I must share that as I have been interviewed for online radio shows these first two weeks of the year, the topics have been about credit and getting out of debt. That is understandable and it also leads us to discussing the housing market. So many people have been affected and people look forward to a new beginning, for some this is not happening. As a matter of fact their situation has gotten worse. For example, not only are people having a hard time paying their bills now it appears they are beginning to fall behind in paying their credit card bills.

Let me share that I am one of those people that always look forward to a new beginning with very realistic goals. I tell you if you are a person that already has a hard time paying credit card bills at the onset of the year, it is time to take action. There are many financial situations to really look at such as housing, gas (which has continued to increase) and the cost of food has not declined. I remember once as I was going through a drive thru to get some lunch for our kids and the lady working the window was fussing about the cost of food increasing but not her salary. This is a situation many people are facing. They seriously have to choose which bill to pay.

We have all heard I am robbing Peter to pay Paul. So what do you do with finances as you begin the New Year? One of the things I recommend is write down all of the bills you have to date. Second make a commitment to yourself to not add any new bills and get the current bills in a manageable state. Why do I say this because if it has gotten really close to where you almost could not pay your mortgage, it is imperative that you evaluate your needs and wants. I strongly recommend cutting the cable off and getting rid of the cell phone. Look at the rules for the cell phone and make sure you know what the rules. Different cell phone policies have a disconnect fee. Look at everything.

I read an article where Capitol One started reporting a rise in delinquencies. American Express reported an increase in late payments whereas they have been known for customers with excellent credit. When there are issues with mortgage payments, there are usually other financial obligations that end up in the same situation. I ask that you do not beat yourself up, but figure out a realistic plan for you and your household.

What I have shared with these interviewers is do what needs to be done in order to reduce and eliminate debt. Once this happens you will see how other areas of your life begin to clean up as well. You might find yourself give 110% at work versus 75% because you were concerned about money. Now you can freely excel in your job. If your health had begun to deteriorate and you free up some of the debt, you will find your health getting in order. Do not take this lightly. Now is the time to establish a DOABLE plan and WORK your plan. I wish you financial happiness.

Dr. Taffy

We all know that a lack of knowledge can lead to poor choices, uninformed decisions that lead to long term consequences. What is even worse is when businesses choose to prey on those that are uninformed for their own gain. From what I read today, there was a report released by the United for a Fair Economy (UFE) advocacy group that stated subprime mortgages, home loans issued to Americans with scant finances, were “ruthlessly hawked and that a “solid majority of subprime loan recipients were people of color.”

It is sad that in the year 2008, that we are continuing to deal with the issue of minorities being taken advantage of instead of being helped and educated. It is evident that this crisis has ruined communities as well as families and is continuing to do so. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Who could actually say because mortgages are continuing to adjust for those that got the adjustable rate mortgage. Some will be fortunate to be able to qualify for the FHASecure but everyone will not fall into this category.

For those that do not qualify for FHASecure, they have to weigh what other options are available. The report estimated the total loss of wealth “for people of color” including Latinos to be between 163 and 278 billion dollars for subprime loans taken out during the past eight years. What does that say to you? To me it says let’s keep the poor, poor and the wealthy wealthier thinking they will not know the difference. Surprise, this is out in the open and the nation knows what has happened.

As a matter of fact, some of these same lenders probably are no longer in business because they could not operate in this morning. So it affected them as well as the people they were taking advantage of. I do believe and advocate more should be spent on educating people prior to home ownership so that it is a benefit for all parties and not just the lender.

The effect this is having on communities is astronomical. Having a lot of foreclosures in a neighborhood also brings down property values. I have seen houses staying on the market as long as a year or more without even a showing. Then owners are taking their house off the market. I have heard that some of the houses that were foreclosed on being absolutely torn apart when the new owner moved in. They spent a lot of time repairing the homes to make them livable which ends up costing money.

Something I recommend for anyone in the housing industry, whether realtor, mortgage broker or even housing counselor increase the amount of information you are giving to your client. This is going to make the difference between a dream for them or a nightmare. I continue educating people as often as I am asked. I do not want anyone struggling and lose their dream of home ownership. Sure at the end of the day it is their choice, but have you done all you can do to give them solid information. This could be someone in your family seeking information.

