011. The homeownership rate for older Americans (over 65) fell in the third quarter to about 81%, and for younger Americans (under 35) fell to about 36%. I could go on and on, but here is the link to the info: http://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/qtr312/q312press.pdf.

Keeping with this demographic trend chatter, it’s no secret that baby boomers are planning to retire later than the previous generation, and it’s not because they’ve found the elixir of life.  Between plummeting property values, severe market depression, and falling incomes, the 2008-2009 recession had an enormous impact on the personal finances of middle-aged Americans.  Overall, the median net worth for pre-retirement households fell 36%, reaching its lowest level since 1998, which hit those within one to two years of retirement particularly hard.  The financial forecast is improving thanks to the gradual recovery of housing prices, but if that 45-64 demographic stays in the job market and maintains their high savings rates in an effort to shore up their personal finances, consumer spending and the subsequent economic growth could remain minimal.  Data indicates that the bulk of Americans are indeed planning to work past the age of 65—a Wells Fargo survey published last spring found that about 75% of adults intend to work well into their golden years. Switching gears to a litany of relatively recent bank, investor, training, and lender news, a quick reminder that lender updates are meant to give you a flavor for trends; for complete details read the bulletin.

Over in Nebraska First National Bank in Ord ($99 million in assets) will buy City National Bancshares, which is the holding company for CNB Community Bank. And in the South, CertusBank ($1.8 billion with headquarters in SC) entered into a definitive agreement to buy Georgia’s SBA lender Quadrant Financial for an undisclosed sum. Quadrant is a subsidiary of First Chatham Bank and has offices in 8 states and loan originations in excess of $750mm.

On the other end of the teeter totter, however, Florida’s Heritage Bank of Florida was shut down and turned over to Centennial Bank of Conway, Arkansas. And Citizens First National Bank, Princeton, Illinois, was closed and the deposits turned over to Heartland Bank and Trust Company of Bloomington, Illinois.

Plaza Mortgage reminds clients that, for all transactions where the LO has the ability to offer and receive lender-paid compensation, borrowers must be provided with an Anti-Steering Loan Options Disclosure.  This form has been updated and is available at http://click.plazahomemortgage-rates.com/cp/redirect.php?uNDQ2MXwyODc3NjR8cmNocmlzbWFuQHJvYmNocmlzbWFuLmNvbXw2OTI2NjZ8MTcwMzQ5MTAzfDk1Mjc4OQ&id856382, as has the Mortgage Broker Fee Agreement (http://click.plazahomemortgage-rates.com/cp/redirect.php?uNDQ2MXwyODc3NjR8cmNocmlzbWFuQHJvYmNocmlzbWFuLmNvbXw2OTI2NjZ8MTcwMzQ5MTAzfDk1Mjc4OQ&id856381). In compliance with Dodd-Frank guidelines, United Guaranty will be modifying its Adverse Action letter program to notify affected co-borrowers and better inform recipients about the cause of the letter.  These changes will be effective from November 17th. UG has updated its Geographic Quality Index and Performance Premium Pricing, the changes to which will go into effect on November 19th.  Since the August 20th update to the Geographic Quality Index, 19 markets have recorded improvement, while 13 have declined. With the implementation of DU Version 9.0 imminent, MSI is requiring all new loans submitted to the system on or after October 20th to use the newest version, regardless of application or lock date.  All loans submitted to DU will be audited to ensure that they have been submitted using the correct version.  Loans that were originally submitted to DU Version 8.3 before October 20th will be eligible for resubmission under the old system provided that the findings haven’t expired; those that are resubmitted and haven’t closed by March 20, 2013 must be resubmitted using Version 9.0. MSI has revised the DTI maximum for DU Refi Plus and LP Refinance loans locked or re-locked on or after October 16th.  The new maximum is 50%, regardless of AUS. Effective for all FHA Streamline transactions whose locks are dated October 2, 2012 and after, MSI has discontinued 15-year terms for FRM streamlines and all ARM FHA Streamline loans. Following the USDA’s announcement that FY2013 funding is now available, Clearpoint Funding has resumed funding USDA refinance and purchase loans, effective immediately. These are subject to the FY2013 upfront guarantee structure of 2% and an annual fee of 0.40%. Caliber Funding now offers lock extensions in daily increments instead of the previous 3-, 7-, 15-, and 30-day increments.  This is available for a variety of conforming, Relief Refinance, FHA, VA, and USDA products. Fairfax, VA-based McLean Mortgage announced that it surpassed $1 billion in closings as of the end of September.  The company, which has branches in Fair Lakes, VA and Greensboro and Charlotte, NC in addition to Fairfax, is predicted to reach a production level of about $1.5 billion for 2012. The Mortgage Bankers Association of New Jersey, in conjunction with the New Jersey Bankers Association, will be hosting the 2012 Joint Mortgage Lending Conference on December 11th in Monroe Township, NJ.  The agenda includes a panel on QM, Fair Lending, and Ability to Repay; training sessions; and several prominent speakers.  For more information or to register, see: