All Encompassing Mortgage and Real Estate Thread

[South Austin 53155]

On 7/30/2022 at 5:19 PM, closetohumping said:

This needs to be emphasized.  You’re gonna have to “downgrade” your life to save money.  And remember home equity is great….if you use it.  Otherwise you’re just living in an expensive house

Very true.  My last two home purchases in Austin (during my marriage) were each significantly bigger than the one before, moving from a small 2/1 bungalow in the Barton Heights area after we got pregnant with Kid No. 1 to a barely 2,000 square foot 3/2 house in NW Hills after Kid No. 2 was five years old, and when it felt like we were getting close to outgrowing that house, to a 2,800 square foot 4/3 in Rosedale.  I'm done with that.  My next home purchase, which likely won't be for many years, will be after kids are off to college and will be something smaller and further out.

[hornian 5281]

22 hours ago, closetohumping said:

It's beautiful but holy crap isn't LH way out there?

I'd be more concerned about the drinking water (or lack thereof) up that way. 

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/central-texas-drinking-water-crisis/

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by hornian

[sidis 9990]

5 hours ago, South Austin said:

Very true.  My last two home purchases in Austin (during my marriage) were each significantly bigger than the one before, moving from a small 2/1 bungalow in the Barton Heights area after we got pregnant with Kid No. 1 to a barely 2,000 square foot 3/2 house in NW Hills after Kid No. 2 was five years old, and when it felt like we were getting close to outgrowing that house, to a 2,800 square foot 4/3 in Rosedale.  I'm done with that.  My next home purchase, which likely won't be for many years, will be after kids are off to college and will be something smaller and further out.

i actually made this just for this post.

[Gil Bang 26177]

Holy crap:  

Kid is looking in N.C., and fuck, they have some weird laws and customs.

First off, the sellers have no duty to disclose.  Anything. 

Further, the buyer is expected to put up a non-refundable "due diligence fee" upon acceptance.  That's to compensate the sellers, should the buyer find out that the house is a piece of shit and decide not to buy.  And, it's on top of the normal earnest money. The fee applies to the purchase price, but if you halt the process, they keep the fee.  So, the sellers have an incentive to have defective conditions that can be discovered in an inspection, but aren't noticeable to the buyer doing a walk-through.  The local agent suggests $5000 for that fee. 

Keep selling the same house over and over, collect the fee, and move on to the next buyer. 

Fucking crazy system. 

[Incredulity 11861]

[Incredulity 11861]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

First off, the sellers have no duty to disclose.  Anything. 

 

https://www.ncrec.gov/Forms/Consumer/rec422.pdf

Sounds like that only applies to a first sale.  Which is fucked up too, but.

[Neonmoon 38130]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Holy crap:  

Kid is looking in N.C., and fuck, they have some weird laws and customs.

First off, the sellers have no duty to disclose.  Anything. 

Further, the buyer is expected to put up a non-refundable "due diligence fee" upon acceptance.  That's to compensate the sellers, should the buyer find out that the house is a piece of shit and decide not to buy.  And, it's on top of the normal earnest money. The fee applies to the purchase price, but if you halt the process, they keep the fee.  So, the sellers have an incentive to have defective conditions that can be discovered in an inspection, but aren't noticeable to the buyer doing a walk-through.  The local agent suggests $5000 for that fee. 

Keep selling the same house over and over, collect the fee, and move on to the next buyer. 

Fucking crazy system. 

I'm a lender in NC

We also require a closing attorney 

But good news, no transfer taxes. 

edit: also property taxes are laughably low compared to Texas

Edited August 3, 2022 by Neonmoon

[Armybrat 41323]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Holy crap:  

Kid is looking in N.C., and fuck, they have some weird laws and customs.

First off, the sellers have no duty to disclose.  Anything. 

Further, the buyer is expected to put up a non-refundable "due diligence fee" upon acceptance.  That's to compensate the sellers, should the buyer find out that the house is a piece of shit and decide not to buy.  And, it's on top of the normal earnest money. The fee applies to the purchase price, but if you halt the process, they keep the fee.  So, the sellers have an incentive to have defective conditions that can be discovered in an inspection, but aren't noticeable to the buyer doing a walk-through.  The local agent suggests $5000 for that fee. 

