Macomb County Real Estate - Macomb Michigan Homes for Sale

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Someone Needs to Take Control of these Underwriters

Taking Control Okay it happened again - I think Someone needs to take control of these underwriter's and tell them they are NOT appraisers or Real Estate agents. Are they aware we are trying to sell homes out here and keep the economy moving? Not to be rude but some where during the mortgage melt down and real estate collapse they decided they were God.

Here's just a few examples - a few weeks back we received a call from the mortgage broker saying the underwriter did not like the appraisal because it was too high. Excuse me but when did underwriters become licensed appraisers? The best part is this home was priced "well below market" and had multiple offers. Supposedly she used the Automated Valuation Method to determine the appraisal was to high.

Well let me just say this - Real Estate is way to complex to be using this system. For one the AVM does not take into account multiple offers. It does not look at what is currently available for sale, in other words what buyers are seeing. Nor does it know that the home it may be using was trashed out or filled with mold. Yet the banks have decided that the underwriters can use this system and kill deals. As I said Someone needs to take control of these underwriters - better yet the Banks. I won't even go there.

Then the other day I am talking to the mortgage broker to get my weekly update and she tells me that since the buyer was putting a large amount down, they were not doing an inside appraisal. Okay did someone do a drive by? Nope we used the AVM (gulp) and we have the value at $68,000 and asks if that's what we needed. Ah No you apparently have the wrong file because we sold that 1800 sq ft detached condo with a fully finished basement and 2 car garage for $150,000. I nearly went through the phone to wring her neck. You need to get someone out there now to do an appraisal because the AVM is whacked. Makes me wonder if she ever looked at the purchase agreement.

So here's where the straw broke the camels back. We get an approval from the underwriter with one small condition, it appears that the buyer missed an initial on the purchase agreement. So they send it back to clear the condition and she decides that maybe they better get a second appraisal (at the buyers expense). You have got to be kidding me? This is a perfect buyer, slam dunk and she is buying a condo well below the market. Really someone needs to get control of these underwriters and remind them they are dealing with peoples lives.

It really makes me wonder if these underwriters have ever bought a house before? Sometimes I think we are dealing with robots ABC 123 and not people with common sense.

I was beginning to think it was just me. Then yesterday I read a post from one of my favorite blogger Jay Thompson - well it appears he is running into the same problems. How about You??

8 commentsEd & Cindy Knight • September 29 2009 02:41PM

Millions More Foreclosures Coming

Via John Mulkey, Housing Guru (TheHousingGuru.com):

model house being struck by gavelIf the economy is improving, do we really have millions more foreclosures coming? According to the U.S. Treasury, the answer is yes. In written testimony to Congress, Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions, Michael Barr said that, regardless of the success of mortgage modification efforts, we should still expect millions more foreclosures.

 

Mr. Barr’s testimony is certainly not welcome news for those anticipating a significant recovery in the housing market. In fact, it is an indication that significant recovery is still years away.

 

And there are other factors that confirm the fragile state of both the economy and the housing market. Recent reports have indicated that there are almost 3 million active, interest-only loans with a total value of almost $1 trillion, with loans of about $500 billion set to reset within the next 30 months. Then we have a large group of Option Arm mortgages set to recast during the next 2 years. These loans have a combined value of more than $125 billion.

 

The rising number of bankruptcies, up 36% in the second quarter over last year, with wealthy families filing at double that rate, creates a “perfect storm” of disastrous consequences for the housing market. With the likely prospect of millions more foreclosures coming, home prices and home sales will remain depressed until the market can achieve stabilization. And achieving stabilization will be a slow and painful process.

 

The Housing Guru: The one source for all your housing questions

5 commentsEd & Cindy Knight • September 12 2009 05:22PM