December 5, 2007 WSJ
By JEFF D. OPDYKE

Some mortgage seekers spurned by banks and other traditional lenders are turning to high-cost loans known as “hard-money mortgages.”

Once thought of as a last resort for strapped borrowers, these products — also called “private-money mortgages” — have different lending standards than traditional mortgages and carry substantially higher interest rates and fees. These days, however, they are attracting a larger, more-affluent group of consumers. No organization tracks statistics in this highly fragmented industry, and many loans are made by private investors who report to no one. But anecdotally, business is booming.

At Miami-based Yale Mortgage Corp., one of the industry’s larger players, loan applications so far this year are up as much as 30% from a year earlier, translating to between 50 and 75 additional submissions every day. At Alliance Portfolio, a much smaller hard-money lender in Aliso Viejo, Calif., submissions have jumped 50% Continue Reading »

This story is underscores why our European Private Hard Money Fund is entering the US Market in a big way when US lenders are heading for the exits… 

Dollar Drops to Record Low Against the Euro Amid Speculation of Another Rate Cut

NEW YORK (AP) — The dollar hit a new low against the euro in thin trading Friday as speculation continued that the American credit crisis will lead to another cut in interest rates in the U.S.

The 13-nation European currency spiked early to hit $1.4966, breaking the previous record of $1.4873, set the day before.

“Once again the message … coming through is that with further rate cuts expected from the Fed, the dollar is struggling Continue Reading »

Property sales reach $401 billion through mid-October, easily outpacing last year’s $359 billion.

October 22 2007: 7:20 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The excesses that led to a bust in the housing boom haven’t spread to the commercial real estate market, where the outlook is cautious but decidedly upbeat.

Led by strong growth in the office and retail segments, commercial property sales hit $401 billion through Oct. 18, outpacing last year’s $359 billion total, according to Real Capital Analytics, a New York based real-estate research firm.

Construction spending on office buildings, shopping centers and other private, nonresidential projects jumped 15.2 percent in August, the Commerce Department said last month.

There are some signs of slowing growth, analysts say, but nothing compared to the residential real estate market, where foreclosures and mortgage defaults are still rising rapidly, mainly from subprime mortgages extended to risky borrowers. Most economists forecast further declines in home sales and prices, making it “the most significant current risk to our economy,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said last week.

The commercial market has not been dragged down Continue Reading »

By Mark Pittman

July 18 (Bloomberg) — Moody’s Investors Service has been excluded from rating 70 percent of new commercial mortgage-backed securities after toughening its guidelines.

Moody’s has been shut out of nine of the past 13 deals as underwriters sought better ratings from rival companies, Tad Philipp, a managing director at Moody’s said today in a telephone interview. The securities had a face value of more than $25 billion.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s because of the change'’ said Philipp, who included a chapter titled “Rating Shopping is Alive and Well'’ in a report released today. “Normally, we’d rate 75 percent of the issues, not 30 percent. I guess this is sort of like, no good deed goes unpunished.'’

Moody’s, which was criticized by investors for being too slow to cut ratings on subprime Continue Reading »

By Daniel Pimlottin New York, Financial Times
Published: Jun 28, 2007

Lenders are growing more cautious in extending credit to buyers of commercial real estate, reducing the number of private equity investors bidding for big deals, says the head of the world’s second biggest global property services company.

“Underwriting standards have become a little more cautious,” Colin Dyer, chief executive of Jones Lang La-Salle, told the Financial Times.

“Somebody who might have been using 80 per cent debt is now only using 70 per cent and it will cost them more,” he said. “What you’re seeing is that there might be fewer bidders on a deal because the private equity players are not there or are more cautious.”

Mr Dyer said these changes had yet to feed through “on any measurable level” to commercial property prices overall. But he said some trophy assets were no longer fetching the kind of high prices that might have been expected until recently.

“Extremely leveraged investors Continue Reading »

Walter Molony, National Association of Realtors

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2007 -

Respectable job growth, improving fundamentals, favorable interest rates and limited speculative construction suggest strong investor appetite will continue in 2007, according to a commercial market update and forecast presented here at the National Association of Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo.

