Credit & Mortgages for Undocument people

Americans for Legal Immigraton(http://www.alipac.us/article1676.html) DOES NOT want
Banks to offer credit cards or mortgage to undocumented U.S. residents. They are fighting banks like Bank of America, Citibank and others working with ACORN
(a housing advocate, www.acornhousing.org) to faciliate borrowers getting home loans using their Tax Payer Id. Number(ITIN).

Also Representative John T. Doolittle R-California has introduced a bill in Congress that would prohibit financial institutions from providing home mortgages to anyone who lacks a Social Security number. The bill (H.R. 480) would amend the Truth in
Lending Act to make ITIN mortgage lending illegal.

As a real estate professional this will hurt our industry especially in the current slow market conditions, it will hurt banks,
and of all will hurt consumers who need credit cards, mortgages in order to participate in modern society. Isn't this hurting all of us?

SUBJECT: Late Mortgage Payments/Pagos atrasados

PREGUNTA:   Hi, mi nombre es XXX. ytengo un problema, estoy apunto de regresar la casa a los bancos ya que mis mensualidades subieron demasiado. no he podido refinanciar ya ke tengo dos pagos tarde, mi credit score es 603,587 y 562, no puedo obtener full doc. porke mis ingresos son $3250.00 por mes, lo que devo al banco por la casa es el monto de $310,000.00 tengo dos montos el primero es por $248,000.00 y el segundo por $61,000.00compre la casa en el 2005 por el precio de $310,000.00 solo 6 meses atras la casa fue valuada en $350,000.00 pero mis vecinos estan vendiendo sus casas por menos dinero la ultima que se vendio fue por $310,000.00, no se si ustedes hacen refinanciamientos tambien, espero me puedan ayudar con la informacion que les he descrito, de antemano gracias.

 

RESPUESTA:  Gracias por enviar su informacion muy completa.

De acuerda a su informacion, asumo que ya le llego una carta "NOTICE OF DEFAULT"?

Si ya tiende 2 pagos atrasados, y no ha llegado a un acuerdo con el banco, despues de el "NOTICE OF DEFAULT" viene el Foreclosure(remate, reposocion for falta de pago.)

 

Analisando su caso: credito score menus de 680, el total de hipoteca versus el valor de su casa, no sera facil un refinanciamento...

Soluicones posibles:

1. un prestamo privado (hard money loan) : estos préstamos son basados en la "equity" (plusvalia) su casa y el interes es mas alto que de los bancos tradicionales...Pero crea que no es opcion para usted debido a que no hay suficiente plus valia.

 

2. Puedo usted vender su casa ANTES DE FORECLOSURE en lo que se llame el SHORT SALE...en un Short Sale se negocia con el banco para que le autorizen vender su casa por menos de los que se debe.

 

3. Ultimamente, se busco aun amigo/familia que quiera comprar su casa.

 

Pero si la razon es que no puedo con los pagos mensuales opcion 1 es la mejo opcion entre ambas malas opciones.

 

WOMEN MORE LIKELY THAN MEN TO RECEIVE SUBPRIME HOME MORTGAGES

For more info see : http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/WomenPrimeTargetsPressRelease.pdf


WOMEN MORE LIKELY THAN MEN TO RECEIVE SUBPRIME HOME MORTGAGES
Women represent nearly 40 percent of subprime borrowers, making it more difficult for women-led households to build wealth through homeownership, according to a recent study by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). Last year, 32 percent of women borrowers received mortgages with interest rates exceeding the average prime mortgage rate of 5.87 percent compared with 24.2 percent of men. The study, which examined 4.4 million mortgage originations throughout the country where borrowers were identified by their gender, also found that more than one in 10 women received high-cost subprime loans with interest rates above 9.66 percent.

