mortgages ???

Q) what do i need to know about mortgages? who is the best bank to go with for one? how old do you have to be to get one? whats the longest you can take pay one back? and any thing else you think will help me.

A) You have to be 18 to get one. Everything else is negotiable. Stop by the lending office of your personal bank to discuss it with them.

If Countrywide goes bankrupt, what happens to its mortgages during during the bankruptcy process?

Q) I know that its debts and assets will be sold to other banks. The question is when? Will the sale of its mortgages have to wait until the bankruptcy proceedings are over and it is decided what goes to what bank? If so, what would happen with delinquent mortgages during this time which is sometimes more than a year ? Another example would be New Century Financial which has already started bankruptcy last year in April. What happened with some of their mortgages that became delinquent while the bankruptcy was going on?

A) just because a company goes in to BK doesn't mean they stop doing business. The company will continue to operate (for you) as if nothing has happen.

How to get more than 10 mortgages on investment properties?

Q) We own 10 investments properties and have 10 mortgages (with Bank of America) on each one. The bank is saying that they can do only 10 mortgages per person. How or where can we go over that limit, with reasonable rates and closing cost. Thanks for looking.

A) You can still find a few conforming lenders willing to exceed the 10 property max. It's only going to be lenders willing to hold onto the mortgages as opposed to sell them to Fannie Mae so they're few and far between. You have really 3 options. 1. Look into purchasing in the name of an LLC or escorp or some such. Obviously this would be a commercial deal and they'd start looking at things like DCSR of the property so it may not be the way to go. 2. Look around and find a reputable mortgage broker who does this type of business. Ask them upfront if they have lenders that deal with more than 10 mortgages and compare a few offers. 3. Look into restructuring the mortgages. Depending on your equity situation you may be able to use some of the properties to pay off some of the other mortgage in full. This is typically the most expensive option as every mortgage you refinance to juggle equity has closing costs. It can be done, for this type of loan I'd suggest looking at brokers as they tend to have more programs than any single bank. Even a big bank like BOA only offers a fraction of mortgage products available.

How do house payments and mortgages work?

Q) I have always wondered how house payments and mortgages happen, and how they figure out your monthly house payment. What would I have to do in order to buy/build a home with money?

A) A mortgage is your montly payment for usually either 15 or 30 yrs. The interest is figured in and in most cases your insurance and taxes are paid from your mortgage as well from an escro acct.

How do I sell my rental properties by creating mortgages?

Q) I have 20 rental properties that I would like to sell. They all have mortgages on them. How can I create mortgages for my buyers to try to sell tham and still njoy a monthly cashflow?

A) Sell them using a land contract (sometimes known as owner-financing or contract-for-deed). You don't need to pay off your current mortgage. Essentially the buyers would pay you principal & interest, and you would make them responsible for the taxes & insurance. You'd still have ownership of the house until they paid it in full. You would have monthly income plus you'd earn over 3 times your investment over the life of the loan--unless they refinanced with a conventional mortgage. Rick Lanicek www.primelendingonline.com

How many US auto loans and home mortgages financed by banks are out there?

Q) I'm trying to discover the # of US home mortgages and auto loans financed by banks in the US and the average value of each type of loan. It's for a school project.

A) Go talk to an officer at your local bank. There are many tens of millions of each, but I don't have exact data.

How to shop for mortgages without dings on my credit?

Q) I want to shop for mortgages for a new house without them needing to run my credit every time since having my credit run negatively impacts my credit (why is that anyway?). How should I go about shopping for mortgages to get the best rates, lowest fees and best overeall package?

A) Your best bet is to go to a mortgage broker then. He can pull one credit report and find the best lender for your situation. Just be careful so you don't get ripped off on fees.

How do lenders come up with the interest rates for mortgages?

Q) I want to know how banks set the interest rates for mortgages. All I know is that they move up and down with the fed funds rate and discount rate (Correct me if I am wrong). Does anyone know all factors that play into the rates that lenders come with? Is there a way to calculate or give more or less weight to any one of them? Thank you.

