WP: Homeowners Getting Refinancing Surprise

[VolcanoJen]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44861-2003Aug25.html

Hope everyone's locked in, or at least have acquired efficient mortgage loan processors. And here I thought the low interest rates and housing markets were responsible for holding this shabby Chimp economy together...

Excerpt.

Homeowners who rushed this summer to refinance their mortgages at super-low interest rates are finding that the volume of applications is choking the financing system. This means that the rate locks they counted on to protect them against rising expenses are expiring before their loans can close.

The result: Costlier loans, angry borrowers and climbing numbers of complaints to regulators.

"We've received many, many calls regarding complaints about interest rate lock-ins. We don't have an count, but our telephones have not stopped ringing," said E. Joseph Face Jr., commissioner of Virginia's Bureau of Financial Institutions, which oversees the state's mortgage lenders. In Maryland, the commissioner of financial regulation has received about 1,000 mortgage-related complaints so far this year, up from 863 in all of 2002. In the District, where the complaint tracking system is relatively new, regulators said they hadn't seen a major change.

Problems could increase everywhere because 60-day locks from the low point of the interest rate cycle, or just after it, are now expiring.

[PennyLane]

1. Is it my imagination or.......

........is EVERYTHING falling apart?

[VolcanoJen]

2. Unfortunately, PennyLane, it's not your imagination.

:-(

Cool username, by the way!

- Jennifer

[Stuckinthebush]

8. Well....

PennyLane there is a fool in the Whitehouse,
He's slowly killing all the things that we once loved,
And the neocons are moving fast...
To make it very bad...
Very sad.


Sorry - I just had to have fun with your name.
Welcome!

[yankeedem]

3. "Choking the system"

Yea, right. The banks are seeing the interest rates go up and are dragging out the process until their committment expires.

[KAZ]

5. Ding Ding Ding!

The 100 basis point rise on the 10-yr bond in July brought out all the broker tricks; lost paperwork, slowdowns, low appraisals. They do it with impunity.

[gratuitous]

13. Bartcop's Rule of Errors

When someone makes a mistake that puts more money into his or her pocket, expect that person to make the same "mistake" over and over again. "Gee, we couldn't get your loan processed in time, and now it means an extra $50 a month in interest payments to my boss? How unfortunate!"

[teryang]

4. Wait till they see their property taxes

Mine went up 50 percent.

[alcuno]

7. Since they are a year behind, I knew last year that my

property taxes were going up. But...........at closing for the refinancing there was no difference. The taxes ate up the lower interest rate.

[Mari333]

12. Mine are on the rise

every other home in my small town is up for Sale..My property taxes are wayyyy higher this year thanks to the state of MI being in the RED and the state still owes me 4000 in back taxes from LAST year, and they are balking...
Its a mess..and it will get worse.

[Walt Starr]

6. I closed in April

Locked in my rate the day the war started, which is the day that interest rates started goin up again.

I damn near didn't make it, but luicked out in the end.

[Neutrino]

9. A lot of Buyers are renigging--leaving Sellers holding

the bag--most of whom have committed to move--and committed to
Mortgages on other properties they want to buy. What a mess!
On CBS Nightly News, one large lender went bust and simply
closed their doors, and there are a lot more like that.

[mrbill]

10. my small town real estate guy........

has been doing appraisals out the wazoo for the last six weeks.

all related to refinancing.

his real estate sales department isn't going as well, he hasn't even shown a house in last month.

if things weren't bad enough, local property taxes scare the shit out of prospective buyers. $3.08/$100 with an enthuastic appraisal district.

[tlcandie]

11. Yes, we began ours in March...it was June (mid to late) before

it was closed! Paperwork lost, etc., etc.! It was a friggin' nightmare! BUT it all worked out quite well, because interest rates had actually lowered and they gave us 5.375% before it was over :)

We definitely lucked out!