Dr. Taffy

I have to say that I cannot say I am surprised in the least. Foreclosures have affected literally every state. Look at the news or read the newspaper. As the saying goes, it gets worse before it gets better. Are you asking yourself, what could I possibly mean? Let me explain what I mean. Last year every time we looked at the news, there were stories about foreclosures. There was also many stories about how mortgages were being discussed on the hill because there was too many people caught up in foreclosures. Do you think all of the adjustable rate mortgages adjusted last year? Don’t because they have not. That is why we have different options being presented such as the FHASecure and other FHA options.

Based on a story I read today, saying that a month after the Bush administration announced a plan to help troubled homeowners, one foreclosure agency needs help of its own. That is right it is overwhelmed and inundated with phone calls. I must applaud consumers that have basically taken a stand and said I need help. I want someone to help me in this situation and not continue it. They went from approximately 1500 calls per day to 3000 per day. This is the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta. They plan to hire about 130 new staff members. I must ask you if you are presently understaffed how many people go each day without the answer they need.

I say that because, I have to wonder if there are people that waited until the last minute and they are now in a do or die situation. I encourage those who are calling the foreclosure hotline to continue to call until you get the answers and direction you need. Here is an idea – if you are in the
Atlanta area, maybe you could apply for a job at the Consumer Credit Counseling Service. If they need help, they need help and could provide some training. I am not in the
Atlanta area so I do not know the specifics; however what is the worse thing that could happen. They say no! You will never know until you ask the question.

Let me share how busy they are – see this is exactly what I was talking about in the above paragraph. I went back and looked at the article; it shares that due to this agency receiving such a huge increase in calls it had to limit its services only to customers who were delinquent on their mortgage payments, then referring other customers who were not delinquent to their lenders. Were some of those customers calling because they could not get through to their lender? Does make you say hmmmmm.

If you are in a situation and need answers, do not forget that persistence and patience pays off. Take the time to make the phone calls and get through to someone who understands your specific situation. Remember you are not alone and it appears that the foreclosure hotlines are overwhelmed with callers. Think about how they feel not being able to get to everyone each day. When it is your turn, thank them for listening to you and providing some sound guidance. There is something to be said for a person having even phone etiquette no matter how dire the situation.

Dr. Taffy Wagner

Over the last couple of weeks, I have steadily been keeping up with the news on mortgages and what is happening in the industry. Let’s give a brief recap because no matter what you read, you are going to find that many copies are returning to offering FHA products as a part of their equation. I honestly cannot blame them because there are so many people dealing with situations that they didn’t even know they would face. Consequently, they need viable options and FHA provides realistic solutions.

As recent as yesterday, I read that Sun West Mortgage Company has launched a web-based training series, its free and on comprehensive FHA and reverse mortgage. As a person that has taught web-based training, it is a huge advantage and allows many different people to attend that otherwise might not have the opportunity.

I must applaud them for being one of the companies that steps out and offers this program in another format. Mortgage professionals can schedule themselves for the class and even without knowing the details of this class; I do believe that it should be researched. Find out the ins and outs of the different classes and how it can benefit your career as you are in a position to help many homeowners.

I read another article that stated Green Valley Mortgage in Bloomingdale recommends if you are a first-time buyer to consider an FHA mortgage. The senior loan consultant for Green Valley Mortgage outlined some of the requirements for an FHA loan. When I read there are some down sides and one of them being that the mortgage must be $275,200 or less it made me want to stand up and say — choose a starter home and do not focus on your dream home. You will set yourself up for success versus failure if you begin with a starter home. Depending on the area where people want to live, you should be able to find a starter home within the parameters of an FHA mortgage.

The next topic that continued to be discussed was reverse mortgages. Understand that the reversed mortgages are being offered to the older home owners. What I wasn’t aware of and you know how much I love learning is there are three types of reverse mortgages. The types are FHA-insured, lender insured and uninsured. As with anything, the parameters are different for each. Research, research and more research. Even with an older home owner, especially if this is an elderly parent, I would also recommend they in particular talk this option over with an adult child or even a lawyer to make sure that you are not being taken advantage of, nor going to lose your shirt because you did not foresee a situation.

Whether you are a first-time buyer, someone who seeking options to avoid foreclosure or even an older home owner looking at options, FHA offers many solutions that should be considered. If you do not fit into one category that does not mean another option is not available. As I have stated throughout, do your research and find out what is best for you. It is a new year and let’s make better decisions.

