Mamma Jamma Success

United Lending had the privilege of participating in this year’s Mamma Jamma Texas Ride “Ride to Leave Breast Cancer Behind” – which raised funds to support our Central Texas friends and neighbors coping with breast cancer.  The 2011 ride alone contributed nearly $400,000 to the staggering $1.4 million dollars this charity has raised in its three years of existence. 

The United Lending family came together and led all teams in fundraising – contributing $27,325 to the $400,000 total.  Along with fundraising, United Lending employees also participated in the race, peddling a combined 370 miles, and fully staffed one of the pit stops- assuring that all the riders were well taken care of.

Big thanks to Jan Hill, Kevin Ginsberg and all those who helped make this wonderful event a success.  We had a fantastic time supporting a great cause and look forward to participating next year!!!

Breast cancer rages on, but we are finding a way to do something about it in our community.  For more information on how you can participate and contribute please check out the Mamma Jamma home page.

Why NOW is the IDEAL Time to Buy a Home

Now is REALLY the ideal time to buy a home.  I know this is not what you are hearing on the news or reading in the paper, or it may sound like a cliché, but it is true all the same.   Why is this true; because the Austin housing market is chock full of opportunities.

Rates are Historically Low.  This statement cannot be overvalued.  Low interest rates reduce your monthly mortgage payments for the term of your loan.  Savings over time can be in the 10s of thousands on a 30 year mortgage.  Alternatively, it can increase your purchase power, by allowing you to buy more house due the savings in mortgage interest.  This is an opportunity that will not last as the national economy improves and mortgage interest rate rise.

The Price is Right. Prices are suppressed. While the bottom of any market cannot be found until it is gone, we are no longer seeing a decline in housing prices over the previous year.  This means that you as a buyer can feel confident you are getting a good deal and not feel anxious over any loss in value.   You should take advantage of a market that is poised to grow and gain equity.

Choices, Choices, Choices. The resale home inventory right now is plentiful.  This means as a buyer you have many more options than usual.   This larger selection of homes allows you to determine the best home that meets your family’s needs.  You have the ability to be more selective.  In addition, the increase in competition generally makes sellers more conciliatory in negotiations to pre-approved buyers.

Economic Growth.  Presently Austin’s economy is ahead of the recovery curve.  Our local economy is often cited as the best in the country.  Austin’s job growth is 2.3% year to date for 2010; that means that more than 2,500 new jobs were created in the first 9 months of 2010.  Our unemployment rate is 3% less than the national average. Austin’s economy is out performing other cities and the future is even brighter.

The current market conditions add up to savings and investment opportunities that rarely come together. You can invest now while the market is beginning to recover, and in turn, reap the recovery gains over the next few years.  This opportunity is available to all those who are willing to see beyond the national press and look locally for the best deals.  Remember, you wouldn’t wake up and turn on CNN to get a weather update to determine how to dress for the day you would turn on the local news to find out how to dress appropriately.

Michael Brandt

United Lending, LLC

NMLS# 202935

512-922-3144 cell

512-592-5462 ofc

512-623-6223 fax

michael@unitedbrandt.com

www.unitedbrandt.com

What to Expect When You’re Expecting a Mortgage Loan Approval

As a mortgage loan originator, my job has changed tremendously over the past year.  I no longer feel like just a loan officer who collects a few things from the borrower, explains the steps in the process and then we sail through to closing.  I now feel like a banker, an auditor, an accountant, a detective, a bookkeeper and a therapist, among other things.  This is of little fault of my current customers but rather that of the many homebuyers of the past who blew it for everybody else and the lenders who enabled them.  It is especially attributed to those who were allowed to buy homes without jobs, without money, and without credit.  The banks that offered these programs and the loan officers who utilized them did not do these people any favors.  Many buyers were put into loan programs such as zero down interest-only ARM’s with no escrow accounts.  So their payments seemed manageable on a monthly basis but then the tax bills at the end of the year would come or the ARM would adjust and the homebuyers were not prepared for these extra expenses.  These issues affected many people and contributed largely to the high rate of foreclosures and short sales we have seen in recent months.  It really became far too easy for people to buy homes who had no business doing so.  So now, several years later, it has become a much different process with more steps and more documentation requirements than ever before.  This can be especially painful for anyone who bought a home three or four years ago who had to submit nothing more than a pay stub for loan approval.  Well, it’s a whole new ball game with a whole new set of rules and requirements so as much as it pains me and everyone else who is affected, it’s time to reset expectations.

