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By Didier Malagies 18 Mar, 2024
What if you refinanced your lower-rate first mortgage into a higher rate but consolidated all of your debt into one low payment. Getting rid of credit cards, car loans, installment loans, and student loans. What would your savings be a month and how much would you save? Then if property values were ever to plummet and rates came crashing down. Just go back to 2007 when we were able to refinance everyone on the HARP program. I just break things down to worse-case scenarios and how you can stay ahead of the game with your finances no matter what. I think it is time to get the house in order and save money, doesn't seem like food , medical or anything is going down but instead still going up Maybe everything we are told is not exactly correct tune in and learn https://www.ddamortgage.com/blog Didier Malagies nmls212566 DDA mortgage nmls#324329
By Didier Malagies 14 Mar, 2024
If a couple decides to dissolve their marriage, something that is often described as a “third character” in the proceedings is the couples’ home. Finding a way to divide a home can be financially and emotionally fraught. And it often takes on more significance than other items due to the home typically being a couple’s most valuable asset — and because of the complex emotions often intertwined with it. This is according to reporting at The New York Times , which discussed the mechanism of splitting a home with 88 different people who have experienced it. “For some, holding onto the property became a point of pride — proof that they could make it on their own,” the story states. “For others, shedding the space where a life fell apart felt like a metamorphosis. “Sometimes, the house became the center of a protracted dispute, a cudgel to exact revenge. Some blamed the house itself — maybe one that was too expensive or needed too much work — for the collapse of a fragile union.” Among a series of profiled people who shared the stories of dividing their home in a divorce, one was 69-year-old Ryder Sollmann Wyatt, who engaged in what is often referred to as a “gray divorce.” In 2020, long after she and her family moved into an 18th-century farmhouse that had been purchased by her grandfather some 80 years earlier, her husband suggested selling the estate to dissolve shared assets. “But Ms. Wyatt, who, as a child, had lived in a cottage on the property with her parents until she was 12, could not imagine a world without the family farm,” the story read. Eventually, her husband let her keep the house and collected half of the remaining marital assets. This kept the dispute out of court and highlights the emotional weight that can come from a longer marriage. Gray divorce has become increasingly common over the past 30 years. According to 2017 data compiled by the Pew Research Center , the rates of gray divorce have doubled since 1990. The reverse mortgage industry has taken notice, seeing seniors engaging in divorce as a potential path for business. When asked about divorce as a potential vehicle for reverse mortgage business in 2019, Christina Harmes Hika — now of Amerifund Home Loans — described how it could be useful in dividing up different assets. “I have helped clients structure their reverse mortgage as part of the divorce settlement so one can stay in the home and the other can get off of the existing mortgage and move on with their share of equity,” Harmes Hika said in 2019 . “Many times, it’s one spouse that is looking into a reverse so they can stay in the house and give their departing spouse their share of the equity, and they already have a figure they need to get as part of the settlement.” 
By Didier Malagies 12 Mar, 2024
Women face a series of challenges that add up to make retirement prospects “pretty bleak,” including issues such as gender pay inequality, longer life spans and a lack of savings based on U.S. Census Bureau data. But Cindy Hounsell, founder and president of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement, said during an event hosted by CNBC that there are ways to adequately prepare. “The typical woman earns a lower salary than men: about 82 cents for every dollar, according to the Pew Research Center,” CNBC stated in its account of the event. “That gender wage gap, which has hardly improved in two decades, makes it harder to save for the future.” On top of this, a woman’s savings generally needs to go further than a man’s since a woman who retires at age 65 lives an average of 21 years longer — or nearly three years longer than men who retire at the same time — according to data from the Employee Benefits Security Administration. This often leads to women needing to make more difficult lifestyle concessions in later life, according to Marianela Collado, a certified financial planner and CEO of a financial advisory firm in Florida. Caregiving responsibilities also often fall on the shoulders of women, which could further compound the issues they face, based on data shared from the National Institute on Retirement Security. But there are proactive measures that can be taken. “For example, if women think they’re underpaid, they can sit down with their managers at work, inquire about opportunities for growth and find avenues for higher earning potential,” Collado explained during the event. “Show managers where you add value and try to get fair compensation, she added.” Auditing personal spending and taking advantage of employer offerings, such as a 401(k) match, could also make a difference for women saving for retirement, she added. According to 2023 reverse mortgage use trends based on Federal Housing Administration (FHA) data, single women were the biggest demographic served by the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program in fiscal year 2023. They comprised 39.4% of all borrowers, while single men comprised only 20.8% of borrowers. About 35% of loans served multiple borrowers, likely in the form of married couples or cohabitating family members. Single women also outnumbered single men among reverse mortgage clients in 2022, based on similar data from one year earlier. Related 
