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Monday, April 18, 2011
Robert Kiyosaki Silver is the best play right now
Robert Kiyosaki talks about Gold & Silver as the best play right now SEARCH ENGINE KEYWORD RESULTS :Robert Kiyosaki silver 2011robert kiyosaki silverkiyosaki silverkiyosaki silver 2011best play on silverrobert kiyosaki on silver 2011robert kiyosaki is right about silverrobert kiyosaki silver investing strategyrobert kyosaki blog silverrobert kiyosaki is he right Subscribe to the comments for this [...]
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Friday, April 15, 2011
Methods To Leverage Article Marketing For Greater Exposure
Article mlm marketing and advertising has been unstoppable for many years because it works so effectively and only costs your time. Using content articles is a procedure that has been around for a long time. You will get far more out of your content pieces when you know all the various ways to use them. [...]
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Saturday, November 27, 2010
Federal Reserve Bank President Urges Regulatory Reform Legislation
James Bullard, the Federal Reserve Bank president noted that the Obama administration's proposed legislation to overall the United States' financial rules doesn't do enough to revamp a system that helped drive the recent housing crisis and urged Washington not to miss an opportunity to pass effective and lasting legislation.
Last June, the Obama Administration released an 88-page proposal that intends to rewrite the finance rules but one major ingredient that was missing from this proposal, according to James Bullard, was that it avoided addressing a future restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two companies that are at the core of the Unites States' mortgage system and two major contributors to the economic and housing meltdown of 2008.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together own or guarantee at least one-half of the United States' mortgages, a staggering number. After they were seized by the U.S. government in 2008, they were placed into conservatoriship and since that time, the country still waits for word about what changes will be made to correct the mistakes of these two financial giants.
When the Administration's proposal was released in June of last year, it claimed that details and ideas about the future of these two government-sponsored enterprises would be released and discussed around the time of the president's fiscal 2011 budget proposal. Yet, when the Administration released its budget proposal, it neglected, or deferred, depending on the point of view, to directly address any such issues. Instead, it stated that it would "provide updates on considerations for longer-term reform... as appropriate."
This announcement has caused some organizations to claim this is both alarming as well as a 'cop-out' by the current administration. What should be even more alarming, however, is not necessarily the fact that this administration is refusing to either acknowledge the serious underlying repercussions of failing to propose any serious reform avenues, but that, with a housing market still reeling and struggling to bring back some measure of sustainability, this administration is setting up the nation's housing market for a repeat of the worst housing crash in U.S. history.
Bullard states that regulatory reform should be a "main pillar" to fix the situation in the mortgage markets. Any regulatory reforms that are being presented to Capitol Hill, specifically leave out these two government-sponsored enterprises, though U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank has stated that his panel will hold hearings starting on March 2 that will consider long-term GSE reform.
The bottom line is that the government is continuing to drag its feet with regard to changing the way these mortgage companies conduct business and the longer reform takes to move ahead, the longer it will take for the housing market and industry as a whole to rebound. James Bullard doesn't see much deterioration in 2010 in the housing market, but he expects it to remain flat throughout this calendar year.
Hanging on is what most mortgage brokers and real estate agents can expect to occur for the foreseeable future. With the Fed's decision to end its $1.25 trillion program to purchase mortgage-backed securities this April, it is not expected to cause any further trouble for the housing market. Yet, with news of the Obama Administration now deciding to punt on the issue of legislative reform that is critical to future long-term growth and success, one wonders just how seamless this transition will be.
The question then lies in what will happen to the future mortgage-backed securities and how will investors react to policies that brought the nation into this housing crisis continuing unchanged into the future? Perhaps only time will tell, but hopefully the Administration will realize how important legislative reform is to long-term health and security of the housing market.
