Hello, Everyone!

I sincerely hope that you all had safe travels and enjoyed eating lots of turkey last week. Top priorities this week should be 1) getting some exercise to work off that turkey! 2) Figuring out a good way to save some money on your mortgage payment. The first is tough but the second is a slam dunk! Refinancing now is a no brainer. Do not wait any longer. I have mentioned before that the fed’s direct purchase program is over. When the money runs out (it has) the only way the market can move is UP. Rates will go up very soon and its now or never.

On a $300,000 mortgage, moving from 5.75% to 4.75% will save $200 per month on your payment.

Need some money for Christmas spending or to pay off high interest rate credit cards? A $10,000 credit card balance costs $500 per month. $10,000 home equity costs $52 per month. Let’s roll all those credit cards into your mortgage and save you some real money.

Experts agree that 2010 will still be full of economic issues. Cash is king. Gets some cash out … lower your overall monthly bills and be well positioned for 2010.

Today’s Rates:
30yr fixed- 4.625% 0+1
15yr fixed- 4.125% 0+1
FHA/VA 4.875% 0+0
USDA 100% financing 4.875%

Have a great day and let me know when to expect your loan application. And keep in mind that we service all metro areas in Texas: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, San Antonio, El Paso, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Buda and much more.

Cheers,

D. Stephen Steakley, Jr.
Austin, Texas Home Loan Expert
512-577-8898 ph
Austin, TX Home Loan – Quick Application

According to John E. Murphy, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Rosario Divins was convicted in June of seven counts each of criminal contempt and mail fraud. The jury found that since January 2000, Divins engaged in a fraudulent foreclosure prevention scheme.

Divins continued to implement her scheme despite three separate sanctions from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas ordering her to stop misrepresenting herself and making false promises to her clients.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered that Divins pay $83,600 restitution to her victims.

Rosario Divins, a self-proclaimed foreclosure prevention specialist from San Antonio, was sentenced to 350 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for criminal contempt and mail fraud.

Testimony during the three-day trial revealed that Divins collected more than $80,000 in cash from individuals in desperate financial situations who responded to her mail-out offering to stop their residential foreclosures.

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Mortgage Loan Compliance®

www.ml-compliance.com

Commercial and Residential Forensic Loan Audits – Get The Facts on Your Loan and Protect Your Rights!

Tish Washington, the Honest Mortgage Pro, can be reached at 877-897-4831. Now lending in AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, HI, ME, NM, NV, OR, and WA.
ANNOUNCING !!! $97 Do It Yourself Loan Modification Kit www.97DIYLoanModKit.com

Newsletter-Chrisman, Rob (excerpt)

Over the weekend I was in the express lane at the store quietly fuming. Completely ignoring the sign, the woman ahead of me had slipped into the express check-out line pushing a cart piled high with groceries. Imagine my delight when the cashier beckoned the woman to come forward looked into the cart and asked sweetly, “So which ten items would you like to buy?”

Will higher rates help the housing market? Of course not and of course this puts the Fed in a difficult position since they can’t stimulate their way out of this problem with trillions of dollars in borrowing and keep rates low by buying those same securities. The yield on the 10-yr has gone from 2.14% in the last 3-4 months to today’s 3.85%+ level, and rates on 30-yr conforming loans have gone from about 4.75% up to around 5.375% during the same time period. And newspapers are being quick to point out the costs to homeowners: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/06/REHB1807P8.DTL

Fraud in mortgage banking! Shocking. In San Antonio, Texas, a man who conned mortgage lenders out of $1 million has been sentenced to more than six years in prison. 60-year-old Fred DeGuzman pled guilty and was sentenced to 75 months in prison and ordered him to repay $1.67 million in restitution for crimes committed in 2007. He and his wife admitted convincing property owners to inflate the sale prices of their homes, and then used fake identity, employment and asset documents to obtain mortgages at inflated amounts. On closing, they pocketed all or most of the difference. After making one or two mortgage payments, they allowed the mortgages to go into default. But this is only one story out of dozens. If you want more, check out http://www.mortgagefraud.org/

Aren’t you happy that there is little in the way of economic news due out today and tomorrow? On Wednesday we have the Trade Balance figures (not typically market-moving), and the Beige Book (which can move rates since it provides information about what the Fed is seeing in the various economic regions). On Thursday we have Retail Sales for May (expected -.4%), along with Jobless Claims and Business Inventories. And on Friday we have Import & Export Prices and the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey. And of course we have the issue of the Treasury auctioning off several billion in debt this week: $35 billion in 3-yr’s, $19 billion in 10-yr’s, and $11 billion in 30-yr’s. The 10-yr Treasury checks in this morning at 3.82%, and mortgages are waffling around unchanged.

A couple in their nineties are both having problems remembering things. During a checkup, the doctor tells them that they’re physically okay, but they might want to start writing things down to help them remember.
Later that night, while watching TV, the old man gets up from his chair. “Want anything while I’m in the kitchen?” he asks.
“Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t you think you should write it down so you can remember it?” she asks.
“No, I can remember it.”
“Well, I’d like some strawberries on top, too. Maybe you should write it down, so’s not to forget it?”
He says, “I can remember that. You want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries.”
“I’d also like whipped cream. I’m certain you’ll forget that, write it down?” she asks.
Irritated, he says, “I don’t need to write it down, I can remember it! Ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream – I got it, for goodness sake!”
Then he toddles into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, the old man returns from the kitchen and hands his wife a plate of bacon and eggs.
She stares at the plate for a moment. “Where’s my toast?”