By Didier Malagies 11 Mar, 2024
Though all signs point to a cooling labor market overall, the economy picked up another 275,000 jobs in February. The jobs report on Friday is unlikely to convince the Fed that rate cuts are necessary when the Federal Open Markets Committee meets later this month, economists said. Jobs increased by 275,000 in February, up from a revised rate of 229,000 in January, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. February’s reading exceeded the average monthly gain of 230,000 over the prior 12 months. The national unemployment rate ticked up for the first time in four months to 3.9%, its highest level since January 2022, but still below the full employment rate of 4%. The number of unemployed Americans also rose to 6.5 million. “While unemployment is still low, the leverage held by workers is weakening,” Bright MLS chief economist Lisa Sturtevant said in a statement. “Job seekers are taking longer to find work, and the number of job switchers has declined.” Job gains occurred mainly in health care, government, food services, social assistance, transportation and warehousing. Meanwhile, retail trade, mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction, manufacturing, wholesale trade, information, and financial activities posted fewer jobs in February. During his semiannual monetary policy testimony on Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the Fed sees no urgency to cut rates just yet. Powell stressed that the Fed needs more assurance that inflation is on a sustainable path toward its target before making any moves. Average hourly earnings for private-sector employees grew by 0.1% month over month to $34.57 and were up 4.3% from a year ago. In February, employment continued to trend up in construction, adding 23,000 jobs month over month. Job openings were essentially unchanged at 8.9 million at a rate of 5.4%, down from 10.4 million the prior year. Meanwhile, job quits remained steady at 3.4 million while the rate shrank to 2.1%. The jobs report contains two conflicting implications for the housing market, according to Sturtevant. On the one hand, the rising uncertainty among businesses and workers caused by high-interest rates could also make home shoppers wearier about making big financial decisions. On the other hand, a cooling job market could give the Federal Reserve the signal it needs to cut interest rates sooner rather than later. “It is still likely to be summer before the first Fed rate cut,” Sturtevant said. “However, the economic data we’re seeing now could cause the market to react, anticipating future Fed action, which could lower borrowing rates, including mortgage rates. Lower rates this spring could give housing market demand a boost.” Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said the economy is clearly slowing and the housing crisis grows more acute each month. “The short-term timing of purchase is dependent upon mortgage rates and inventory availability,” he said. “Home sales recorded the lowest activity in 2023 in nearly 30 years. Note that there are 158 million payroll jobs today compared to 117 million when home sales were similarly low. It implies sizable potential real estate demand on the sidelines, ready to pounce once short-term conditions move favorably. 
By Didier Malagies 11 Mar, 2024
First-time homebuyers put down 1%, and the lender gives you 2% towards the down payment, no strings, and no liens. You have 3% down and now work on getting the seller to pay closing costs of up to 3%. Working on a loan right now where the purchase price is $238,000, the 1% down is $2,380 the lender is giving $4,760 and the seller is paying 6,000 of closing costs. so the remaining closing costs are 2,000. The total out-of-pocket for the buyer is 4,380 for this home How much does it cost to rent after paying first, last, and deposit? You must be below the median income and a first-time homebuyer Pretty exciting to put $2,380 for the down payment and $2,000 for closing costs to finally own a home. No second liens just one mortgage at 97% tune in and learn more at https://www.ddamortgage.com/blog Didier Malagies nmls212566 DDA Mortgage nmls324329
By Didier Malagies 04 Mar, 2024
First-time homebuyers made up 55% of agency purchase mortgages in 2023, according to Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) eMBS data, the highest such share in the 10 years ICE has been tracking the metric. A record 47% of government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) purchase loans in 2023 came from first-time homebuyers, a number that’s been trending gradually higher throughout the past decade. “Since 1995, only two quarters have seen fewer than one million first lien mortgages originated,” Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise research at ICE. “The first was Q1 2023, and Q4 the second. Looking back, last year’s market was dominated by purchase lending, with loans to buy homes making up 82% of a historically low number of originations. While it remains a tough market for prospective purchasers, our eMBS agency securities database revealed that first-time homebuyers actually made up 55% of all agency purchase mortgages last year. That’s the highest share in the 10 years we’ve been tracking the metric.” Counter to that trend, the first-time homebuyer share of Ginnie Mae purchase loan issuance pulled back in recent years as they have relied heavily on GSE mortgages. “The market in which these folks purchased their first home was one of record house prices, ballooning down payments , rising rates and elevated debt-to-income ratios (DTIs). Given record exposure to first-time homebuyer loans, it’ll be worth watching the performance of this cohort very closely moving forward, particularly for those invested in 2023 agency MBS,” said Walden. First-time homebuyers averaged higher front-end DTIs for all products, but particularly for conventional mortgages, where the DTI for first-time homebuyers at 31.2% is more than 4 percentage points higher than for repeat buyers in recent months. Back-end DTIs vary less between