This year’s Super Bowl was rated as the third most watched TV presentation. It would seem that a well-placed ad would get any company some really good exposure, as long as the content resonated with the public. Based on initial returns, it appears that Quicken Loan’s Rocket Mortgage Ad did just that (Rockets). The ad for a new quick loan…
Author: Michael Vitali
Credit Standards Easing
With all the attention being paid to TRID compliance and changes, it seems that lenders have loosened some their credit standards in some areas to help make more loans. Maybe, this is the result of more independent mortgage bankers doing more FHA lending. Whatever it is, Equifax recently reported that loans made to consumers with an Equifax Risk Score of…
Score Wars: The Sequel
If you recall, I recently wrote about the intention of Fannie and Freddie to begin requiring a new expanded credit score model. This new model will take into account a consumer’s credit trends (historical use of credit) plus begin the utilization of heretofore non-traditional credit sources (Credit Scores). It seems the good old FICO credit score ain’t so good no…
More Good News for Housing
According to the November 2015 Freddie Mac Multi-Indicator Market Index, the MiMi (don’t you just love these acronyms?), housing markets across this nation are doing quite well (MiMi). This report indicates that most markets are improving thanks to better employment and current mortgage payment trends. In November, the MiMi index increased to 82.5. This is about 39% higher than the…
Is Housing Policy a New Third Rail or Is it No Rail At All?
We’re off and running. The 2016 presidential race is officially underway with the completion of the Iowa Caucus. What is a “Caucus” anyway? It’s a meeting of supporters or members of a particular political party or movement. So, what we had was a meeting of supporters of the movement to elect a new president who put forth their opinions on…
“To Cut or Not to Cut”; That is the Question
The debate rages on among the mortgage lending professionals and their respective trade groups. Should FHA again reduce their required mortgage insurance premiums? If so, should they reduce the upfront premium, the annual renewals, or maybe both? (FHA Cut). Proponents of the additional rate cuts say that the prior actions to reduce the annual premiums helped make FHA loans much…