Keep selling the same house over and over, collect the fee, and move on to the next buyer. 

Fucking crazy system. 

Probably how Mack Brown’s wife Sally became a multimillionaire before she married him.

[smoothlonghorn 85]

Last Thursday to today be like (but without the WHEEE! for enjoyment)....

 

Random question for the Brokers/Pros--to your knowledge, Conventional does not accept F1/student-sponsored VISAs, correct? Based on guidelines/my understanding that one seems pretty straightforward, but my interactions have me wondering if people are hearing/have access to something different....

[Neonmoon 38130]

Incorrect. You can get a conventional mortgage with an F1 visa. The issue will be having sufficient income and credit. 

https://singlefamily.fanniemae.com/media/7181/display

https://www.homebridgewholesale.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Visa-Eligibility-for-Non-Citizens-2.pdf
 

F1 Visa Mortgage Requirements

You’ll need to provide a letter from your school that outlines the terms of your program, as well as evidence that you have been in the US for five years or more. To qualify for a mortgage on an F1 Visa, the following would be needed:

• Valid passport
• I-20 form from your school
• Employment letter from your sponsor in the US
• Proof of no criminal history
• 2 years of credit history 
• W2 forms or 1099s for the past 2 years
• Bank statements from the past 3 months

[smoothlonghorn 85]

Thanks for the reply/information, Neonmoon!

And Ha--the link to Homebridge's 2021 guidelines (https://www.homebridgewholesale.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Visa-Eligibility-for-Non-Citizens-2-21.pdf) was the only confirmation I could find (looks the same to the ones you posted = 2019). The F1 Visa Mortgage Requirements in your post--are those direct from their lending guidelines (or another lender)?

Even the FNMA information indicates a "Work Visa" (which it wouldn't be) or an EAD (which 1 Borrower I checked had a C3 = Student Authorization = same ineligibilty)

What I can't seem to confirm is if that is unique to Homebridge/a one-off--below is a snip from what we utilize for Conventional eligibility:

Sorry for the diversion, folks, feel free to go back to complaining about rates going up 1/2 point in 4 business days (I know I am)....

[UTPhil2006 3909]

23 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

I'm a lender in NC

We also require a closing attorney 

But good news, no transfer taxes. 

edit: also property taxes are laughably low compared to Texas

Note to self - refer all NC deals to Neonmoon so we don't have to do them.

[Neonmoon 38130]

@smoothlonghorn

These are Fannie Mae guidelines

Here is additional verbiage from their site

If you have a social security number or an ITIN number, they can get a conventional loan. The issue you will find is the Student with the F1 visa doesn't have the legal right to work in the US, and thus, doesn't have qualifying income per guidelines. 

https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/students-and-employment

So the F1 visa shows they are legally in the country. Now, they just need a SSN or ITIN number. The issue will be getting that. If the somehow have a SSN, then they would need to show a 2 year work history. (while also going to school full time per F1 guidelines)

That's a tall order for most applicants. 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Neonmoon

[Neonmoon 38130]

13 minutes ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Note to self - refer all NC deals to Neonmoon so we don't have to do them.

Please do! I will refer all my Texas leads to you

[jimmyjazz 46980]

Saw a push on my phone that mortgage rates dropped below 5% for the first time since April.  No idea if that's a blip or a trend, would love thoughts from the pros.

[UTPhil2006 3909]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Saw a push on my phone that mortgage rates dropped below 5% for the first time since April.  No idea if that's a blip or a trend, would love thoughts from the pros.

We’ve been steadily heading the right direction for a month or so so I would lean towards trend. I’ve said let’s just get to a reasonable 4.2-4.5 area and be happy. Still got a ways to go but heading in the right way as of now. 

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Saw a push on my phone that mortgage rates dropped below 5% for the first time since April.  No idea if that's a blip or a trend, would love thoughts from the pros.

National average was 5.43% yesterday per my software and MBS guys. I was locking at 4.75% this morning. YMMV. 

