By KIMBERLEY HAAS Guild Mortgage has launched a national program that can help potential homebuyers compete with all-cash offers. Vice President of Product Strategy Erin Watts said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note that they are doing everything they can to help homebuyers compete in today’s market. “We were getting these really well-qualified homebuyers that needed to get mortgage financing but they just kept missing out due to these cash offers,” Watts said. How does CashPass Work? When homebuyers apply for a loan with Guild Mortgage, they let them know they are interested in CashPass. They then provide the same information that they would need for pre-approval for a conventional loan. A minimum credit score of 680 is…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Two heavy hitters who recently joined the Guild Mortgage team in Kansas say although the market may be tough for potential buyers now, a home is still a great investment. “Every time you make your mortgage payment you’re putting money into your 401K,” Senior Loan Officer Paul Camenzind said during a recent interview with The Mortgage Note. Overland Park, Kansas, where Camenzind works, has earned a positive reputation as an affordable and family-friendly community, with accolades including being ranked in the “Top 10 Best Places to Live in the United States” by CNNMoney, named “Best Place to Raise a Family” by WalletHub, and included in the list of “America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up” by U.S. News and…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS At least four industry leaders will cover the travel expenses for employee abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday. The New York Times named Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Zillow in a Tweet on Monday. There were 4,307 Retweets, 705 Quote Tweets, and over 17,300 Likes as of Tuesday morning. The media relations departments at Bank of America and JPMorgan put out press releases about their stress test results on Monday. Bank of America announced plans to increase its quarterly common stock dividend beginning in the third quarter of 2022. “Our responsible growth strategy over the last decade has put us in a strong position to support our clients…
By CHUCK GREEN With lumber prices toppling, it might be the ideal time to knock on wood. Gently, though. It just might be a bit fragile at the moment. Year to date, prices have sagged around 50%, according to 7seasgroupusa.com. They recently sunk to their lowest point in nine months as they traded under the $600-per-thousand-board-feet mark. Conversely, a year ago, prices, fueled by pent-up demand for construction and home upgrades in the aftermath of COVID on the heels of a frenzy of speculation, reached $1,733, which was unprecedented.But as the housing market backed down in light of escalating interest rates, lumber prices have borne the brunt, receding more than 60% from their March highs, according to Business Insider. In May,…
By CHUCK GREEN The President recently released a Housing Supply Action Plan designed to pull back the throttle on the challenges of housing costs over time by increasing the inventory of quality housing in every community. The plan bills itself as the most comprehensive effort to close the housing supply shortfall in history. It includes legislative and administrative actions that could help close America’s housing supply shortfall in five years. It will begin by creating and preserving scores of affordable housing units in the next three years. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there’s a national shortage of seven million homes. There’s fewer than four affordable and available rental homes for every 10 extremely low-income renter households and…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Protesters who claim BlueHub Capital has a predatory program that has fleeced distressed homeowners rallied in Boston on Tuesday morning. The Stabilizing Urban Neighborhoods program hit the spotlight in February of 2020, when a group of 14 homeowners filed a class-action lawsuit in Massachusetts Superior Court. WGBH reported at the time that the plaintiffs alleged they were the victims of predatory lending practices while facing foreclosure or hardship. BlueHub Capital leaders responded at the time by saying the SUN initiative had successfully helped more than 1,100 families facing foreclosure and eviction. “SUN has reduced borrowers’ collective outstanding mortgage principal by about $68 million and their monthly mortgage payments by nearly $42 million,” company leaders stated. “Almost all…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS and TYRONE TOWNSEND TCG World has announced a strategic partnership with Curzio Research, which has spent $5 million to acquire 19 commercial real estate properties inside the Metaverse. The acquisition is one of the largest real estate purchases for virtual property inside the Metaverse, and Curzio plans on building its headquarters in the Asia region of TCG World, near WallStreetBets. By being part of this region, company leaders expect to have access to traders. VIP members can meet with other investors, attend live events, host conferences, listen to exclusive podcasts, and hold special education courses, according to a video posted online. Curzio is expected to complete its headquarters before September. More celebrities and companies are putting money…
By SCOTT KIMBLER The 40-year mortgage is popular again but financial experts warn they come with a lot of risks and potentially no payoffs. Needham Bank, with 14 locations in Massachusetts, promotes 40-year mortgages. “Owning a home has never been so easy,” is the term they use on their website. Before the crash of 2008, 40-year mortgages were a popular option. Today, the expenses of getting into a home are driving buyers to consider signing up for loans they won’t pay off until after they are 65 years old. Roy Black is an Economics Professor at the Emory University Goizueta School of Business and has been examining real estate finance for decades. It is his opinion that negotiating a 40-year…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS The president of a reverse mortgage company is claiming that Elon Musk’s message to Tesla employees unfairly bashes the benefits of remote work and that since going fully remote in 2020 his company has been voted by its employees as a top place to work. Musk is demanding that Tesla office workers return to in-person work or leave the company. “Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla. This is less than we ask of factory workers,” Musk wrote in leaked emails. Although Tesla is an automotive and clean energy company, news of Musk’s demands sparked a new…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Three female leaders at Amrock are encouraging other women to ignore the noise and believe in themselves as they climb the corporate ladder. Amrock, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, is a leading national provider of title insurance, property valuations, and settlement services. They are a part of Rocket Companies. Nicole Beattie, Chief Executive Officer of Amrock, has been with Rocket for nearly 18 years and began her career in mortgage banking at Rocket Mortgage – which was Quicken Loans – before transitioning to origination operations leadership. Since then, Beattie has held numerous roles, leading teams in underwriting, closing, and servicing. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t doubted herself on the way up the ladder. Beattie reported during a recent…
