Market Update, BBQ Review

After discussing the mortgage market over the weekend with Ray and some others, and seeing the fallout this morning from lenders who are abandoning the subprime market, I want to revise my earlier opinion of the state of the mortgage industry.

It sucks. Thank you.

Essentially, what we're seeing is a pullback in extendable credit to borrowers under a 620 credit score, and to a certain extent to those under 700. Cash remains king, as it has been for a year now. LTV requirements are up, available lenders are down. Wells Fargo just shuttered its subprime wholesale division, meaning that independent brokers like me cannot use them for loans below 620 scores. They maintain that division for retail - for their own lending operations - but they will not work with brokers on that side of the line any more.

They aren't the only ones. We're seeing that from Citimortgage and from many many others. There are still loans out there to be had. But if you don't have 5% equity or perfect 720+ credit, it's a very dicey proposition.

Oddly, we're doing a fair number of second mortgages, and we're also seeing a serious pullback in those markets. There is a chance that by the end of the summer, you won't get a second mortgage under a 660 credit score, and none at all over 95%. Just a word to the wise.

The Annual Client Barbecue was a roaring success again this year, much credit to Olivia, who plans these things, and to the wives of the Group, especially Jeanette and Ellen. We had some indeterminate number over 100 people there (it's really hard to count when there are about 50 kids under 10 running about), and a good time was had by all, especially those that attended.

Remember to reserve a Friday/Saturday in mid-January for the next super bash - The Twelfth Night Invitational and Charity Ball. Watch this space for more.