Last June, the Obama Administration released an 88-page proposal that intends to rewrite the finance rules but one major ingredient that was missing from this proposal, according to James Bullard, was that it avoided addressing a future restructuring of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two companies that are at the core of the Unites States' mortgage system and two major contributors to the economic and housing meltdown of 2008.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac together own or guarantee at least one-half of the United States' mortgages, a staggering number. After they were seized by the U.S. government in 2008, they were placed into conservatoriship and since that time, the country still waits for word about what changes will be made to correct the mistakes of these two financial giants.
When the Administration's proposal was released in June of last year, it claimed that details and ideas about the future of these two government-sponsored enterprises would be released and discussed around the time of the president's fiscal 2011 budget proposal. Yet, when the Administration released its budget proposal, it neglected, or deferred, depending on the point of view, to directly address any such issues. Instead, it stated that it would "provide updates on considerations for longer-term reform... as appropriate."
This announcement has caused some organizations to claim this is both alarming as well as a 'cop-out' by the current administration. What should be even more alarming, however, is not necessarily the fact that this administration is refusing to either acknowledge the serious underlying repercussions of failing to propose any serious reform avenues, but that, with a housing market still reeling and struggling to bring back some measure of sustainability, this administration is setting up the nation's housing market for a repeat of the worst housing crash in U.S. history.
Bullard states that regulatory reform should be a "main pillar" to fix the situation in the mortgage markets. Any regulatory reforms that are being presented to Capitol Hill, specifically leave out these two government-sponsored enterprises, though U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank has stated that his panel will hold hearings starting on March 2 that will consider long-term GSE reform.
The bottom line is that the government is continuing to drag its feet with regard to changing the way these mortgage companies conduct business and the longer reform takes to move ahead, the longer it will take for the housing market and industry as a whole to rebound. James Bullard doesn't see much deterioration in 2010 in the housing market, but he expects it to remain flat throughout this calendar year.
Hanging on is what most mortgage brokers and real estate agents can expect to occur for the foreseeable future. With the Fed's decision to end its $1.25 trillion program to purchase mortgage-backed securities this April, it is not expected to cause any further trouble for the housing market. Yet, with news of the Obama Administration now deciding to punt on the issue of legislative reform that is critical to future long-term growth and success, one wonders just how seamless this transition will be.
The question then lies in what will happen to the future mortgage-backed securities and how will investors react to policies that brought the nation into this housing crisis continuing unchanged into the future? Perhaps only time will tell, but hopefully the Administration will realize how important legislative reform is to long-term health and security of the housing market.
Mortgage License Update
Loan Officer Licensing may be a required very soon in all states. Loan Officer Licenses among other things have been introduced to in the Congress as a may to reduce fraud and increase responsiblity nationwide. If passed, this bill would require all states that do not currently have a loan officer licensing scheme to set one up. Over 30 states have already adopted a license scheme for loan officers in the last 5 years. This bill may force the remaining states to follow suit. With the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System being organized at the same time, it could all come together very nicely to make it simple to obtain the loan officer licenses needed for each state.
Other items intersting with this bill are possible provisions for eliminating the Yield Spread Premium (YSP) earned by the licensed mortgage broker. Currently most mortgage brokers earn about half of their fees on the "back-end" from the lender. This has been considered legal by HUD regulation, specifically the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) although many consumers have tried to argue against the legality of this type of payment in court. Making this fee illegal would possibly force many mortgage brokers out of the business.
Representatives Introduce Mortgage Reform Legislation
Representatives Brad Miller (D-NC), Mel Watt (D-NC) and Barney Frank (D-MA)
introduced "The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007" on
October 22, 2007.
Key provisions of the legislation include:
· Establishment of a federal "duty of care;"
· Required licensing for all mortgage originators, including brokers
and bank officers;
· Minimum standards to ensure a borrower's ability to repay;
· Expanded and enhanced consumer protections for high cost loans under
the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA); and
Other items intersting with this bill are possible provisions for eliminating the Yield Spread Premium (YSP) earned by the licensed mortgage broker. Currently most mortgage brokers earn about half of their fees on the "back-end" from the lender. This has been considered legal by HUD regulation, specifically the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) although many consumers have tried to argue against the legality of this type of payment in court. Making this fee illegal would possibly force many mortgage brokers out of the business.