[South Austin 53155]

My rate is a low 3 and in January I was actually thinking I might refinance later in the year.

Edited August 5, 2022 by South Austin

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

My rate is a low 3 and in January I was actually thinking I might refinance later in the year.

Not likely. I assume you mean a 30 year that you have right now. 

[smoothlonghorn 85]

F**k you, jobs report! (Caveat: I'm bleeding heart, so if you've lost your job recently (certainly possible in mortgages) I hope you find something soon)...

But again, f**k you, jobs report....

RE: "National average was 5.43% yesterday per my software and MBS guys. I was locking at 4.75% this morning. YMMV." It seems like the past few days have been weird, especially on MND--yesterday indicated a huge rate drop (they were down to 5.09%), but without a corresponding +100 MBS BPS increase at some point. Guess we're about to see that leveling out...

Edited August 5, 2022 by smoothlonghorn

[South Austin 53155]

11 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Not likely. I assume you mean a 30 year that you have right now. 

Yes, I have a 30-year fixed. 

[Neonmoon 38130]

Yeah jobs report shot rates back up 

[UTPhil2006 3909]

Here to also say fuck the jobs report.

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

Good time to be repelling down a 100 foot waterfall with my son for his birthday. It’s a good metaphor for the MBS market this week. 

[closetohumping 17782]

3 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

Yeah jobs report shot rates back up 

Damn it.  We suck again

[Gatorubet 30636]

On 8/3/2022 at 10:19 AM, Gil Bang said:

Keep selling the same house over and over, collect the fee, and move on to the next buyer. 

Fucking crazy system. 

Uncle Slaton's got his Texan pride
Back in the thickets with his Asian bride
He's cut that corner pasture into acre lots
He sells 'em owner financed strictly to them
It's got no kind of credit 'cause he knows they're slackers
And they'll miss that payment and then he takes it back

[Gatorubet 30636]

https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/markets/mortgage-rates-08052022

 

I’m dumb, so this helps me get a bit of it. 

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

As always, this is not what you should get. This is not an offer for me to deal a deal for you on these terms or any others.  It is very very odd when we don't beat the national average.  This is what it is, merely what my loan software tells me was locked during Friday's course of business nationwide.  It also matches pretty well with what my guys at MBS Highway say as far as national averages. We had gotten lower than this Monday of last week but the tale of last week was getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly and hard.  Still, well down from the top we saw about 2 or 3 months ago at 6.05% I think was the worst of it. 

 

30-YR. CONFORMING

5.452% +0.126

30-YR. JUMBO

5.305% +0.228

30-YR. FHA

5.428% +0.184

30-YR. VA

5.065% +0.093

30-YR. USDA

5.340% +0.013

15-YR. CONFORMING

4.699% +0.138

[Incredulity 11861]

15 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Still, well down from the top we saw about 2 or 3 months ago at 6.05% I think was the worst of it. 

Not trying to start a knife fight.

 

How would 6.05% be the worst of it if the Fed keeps raising rates? 

I realize the Fed isn't 1 to 1 with mortgage rates, but its interrelated.  Unless CPI is WAY down they are going again is Sept.

[UTPhil2006 3909]

59 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

Not trying to start a knife fight.

 

How would 6.05% be the worst of it if the Fed keeps raising rates? 

I realize the Fed isn't 1 to 1 with mortgage rates, but its interrelated.  Unless CPI is WAY down they are going again is Sept.

Lenders price in well in advance.

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

1 hour ago, Incredulity said:

Not trying to start a knife fight.

 

How would 6.05% be the worst of it if the Fed keeps raising rates? 

I realize the Fed isn't 1 to 1 with mortgage rates, but its interrelated.  Unless CPI is WAY down they are going again is Sept.

Honestly it's generally an inverse affect with mortgage rates.  Fed Raises rates, that decreases demand in the economy, brings on slowing of growth, which leads to money flight to quality, which is traditionally government bonds, precious metals, commodities and mortgage backed securities, the last of which lowers interest rates for traditional mortgages.  Rates have eased down after the fed has actually aggressively lowered rates as almost always happens in all recessionary markets.  