Investment in commercial real estate rose 11 percent to a record $306.8 billion in investment-grade transactions in 2006, with office buildings leading the way. Institutional investors continue to pour funds into commercial real estate, commercial lending volume is up and delinquencies remain relatively low.

Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, said fundamentals have firmed in most sectors. “Over the past year, 2 million jobs have been created, and unemployment has been hovering at or below the natural rate of about 5 percent, supporting the office sector in particular,” he said. “The office market is the sector of choice, but growing international trade is strengthening the demand for warehouse and distribution facilities.

“With these positive fundamentals Continue Reading »

from Realty Times

by Phoebe Chongchua

If one of your goals in 2007 is to become a landlord by buying a house, condo, or even small apartment complex, the first thing you should do, if you haven’t already, is begin to educate yourself about becoming a landlord. If you’re already a landlord then you likely know that ongoing education in this ever-changing industry is a must.

Some say it’s the best job in the world. While owning rental property is certainly attractive and enticing from the standpoint of padding your bank account with some extra cash Continue Reading »

The vast majority of Americans receive a regular salary or hourly wage and can, therefore, disclose this information when applying for a home loan. Their financial picture is straightforward and so it makes sense to provide these details to a mortgage lender in order to secure the best terms on a home loan.

This picture becomes quite different when talking about clients borrowing loans that fall into the Jumbo and Super Jumbo category. A higher proportion of jumbo and super jumbo borrowers are self employed, commissioned Continue Reading »

As the housing market at large has experienced a cooling off period, interest-only mortgages and other creative loan solutions have come under increasing attack by the mainstream media. While some of this concern is understandable, it is worth examining some of the common myths about the interest-only payment method. It has been and remains now a very valuable tool for the sophisticated borrower. At Luxury Loan Solutions, we agree that interest-only is not appropriate for everyone but, for our clients, it is a critical tool to have in our menu of program offerings. We hope to take a moment to dispel the most pervasive myths about interest-only loans.

Myth #1 about Interest-Only Financing
Borrowers who elect to take interest-only loans will never pay down principal. They could go on paying interest-only for years and never build any equity.

Fact: Interest-Only, in fact, is somewhat of a misnomer. To be truthful, Continue Reading »

Forbes.com
by Lacey Rose

The ball has dropped and holiday revelers are busy avoiding carbs as they sweat off their holiday pounds at the gym.

Well, enough of that.

Instead, grab a comfortable seat and join us as we drool over the crop of out-of-this-world homes currently for sale. A bloated U.S. inventory–a natural result of a softening market–combined with increasingly accessible international options means there are an extraordinary number of breathtaking properties to go ga-ga over.

But for some at the high-end, a home may not suffice. Today’s moneyed are no longer looking to simply purchase a roof over their head Continue Reading »

The following mortgage terms and deffinitions are also available from the site navigation menu on our home page by clicking “Mortgage Terms Glossary.”

A Credit
A consumer with the best credit rating, deserving of the lowest rates and pricing that is available.

Acceleration clause
A contractual provision that gives the lender the right to demand repayment of the entire loan balance in the event that the borrower violates one or more clauses in the note.

Accrued interest
Interest that is earned but not paid, adding to the amount owned. This is often a cause of the loan payoff demand being a bit higher than the loan balance.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM)
A mortgage that has an interest rate that changes periodically in relation to an index. Payments may increase or decrease accordingly.

Adjustment Interval
On an ARM, the time between changes in the interest rate or monthly payment. The rate adjustment is often displayed in x/y format, where ‘x’ is the period until the first Continue Reading »

By Lisa Scontras
The Honolulu Advertiser, Custom Publishing Group

Investors are not the only people buying rental properties anymore. Close to historically low interest rates, creative financing options and sheer desire have motivated many to figure out a way to not only buy their first home, but become landlords — sometimes all at the same time.

Duplexes, or any property with two or more separate units, give regular-joe buyers a way to purchase a home while offsetting the mortgage payment with rental income. Living in one side and renting out the other has plenty of financial advantages Continue Reading »