Florida Mortgage Report

Tomorrow is the Last Day at This Domain

I still see many of you subscribing to this feed and/or commenting on this blog.  This post is a reminder that the Florida Mortgage Report will not be located at www.floridamortgagedaily.com after tomorrow.  I will be moving my Florida Mortgage Daily (mortgage market updates) blog to this domain March 1, or shortly thereafter.

That being said, this blog is currently hosted under Typepad, so the blog will remain here for nearly a year, though no comments will be accepted (stopped 2/15/08) and the blog will not be updated any longer.  To follow my writings, please jump over to www.flmortgagereport.com and while there, don't forget to subscribe to that feed to stay up to date.

This will ensure lively discussions continue on the "hot topics" such as Money Merge Accounts and other mortgage acceleration strategies, as well as current events.  All prior posts are over there already (and some new ones), so if you liked a post (or even linked to one), check out the same post (and link to it) over at the new location, www.flmortgagereport.com. 

There are two main reasons for the change that I mentioned before in case you are wondering.  Number one is the change to WordPress to add more flexibility and control.  Since I rely on feedback from you, you can have an effect on how the site looks and its functionality.  I want it to be a very user interactive site and WordPress allows that more easily.  Number two is that I wanted to match domain names to the blog titles.  It was rather awkward, as you can imagine, say the Florida Mortgage Report was at www.floridamortgagedaily.com then turning around and saying Florida Mortgage Daily didn't have its own domain.

So, once again, please go over and visit www.flmortgagereport.com and subscribe to its feed to continue staying up to date on the Florida Mortgage Report.  If you want to see mortgage market commentary, keep www.floridamortgagedaily.com bookmarked and return in March when I have that blog up and running on this domain.  You can also check out my contributions over at Lenderama and Agent Genius.

Economy Gets Stimulated: So Are You Excited?

President Bush signed into law the economic stimulus package we have all heard about.  Even the IRS said today that they will begin mailing checks in May for those who filed 2007 taxes, so make sure you file this last year if you haven't been.  It is "free" money after all, right?

Are you excited to get your money and rush out and spend it?  Are you excited that you can turn your jumbo loan rates into a new conforming loan (limited time offer, contact me for application), maybe even take some equity out so you can rush out and stimulate the economy even further?

I don't know about you, but my money is not going to be spent, rather I will invest it wisely, that way it will actually mean something in the future.

So, what changes occurred that Floridians should know about?

Well, you may qualify for up to $1,800 rebate, or more.  That's pretty cool, even if the rebate is only $300.  So, you need to decide what you "should" do with that money and not just blow it.

Conforming loan limits have been temporarily increased.  That means you may qualify for refinancing your high jumbo rates for a lower "conforming" rate.  I would be happy to help you determine if this is truly in your best interests, as it may not be in reality.

I am not going to get into the nitty-gritty details here as the post would just drag on.  If you want to know more on how the stimulus package can benefit you, especially as it pertains to your mortgage, contact me and I will be happy to assist you.

Florida Cities Take 6 of the Top 25 Spots in Foreclosure Stats With Miami in Front

RealtyTrac released their year-end 2007 Metropolitan Foreclosure Report, and while not on top, Miami was leading the state, passing by Ft. Lauderdale.  Back in November, the rankings were different, with Ft. Lauderdale leading the state and ranking 4th in the nation.

The foreclosure rate for the total US came in at 1.033% of households, with the foreclosure rate of the top 100 metro areas coming in at 1.382%.  Detroit led the nation with a rate of 4.918%, fueled by economic chaos in that area.  The remaining top 5 were (in order):  Stockton, CA (4.866%), Las Vegas/Paradise, NV (4.228%), Riverside/San Bernardino, CA (3.826%), and Sacramento, CA (3.189%).

As far as Florida goes, South Florida still leads the pack and 6 Florida cities made the top 25 rankings.  Here is a breakdown of the Sunshine State:

Rank	Metro Area	Foreclosure Rate
8	Miami, FL	2.724
10	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	2.632
20	Orlando, FL	1.932
21	Palm Beach, FL	1.924
23	Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL	1.908
24	Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice, FL	1.840
27	Jacksonville, FL	1.748

As you can see, all the major metro areas in Florida made the top 30.  What does that mean to you?  Great news if you are a buyer, especially an investor.  Bad news for Florida homeowners as the rates will keep pressure on the declining home prices.

Can 'Asses or Elephants Really Save Homeowners' Assets?

It is a political year for sure and your vote counts.  Just don't screw it up over something neither candidate can truly fix. 

The housing crisis is all over the news, Internet, even on your toilet paper.  The political candidates know your fears, your "buttons" that need to be pushed to get you to push their button.  But, can they really do anything for you, or any other homeowner?

Think about it.  First off, they will not be in office until next year to begin with and whatever is happening will likely be a non-issue by then.  Next, they cannot do anything by themselves (thank God), and will have to get whatever they want accomplished pushed through both the House and Senate as well, a difficult task to say the least.

Add to that the fact they the government tends to overreact when faced with a crisis as we have already seen them scrambling to do something, yet can't fix anything going on right now.  Proposed laws do more harm than good overall and need to be amended if they will have the desired effect.

So, quit focusing on the today issues that most likely won't be there tomorrow and get them to spill their guts on the deeper issues, which they seem to want to avoid right now.  When you go to the polls later this year, vote for the "real" issues instead of the candidate who proved nothing more than how to take a current event and play it for all it is worth.

