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Academy Mortgage is #1

Salt Lake City, Utah, August 27, 2010 – Academy Mortgage Corporation today announced they have achieved the #1 Independent Lender Ranking for purchase business in the entire United States for the six month period ending June 30, 2010 (data source – Corelogic Market Trac). Additionally, Academy Mortgage achieved top-tier rankings for FHA, resale, and builder loans for the same six-month time period.

“We are proud to achieve the highest-ranking independent-lender position in the United States for consumers purchasing homes,” said Adam Kessler, President & co-owner of Academy Mortgage. “Standing tall amongst our peers is an unwavering commitment at Academy – and it can only be achieved by hiring & retaining the industry’s brightest and most capable mortgage professionals.

Our goal is to continue serving major populations of homeowners across the United States with market-leading mortgage solutions. Maximizing homeowners’ savings and financial wellness is what we do best.”

Academy Mortgage soars ahead of the industry by continuously providing exceptional customer service and responsible lending practices. Their professional mortgage team has the experience & expertise to maximize savings, value, and wealth for each and every client, while eliminating risk. And as more and more banks consolidate operations (resulting in offshore servicing extending the time it takes to close a loan), Academy has the distinct advantage of being a direct lender – all processing, underwriting, and closings are handled locally. Therefore, loans close in a matter of days (rather than months).

Academy will always provide the best solutions & advantages, invaluable in today’s rapidly changing economy. Academy Mortgage is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah – originating loans in 101 branches in 27 states – providing FHA, VA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, conforming, and nonconforming loan products.

For more information, please contact: Bill Bent
Senior Vice President
303.232.3508 ext. 222
bill.bent@academymortgage.com

Strategic Default – Fannie Mae Cracks DOWN!

Strategic Default-Fannie Mae Increases Penalties

Strategic Default

Strategic default is an intentional decision by a borrower to stop making their mortgage payment. What’s interesting with a strategic default is-the borrower can usually afford to make their payment but strategically choose not to because they believe it’s better for their finances. Strategic default usually happens when there is a substantial difference between what is owed on the home and what it’s actually worth, commonly known as being “underwater”.

Strategic Default is not thought of kindly because of the effect it has had and continues to have on ours and many other housing markets.

In an effort to stop (or at least get some to think again) Fannie Mae announced policy changes on Wednesday 6/23/10 designed to encourage borrowers to work with their lenders/servicers and explore alternatives to foreclosure. Under these changes, defaulting borrowers who walk away from their homes that had the capacity/ability to pay or did not complete a workout alternative in good faith will be ineligible for a new Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for a period of seven years from the day of foreclosure. In addition, Fannie Mae said it “will take legal action to recoup the outstanding mortgage debt from borrowers who strategically default on their loans in jurisdictions that allow for deficiency judgments.” According to DSNEWS.com, an announcement is expected next month, where the company said it will be instructing its servicers to monitor delinquent loans facing foreclosure and put forth recommendations for cases that warrant the pursuit of deficiency judgments.

Don’t Be Caught Off Guard!

Don’t be caught off guard — as of July 1, 2010 — all Loan Officers in the state of Arizona fall under the supervision (licensing & regulation) of the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). MAKE SURE all Loan Officers handling your clients’ home financing are fully licensed and compliant with State & Federal Regulations to ensure compliance with the SAFE Act. Loan officers not licensed as of July 1st will be legally prohibited from originating loans in Arizona.

Rest assured, whenever you work with me or any Academy Loan Officer, you can be certain that all SAFE Act requirements are met (in addition to Academy’s over-the-top stringent in-house requirements for loan origination). We hold ourselves to the highest levels of integrity and professionalism.

At Academy, we celebrate SAFE Act requirements, because they continuously expose the operational standards of mortgage organizations — allowing Academy Mortgage to further prevail as the top choice for homeowners to secure mortgages. Our market-leading position in the state of Arizona comes from our unwavering commitment to protect consumers and to keep them safe from any fraudulent activities. We are honored to lead the mortgage-lending standards of our state.

You probably know this already, but in case you don’t: Arizona’s SAFE Act requirements do not apply to loan officers who work for the large, federally-chartered banks. Even though they may have internal processes — unless it is mandated, there is room for error. As the top private mortgage lender in the state, it is our responsibility to inform as many people as possible and to protect consumers against predatory lending. Academy Mortgage is the top private mortgage lender in the entire state of Arizona for a reason — we stand up to the highest standards of quality, excellence, and ethics. When you’re looking for guaranteed SAFE Act requirements, turn to Academy Mortgage.