Let’s start with a major change in employment and income documentation.  All buyers whether self-employed or not now have to provide two years of personal tax returns with all schedules.  They have to sign an IRS Form 4506-T which gives permission for the lender to request copies of the transcripts of their past two years tax returns from the IRS.  This is to ensure first off that the returns have actually been filed and secondly that the returns provided to the lender match those on file with the IRS.  In the past, a 4506-T was only executed in the case of a post-closing audit.  The implementation of this requirement has opened the door for several potential issues that can cause buyers to be delayed or even denied.  Potential issues can arise if returns have not been filed, monies owed to the IRS have not been paid or the returns submitted to the lender do not match the IRS transcripts.  If a borrower is on a payment plan with the IRS for monies owed, the payment plan must be documented as accepted by the IRS in writing and the monthly payment counted in the borrower’s debt-to-income ratios.

Employment on every borrower will be verified the day of closing.  Please, please do not quit your job.  This one might seem obvious but IT HAPPENS!

Moving on to assets, a big issue that has changed the approval process is the requirement of every borrower to submit bank statements (in the past we had the option of doing verifications of deposit directly to banks to confirm current and average account balances).  Deposits that are not payroll-related or clearly a direct deposit from a pension, social security or other similar sources have to be explained and properly documented.  Deposits that cannot be properly documented have to be subtracted out of available funds.   Borrowers who make numerous cash deposits often have a hard time providing acceptable paper trails.  The logic behind making sure that funds for closing are sourced and seasoned is to ensure that the borrower is not using borrowed funds or credit card cash advances or anything along those lines as all of these are considered unacceptable sources for down payment and closing costs per loan guidelines.  So if you are considering buying a home in the near future, keep this in mind and do your best to keep those bank statements looking clean!  And remember, direct deposit is your friend!

You will more than likely have to write one or more letters of explanation.  Every borrower writes one to explain all inquiries made on their credit reports and whether or not new accounts were opened as a result of the inquiries.  You may have to write one explaining why the address on your driver’s license does not match your current address.  You may have to write one explaining a job gap.  You may have to write one explaining derogatory credit.  The list could go on and on.  Just know that pretty much nobody is immune from this one.  As silly as they may seem, they are requirements in many cases so my advice is to just laugh while you type and sign J.

These are just a few of the many fun parts of the mortgage loan approval process that continue to keep us all on our toes.  There are more disclosures to sign, more steps that go on behind the scenes in processing and underwriting than you could ever believe, more compliance requirements and constant guideline changes.  But at the end of the day, all we can do is smile and remember that borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars is a big deal.  And we should do all we can to prove that we have the intention and the ability to pay that loan payment every month.  And I am happy to be right there with you, laughing away as we put the pieces of the puzzle together.  Because no matter how much the industry changes and no matter how many license exams I have to pass or documents I need to hunt down for my customers, I absolutely love what I do and I love helping my customers get to the closing table and get the keys to their new homes.  There is just nothing else like it J.  So bear with me when you feel like you’re going through a full body search and a complete personal audit.   When it is all said and done, trust me that it will have been worth it.

–Melanie Taliaferro

Mortgage Loan Originator

United Lending LLC

512-825-1196

melanie.taliaferro@unitedlendingusa.com

www.melanietaliaferro.com