The disparity between the rate of subprime lending for men and women grows as income levels increase, according to the study. Women earning double the median income are 46.4 percent more likely to obtain a subprime mortgage than men with similar incomes. "Evidence suggests that women have slightly higher credit scores on average than men and similar credit usage patterns, yet the fact that women are more likely to receive more expensive mortgages at all income levels undercuts the lending industries calm assurances that borrowers are priced based on their creditworthiness," said Allen Fishbein, CFA's director of housing and credit policy.

The Hypocrisy of Money & Immigration

WE WANT YOUR MONEY BUT GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY:
I am in San Francisco, and the last few weeks there has been a lot talk about ICE(immigration police) rounding up undocumented people in the surrounding cities: Redwood City, Pittsburg, San Pablo, Richmond, San Francisco.

ICE it is only those who have deportation or criminal records, but the fact is there a families, children, long time residents (nondocumented) who being deported and whose families are being destroy.

The Church is silent and so are the financial institutions: Banks, Mortgage companies, etc.
And here is the hypocrisy of Money!

As a loan agent I see all the advertisement by Banks, Car Dealerships targeting the illegal person: Credit cards, mortgage loans, loans of any type with a Tax Payer Id (ie. No Social Security Number).

So the message is clear: Get out of our country if you are illegal, but we want your money. Open up bank accounts, credit cards, get home loans, refinance.

Since persception is reality, and since we are babies of the media/advertise age, these financial institution should do more to bring public awareness of how valuable this target group is for them and for all of us.

Negative Loans(also called Pick A Payment)

I am getting a lot of calls from borrowers who can longer afford their pick a payment loans. These are the loans that say that your interest rate 1, 2. 3%.A lot of the borrowers are saying that they never understood them or that this type of loan was never fully explained. As a real estate agent, I get a bit frustrated when buyers claim they are "innocent." I think a lot of buyers ignore the consequences of their decisions and DREAM that the problems will go away.However, I do believe that lenders have been very ,very agressive in their marketing of the Negative Loan programs, and we as Loan Agents, have been seduced by such marketingand as good "sales people" push these products even when we know THE NUMBERS don't make sense.For example, from day 1, a Wholesaler kept pushing us, kep training us to market/sell the Negative Programs. She explained how it all made sense and even brought us their calculators to quickly see 'HOW MUCH MORE MANY YOU COULD MAKE BY ONLY PAYING THE MINIMUM PAYMENT (LESS THAN FULL INTEREST" AND SAVE THE REST INTO A SAVINGS ACCOUNT."Example of what she said. You regular payment would be 3,000 interest only, principle & interest would 3,500, but your minimum would be 1,800.So pay 1,800, and the rest put into a savings account. When one of my colleagues challenge her by saying: that this only made sense if you earned enough in savings to make sense she got very upset at my colleague. Now almost 2 years later, we see the result of a lot of people losing their homes due to not being able to pay the deferred interest.So I have to tell borrowers and agents, if it is too good to make sense then it is.And as agents we owe a duty to explain the "worst" case scenarious to our buyers.It is very sad to have to tell my prospects when they call that there is nothing I can could to help.

¿Qué es un "Blog"?

¿Qué es un "Blog"? Es parecido a los foros o un tablón de anuncios/mensajes de un foro. La palabra BLOG viene de weblog. Quedó la "B" y se adirió a LOG, y quedó BLOG. Es "un sitio 'web' que contiene un diario personal en línea con reflexiones, comentarios y enlaces. El "blog" es semejante a un diario en línea. Cualquier tipo de información puede ser presentado en un blog, de historias acerca de una vacaciones de la familia al comentario exhaustivo en la política de mundo. Además, la mayoría de los blogs permiten a visitantes para anunciar las respuestas para bloguear artículos o entradas y salir la reacción para la persona que corre el sitio, conocido como un "blogger". En términos generales, un blog es una manera rápida, fácil y divertida de establecer una presencia en línea.

¿Quién puede vender bienes raíces?

