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ATLANTA MORTGAGE
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Mortgage Insurance in Atlanta, Georgia
Wow...the last year has been crazy for Mortgages, particularly in Atlanta. As an industry and as someone trying to find a mortgage for their house. Lets hope 2009 is nothing like 2008. With congress moving in and raising the $$ on Jumbo mortgages, giving a little more leeway in legislation for Freddie and Frannie, along with other tidbits, we would of thought 2008 could of been okay for getting that mortgage. Not so. Here is the challenge. Mortgage companies, aka - the big banks (Bank of American, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, etc) did get "lots" of money. However, they are not about to make the same mistake twice. In Atlanta, Georgia, if you want a mortgage through anyone of these big banks you will need to put 10% down and have "outstanding" credit.
What does "outstanding" credit? It means a score of 700 or more with, and here is the kicker, verifiable income from W-2 Earned Income. No more of this, "yes sir, I did earn $100,000 last year." Okay, show me the money. I want to see the tax return you gave the IRS. If you were willing to pay taxes on that income, then I'm sure you might of actually "earned" that income. If we think back 20 years ago, this was the norm. No one had the benefit of 5% down and then we'll figure out the difference with a greatly termed mortgage. The banks cannot afford to go down this path anymore. Sure they have the money because of the TARP program, but they are not foolish enough to hand it over to people who should never of gotten it in the first place.
How about the future for your mortgage needs? A mortgage in Atlanta will change but slowly. Here is what I think will happen: 2009 will start off the same, but with massive government intervention on the mortgage front. They cannot make the banks lend money but they can cause some pain with how they affect the money they interchange with the government and each other. Therefore, the government will come up with some program allowing folks to get mortgages at 4% to 5%. Sounds great, but the government isn't foolish enough to hand out mortgages under the same guise as before; no income, here you go. Mortgage will be very easy for those with good credit and 10% down, but that is about it. The government will institute a program to allow tax rebates for those buying homes for the first time (or maybe more aggressively, for those getting a home period). This will help some, but 10% is still real money. 2010 will be the year the door begins to wedge open. Banks will be a little more brazen (I'm sorry, more comfortable) lending money and the government will start to pull back some of their programs to help stimulate private sector lending (government can and will skew behavior by staying in too long).
