My Mind on Mortgages

After being gone for 6 months Tina and I landed on US soil on Wednesday AM in LAX.  Upon landing I couldn’t wait to get my hands on two things that are scarce overseas- filtered coffee & the WSJ.  I was able to acquire both shortly after clearing customs (suckers).

Anyways, in the Wednesday edition James B. Stewart wrote a good piece on the process of refi’ing in today’s environment.  Here is a link to the article along with a couple excerpts-

Underwriting has gotten much more difficult-

Little did I know the ordeal I was about to embark upon. Getting to a successful closing became something of an obsession, and what seemed at times a second occupation. Several times I thought I’d reached the point where I couldn’t take yet another request for a document (often in the possession of third parties who never answer their phones). And I have a reasonably high credit rating, a low loan-to-value ratio, a low loan-to-income ratio, and a history of never having missed a mortgage payment. Can it be only a few years ago, anyone with a pulse got a mortgage?

Solutions?  Make the process SIMPLER.  Also, work with a professional who will educate you on your options in lawman terms-

So-called reforms that deprive people of choice and opportunity strike me as counterproductive. I’m all for reforms that clarify, simplify, and educate consumers to make better decisions, and I hope the Obama proposals will help achieve this.