By Inman News, Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

The Federal Reserve's initiatives to keep mortgage rates down are spurring a rush to refinance that will test the operational capacity of lenders, but low rates won't translate into higher home sales unless unemployment stabilizes, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.

The MBA has dramatically revised its forecast for 2009 mortgage refinancings, saying it expects lenders will fund $1.96 trillion in refinance loans this year.

That's an $824 billion increase from last month's forecast, when the MBA said it expected $1.13 trillion in refinancings in 2009. Last year, by comparison, lenders refinanced only $765 billion in loans.

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CFO SINK ANNOUNCES UPCOMING LAWYER/LENDER ROUNDTABLE TO HELP FLORIDIANS AVOID FORECLOSURE

Contact: Kyra Jennings or Kevin Cate
(850) 413-2842

TALLAHASSEE – Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink today announced that she will bring together Florida lenders and attorneys with the Florida Attorneys Saving Homes program this month for a roundtable discussion on streamlining efforts to keep Floridians in their homes.

The roundtable, to be held April 20, 2009 in Tampa, will give lenders and pro bono lawyers the chance to discuss how to improve their communication and interaction, as they work together to help Floridians facing the threat of foreclosure. CFO Sink stood with Florida Legal Services attorneys who are part of the Florida Attorneys Saving Homes (FASH) program to announce the upcoming roundtable.

“As we are all aware, for a number of years Florida has been ground zero for the housing crisis faced by our country today,” said CFO Sink. “That’s why I have worked to find any avenue possible to provide real, tangible help to Floridians facing the threat of foreclosure.”

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Continuing Ed for Title Agents

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The copy machine is not just a copy machine

We recently started using our copy machine's scanning feature and it has made a significant difference in the way we deliver our product.  We have software to produce a title commitment.  The system usess Microsoft word to assemble the documents required to go into the commitment package.  Then there are all the supporting documents like the county search, the tax search and the judgement search.  Most of those get delivered via the web so they are already in pdf format.  The county search may come via mail, fax, or email.  This is where the copy machne/scanner comes in.  We can now put all the documents into one file whether we have to scan them in or just upload them.  We can then move the pages around on the screen by just clicking and dragging them to the place we want.  We can take out pages that aren't needed and scan in pages that are needed.  The Word docs that were generated by the title software are converted on the fly as we drag them from Windows Explorer to the copy software were the package is assembeled.  Once we have all the pages we need in the order we need them, we can email the package as an attachment.  Saves some time and lots of paper.  Once we get it all figured out, we sholdn't have to print out anything. 

 

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New course offered by Learntitle

Learntitle.com has recently had a course approved by the New Jersey Dept of Banking and Insurance.  “How to Search” is now available at www.Learntitle.net.  The course is good for 2 hours of continuing education credits.  It discusses the proper technique for searching the public records in the courthouses of New Jersey.  Something every title agent should know and now can learn about online from the comfort of your home or office. 

 

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Mortgage Modification

There seems to be a lot of buzz on the web about mortgage modifications.  Seems there are some firms that are specializing in “forensic loan” examinations.   These firms are looking for respa violations that may have happened during closing of a loan that may give the borrow some leverage in renegotiating their mortgage.  Not sure how effective these investigations are.  I’m sure they are not done for free and I am wondering if the subsequent modification is really worth the trouble.  I am wondering also if there are violations found, if the title agent has any culpability and what their level of liability is. 

 

As always your comments are welcome.

 

Art Oswald

www.learntitle.com, LLC

551 404 5341

The richest man is not the one with the most stuff - it is the one with a satisfied mind.

 

How I would Remake Federal Financial Regulation

by Bill Maloni

The Obama Administration and Congress need to substantively refurbish the federal financial regulatory network, which failed us as a nation during the Bush years and continues to provide more questions than answers.

Rhetoric to the side, federal policy makers have an opportunity today to drive a significant restructuring or just could wimp out and merely change the coverlet on the financial regulatory bed, introducing some pretty new colors, but leaving in place soiled blankets and sheets underneath.

The early Obama/Geithner plans look more like the latter than the former. The President needs to be bolder.

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Mobile-phone applications tailored for real estate

By Matt Carter on Inman News

New mobile-phone applications tailored for real estate are moving beyond for-sale property searches and into areas once reserved for personal computers, such as lead generation and management, market research and analysis, and customer relationship management.

As is often the case in the fast-moving world of technology, yesterday's dazzling breakthrough -- the ability to access listings on the go using a mobile phone -- is becoming the norm. Now consumers and real estate professionals are demanding more.

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Art Oswald