Does Fraudulent Activity Still Occur in the Mortgage Business?

A woman thought she had one over on me this week.  She didn't qualify on her own so I suggested she find a suitable cosigner to help her purchase a  home.  She suggested her ex-husband as a viable and willing candidate to go on the mortgage with her.  She had all of his information including his social security number, bank accounts and income figures, so I processed the application and ordered the appraisal for the subject property.  Since neither she nor her ex-husband live locally, I sent all of the papers by way of Federal Express to her home address.  As part of the normal requirements, I requested copies of financial information on both parties as well as drivers licenses for each borrower.  The entire package came back via the mail but her ex's drivers license was missing.  I requested it again and still she didn't send it back.  After much ado, I found that he never agreed to cosign the loan, and she was using his identification to help her get the mortgage. WRONG!  http://www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnv.htmIt is amazing to see just how far people will go to try and fool you.

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972
andrew.williams@abacusmort.com
NMLS # 118317

A New Twist To An Old Program

Can the market for mortgages be softening? Way back in 1993, the federal government came out with a program called "My Community".  This mortgage program was granted to people who wanted to do a conventional loan yet didn't have the required 5% down payment.   This program offered 97% financing, thus the need to only put 3% down on a prospective house.  At the time,  FHA mortgages required only 2.25% down payment, but the house had to pass rigorous inspections by the appraiser in order to qualify for an FHA mortgage.  Peeling paint and minimum distances between well and septic tanks, were some of the problems associated with getting a  house to pass through FHA's tough standards.  Since conventional loans didn't have such requirements, this new "97 My Community" offered a better alternative to the FHA loan.

Again,  they've introduced a new and improved "My Community" 20 years later.  For a few years,
when the housing bubble burst in 2008, the government cracked down on mortgages limiting many lenders to 10-20% down payment requirements for conventional loans.  Now the lending guidelines have slowly been easing and now history has repeated itself 20 years later. The program requires only 3% down payment from the buyers own money.  A gift is not allowed for the down payment minimum requirement to be met by the borrower.  The seller can contribute 3% of the selling price toward the buyer's closing costs.  Back in 1993, there wasn't any internet to help determine a borrower's credit worthiness.  There wasn't even such a thing as credit scores. 
They relied on the appearance of a person's credit history, as it appeared on a report to determine how strong of an applicant they appeared to be.  Now, everything is decided by the software used by the government agencies to determine eligibility of a buyer.  This newest version of "My Community"
offers a new twist for spouses or roommates who can't be on the mortgage.  In terms of qualifying for the loan, we can now use occupying spouses and roommate's income  who won't be on the mortgage.  Perhaps their credit scores aren't good enough to be listed on the loan, or maybe they will be living there temporarily.  We can use a percentage of these co-habitator's income for the purpose of helping the borrower to qualify for the home. 

For more specifics on this and many other programs, please ask the Mortgage Man.  I am licensed to do mortgages in the state of Pennsylvania.

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage NMLS # 113984
484 695 5972
NMLS # 118317

Why The Mortgage Man?

Why do they call me the mortgage man? I started my career in finance with Beneficial Consumer Discount in 1986 and became a collection manager.  Once I was given the option of moving out of town to manage my own branch, I decided to pursue a career as a Mortgage Underwriter with Merchants Bank of Allentown in 1988.  Once I had a thorough understanding regarding collections and underwriting, I took a job with Meridian Bank as a mortgage loan officer.  I continue to service 27 real estate offices and builders in three counties ( Monroe, Northampton, Lehigh ).  When Meridian was being sold to another bank, I decided to go out on my own as a Mortgage Broker in 1997.  I've owned my owns business for 16 years and know all the ins and outs of the mortgage industry.  I've seen interest rates as high as 16% and as low as 2.5%.  I've witnessed market bubbles, corrections, booms, busts, short sales, foreclosures, bankruptcies, wrap around mortgages, recasts, bridge loans, divorces, identity theft, fraud, subordinations, straw buyers, owner financing, hard money lending, and many other situations in my years in the industry.  Through it all, I've used my knowledge, experience, and contacts to help over 5,000 families purchase their home. I have almost any program or lender to get the job done.  If I do not, I know who may be able to help a potential home owner purchase their home.  It takes just one phone call to get the right answer!  Please call me with any situations or scenarios that you wish to discuss in confidential manner.


Andy Williams NMLS # 118317
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972

Lexington Law

Is there a reputable company to rehab people's credit who doesn't just take consumer's money? I don't know where this company came from or how long they've been in business, but I've heard their name mentioned many times in the past few months.  For years, potential home buyers have asked me for recommendations on whom they can go to for credit disputes and resolutions.  Until now, I wasn't recommending anyone because all the companies appeared to do the same thing.  They take your hard earned money and don't improve your credit score at all. I told my customers the same thing.  " Until I find a company that actually improves credit scores and actually earns their money, I don't recommend anyone as being reputable".

Lexington Law has been a company whom I've heard many wonderful stories from adding 100 points to a borrower's credit score within a few months, to removing old collection accounts that were in dispute within 30 days.  I will highly recommend them to anyone who asks for a reputable company that actually does what they say they are going to do for a consumer.

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972
NMLS # 118317

Is it possible to finance a condo with less than 20% down payment?

We offer 95% financing on warrantable condominiums.  What does this mean? If the property being financed is for the borrower to occupy as their primary residence, if they have 5% down payment and some money for closing costs, if they have a minimum credit score of 680, they may be eligible to buy a condo with this program. 
The condo project must be approved, as well as the buyer.  The meaning of warrantable means that the condo association must meet the requirement set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for condos.  There can't be more than 9% of the development owned by one person or entity.  There can be no more than 15% delinquent property owners.  If the condo is being purchased as an investment property, 51% of the units must be owner occupied.  These are most of the major guidelines, but there are more specific requirements ( see attached ) and unique circumstances that may need to be explored before entering into an agreement to buy a condominium. 

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972
NMLS # 118317

Ask the "Mortgage Man": Commercial Loans in the Lehigh Valley requiring NO...

Ask the "Mortgage Man": Commercial Loans in the Lehigh Valley requiring NO...: Can you imagine buying a commercial property and financing this piece of real estate without having the bank order an appraisal?  Most comme...

Commercial Loans in the Lehigh Valley requiring NO Appraisal!

Can you imagine buying a commercial property and financing this piece of real estate without having the bank order an appraisal?  Most commercial appraisals cost upwards to $2,000 per appraisal.  This is not only extremely expensive, but a commercial appraisal can be much more time consuming than a residential appraisal.  There is so much more paperwork and analyses that needs to be done to complete a commercial appraisal.  Since there aren't as many commercial properties selling in this market, the appraiser must go to remote areas to find similar properties to compare to the subject properties value.  Since most of my commercial loans don't require appraisals, I save my customers lots of time and money.  We can close most commercial loans in under 30 days!  In addition, I shop for the lowest interest rate which is now as low as four.  For a low cost, low rate commercial loan with the fastest closing, you need to look no further. 

Andy Williams
President
Abacus Regional Mortgage
484 695 5972
NMLS # 118317