Did You Have Your ARM Fixed By a Real Mortgage Professional?

If you are like the multitudes that rushed to convert your ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) to a fixed rate mortgage, following the media's advice and not listening to true mortgage professionals, I'll bet you are wishing you hadn't wasted your money.  Fixed rate mortgages are still hovering in the mid-5s if you don't pay points and those ARMs, even when fully indexed are dropping below the mid-5s at this point and probably will fall further.

Now, if you are sought out the help of a true mortgage professional, they would have advised you not to fix your ARM if it wasn't broke.  Now, thousands, if not millions, of Americans have gone and wasted money seeking a general mortgage practitioner instead of seeking a specialist.  The end result is wasting money fixing something that wasn't broken in the first place.

Take a look at this chart to see what I am talking about, and what I have been for a while...

As you can see, there are clear advantages of keeping your ARM, especially if it is tied to LIBOR.  The chart above shows the 30-year rates and the fully indexed 6-month LIBOR rates (including the standard 2.25% margin).  I even threw in the Fed Funds Rate to show the correlation to the Fed's decisions and your LIBOR ARM.  (Keep in mind that pricing on new ARMs are not effected directly by the Fed's actions, but rather on market forces like normal mortgage rates).

As you can see, if you kept your ARM the entire time, there were times when your rate would have been significantly below those of the 30-year fixed, while the times when your rate would have exceeded the 30-year, it was not very significant and short lived as well.  ARMs are not really as bad as people think, that is the bottom line.  And rushing to get your ARM fixed right now may prove more costly over time than you could possibly think.

Now, there are reasons why you would want to convert your ARM to a fixed rate mortgage, but you need to seek a true mortgage professional that will put your best interests above his/her own and that is very hard to find these days.

In Every Crisis Lies Opportunity

That statement is true, no matter how bad it gets and every entrepreneur out there understands its value.  Obviously, the real estate and mortgage industry is in turmoil, but so are many homeowners.  And since there is a foreclosure crisis, someone has found opportunity (you just knew it was coming).

I must admit I was not the one who found this first (hat tip Alex Stenback):

For only $995, you can simply walk away from your mortgage, but you still have to qualify for this program.  Sounds like a good deal to me, how about you?

Florida Property Tax Reform Amendment - Update

As I mentioned earlier today, Floridians may be setting history today with their voting.  Property Tax has been a huge issue with property owners and real estate professionals alike and the controversial amendment was up for vote today as Amendment 1. 

As I mentioned earlier, everyone I encountered and asked how they would vote stated they just wanted something since the state government has not been able to come up with a better plan.  It appears that the amendment will pass with over 70% voting for at this time, showing government officials that Floridians are tired of waiting for nothing and are simply happy getting something, even if it isn't anything close to what they wanted.

So, hopefully this will send a clear message to Tallahassee that more reform is still needed and that Floridians faith in the government providing a genuine solution is lacking.

Florida Voters Make History?

Today is a big day in the state of Florida.  No, I am not talking about the Republican Primaries or even the Mayoral elections.  I am talking about the #1 question on the ballot, property tax reform.

That's right, today is the day Floridians get to vote on property tax reform.  With all of the controversy surrounding the amendment, most that I have talked to will vote yes, stating something is better than nothing.  Do you agree?

Take a moment to weigh in on your feelings about the Amendment.  Are you in favor or not?

The New Face of Agent Genius: Brilliant!

Most of you probably already know that I contribute to other blogs on the Internet, and Agent Genius is one of them.  Benn Rosales has done a spectacular job of getting "genius" minds of the RE.net community together on one site and now he has revolutionized the blog design for the RE.net community blogsites.

So, visit the new AG site, namely this post, to get the lowdown on the transformation.  Benn revealed the new look, which includes a new Agent Genius logo, Sunday morning.  The new logo will be one you will more than likely see at upcoming RE.net events.

So, I would like to express a special thanks to Benn for all of his hard work and dedication to making AG a site worth bookmarking for everyone!!

Investors Rethinking Potential for Another Rate Cut

After the Fed did an emergency rate cut last week as the worldwide financial markets collapsed (mistakenly?), traders began expecting another rate cut coming from the Fed this Wednesday.  Once they realized the turmoil was created by a "rogue trader", their thoughts began to change.

Now traders are becoming increasingly skeptical about another rate cut and the markets are again reacting based on emotions, rather than logic.  With a huge plate of economic data coming this week, emotions will probably swing wildly with potentially drastic "mood swings."  If you don't have a stomach for volatility, get out, which means lock your rates and forget it.

Interestingly enough, the Fed's favorite gauge of inflation will actually come one day AFTER the Fed makes their next decision.  That presents two problems.  One, if the Fed doesn't cut rates, or not enough to satisfy the stock traders, we will likely see the repeat of last month's selloff (bonds and mortgage rates win).  Additionally, it may become very apparent that the Fed made a mistake the very next day with the release of the PCE data.

With the markets already moving lower with the expectation of little or nothing along the rate cut path, the Feds are under pressure to appease the markets or fight inflation.  Past moves suggest they will appease the markets and let inflation run amuck.

For those who can handle the volatility, you can try floating to see if there is a chance to win as the overall trend is still for lower mortgage rates.  However, expect a rollercoaster ride and one that may not end happily if you do.  Be ready to lock in a moment's notice and don't let greed get you.