Call me — and we can talk through this. It is a critically important subject. As always, I’m dedicated to your success. You can count on me to keep you informed and add value whenever possible.

Senate OKs Reid Amendment to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credit Closing

Looks like buyers will get an extension to close transactions written on or prior to April 30 and still get the tax credit. The new deadline will be September 30, 2010 to close the transaction. This will really help the pressure with the current pipeline.

THIS STILL NEEDS TO BE SIGNED INTO LAW. Once this amendment is signed into law I will let everyone know.

Senate OKs Reid Amendment to Extend Homebuyer Tax Credit Closing

by DIANA GOLOBAY

• Reid Urges 3-Month Extension of Homebuyer Tax Credit
• Obama Signs First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension
• Senate Set to Vote on Financial Reform
• Senate Approves Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension
• Senate Adds Deposit Insurance Amendment to Financial Reform Bill

Thursday, June 17th, 2010, 9:40 am

Senators passed an amendment to the proposed American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 that aims to give an estimated 180,000 prospective first-time homebuyers enough time to close on a purchase and qualify for federal tax incentives.
The bill — House Resolution 4213 — passed the House vote in December and moved through the Senate Committee on Finance in March. The amendment, sponsored by Sen Harry Reid (D-NV), that passed yesterday extends the homebuyer tax credit by three more months.

“The first-time homebuyer tax credit was an extremely popular and successful program that has helped Americans purchase homes and given a boost our economy,” Reid said in a statement. “Because of this program’s popularity and the time it takes to complete transactions such as short sales, I led the effort today to extend the closing deadline for this tax credit through September of this year — allowing lenders more time to clear a backlog of 180,000 potential homebuyers nationwide.”

Under the tax credit’s current deadline, qualifying purchases that were under contract by April 30 must close by June 30. Under the Reid’s amendment, that closing deadline would be pushed to Sept. 30, 2010 in an effort to ensure the qualifying sales can close.
Reid is joined in his effort by amendment co-sponsors Sen Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Sen Robert Mendendez (D-NJ).

Senators voted on Wednesday 60-37 in favor of the Reid amendment. At the same time, they voted against a similar amendment by Sen Johnny Isakson (R-GA) that would also have extended the closing deadline for the first-time homebuyer tax credit.

According to a spokesperson with Isakson’s office, the only difference between the amendments involved the method of paying for the tax credit extension. Isakson’s amendment opted for unused stimulus funds from the $787bn Recovery Act passed in 2009. Reid’s amendment, the spokesperson said, would have paid for the tax credit extension through eliminating the tax deductability of punitive damages.

A spokesperson for Reid’s office did not return requests for comment.

Senate Approves Home Tax Credit Extension

Senate Approves Home Tax Credit Extension

By ANDREW TAYLOR (AP) 6/16/10

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday approved a plan to give homebuyers an extra three months to finish qualifying for federal tax incentives that boosted home sales this spring.

The move by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would give buyers until Sept. 30 to complete their purchases and qualify for tax credits of up to $8,000. Under the current terms, buyers had until April 30 to get a signed sales contract and until June 30 to complete the sale.

The proposal, approved by a 60-37 vote, would only allow people who already have signed contracts to finish at the later date. About 180,000 homebuyers who already signed purchase agreements would otherwise miss the deadline.

Reid, D-Nev., added the proposal to a bill extending jobless benefits through the end of November. Nevada has the nation’s highest foreclosure rate, and Reid is facing a tough re-election campaign.

The Realtors group has been pushing hard in Congress for the extension. Mortgage lenders, the trade group says, have been swamped with borrowers trying to get approved by the end of the month. Many potential borrowers are unlikely to make the deadline.

“If Congress fails to act promptly, then prospective homebuyers might not get the benefit of the homebuyer tax credit, even though they have completed contracts,” the Realtors said a a letter to lawmakers.

First-time buyers were eligible for a tax credit of up to $8,000. Current owners who bought and moved into another home could qualify for a credit of up to $6,500.

The $140 million cost of the measure would be financed by denying businesses the ability to deduct from their taxes punitive damages paid when losing lawsuits or judgments.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

When It Comes to Mortgage Loans, We Are NOT #1

I’ve read a couple interesting blogs lately regarding the claims of certain businesses being “#1”. It seems the cat is out of the bag on this old trick and people are ticked. Since the general public doesn’t consider having the most Twitter followers or Facebook Fans a legitimate reason to claim ownership of the coveted “#1” status it raises an interesting question: “Number one in what?” Such claims should be accompanied by an asterisk if you ask me.

