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At mortgage conference, lenders push back-to-
basics theme for industry in coming years.
If your credit is weak or your savings anemic, here are two phrases you're likely to hear from mortgage loan officers in the next few years: FHA and mortgage insurance. For those who entered the business in the past five years, they've only known the good times and will need to be re-educated, said Paul Bibb, CEO of National City Mortgage, who was on a panel of leading mortgage industry executives. Bibb and David Lowman, CEO of Chase's Global Mortgage, which is a top 10 originator and servicer, said that during the go-go days of the housing boom, loan officers would steer home buyers with weak credit to subprime loans. And they would advise them to finance part of their down payment with a home equity loan. "We probably all wish we had trained our sales staff to sell mortgage insurance," Lowman said. "The reason we're in this crisis is that we got away from the basics." Now with the subprime market eviscerated, loan officers will be steering more borrowers with weak credit to loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration and advising those with little savings to get private mortgage insurance in cases where they can't put down 20 percent. The FHA program is intended for home buyers and homeowners with weak credit. Borrowers with FHA- insured loans - which they get from private lenders as they would any other mortgage - pay a small premium to the FHA every month. The FHA, in turn, uses those premiums to cover the lender in the event of foreclosure and requires lenders to pursue viable ways to help borrowers avoid foreclosure if they become delinquent. Bibb can remember a time when FHA loans made up 30 percent of National City Mortgage's business. A few years ago, however, FHA loans had shrunk to about 3 percent of the business. Now, he said, they currently account for as much as 12 percent. "[In those markets] the correction could be quite severe and last into 2009, if not 2010," Bibb said. Lawmakers have been working on legislation to reform the FHA to modernize its standards so that they reflect changes to the housing market in the past 30 years. Among the changes on tap, lawmakers want to: Raise loan limits. Today the FHA won't insure loans above $362,790 for single-family homes, and even less in lower-cost areas. Lawmakers are considering raising that ceiling to at least 100 percent of the conforming loan limit for mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, currently $417,000. Reduce down payment requirements. Homeowners would no longer be required to have 3 percent equity or the cash equivalent. They could get an FHA-insured loan with 0 percent down. Reduce complexity. Lenders have been complaining about the time and expense it takes to make an FHA loan. Separately, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees FHA, may move to introduce risk-based pricing. Riskier borrowers would have to pay higher premiums than less risky borrowers. By Jeanne Sahadi from CNNMoney.com |
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From first quarter 2008 to fourth quarter 2009 the
following markets are expected to bounce back:
Dallas-Fortworth 6.4% Indianapolis 6.3% New Orleans 5.7% Atlanda 5.6% Montgomery 5.5% Memphis 5% Mobile 4.7% Austin 4.7% Houston 4.6% St. Louis 4% Info from Paul Kaihla, CNNMoney.com |
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In most kitchens, there is a simple appliance situated
above your range or cooktop that often seems to be
mistaken for nothing more than a big light fixture --
and in fact, the "builder's grade" range hood in many
new homes really is little more than that. But your
range hood serves a couple of very important
purposes in the kitchen, and selecting the right one is
something that warrants some comparison shopping.
Range hoods come in several sizes, finishes and designs, and that's where most people start when they're shopping for a new one. First of all, it needs to be the correct size to match the width of the opening in the cabinets above the range, and to match the width of the range or cooktop itself. Hoods come in a couple of standard sizes, including 30, 36 and 42 inches in width, with the depth being designed to fit with standard 12-inch-deep upper cabinets. There are some variations available in many of the higher-end models, so knowing the size you're looking for is the first step. Typically, the next consideration is one of aesthetics. There are several finishes available, the most common being white, almond, black, stainless steel or some combinations of those colors. Then there's the design of the hood housing, which can range from the traditional rectangular box with the sloping front that is commonly see in kitchens of all types, to some very sleek, slender models that almost disappear into the cabinets. AN EXHAUSTING CONSIDERATION Size and aesthetics aside, it's time to take a look at what really makes the range hood function in the capacity that it's designed for -- exhausting air. Range hoods utilize a fan to draw air up and into them, through a filter, then through a duct to -- hopefully -- the outside. That air movement serves to remove cooking odors from the kitchen, and that's when most people will turn it on. But the range hood has an even more important and often overlooked role as well, which is to remove moisture right at the source where it's being generated. Like a bathroom fan, the range hood lives to draw warm, moisture-laden air out of the home's interior and exhaust it to the outdoors before it can do any harm. For that reason, there are three additional things to pay very close attention to when buying and installing a range hood. First of all, since the hood needs to remove moisture from the room, you want to avoid the temptation of purchasing a recirculating hood. Recirculating hoods do not require an exhaust duct, so they are considerably cheaper and easier to install. But since all they do is recirculate air through a filter to remove some of the grease and odor, they fail completely in their primary task of removing moisture. Second, the hood has to be vented all the way to the outside. This is now a building code requirement in today's homes, but in years past range-hood ducts were often run into the attic and no further. As many homeowners have found to their shock and dismay, pumping all that warm, wet air up into the attic can cause a whole host of problems, including dryrot, mold, degraded insulation, and even severe structural damage. Finally, the range hood needs to have adequate power to effectively remove the air. As with all types of ventilation fans, range hoods are rated in cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air movement. The higher the CFM rating, the more effective the fan is at drawing in room air and pushing through the duct. Larger rooms and larger ranges need more CFM to more an adequate amount of air for ventilation, but even small rooms need a greater amount of CFM if the exhaust air needs to be pushed though a long run of duct, or one with a large number of elbows and other fittings. At their least expensive, hoods utilize a tiny plastic rotary fan on a vertical shaft, sort of like the propeller on an old beanie cap. Even though a massive 42-inch hood looks powerful enough to handle any ventilation chore, if it's equipped with an anemic motor and fan blade, the resulting air movement will be inadequate. Better range hoods utilize a multifinned horizontal fan called a centrifugal fan, commonly known as a squirrel cage fan for its resemblance to a common animal exercise wheel. Centrifugal fans are much more efficient at moving air, and offer a higher CFM then a rotary fan with the same size motor. The final consideration with your new range hood is its noise level, because even the best of hoods won't get used if it sounds like a Boeing 747 is headed for a landing on your kitchen counter. Range hoods are typically rated in sones, and the lower the sone rating the quieter the fan. As a means of comparison, one sone is about the noise that your refrigerator makes, and normal conversational levels are about four sones. By Paul Bianchina from Inman News |
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FOR A FREE MARKET ANALYSIS OF YOUR HOME AND ESTIMATE OF VALUE CALL OR EMAIL ME! I WILL GET YOU THE INFO WITHIN 24 HOURS OF YOUR REQUEST. Please contact me with all of your real estate needs and questions. I am always available to you, your family and friends!
Sincerely,
Kia Kapci
Lyon Real Estate
email:
kkapci@golyon.com
phone:
916-782-0558
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