¿Quién puede vender bienes raíces? Sólo una persona que tiene una licencia de bienes raíces lo puede ayudar a comprar una casa.Usted puede verificar si esta persona tiene una licencia en el internet http://www.dre.ca.gov. O hablenos para confirmar.

¿Que es el Good Faith Estimate?

¿Que es el Good Faith Estimate?

El "Good Faith Estimate" es un estimacion de los gastos del prestamo 'en buena fe.' Por ley esta lista de cargos se te tiene que entregar dentro 3 dias y en escrito de tu aplicacion.

new Contra Costa Ordinances. Buyers/Sellers/Agent be careful.

I recently sold a house in Richmond, CA and thanks to my client I realized that Contra Costa had passed several Point of Sale ordinaces that almost caught by surprise.

What is also alarming is that a lot offices/agents who work and live in Richmond don't them these and are not providing the disclosures and inspections necessary.

here are the ordiances, as far as I can interpret them:
1. Seller has to perform a lateral sewer inspection before selling. Or buyer has to do this 60 days after close of escrow.
If the Sever Inspection shows problems the Seller has to fix the problems unless the buyer signs to assume responsibility.
The City says that they will send the new Buyer a notice if not done.

2. The Gas Valve installation is necessary. Again, unless the buyer assumes responsibility, the seller has to order and pay for this.

The cost for sewer inspection(video) runs from $175 to $250, and if problems arise the cost to fix them will be from 3,000 to 6,000.

The Gas Valve cost is $275.00

Is an affordable REALLY affordable.

This is the story from the San Francisco Chronicle about a home buyer who waited many, many years to be able to afford your own home (a 450 square foot Studio Condo) in San Francisco.  The unit was bought through help from the Mayor's office of housing which helps you buy a condo below market price. So to make a long story short. She leaves a rent control flat, buys this studio unit, and then the HOA start increase, the Special Assessments start coming and she can not afford the Dues of Assessments.

 

I note that one of the problems with the mixed income levels of the buyers. Those with more money want more ammenties therefore increaseing the HOA dues.

more infor read at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/archive/2007/01/19/carollloyd.DTL

 

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Acorn Housing can you help a loan with better home mortgage rates.

Acorn has partnered with Bank of American and CitiCorp to offer home buyers discount and better home mortgage rates.

 

For loans using not a social security number but a tax payer id (ITIN), borrowers can work with CitiCorp. Visit www.Acornhousing.org for more informatino.They have offices in Oakland and San Jose.

 

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Everyone is raving about

Stock Market & Real Estate Trends

Well. the stock market is hitting all time highs. And real estate is going down.
During the stock market crash of 2001, the real estate market became hot -for buyers, investors, agents, etc.

The reason could be that money left the stock market and went into real estate investments. of course low interest rates helped too.
But now I feel that investors will move money out of real estate into other investments: such as stocks.