Representatives Introduce Mortgage Reform Legislation
Representatives Brad Miller (D-NC), Mel Watt (D-NC) and Barney Frank (D-MA)
introduced "The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007" on
October 22, 2007.
Key provisions of the legislation include:
· Establishment of a federal "duty of care;"
· Required licensing for all mortgage originators, including brokers
and bank officers;
· Minimum standards to ensure a borrower's ability to repay;
· Expanded and enhanced consumer protections for high cost loans under
the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA); and
Government To Make Billions From The Mortgage Crisis
The mortgage crisis has had a negative impact on everyone, not just homeowners. Elected officials are working hard to pass legislation that is designed to prevent future banking debacles. Unfortunately, history has proven that when legislators over-regulate banks that it tightens the reins on lending. This is done by raising the bar on what it takes to qualify for a mortgage or installment loan. Predictably, it's the middle class that will feel the pinch more than anyone. Specifically, it's the middle-class, self employed small business owner that be injured the worst.
Most people are aware that you can reduce your taxes by deducting expenses and qualified charitable contributions. What most people don't realize is that small business owners live and die by those deductions. Tax rates have risen on the self employed more than any other segment in our society. To counter these tax hikes, legislators created more "loop-holes" write off's and deductions for small business owners to use.
For this reason, small business owners rely on creative CPA's to maximize their deductions in order to show less income and pay less taxes.There are nearly 23 million small businesses in America and over 35 million sole-proprietors and almost every one of them employ savvy CPA's to keep them in the black. The draw-back is that by doing this most self employed borrowers are unable to prove enough income on paper when applying for a loan or a mortgage.
Traditional mortgage lending practices of yester-year required that borrower's prove sufficient income when taking out a loan. Over the years, taxes have risen for small business owners at staggering rates, far above what they have for W2 employees. At the same time the self employed borrower's "provable" income has dwindled proportionately. Under traditional banking rules most of the self-employed people wouldn't be able to qualify for business loans or mortgages. This would ultimately force small business owners out of business and cripple our would economy.
This new business paradigm literally forced the banking industry to create lending products that catered to small business owners who could not prove all of their income. These products were called "stated" income loans and did not require borrowers who had good credit to prove their income. These products originally required good credit and sufficient assets in order to qualify for them. Responsible guidelines and common sense underwriting kept default rates on these products in line with conventional mortgages. Unfortunately, as competition for this segment of borrowers stiffened between lenders the stringency to qualify for these mortgages softened, thus the mortgage crisis.
It is exactly this type of loan that our law-makers are trying to do away with through legislation. The new mortgage bill being bounced around has specific remedies for irresponsible lending. Meaning, if a bank loans you money and it can be proven in court (attorneys like this law by the way) that the bank was irresponsible in doing so they could be penalized. The definition of "irresponsible" is did the borrower have the capacity to repay the loan, meaning did they prove enough income. This bill will kill stated income loans, period.
So where does this leave the responsible self employed borrowers who needed these loans to live and operate their businesses? This leaves them with higher taxes. Should this bill pass self employed borrowers will be forced to claim more income each year on their tax returns in order to qualify for car loans, mortgages and even business loans. This will negate any of the loop-holes and deductions they were promised in lieu of higher taxes.
This means the government will rake in billions in extra revenue as a result of this bill. For example, let's assume that a small business owner claimed $40,000 in income last year after deductions and business expenses. If she was in a 40% tax bracket she would pay roughly $16,000 in taxes. Under the new banking guidelines that same business owner may have to claim $80,000 In order to qualify for mortgages, car loans and business loans. Assuming she's in the same tax bracket, she would now have to pay $32,000 in taxes.