Dr. Taffy Wagner

This is a bit of news that I believe the readers should know about as well. Even though the majority of the blogs written here provide information about FHA and also some current news, it is just as important that you are aware of some other aspects of the mortgage industry. Why? Because I believe that some of what I am about to share you could already know or this information is going to give you insight into what could have happened to you.

I was talking with my brother about my blogging and he said did you see this article about mortgage fraud. I asked him what he was talking about and he basically gave me the gist of it – there are so many mortgage fraud cases filed that the officials that prosecute the cases cannot keep up. So I took the time and did some research and found out that banks filed 47,717 cases this year which is up from 21,994 two years ago which was according to Federal Bureau of Investigation and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of The Treasury Department. What does this say to you? This says to me that people were clearly being taken advantage of by people in the mortgage industry.

Understand this before you get all in an uproar, I am not saying everyone in the mortgage industry was bad. What it says is that you must be careful and do your due diligence before hiring a realtor, mortgage broker, banker or lender. As a matter of fact, in every area of your life, you should do your homework and background checks. Let me give you a prime example, I recently received a letter in the mail from a company that read about me on a press release. They contacted me basically throwing out some names that I would know. I finished reading the letter and put it aside. I had decided that after a couple of days, I would do some research on the internet to find out about them. After doing my research, I had found some very derogatory information that was recent from several different people. I was very proud of myself for not being too eager to jump right into something without having done my homework.

Look at these numbers as well because when I say numbers are going up, they are going up. I remember last month there was an article that said the number of foreclosures filed here had already topped last year’s filing in November. For any of you that have followed
Colorado’s foreclosure being in national news as #1 in the nation for foreclosure during the past year. So I am sure even where you are, the foreclosures have made record numbers.

If mortgage fraud is up, then it almost stands to reason why there are tons of foreclosures. Does make you say hmmmm. It did for me because that has to be a part of it. Once again even if you are facing foreclosure, thoroughly read all your paperwork.

Taffy Wagner

The holidays are upon us and I have to share that one of our traditions is driving throughout our neighborhood with our twins and seeing all the Christmas lights that are decorating all the houses. This year was quite different than years before and you are probably asking yourself what I mean. Let me say, before even in the last two years there were probably outside Christmas decorations on every third house. There were also some houses that were quite extravagant with their decorations and then others you didn’t know what the purpose was of even decorating. This year as we drove through, we were lucky if we saw decorations on one house on a street. What we saw more of was vacant houses, for sale signs in yards and doors with tons and tons of signs hanging and yards unkept. I have to admit it only confirmed to me that the mortgage trauma is not over by any means.

During this holiday season, there are people fighting for their homes and some are even losing them to foreclosure. I read a story in our local newspaper about a veteran that was losing his home because of adjustable rate mortgages. He shares how when he initially bought the home he could afford the mortgage but received assistance from a friend in the family regarding a mortgage. Now that adjustable mortgage has started and his payments went from approximately $1,000 a month to $3,000. As a veteran he is unable to afford those payments. He said he trusted that person that was a friend of the family and now it is apparent it is coming back to bite him. He didn’t really understand all the terms and figures that were being thrown at him. How often have we heard stories like this? From what I could surmise one of the only factors that made him different than the other stories was this man a veteran.

Constant stories about people with adjustable rate mortgages is one sign of a meltdown and want to call to the readers attention that every couple of days we are seeing headlines such as “Fed tightens up lending rules”, anything that says “Subprime” and the various meetings that are happening in and out of the White House. Regardless there is a lot of attention on this subject all over.

As a writer for this blog, I hope that during this holiday season that those families that have lost their homes to foreclosure, moved out before being in a foreclosure situation or even those who are facing rate adjustments soon will receive the help and guidance they need as they prepare to go into 2008. With all the different options that are being presented such as FHASecure, refinancing and even the latest bill being presented by the Senate, I encourage you all to do your homework and truly find out what is best for you. Have you ever heard, you don’t know until you know? There could be solutions from your lender or through your local bank but you don’t know because you have not read everything that came in the mail. While you are preparing to enter into a new year, take the time to seek out realistic options.