Mortgages for Undocumented home buyers

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Selling illegal immigrants the American dream
- Carolyn Said, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Ramiro and Marisol looked on proudly as their 3-year-old son, Alexis, took out his toolbox and pretended to fix a closet in their new San Jose home. He was imitating the flurry of work his parents had put into the one-bedroom condominium over the past two weekends, installing new linoleum and carpets from Home Depot, painting and repairing. With a shy giggle, Marisol, 27, pointed out where she plans to put the sofa and the TV in the tiny living room while Ramiro, 32, talked about being able to grill carne asada on the tree-shaded balcony. They joked about how rarely they see each other. Ramiro works six days a week in a sheet-metal factory and attends night school to get his high school diploma. Marisol goes to business classes in the mornings and works afternoons as an office assistant while Alexis attends preschool. It was a typical new-homeowner scene with one exception: Ramiro and Marisol, who asked that their last name not be used, are undocumented immigrants from Mexico. They've been in the country for four years. Marisol entered on a tourist visa. Ramiro hid in a car. Their immigration status did not prevent them from buying a home. It is legal for undocumented people to purchase property in the United States. The problem has been borrowing the money to pay for it. Ramiro and Marisol have stable jobs, but many undocumented people have spotty or nonexistent credit histories. Often, they've worked off the books. That's two big strikes against getting a mortgage. Another issue used to be an absolute deal breaker when undocumented people applied for home loans: Until recently, people had to have a Social Security number to qualify for a mortgage. Now, a handful of banks, including some major institutions, have begun offering home-mortgage loans to people who don't have Social Security accounts. Instead, borrowers can use individual taxpayer identification numbers, or ITINs, which are used to file income tax returns. These lending programs also allow borrowers to use unconventional ways to demonstrate their creditworthiness. The Internal Revenue Service issues taxpayer IDs to both resident and nonresident aliens so they can pay taxes. A significant number of the 8.6 million holders of individual taxpayer IDs are illegal immigrants, according to the Government Accounting Office. Even as a heated debate swirls around the 12 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States, they are increasingly participating in the country's financial system, from paying taxes to opening bank accounts. And, for many undocumented people, just as for many citizens, the ultimate financial goal is to be a homeowner. "For those families who have the American dream, but don't have access to documentation, the (the taxpayer ID mortgage) is a way for them to be able to buy a home, lay down roots and build wealth for their family for the future," said Janis Bowdler, housing policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil-rights organization in Washington, D.C. Opponents of illegal immigration deplore mortgages for undocumented people. Some say the banks making taxpayer ID loans are guilty of aiding and abetting criminals. U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, a Republican from Roseville (Placer County), has introduced a bill that would ban issuing residential mortgages to illegal immigrants. "The government should not be in the business of creating incentives to encourage illegal behavior. Nor should companies be permitted to reward those individuals in clear violation of our laws," Doolittle said in a statement when he introduced the bill in October. The bill, which also would require expedited deportation of people caught entering the United States illegally, is pending in the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims. It benefits the economy when immigrants move from "mattress money" into mainstream financial transactions, economists say. And illegal immigrants represent a huge potential market. Undocumented Latino immigrants could take out some $44 billion in mortgage loans if they had the same access as legal residents, according to a 2004 study for the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. "People traditionally talk about the undocumented Latino population as furtive people in the shadows who are very marginalized," said the study's author, Rob Paral, a research fellow with the American Immigration Law Foundation in Washington, D.C. "What's really changed is that a lot of people who are undocumented have fairly decent incomes. They have spending patterns and social behaviors which include an interest in buying a home and an ability to do it." Using Census data on income and age, he estimated that 216,000 currently undocumented households could buy homes -- admittedly ones at modest prices. About a quarter of those potential home buyers are in California. "This is a large, untapped population from a financial point of view," Paral said. "If it were not restrained, it could be pouring a lot more money into society." Banks have gotten that message loud and clear. U.S. banks now routinely accept both taxpayer ID numbers and a Mexican ID called matricula consular to open new accounts. Many reach out to the Latino community with Spanish marketing materials and bilingual bank tellers. The latest twist is the taxpayer ID mortgage. Pioneered by small community banks, mainly in the Midwest, the loans slowly have begun to spread. As of September 2004, one credit union and 18 banks were offering such mortgages, according to a report by independent researcher Mari Gallagher. In California, Wells Fargo and Citibank both offer taxpayer ID mortgage loans, albeit in small