Multiply $32,000 by 23 million business owners and that's one huge pay-day for Uncle Sam. You can bet that the Senators pushing this bill through congress are well aware of this left handed tax raise. You will never hear them mention it either, I wonder why?. You will hear about the naughty lenders that put good wholesome red blooded Americans in the street through predatory lending practices. You will never hear about the 20 million business owners who paid their mortgages on time and actually need these loans to stay in business.
Most people are aware that you can reduce your taxes by deducting expenses and qualified charitable contributions. What most people don't realize is that small business owners live and die by those deductions. Tax rates have risen on the self employed more than any other segment in our society. To counter these tax hikes, legislators created more "loop-holes" write off's and deductions for small business owners to use.
For this reason, small business owners rely on creative CPA's to maximize their deductions in order to show less income and pay less taxes.There are nearly 23 million small businesses in America and over 35 million sole-proprietors and almost every one of them employ savvy CPA's to keep them in the black. The draw-back is that by doing this most self employed borrowers are unable to prove enough income on paper when applying for a loan or a mortgage.
Traditional mortgage lending practices of yester-year required that borrower's prove sufficient income when taking out a loan. Over the years, taxes have risen for small business owners at staggering rates, far above what they have for W2 employees. At the same time the self employed borrower's "provable" income has dwindled proportionately. Under traditional banking rules most of the self-employed people wouldn't be able to qualify for business loans or mortgages. This would ultimately force small business owners out of business and cripple our would economy.
This new business paradigm literally forced the banking industry to create lending products that catered to small business owners who could not prove all of their income. These products were called "stated" income loans and did not require borrowers who had good credit to prove their income. These products originally required good credit and sufficient assets in order to qualify for them. Responsible guidelines and common sense underwriting kept default rates on these products in line with conventional mortgages. Unfortunately, as competition for this segment of borrowers stiffened between lenders the stringency to qualify for these mortgages softened, thus the mortgage crisis.
It is exactly this type of loan that our law-makers are trying to do away with through legislation. The new mortgage bill being bounced around has specific remedies for irresponsible lending. Meaning, if a bank loans you money and it can be proven in court (attorneys like this law by the way) that the bank was irresponsible in doing so they could be penalized. The definition of "irresponsible" is did the borrower have the capacity to repay the loan, meaning did they prove enough income. This bill will kill stated income loans, period.
So where does this leave the responsible self employed borrowers who needed these loans to live and operate their businesses? This leaves them with higher taxes. Should this bill pass self employed borrowers will be forced to claim more income each year on their tax returns in order to qualify for car loans, mortgages and even business loans. This will negate any of the loop-holes and deductions they were promised in lieu of higher taxes.
This means the government will rake in billions in extra revenue as a result of this bill. For example, let's assume that a small business owner claimed $40,000 in income last year after deductions and business expenses. If she was in a 40% tax bracket she would pay roughly $16,000 in taxes. Under the new banking guidelines that same business owner may have to claim $80,000 In order to qualify for mortgages, car loans and business loans. Assuming she's in the same tax bracket, she would now have to pay $32,000 in taxes.
Multiply $32,000 by 23 million business owners and that's one huge pay-day for Uncle Sam. You can bet that the Senators pushing this bill through congress are well aware of this left handed tax raise. You will never hear them mention it either, I wonder why?. You will hear about the naughty lenders that put good wholesome red blooded Americans in the street through predatory lending practices. You will never hear about the 20 million business owners who paid their mortgages on time and actually need these loans to stay in business.
Spring Ahead With the 2009 Mortgage Reform Bill
Finally, a reform bill that puts the responsibility where it belongs - back in the lap of the lender. By toughening some of the old rules, and adding rules that should have been there in the first place, this bill makes the lender more accountable when it comes to negotiating a mortgage.
The ominous sounding "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009" introduced by the House Services Committee is moving ahead after a successful 45-19 vote. It still needs be cleared by Senate and signed by the president before being enforced.
