Notes From The Mortgage Insider

Well, not exactly a news flash, but as our processor Renee Bourassa said after reading the article, "At least we aren't the only ones [suffering]!"

The article, published in today's (September 15 2011) USA Today, touches on just about every frustrating issue we have to deal with while trying to process your mortgage application and get it approved.

The article discusses how much standards have been toughened since 2007, which most agree is a good thing.  The problem is that the lenders have decided that demanding lots and lots of paper - any paper, whether relevant or not - is the equivalent of tougher standards.  Which of course it is not.

The article quotes a frustrated homeowner in California who very accurately summed up the current situation by saying, "It seemed like an incredible waste of my time and [the lender's] money.  They're trying to dot I's and cross T's to show that they checked 40 documents, but it doesn't mean that they're important documents."

Towards the end of the article a Wall Street mortgage industry analyst is quoted as saying that lending standards are unlikely to loosen until home prices stabilize.  That may be the most accurate statement in the article; however, one could also argue that home prices may not stabilize until lending standards loosen a bit.  So then what?

To read the entire article follow this link: http://usat.ly/pVFP6R

Steven Hofberg, Operations Manager