programs. Citibank's version of the loans is made in conjunction with ACORN Housing, a nonprofit that promotes home ownership among low-income people. ACORN does initial screening of potential borrowers and refers those who can qualify to Citibank. Mark Rodgers, a spokesman for the New York bank, said its loans do not specifically address immigration status. "We look to provide financial services across the wide spectrum of consumers in the United States," he said. "This is a program for borrowers in low- to moderate-income households, and we do, as part of that program, accept (taxpayer IDs) in addition to Social Security numbers." Marisol and Ramiro got their mortgage through the Citibank/ACORN Housing program, which offers interest rates a full percentage point below the published rate and $3,000 toward closing costs or down payment. In addition, their Realtor, Rebecca Gallardo-Serrano of Protelo Group Realty in San Jose, gave them a rebate of $2,500 to help pay their closing costs. At less than $260,000, their small condo was the lowest-cost listing in Santa Clara County. The program acknowledges the reality that many Latino immigrants do not have much traditional credit history. "In the Latino community, we don't like to have debt," said Frances Martinez Myers, chairwoman of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. "We transact in cash, so there's no credit history." Marisol and Ramiro, for example, "used very nonconventional credit," Gallardo-Serrano said. ACORN Housing verified that the couple had paid their bills on time for the past two years to PG&E, San Jose Water, their landlord and a health club. In addition, they showed two years of tax returns and employment history. Lez Trujillo, field director with ACORN Housing Corp. in Chicago, said the program with Citibank, which is available in about seven states, has made 804 mortgages worth $153 million since early 2005. Of those, 387 were in California, primarily Northern California. An additional 1,300 borrowers are now in the pipeline, either in contract or shopping for a house. None of the mortgages has resulted in a foreclosure. In fact, among all the borrowers, there have only been two late payments, both quickly remedied, she said. Aren't illegal immigrants worried that buying a home could make them more vulnerable to deportation? "It's a risk people are willing to take," Trujillo said. "Many of them have established credit, have had a job for many, many years, have been paying taxes. They have families, they want a stable place, privacy -- the same reasons the rest of society buys a house. The mentality is that they are here to stay and want to buy houses." Wells Fargo has offered taxpayer ID mortgages since December in a pilot program in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The bank declined to discuss the program, instead sending a short statement saying it will continue to evaluate it. The biggest barrier to such loans is that they cannot easily be sold on the secondary mortgage market. Most banks sell the mortgages they originate to bring in more money to make more loans. Instead, banks must keep taxpayer-ID mortgages in their portfolios, tying up capital. "If there was an investor, whether Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or someone on Wall Street, who decided they would start buying (taxpayer ID mortgages), it would certainly make it a lot easier for lenders to make them," said Brad German, a spokesman for Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored entity that repackages mortgages for sale to investors. Freddie Mac is studying whether to buy taxpayer ID mortgages, German said. Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Corp., the nation's largest mortgage insurer, provides insurance on taxpayer ID loans. While Mortgage Guarantee does not release specific numbers, Katie Monfre, a spokeswoman for the Milwaukee company, said taxpayer ID loans account for less than a half-percent of its overall business. "I can tell you the loans we've had on this very young book of business have been performing well," she said. That means they've had a very low rate of delinquencies and defaults. Gallagher, who specializes in research on undocumented Mexicans and the mortgage market, said that despite the shifting political winds, she thinks taxpayer ID mortgages will grow because the market pressure of so many immigrants who want to buy homes will be so strong. "This is the match that could light the next fire in the mortgage industry," she said. That kind of talk ignites wrath among anti-immigration partisans. "It's simply wrong for foreign lawbreakers to be enabled to plant roots in this country by way of obtaining a mortgage," Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, a group that wants to curtail immigration growth, wrote in support of the Doolittle bill that would bar mortgages for undocumented aliens. Ramiro and Marisol don't see themselves as lawbreakers. They hope to become citizens. And they hope that their condo will appreciate in value so they can trade up. "After I finish school, I want to have another baby, a girl," Marisol said. "Then in three years or maybe two, we can buy a house."
E-mail Carolyn Said at csaid@sfchronicle.com.Immigrants and finances Immigrants participate less in mainstream financial institutions than native-born Americans and have a lower rate of home ownership. Immigrants in this study were a representative sample of the country, so about two thirds are legal residents and one third are undocumented. Checking Savings Own Own Household account account home stock Immigrants 63% 55% 55% 13% Native-born Americans 76% 68% 75% 27% Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Locally, information on taxpayer-ID mortgages is available from ACORN Housing, www.acornhousing.org. Oakland office: (510) 436-6532; San Jose office: (408) 297-3087