Being #1 used to mean something. It meant you had experience. It meant you were dependable and reliable. It meant there were an awful lot of people that trusted you to handle their business and it most importantly meant peace of mind to those doing business with you.

I believe being #1 still speaks that same language. But how do you know who is number one?

When it comes to mortgage loans closed in Maricopa County, we are NOT number one – Bank of America is. We are NOT number two – Wells Fargo is. We are in fact, number three. Academy Mortgage Corp., Maricopa County’s largest privately held bank and a relatively new presence in the valley of the sun, has managed to squeeze out its closest competitors by millions of dollars in volume. In fact, you may be surprised to hear banks like Metlife Home Loans, Nova Financial, On Q Financial, Suburban Mortgage, Amerifirst, Imortgage, Prospect Mortgage and People’s Mortgage have all been chasing our coat tails since the addition of two new Academy branches within the past year.

In addition, when I make claims of having the #1 team in AZ in 2009, that’s exactly what I mean. In 2009, my team closed more FHA/VA mortgage loans (Over 120 Million) than any other team in Arizona.

Numbers aren’t everything but when a bank rises in less than a year to compete with Bank of America and Wells Fargo, they must be doing something right. Here’s what our customers think “it” is:

• 10 Day Closings – Yes it’s possible and there’s no catch
• In house underwriting, doc drawing and funding
• Debt to income ratios approved up to 56.99%
• 2 Day Turn Time on FHA Appraisals
• Fully underwritten approvals for builder partners
• Free Courier Service to Clients
• Free credit monitoring for life

If you’re the skeptic you’ve been programmed to be, please email me. I’ll be happy to send the cold, hard evidence you rightfully want to see.

New FHA Appraisal Guidelines Take Effect

Many of the new guidelines are similar to the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC), which has been in place since May 1, 2009 for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans. Under FHA’s rules, appraisers are required to receive reasonable and customary compensation and cannot be affiliated with lending agencies. In addition, appraisers are required to have familiarity, experience, and knowledge in the geographic location of the properties being appraised, and higher standards have been adopted for the process of ordering appraisals.

Click on paragraph for more

Pay Borrowers to Pay Their Mortgage?

By Nick Timiraos

How do you get borrowers to avoid walking away from homes that are deeply underwater without encouraging more to follow by writing down principal balances? One idea: Pay them to keep paying their mortgage.

The novel approach is being touted by Loan Value Group LLC, a firm selling their idea—and ready-made application—to mortgage investors nervous about the risk of strategic default, where borrowers walk away from their homes even though they can afford to pay their mortgages. The firm says it’s signed up an undisclosed mortgage investor to test a pilot program with a few hundred borrowers.

Here’s how the program works: The mortgage investor (possibly joining with other risk holders, such as mortgage insurers or second-mortgage holders) offers a cash reward to borrowers if they agree to keep paying their mortgage. The incentive amount varies by borrower depending on income, negative equity, geography and other risk factors—those who are more likely to cause steep losses receive a bigger carrot. The “responsible homeowner reward” grows for up to five years as the borrower makes monthly mortgage payments.

The borrower can’t collect that cash payment until the mortgage is paid off (though investors could allow the reward to be used towards paying off the mortgage in a sale or refinancing if the reward amount is enough to close the transaction).

The main goal of the program is to avoid the moral hazard and upfront costs to the investor associated with writing down borrowers loans. “When you make it so a borrower doesn’t have to do anything negative to get the reward, you remove moral hazard,” says Frank Pallotta, a founder of Loan Value Group who previously led mortgage banking teams at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.

The size of the reward isn’t going to make up for the borrower’s entire negative equity whole, but Mr. Pallotta says the incentive payments are designed to present enough of a “shock-and-awe number upfront” to change the borrower’s psychology. Instead of thinking about how much debt they’re getting out of by walking away, maybe some borrowers will think about the cash bonus they’ll get if they stay current and are able to recover their equity if home prices stabilize and recover.

At the same time, investors don’t have to consider writing down the principal of the loan, which can often require the investor to mark-to-market the restructured loan and recognize an immediate loss.

The program isn’t designed to help borrowers who can’t afford their mortgage, though mortgage-holders certainly could offer the program to at-risk borrowers who’ve already received a modification in their monthly payments through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program.