Happy Holidays

Taffy Wagner

As many of you might now, I am a personal finances expert and home ownership advocate and I thought it was time I write about this. I was reading an article that was in the Associated Press titled All Business: What’s Behind Foreclosure. One of the first thing that peaked my interest was how this writer shared a simple plan for the government to stop foreclosures: here’s a simple plan: Boost Americans’ income, put more funding toward medical research and insist on marriage counseling for all. I was somewhat fascinated by that statement because I have often received the comment when going through a fast food drive through window from the workers, the price of the food continues to raise however, their pay is not going up. Have you ever stopped and looked at that? I made it a point to note that comment because it showed me that employees are paying attention. What does that say for quality of life when you are paying more for food but your income is not increasing regardless of the job you perform? Think about when gas prices increased and it seemed so drastic. Well it was drastic. Did some of your other bills begin to suffer? I know we had to get very creative because that was a huge increase for the cost of gas.

The second thing I looked at was where she says put more funding towards medical research. I say medical research and making sure everyone has healthcare. How many people are without medical care and cannot afford proper treatment? People end up facing some very hard choices – do you seek medical care and purchase medicine or are you paying for your utilities? Let’s be realistic these are choices that someone is dealing with every day, thereby making their quality of life deteriorate. It is disheartening to think that some of my elderly family members could be struggling with health and cannot really get the care they need. It is beyond a point of want and reached a level of need.

We have all heard and read how money, lack of money or finances are one of the top causes of divorces. Some might even say it is number one. So what would you expect to happen when a family begins facing foreclosure? The finger pointing started some time ago, communication has probably broken down and the couple cannot agree on a proper solution. The article that I was reading her third item was insist on marriage counseling for all. Many people probably could benefit from marriage counseling right now when facing foreclosure on relationships and finances. Why do I say this? Primarily because if they are not able to see why this happened, they will repeat the pattern. It is very beneficial to have an outside person review everything and give an unbiased solution. I will share this, when there are financial challenges it begins to affect health, work performance and many other areas of your life. When people are facing foreclosure, they probably are dealing with stress, fear and uncertainty. These feelings can cause health issues and impact your marriage. I agree with the writer of that article some of the areas that need to be addressed are income, health and marriages.

Taffy Wagner

I have to tell you I must have been a few days behind catching up on my news because yesterday I was watching President Bush talking about the housing and mortgage industry and it said breaking news. However, when I turned to other channels he was not on there. So I determined that it was more than likely a re-run of the talk he gave last week unveiling the mortgage plan. I was not really surprised by what I had heard since there was a lot of build up to the unveiling. So I listened and then went on with my day.

This morning as I was doing my reading, I read through CNNMoney’s real estate website that a House committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on legislation that would permit judges to shrink the size of home loans for bankrupt homeowners – a mortgage-mess remedy supported by consumer advocates and ardently opposed by the lending industry. I would have to ask the question for those that oppose this, do they not believe that the housing and mortgage industry is in crisis? Let me give you an example, I read last night in our local news that
Colorado is on tract to have 37,000 foreclosure filings by the end of the year. They topped their end of the year 2006 number in November of this year. How many homes in your neighborhood say for sale or look vacant as if the people moved out over night?

The article went on to share that under existing law, judges cannot modify loan terms on a borrower’s primary residence, but can do so for mortgages on second homes. I really wonder how many people fall into the category of having second homes. Maybe it is my being naïve, I thought many people that were facing foreclosure was on their primary home. Well that is the way it appears in our neighborhood. When people go through foreclosure on a home, they still end up somewhere. What is the bigger picture of helping them keep the home they have?

The bill that is being considered on Wednesday would apply to subprime loans made since 2000 to borrowers with shaky credit, and other nontraditional loans, such as those in which borrowers only make interest payments. The more I read national news and watch local news, everyone keeps saying the worst is not over. I do believe that because it seems each quarter it is getting worse and worse. Everyone keeps having these meetings to discuss the problem and reach some viable solutions. With each meeting there are solutions being presented, however the problem continues to grow and the number of foreclosures increase as well. What is going to happen one the votes are taken on Wednesday? What viable options will home owners have that they can see a light at the end of the tunnel? Don’t miss out on the vote. Either come back here to receive an update or watch the local and national news. With all the discussions that have been going on, this is a story that will be watched and reported on as soon as the voting is over.

Taffy Wagner