Quote of the Week:
“What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.”
~ Joseph Addison, writer, statesman
Janet and I would like to extend a special thanks to all who attended our event last night. We hope that what we teach will become a part of the sculpture that you will pass on for many generations to come.
2 New Videos:
www.silverstarfinance.com/annual_review
and
www.silverstarfinance.com/rate_watch
I read a startling statistic in an article this morning . After watching the 2 videos (especially the “annual review” video), hopefully you’ll begin to understand why we are so adamant about what happens AFTER we close a transaction. When reading the article below, please ask yourself:
“If the one in eleven households had at least a 6 month cash reserve for unforeseen circumstances such as job loss, higher gas and food prices, accidents, etc., would they have been late on their mortgage payment(s) which will ultimately result in a drastically lower credit score and hundreds of dollars in late fees?”
Hmmm….did I mention that establishing such a cash reserve is the very first step in our “4 Steps to Building Financial Security” process that we put together for our clients? Imagine that! =)
Article:
“LATE PAYMENTS: One in 11 mortgaged houses was at least 30 days late or in foreclosure at the end of March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The delinquency and foreclosure rates are the highest in the 36-year history of the MBA’s quarterly survey.
A mortgage is delinquent when the payments are at least 30 days past due. At the end of the first quarter of this year, the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate was 6.35 percent, or roughly 1 in 16 houses with mortgages. In addition to that, 2.47 percent of mortgaged houses were in some stage of foreclosure. That’s about 1 in 40 houses.
Add those together, and 8.82 percent of mortgage houses were either delinquent or in foreclosure, according to the MBA, and that’s about 1 in 11 houses. To be more precise, it’s more like 3 in 34 houses.
As you might have surmised, in the way the MBA counts delinquencies and foreclosures, the two categories don’t overlap. The MBA says a late mortgage is delinquent until the lender starts foreclosure proceedings. At that point, the MBA doesn’t count the loan as delinquent anymore.
Blame California and Florida (and, to a lesser extent, Arizona and Nevada) for dragging the rest of the country down, says Jay Brinkmann, the MBA’s vp of research and economics. California and Florida have more mortgages than the other states, and they have high delinquency and foreclosure rates because of the housing bust that has hit them especially hard.
The Florida numbers are eye-popping, especially when you consider that they don’t include condos with more than four units. In Florida 1 in 14 mortgages are delinquent (7.03 percent) and 3 in 65 are in foreclosure (4.61 percent). Combined, that’s about 2 in 17 houses that are either delinquent or in foreclosure.
In California, 1 in 19 mortgages are delinquent (5.26 percent) and 1 in 32 are in foreclosure (3.13 percent). Combined, 1 in 12 houses are delinquent or in foreclosure. That’s better than the national combined rate, but the state numbers aren’t seasonally adjusted. If they were, they would be higher. The national numbers are seasonally adjusted.”
If you or anyone you know is interesting in having their own “4 Step…” consultation, please let Janet and/or I know right away! The best way to refer someone is to ask their permission to give one of us their information so we can call them ourselves.