A) That is not to say that when the fed lowers rates the mortgage rates don’t tend to fall slightly but not in unison. The question i think you want to know is why the rate quotes differ so much does. The fact is all mortgage professionals are finding rates from the same pond so to speak. lenders and brokers have rate sheets it shows the rates that would be available to you what most people don’t know....simply put it shows the rate with the borrower paying no points to get a lower rate and then the other which is it shows the lender or broker your rate that would pay him a yield spread! 1/2% of loan amount to as much as 3% of your loan amount And in some cases the borrower has no idea of this! Or it is explained away when you see a high APR by saying the reason is because of the closing costs. Closing costs do move the apr higher but considering the apr is factored over the life of the loan 30 years or whatever your term is. The term is yield spread or back end money. most brokers and lenders even banks split the amount they want to make between the lender fee and yield spread so if a lender wants to make 3% then they show half in the front of 1 1/2 % lender fee. Borrowers should always focus on the rate. It is unfortunate that so many brokers use the raising of rates to make more money and that doing this can cost the borrowers tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in added interest. The simple fact is you need to use a loan comparison calculator to show the differences in loan offers. 1/2 % higher rate on a 30 yr fixed with a 250k home loan is 48,750 in additional interest! Remember that the majority of the first 10 years of mortgage payments go toward the interest you owe! HERE IS A CALCULATOR TO SEETHE BIG PICTURE

What does it mean to default on a mortgage? what are subprime mortgages and how do the two relate?

Q) Who are the people that are defaulting on their mortgages? which companies (industries) are involved in this? Additionally does this go on in some regions more than in others? what effects does it have on the economy and our daily lives? what can be done to prevent further morgage defaults and fix the tumbling economy? what shouldve been done earlier for this crisis to never have started? what will happen if this problem isn't fixed in the long run?

A) Defaulting on a mortgage means you do not pay the mortgage for which you are a borrower. Sub-prime mortgages are to borrowers that do not qualify for a "prime" mortgage due to poor credit (this can either be a lack of a credit history or poor credit history). All groups are defaulting on mortgages; however, sub-prime borrowers make up a significant percentage of these, especially those who took out Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) over the past few years. Many of these mortgages reset earlier this year when rates were higher, resulting in substantial increases in monthly mortgage payments. Often increasing beyond the borrowers' means. This is occurring across the country, but most predominately in places like Florida, Nevada, and California. As for the effect on the economy, this is having a big impact. It is resulting in higher foreclosures, which is resulting in negative pressures on home prices. It has caused a tightening in the mortgage markets, with mortgages currently more difficult to obtain and the more "exotic" type mortgages are nearly impossible, and the markets have been impacted as investors are concerned about bank losses and the availability of money. The impacts are quite numerous, but those are some examples. Underwriting standards need to remain tight. ARMs need to continue to be underwritten based on the borrowers' ability to pay, AFTER pricing adjustements. As for the economy, the Feds will need to continue to balance growth with inflation. This will be difficult due to rising energy costs which are driving up prices, while at the same time placing downward pressure on growth (much like stagflation in the 1970s when growth was slow but inflation was high). The underwriting of mortgages should have been much more strict the whole time. People got too carried away with 100+% finanacing, ARMs, and I/O loans. In the long run, if not fixed, foreclosures will continue to rise and the residential market will bring the economy into a recession. Good luck with the rest of your homework.

What are some stocks that could benefit from the expected boom in reverse mortgages?

Q) Reverse mortgages are expected to boom in coming years as baby boomers look to retire. Anyone know of good stocks to consider to profit from this trend?

A) Nothing that isn't REALLY risky right now with the subprime mess. You need to ask this question again in six months or a year after the whole thing has settled down! There isn't a safe harbor in mortgages until that blows over. A list of public mortgage companies -- http://www.mortgagedaily.com/companies.asp But I think you'd be smoking crack to touch them until subprime worries either blow up or blow over. Another, possibly safer option would be to invest in any of the big players in mortgage derivatives... Bear Stearns, Sachs, etc... But there again, you've got obvious exposure to the fallout from subprime mortgage debt. I think the subprime/foreclosure issue is going to keep reverse mortgage market in limbo for some time. What retiree wants to even consider the possibility of mortgage default and foreclosure which is talked about daily in the news?!? You know the financial-planners are having a field day telling their clients to keep their money safe and secure, preferably in one of our vanilla funds or better yet a annuity life insurance product!