To be sure, the program raises plenty of questions: will investors want to put up cash for borrowers who might pay anyway? Mr. Pallotta says the program is liable to pay for itself if it only convinces a small fraction of borrowers to avoid walking away, given the significantly higher costs of foreclosure. If strategic defaults are as serious a problem as some housing analysts and studies show, it will certainly be worth watching to see if such a program catches on with other investors.

RECENT TESTIMONIALS

Recent Testimonials

“As a Realtor – I know that there are many lenders available out there. Ben’s card is the one I hand out to my clients, because I know that when I refer a client to Ben he will be helpful, knowledgeable, patient and professional. I have referred clients to Ben in the past and I will continue to refer my clients to him in the future. Honesty and integrity is the bottom line in my business and is also the bottom line for Ben. I would recommend Ben to anyone!”

Darcy Cola
Realtor and Your Friend in the business – Homesmart
480-304-2032
_________________________
“Just a quick note to “Thank you” for taking such great care of ALL my clients. What an awesome loan officer you are. It’s nice to know, with your knowledge of the business and expertise in your products; my clients are in good hands! What is most important to me is the way you keep me in loop on where we are in the process. What a great asset you are to my team. I look forward to years of mutual success together.”

Jim Poole
Realtor – West USA Realty Revelation
602-653-0045
_________________________
“Ben is a great mortgage professional that gets things done right the first time. He is a pleasure to work with and I trust him completely.”

Andrew Poelman
Insurance Agent – Security Insurance LLC
480-238-2256
_________________________
“Whether you are the buyer, realtor or title company, you are always in good hands when working with Ben. I’ve been working with him for years and not once has he let me down. His performance is stellar and his transactions are always hassle free. I can’t say enough good things about you Benny Boy! It’s truly a pleasure to work with someone with such a high level of honesty and integrity. Many thanks to you and your team!!”

Megan Connolly
Escrow Officer – Old Republic Title Agency
480.820.2255
_________________________
“I can’t say that I have ever found a loan officer that was willing to jump for me at any beck and call. Ben Andrus is the only loan officer that I know who works as hard as I do to help buyers get through one of the toughest and most stressful steps to purchasing a home. When I have a client that needs to be preapproved day or night and even on the weekends, Ben is there and ALWAYS answers the call. My clients rant and rave about him and how knowledgeable he is on the different loan products and they cannot thank me enough for referring them to him. I NEVER have to worry about not closing on time or someone at Academy dropping the ball to devastate my transaction. As a Realtor these days, we have to wear all different hats, but being a lender is not one that I have to carry around anymore, because Ben is always there for me. Thank you Academy for hiring and introducing me to one of the best loan officers out there. Ben has sure helped me and all of my clients!”

Megan Shaw
REALTOR & CDPE – Zip Realty
480.299.1353
_________________________
“I have known Ben for approximately 5 years and have worked with him when he was as a licensed Realtor in New Home sales and also as a loan officer. In all cases the working relationship we have is great and Ben is phenomenal in what he does. Ben goes above and beyond with constant communication and gives each client top notch service. It’s evident when you work with Ben that his top priority is putting his client’s needs first by instilling integrity/trust along the way. My business partner and I gladly and confidently refer clients to Ben as we know they will be in good hands and get the service and products they are promised.”

Brett Hultberg
Realtor – West USA
480.510.8941
_________________________
“I have worked with Ben Andrus for a long time. He is extremely passionate about the mortgage and real estate industry. He is a very hands on loan officer that is knowledgeable and professional. He sincerely wants to help his clients to be in the best loan product and always goes above and beyond. I would recommend Ben Andrus to my clients, friends and family for their home buying and refinance transactions any day.”

Alex Roberts
Marketing Rep – Old Republic Title
623-687-7967
_________________________
“I’d like to sincerely Thank Ben Andrus and the staff at Academy Mortgage. From the start of my journey with you till the end of closing, you were always in contact with me giving me updates. I have to say I was really impressed with the communication you all had with me and my client. As you know, we had Melody pre-qualified and found a condo that was being sold by a builder. They offered closing costs paid if we went with their lender which sounded wonderful at the time so that’s what we went with.. As time went on, we were told they could not approve her. So we went to someone who could, you! I am amazed at how quickly the process was from going with one lender to the other but you were successful at pushing her through and I can’t tell you how much that means to a realtor and client who had been waiting on answers already. I would definitely recommend you to anyone who is in need of a great lender. Thanks again!”

Rachel Montoya
Realtor – Independence Realty Professionals, Inc.
480-215-2430