Edited August 8, 2022 by Wulaw Horn

[Incredulity 11861]

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=bwOD

 

 

an interesting graph.

 

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

4 minutes ago, Incredulity said:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=bwOD

 

 

an interesting graph.

 

I'd make the argument that the asset chart is more important than the fed rate chart, at least recently.

Thanks for posting the chart.  Also- the time interval should not be the same.  The 30 year rate chart should shift 45-60 days from the fed chart, likely. My suspicion is that a chart like this isn't using real time locked data but rather interest rate at closing, which is a 45-60 day lag indicator based on the nationwide time to close a loan, generally.  Maybe they do factor this in, but then it'd be hard to determine what percentage of locked loans actually were delivered on those terms at closing- and I'd be almost positive whoever did that chart didn't dive that in depth on the whole thing.  Maybe they did.  Who knows. 

[Incredulity 11861]

5 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

The 30 year rate chart should shift 45-60 days from the fed chart, likely. My suspicion is that a chart like this isn't using real time locked data but rather interest rate at closing, which is a 45-60 day lag indicator based on the nationwide time to close a loan, generally.  Maybe they do factor this in, but then it'd be hard to determine what percentage of locked loans actually were delivered on those terms at closing- and I'd be almost positive whoever did that chart didn't dive that in depth on the whole thing.  Maybe they did.  Who knows.

IMPO most importantly would be consistency in how the data was gathered and posted to the chart.

Figures lie and liars figure.

[jimmyjazz 46980]

Trying to figure out takeaway $ on a sale of our house, and in particular cap gains taxes.  The assumption is that we would not roll proceeds into a new purchase, at least not immediately.  Married couple, so the basis is $500K, correct?  I believe selling fees aren't taxed, nor are investments in the property (of which we have none, the house is only 7 years old).  Anything else get excluded?

I am assuming the taxable amount is:  sale price - mortgage payoff - selling fees - investment - $500K.  Am I close?

[Gil Bang 26177]

yes

 

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc701#:~:text=If you have a capital,joint return with your spouse.

 

 

[Catpfish 618]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Trying to figure out takeaway $ on a sale of our house, and in particular cap gains taxes.  The assumption is that we would not roll proceeds into a new purchase, at least not immediately.  Married couple, so the basis is $500K, correct?  I believe selling fees aren't taxed, nor are investments in the property (of which we have none, the house is only 7 years old).  Anything else get excluded?

I am assuming the taxable amount is:  sale price - mortgage payoff - selling fees - investment - $500K.  Am I close?

Just a note.  It seems like you are including an old tax provision in that you can defer gains by rolling the proceeds into the purchase of "bigger" house, and that is no longer the case.

[jimmyjazz 46980]

1 hour ago, Catpfish said:

Just a note.  It seems like you are including an old tax provision in that you can defer gains by rolling the proceeds into the purchase of "bigger" house, and that is no longer the case.

Ah.  So there is no tax advantage to immediately repurchasing?  That furthers the strategy.

[Neonmoon 38130]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Ah.  So there is no tax advantage to immediately repurchasing?  That furthers the strategy.

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/capitalgainhomesale.asp
 

 

[UTPhil2006 3909]

Loan Depot exiting the Mortgage game. Wholesale side at least 

[Sbbruin 22082]

On 8/8/2022 at 11:26 AM, Catpfish said:

Just a note.  It seems like you are including an old tax provision in that you can defer gains by rolling the proceeds into the purchase of "bigger" house, and that is no longer the case.

Is that just a Texas thing?  Because I'm pretty sure you can do that here.  

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

9 minutes ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Loan Depot exiting the Mortgage game. Wholesale side at least 

Yep. Was bummed. We’ve closed a dozen people with them this year- they were good people we dealt with. 

[UTPhil2006 3909]

5 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Yep. Was bummed. We’ve closed a dozen people with them this year- they were good people we dealt with. 

Yep. We did a few personally, I’m sure others on our team did as well. This year has been/is gonna be brutal on the mortgage industry on all sides. 

