Grand Rapids Mortgage Company

Posted To: MBS Commentary

MBS opened up as high as 100-10 before 9am, trends still developing The 10yr took a nice "baby bounce" off yesterday's low yield as a MAJOR pivot gains evidence as support Wow Wow Wee Wow, look at the S&P chart! (update at 9:07am): Treasuries lovin' it. MBS falter a bit(struck by lighting) Since this is all charts, let me know if you want more discussion on something particular! Wow Wow We Wow!…(read more)

Posted To: Pipeline Press

Holders of adjustable-rate mortgages across the country are complaining that the rate used to calculate their loans has actually gone up . In some cases loan payments went up by 9%. "What is this 'COFI'?" asked one borrower in California. "Next thing you'll tell me is that the value of my home could actually go down – no way!" On December 31, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, which oversees the COFI, first published in 1981, announced without explanation that the rate had jumped 0.835 percentage point to 2.094% from 1.259%. The index is called the 11th District Monthly Weighted Average Cost of Funds Index, or COFI for short. The 11th district covers California, Arizona and Nevada. One broker in Illinois said, "Why should rates go up and impact…(read more)

Posted To: Pipeline Press

I couldn't make this stuff up. "Octomom" is facing foreclosure, and a leading adult entertainment kingpin is offering to pay her mortgage. Only in America! Dear Abbey, "If a mid-sized lender that is not doing any FHA loans (or is about to go through their test cases) and absorbs or buys a branch or smaller lender who is fully "up and going" with its FHA lending, does that allow the mid-sized lender to start doing FHA loans?" Signed, "Searching for Shortcuts in Saginaw." Dear SSS, " The surviving entity has to have the approval . The acquiring non-approved company must go through the process of converting the approval to the official (surviving) entity, which is easy presuming the acquisition (absorption) results in a qualifying entity. In other…(read more)

Posted To: MND NewsWire

Despite yesterday’s news that housing starts fell nearly 6% in February (led by weakness in multi-family starts), stock markets managed to move upwards yesterday and this morning that upward trend continues. Sentiment was in part bolstered from the language of the FOMC statement, wherein the central bank said it would maintain "low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period" and the "labor market was stabilizing". Two hours before the opening bell, Dow futures are up 30 points to 10,654 and S&P 500 futures are 3.75 points higher at 1,158.50. With equities up, the US dollar is looking weaker. Meantime, the Euro rose overnight and the pound was the top performing currency. Commodities are also heading upwards with WTI crude oil 79 cents higher at $82…(read more)

Posted To: Pipeline Press

A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. His grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, "No change yet." We started off the week with both the stock and bond markets making a little change for investors: both improved . The folks on Wall Street, if there is such a thing anymore, reported that mortgage loan production selling was pretty heavy, suggesting that locks picked up as agents took advantage of the intra-day price improvements. The Fed was in doing the usual buying ( $11 billion net last week ), as were money managers and hedge funds, and lower coupons tended to do a little better price-wise versus higher coupons. Bonds closed near the highs of the day (lows in rates), and the 10-yr went back down to a yield of 3.66%. Gold was up $30 an ounce…(read more)

Posted To: Pipeline Press

I was telling my high school kids that when I was a boy, we observed both Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays. They replied, "That's because the Revolutionary War and Civil War were a lot closer to the time when you were a kid than they are now." And the mortgage banking world mourns the unfortunate loss of Doug Fieger, who co-wrote and sang "My Sharona" with The Knack. One of the repercussions of the Freddie & Fannie announcements last week was the observation that repurchase requests will increase. It is common knowledge that repurchase requests from the large investors negotiate based on individual loan merits, or at times satisfied with market-share agreements – not so with the agencies. The pressure for originators to repurchase loans will grow . The…(read more)

Posted To: MBS Commentary

Good Morning. Happy Friday. Mortgage rates were mixed yesterday, some lenders were better, others were worse. The FN 4.0 ended the session +0-03 at 97-19 while the FN 4.5 went out the door +0-03 at 100-21 yielding 4.43%. The secondary market current coupon was 4.42%. The 10yr TSY note was -0-01 at 99-06 yielding 3.721% and the 2s/10s yield curve was 4 bps steeper to 285bps. Stock markets continued to sort through EU political rhetoric regarding the fate of Greece. No "official" details were offered and no specific move was made. This is what I wrote yesterday… Plain and Simple: although nothing has been done to "officially" rescue Greece yet, support is "officially" mobilizing in the event an emergency effort is "officially" needed. This "officialness"…(read more)

Posted To: Pipeline Press

I once worked in an office where there was a sign that read: "AFTER COFFEE BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE COFFEE POT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE COUNTER." Someone either couldn't write or had a sense of humor. Speaking of the workplace, next Monday is a holiday for most companies! Banks, post offices, and commentary writers are shut down… Even though it is only the 11 th , don't forget that that the FHA's new appraisal policy is effective with case numbers assigned on/after February 15 : FHA-approved lenders are prohibited from accepting appraisals prepared by FHA Roster appraisers who are selected, retained or compensated in any manner by a mortgage broker or any member of a lender's staff who is compensated on a commission basis. (Mortgagee Letter 09-028.) READ…(read more)

Posted To: Pipeline Press

I once worked in an office where there was a sign that read: "AFTER COFFEE BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE COFFEE POT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE COUNTER." Someone either couldn't write or had a sense of humor. Speaking of the workplace, next Monday is a holiday for most companies! Banks, post offices, and commentary writers are shut down… Even though it is only the 11 th , don't forget that that the FHA's new appraisal policy is effective with case numbers assigned on/after February 15 : FHA-approved lenders are prohibited from accepting appraisals prepared by FHA Roster appraisers who are selected, retained or compensated in any manner by a mortgage broker or any member of a lender's staff who is compensated on a commission basis. (Mortgagee Letter 09-028.) READ…(read more)