first-time and repeat buyers, as first-time homebuyers who spend more of their income on housing spend less on other debt, according to ICE market trends data. Interest rates and origination trends While purchase lending will continue to dominate 2024 originations , a 19% month-over-month jump in refi activity on improved rates highlighted the potential for a rebound in refinance lending if rates move lower, ICE noted. In January, ICE’s conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate lock index showed rates averaging 6.6%. Mortgage rates have averaged close to the 7% mark as of Feb. 29 following a series of positive economic data. In turn, rate/term refis , which have effectively been nonexistent for some time, made up 24% of all refinance activity to mark a two-year high. “We noted last month that if industry rate projections hold firm, we could see a mini-surge of refi activity around the 2023 vintage by the end of 2024,” Walden continued. “Even the relatively slight rate pullbacks of December and January spurred a growing number of homeowners to refinance. Demand is clearly there when rates cross certain thresholds and, if current rate forecasts hold true, we expect that demand to increase throughout the year.” When it comes to retaining the business of refinancing homeowners, the industry has a lot of ground to make up. Servicers retained just one of every five such borrowers in Q4 2024, a 17-year low. Non-bank servicers did a better job, retaining a little over one in four refinancing borrowers, while bank lenders retained only one in 10.  “Providing an exemplary servicing experience is critical to reversing this trend, as is effectively identifying and engaging with customers likely to refinance. And when they have the opportunity to serve that customer, lenders need to be sure the front-end of the process is smooth as well,” Walden noted.
By Didier Malagies 04 Mar, 2024
Bridge loan to acquire, renovate, and stabilize a multifamily investment property. When the rents are under the market and the units are outdated. This program allows you to acquire a property below market value and make cosmetic upgrades to increase rents. how about capitalizing the fit-up of retail/office investment property? We also have flip-fix loans for residential. 6 to 24 months loan amounts from $250k to 20 Million Interest only 1 to 3-week closing times tune in and learn more at https://www.ddamortgage.com/blog Didier Malagies nmls212566 DDa Mortgage nmls324329
By Didier Malagies 28 Feb, 2024
An update on loanDepot’s January cyberattack shows that a higher number of individuals were affected than previously disclosed, while tens of millions of dollars in additional expenses will be added to the company’s first-quarter earnings results. On Tuesday morning, the top 15 U.S. mortgage lender announced that it will notify 16.9 million individuals whose sensitive personal information was impacted by the cyber incident. loanDepot will offer credit monitoring and identity protection services at no cost to them, per filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The number of individuals affected exceeds the 16.6 million who were informed on Jan. 22. According to the company, the cyberattack will add approximately $12 million to $17 million in expenses to its first-quarter earnings, the net of expected insurance coverage. The company stated, however, that the incident will not have a material impact on its overall financial conditions for the entire year. loanDepot has yet to announce a release date for its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings. California-based loanDepot informed the wider public of the cyberattack that brought its systems down on Jan. 8 , adding that the date of the earliest event was Jan. 4. The company began restoring its systems on Jan. 18. On Tuesday, it reported that the cyberattack has been contained. The incident may have involved “name, address, email address, financial account numbers, social security number, phone number, and date of birth,” of customers, according to a notice of data breach sent to the Office of the Maine Attorney General. Ransomware gang AlphV/BlackCat later claimed it was behind the cyberattack. Customers filed several class-action lawsuits following the cyberattack, claiming they were “placed in an imminent and continuing risk of harm from fraud, identity theft, and related harm caused by the data breach.” loanDepot is accused of negligence, breach of contract and unjust enrichment, among other allegations.  The company, which does not comment on pending litigation, wrote to the SEC that it cannot “presently quantify” the expenses related to the lawsuits, but it “does not expect that the cybersecurity incident will have a material impact on its overall financial condition or on its ongoing results of operations.” Several mortgage companies have recently been the target of cyberattacks, including Mr. Cooper Group , First American and Fidelity National Financial Inc. , the parent of servicer LoanCare. Mortgage executives told HousingWire that these attacks have put the industry in “alert mode.” They don’t have a clear answer for why the mortgage sector, mainly servicers, has sustained so many attacks of late. Still, they acknowledge that they keep a vast amount of customer data and some players may be vulnerable amid a shrinking market.
By Didier Malagies 26 Feb, 2024
Do you not tell anyone that you have one? Are there others in similar situations Spouse and has passed on, only fixed income such as social security. Are food costs going up along with Medical? It is time to get a HECM - a line of credit to help you in your later years of life, Have your children be involved and everyone learn how a Reverse Mortgage works. People have 401k's. there is equity in your home. what happens if you lose that opportunity and home prices go down? You don't have to rely on family members to help you when you have all the resources in your home. tune in and learn more at https://www.ddamortgage.com/blog Didier Malagies nmls212566 DDA Mortgage nmls324329 
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