Sell baby sell! Eager buyers are waiting!
Why is Expert hiring new originators like mad these last few months? Why decide to merge with a privately-owned mortgage company just to get their hands on a bunch more originators in one fell swoop? What's with this originator hiring FRENZY at Expert?
1. Fannie and Freddie and the FHA have decided to extend Christmas for the Miami Beach condo market. They are making special exemptions to their rules on condo loans for the Miami area ONLY. Not even Orlando, the worst-hit condo market in the country, is getting this kind of special treatment from the government. Result: Expert is expecting to see an explosion in FHA condo loans.
2. The FDIC and the banks are going into mortgage-workout overdrive. The FDIC is demanding that the big banks do everything possible to workout upside-down loans. So the big banks are going to accept pennies on the dollar to get defaulted or near-default Miami-area loans off their balance sheets this year. Result: Expert is likely to see an explosion in refinanced loans as they help people out of the hole they fell into.
3. Some very big real estate players from NYC and elsewhere have been quietly buying up hundreds of vacant Miami Beach condos in bulk quantities, at firesale prices. They have various plans for these units, some are going to be converted into rentals, others will be sold at extremely attractive prices (but still at a profit for these condo "vultures"). Result: Expert is likely to see an explosion in loan originations for the buyers of these units.
4. Back in November, Obama extended the tax benefits for home buyers into April 2010. As a result, some people who would have bought a home in 2009 decided to wait until Q1 2010 to buy, for tax purposes. Result: Expert should see many of these people enter their new locations to find out more.
Note that it was recently announced by the MBA (Mortgage Bankers Association) that as of 1/08/10, overall mortgage writing activity is up 14.3% week over week vs. last week of 2009, with 71.5% of all the new mortgage-writing activity being in refis. Result: Expert is probably seeing a bunch of Refi apps being filled out this week, and will see a bunch in the coming weeks as well.
Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day,
set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest
of his life. ~ Terry Pratchett
NOTE: I am NOT your financial advisor!