Decline in Latino home buying seen as effect of new state law. Georgia

Home buying among Latinos in metro Atlanta has slowed significantly in recent months amid jitters over immigration reform, say real estate agents and lenders who cater to the Spanish-speaking community.The cooldown is an early sign that a 2-month-old Georgia law intended to reduce illegal immigration could be having an effect. There's no question that there’s a panic in the Hispanic community," said Raymond Amengual, a lender with AHM Mortgage. The problem is not so much their immigration status as the new laws that make them think they might not be able to work."

Interest Rate hikes and foreclosures

Becareful of the Option Payments. Opntion Payments include the Deferred Interest also known as Negative Amortization.This means the minimum payment DOES NOT COVER THE minimum interest. The difference is added to the principal. For example, if have a loan for $100,000 at 6% you have the following options to pay Option 1: Negative at (1%), monthly payment $83.33 Option 2:. Interest only monthly payment is $500.00. Option 3: 30 Years Interest & Principal $599.55;so if you have pay Option 1, then you are underpaying the by 500-83.33= 416.67.This cannot continue forever. Depending on your loan you can only do this for 12 months or until a certain amount is deferred. When that happens the Lender will force you to pay up.

Latinos fastest-growing minority in US

From  US Census Report as of July 1, 2004 printed in the SF Examiner:

- 1 in 7 people in United States is Latino/Hispanic

- It is estimated that there are 41.3 million Latinos in the US

 

And of course this has tremendous impact on the real estate market.

 

There are many issues that need attention for the Lation Home Buyer, including:

- Overcoming the high prices of homes. They simply have become too expensive in many urban areas.  Without fancy, creative, and sometimes confusing loan programs, most home buyers and Latinos in particular cannot afford to enter the market.

 

- Access to capital. There has to be more loan programs that are competitive and are alternative to the "FICO" score mentally.  We need more loan programs that can take Tax Payer ID Number versus Social Security numbers, alternative trade lines versus FICO Scores, to buy in groups versus a single qualifying person.

 

- Need for good information.  The Latino Home Buyer needs "truthful" information and a team of professional that helps the LatinoHomeBuyer rather than take advantage of her/him.

 

 

 

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JOHN LIRA,
BayDirect Realty,
Mobile: 415.609.3331,Fax. 415.824.1866
Office: 415.824.4878
http://www.BayDirect.com
3405 Cesar Chavez St. #A
San Francisco, CA 94110
(corner of Mission St)

Becareful with the hype of interest only loans

As a real estate broker, I see that a lot of my buyers are getting homes with INTEREST ONLY payments. Although it is explained to them what this means, a lot of them come back months later to have me explain why their mortgage balance isn't going down and ask if they can refinance to get a lower "payment."

 

Well, interest only is a great investment loan vehicle if you know how to use.  But it is a sure path to becoming a "mortgage nightmare" if not understood.

 

For a lot us, Latino or not, we want to own our home free and clear eventually.  But after a great sales job by lenders, the Latino buyer accepts an interest, prepayment penalty, variable loan and never really understands it implications.  On the other hand, without these loans a typical (latino) home buyer will not qualify. So it comes down to being practical and realistic in terms of homeownership.

 

So set up your priorities, and if the overriding goal is to own your home then often the comprise is an interest only loan in order to have the minimum mortgage payment. This is especially true in the San Francisco Bay Area.  But a buyer also has to under that that the principal will not go down, and that most likely when she refinances the then current rates will be higher.

 

So a buyer should look at the worst case scenario: WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM INTEREST RATE THE MY LOAN CAN HAVE(the caps), and see if they can still afford the mortgage, or would be willing to consider selling options.

 

 

 

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Latino Home Buyer

Latinos are buying homes in the largest numbers ever.But there are problems with traditional loan qualifying, ID requirements, and abuse in charges.