[Neonmoon 38130]

1 hour ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Loan Depot exiting the Mortgage game. Wholesale side at least 

Yikes 

Quote

loanDepot’s headcount has shrunk from 11,300 at year-end 2021, to approximately 8,500 at the end of June 2022, to around 7,400 at the beginning of August 2022. The year-end goal is 6,500 employees. 

 

[Gil Bang 26177]

2 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Yep. Was bummed. We’ve closed a dozen people with them this year- they were good people we dealt with. 

 

2 hours ago, UTPhil2006 said:

Yep. We did a few personally, I’m sure others on our team did as well. This year has been/is gonna be brutal on the mortgage industry on all sides. 

 

1 hour ago, Neonmoon said:

Yikes 

 

Well, the bad news is, there are some good people that will lose their jobs.  I'm sorry for them, but at least there are other jobs to be had in this market.  Maybe not in the same industry, but at least they can find work. 

 

On the other hand, I think it's OK for people in our business to smile a bit about these layoffs, because, truth be told,  most of the folks getting laid off (not all, but most) will be the ones that aren't as good as the ones that are left.  

Down times in this industry tends to weed out the less-skilled folks, and, the industry as a whole gets a little better.  At least until the next boom, when they start hiring any available dipshit again. 

Nothing makes me happier than seeing that a certain percentage of agents didn't pay their quarterly MLS dues, etc.   Get rid of the non-serious folks. 

I used to work with an "meh" agent, many years ago, that left the business in tough times.  She went to work at Trader Joe's  and she's still there. 

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

21 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

 

 

Well, the bad news is, there are some good people that will lose their jobs.  I'm sorry for them, but at least there are other jobs to be had in this market.  Maybe not in the same industry, but at least they can find work. 

 

On the other hand, I think it's OK for people in our business to smile a bit about these layoffs, because, truth be told,  most of the folks getting laid off (not all, but most) will be the ones that aren't as good as the ones that are left.  

Down times in this industry tends to weed out the less-skilled folks, and, the industry as a whole gets a little better.  At least until the next boom, when they start hiring any available dipshit again. 

Nothing makes me happier than seeing that a certain percentage of agents didn't pay their quarterly MLS dues, etc.   Get rid of the non-serious folks. 

I used to work with an "meh" agent, many years ago, that left the business in tough times.  She went to work at Trader Joe's  and she's still there. 

This isn’t targeted to the morons. I get what you are saying and agree, but they chopped off an entire channel, and one that is pretty decent. I typically agree with you about lopping off the incompetents, but this isn’t that imo. 

[Gil Bang 26177]

Just now, Wulaw Horn said:

This isn’t targeted to the morons. I get what you are saying and agree, but they chopped off an entire channel, and one that is pretty decent. I typically agree with you about lopping off the incompetents, but this isn’t that imo. 

fair enough.  And again, I NEVER take joy in somebody losing their job (aside from folks in politics).   Most of my career I managed people, and I've had to lay-off and fire people, and it totally sucks.

[Wulaw Horn 19560]

5 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

fair enough.  And again, I NEVER take joy in somebody losing their job (aside from folks in politics).   Most of my career I managed people, and I've had to lay-off and fire people, and it totally sucks.

I’ve never minded firing people. They fire themselves. Laying people off that are doing a good job?  Gut wrenching. 

[Dbeasy 15527]

FYI was looking at home price movement in Austin and am regularly seeing $50-200k price drops within 2 weeks of listing. Most were priced too high to begin with, but they are surprising large drops - fast. 

[Gil Bang 26177]

15 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I’ve never minded firing people. They fire themselves. Laying people off that are doing a good job?  Gut wrenching. 

Yeah...I was running a construction fund-control escrow.  I had a dipshit "Foisted" on me by another division of the company.  They swore he was a good guy, he just had a "personality conflict" with his boss.

Motherfucker's job was processing the reports from our field inspectors, putting them into our format, and gluing the photos into the report template (actual prints, this was before digital).  

One day my main client called me and asked why all the photos were glued upside-down.    Sure enough, I pulled my copies, and yep, upside down.  I fired the mofo on the spot.  And no, it wasn't @Armybrat