If it seems that this bill is moving quickly, it is. Over 2 million sub-prime mortgages are expected to reset to higher interest rates in the next 18 months, and this reform will be part of the action implemented to reduce the resulting national fallout.
Here are some of the highlights of this bill:
Licensing for mortgage brokers and bank loan officers will become standard. Previously, larger incentives were paid out to mortgage brokers for securing higher rate or higher risk mortgages; with the new bill, no incentives can be attached to the interest rate or type of mortgage.
Mandatory quality control for mortgages on a national level will be enforced. Standard rules will include encouraging lenders to provide long term, fixed-rate loans with consistent market rates, instead of low interest introductory rates or negative amortization. It will also hold lenders accountable to find terms and rates that are appropriate for the individual borrowers and their ability to repay. Lenders will also be required to offer the option to choose a loan without a prepayment penalty. Mandatory arbitration clauses in most mortgages will also be removed.
If a borrower's rights were not considered according to the rules of this policy, they would be eligible to cancel their loan contract and receive a refund of all payments, fees and legal costs. If a borrower committed fraud or was untruthful about their situation when applying for a loan, they would not be eligible for the same recourse.
Lenders offering anything other than a 30-year fixed-rate loan, is required to maintain a minimum 5% investment in the loan until it is paid off. If it goes into default, they would own part of the loss. Today, lenders simply sell off the loans and walk away. The intention here is to discourage fly-by-night lenders or those offering low introductory rate sales or promotions to entice buyers. Many believe this will put a strain on the smaller mortgage companies, having to set aside securities to cover any potential losses.
Anyone considering refinancing will have to pass a "net tangible benefit" test that indicates that the borrower will be better off financially with the new loan.
Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, watch for the latest "Credit Card Reform Bill that recently squeaked through the U.S. Senate Banking Commit on a 12 to 11 vote. Although many believe this is an area in dire need of reform, there is the question that it will make it even harder for the average consumer to get credit approval.
The ominous sounding "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009" introduced by the House Services Committee is moving ahead after a successful 45-19 vote. It still needs be cleared by Senate and signed by the president before being enforced.
If it seems that this bill is moving quickly, it is. Over 2 million sub-prime mortgages are expected to reset to higher interest rates in the next 18 months, and this reform will be part of the action implemented to reduce the resulting national fallout.
Here are some of the highlights of this bill:
Licensing for mortgage brokers and bank loan officers will become standard. Previously, larger incentives were paid out to mortgage brokers for securing higher rate or higher risk mortgages; with the new bill, no incentives can be attached to the interest rate or type of mortgage.
Mandatory quality control for mortgages on a national level will be enforced. Standard rules will include encouraging lenders to provide long term, fixed-rate loans with consistent market rates, instead of low interest introductory rates or negative amortization. It will also hold lenders accountable to find terms and rates that are appropriate for the individual borrowers and their ability to repay. Lenders will also be required to offer the option to choose a loan without a prepayment penalty. Mandatory arbitration clauses in most mortgages will also be removed.
If a borrower's rights were not considered according to the rules of this policy, they would be eligible to cancel their loan contract and receive a refund of all payments, fees and legal costs. If a borrower committed fraud or was untruthful about their situation when applying for a loan, they would not be eligible for the same recourse.
Lenders offering anything other than a 30-year fixed-rate loan, is required to maintain a minimum 5% investment in the loan until it is paid off. If it goes into default, they would own part of the loss. Today, lenders simply sell off the loans and walk away. The intention here is to discourage fly-by-night lenders or those offering low introductory rate sales or promotions to entice buyers. Many believe this will put a strain on the smaller mortgage companies, having to set aside securities to cover any potential losses.
Anyone considering refinancing will have to pass a "net tangible benefit" test that indicates that the borrower will be better off financially with the new loan.
Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, watch for the latest "Credit Card Reform Bill that recently squeaked through the U.S. Senate Banking Commit on a 12 to 11 vote. Although many believe this is an area in dire need of reform, there is the question that it will make it even harder for the average consumer to get credit approval.
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