Sunday, September 04, 2022

US mortgage lenders are starting to go bankrupt — how this one factor could be triggering the worst surge of failures since 2008


Chris Clark
Sun, September 4, 2022


The real estate market just can’t catch a break, with inventory of resale homes remaining low and rising interest rates making it harder for buyers to justify making the leap.

And now we can add mortgage lender bankruptcies — and the rise (and fall) of “non-qualified mortgages” — to the factors aggravating an already uncertain market.

But what does the trouble around these NQM mortgages really mean? And what does it mean for non-traditional buyers trying to get a foothold in the market?
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A “non-qualified” mess?


NQMs use non-traditional methods of income verification and are frequently used by those with unusual income scenarios, are self-employed or have credit issues that make it difficult to get a qualified mortgage loan

They’ve previously been touted as an option for creditworthy borrowers who can’t otherwise qualify for traditional mortgage loan programs.

But with First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. and Sprout Mortgage — a pair of firms that specialized in non-traditional loans not eligible for government backing — recently running aground, real estate experts are beginning to question their value.

First Guaranty filed for bankruptcy protection while Sprout Mortgage simply shut down early this summer.

In documents tied to its bankruptcy filing, First Guaranty leaders said once interest rates started to climb, lending volume dropped and left the company with more than $473 million owed to creditors.

Meanwhile, Sprout Mortgage, which leaned heavily on NQMs, abruptly shut down in July.

Do NQM’s signal another housing meltdown? Probably not

Most housing market watchers believe today’s conditions — led by stricter lending rules — mean the U.S. is likely to avoid a 2008-style housing market meltdown.

But failures among non-bank lenders could still have a significant impact. The NQM share of the total first mortgage market has begun to rise again: NQMs made up about 4% of the market during the first quarter of 2022, doubling from its 2% low in 2020, according to CoreLogic, a data analysis firm specializing in the housing market.

Part of what has contributed to the recent popularity of NQMs is the government’s tighter lending rules.

Today’s NQMs are largely considered safer bets than the ultra-risky loans that helped fuel the 2008 meltdown.

Still, many NQM lenders will be challenged when loan values start falling, as many are now with the Federal Reserve’s moves to raise interest rates. When values drop, non-bank lenders don’t always have access to emergency financing or diversified assets they can tap like larger banking lenders. Banks can also lean on safer qualified loans because they factor in traditional income verification, more stringent debt ratios and don’t carry features like interest-only payments.

It’s important to note that if you have a mortgage through a lender that’s now bankrupt or defunct, that doesn’t mean your mortgage goes away.

Typically, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) works with other lenders to pick up orphaned mortgages, and the process happens quickly enough to avoid interruptions in paying down the loan.

One number rules them all

While many factors drag on the real estate market, one data point carries the most significance: interest rates.

With the Fed’s laser focus on raising rates to cool inflation, there’s little reason to think the effect on lending and the broader housing market will ease anytime soon.

Higher mortgage rates — the average 30-year fixed rate was still above 5% as of Aug. 24 — will dictate how much home they can afford.

(This also affects sellers, many of whom will eventually become buyers and likely depend on loans.)

Between a potential shakeout among non-bank lenders, more stringent lending rules forced on banks and the Fed’s higher rates, there are many reasons for caution on all sides:

Buyers — especially those carrying traditional loans to the offer table — will need to be buttoned up. In addition to making sure their credit is in order to meet tightening bank lending standards, they may need to consider other tactics, such as offers that are higher than the seller’s asking price and other concessions, such as waiving repair costs for problems uncovered during inspection.

On the flip side, sellers may be more motivated by all-cash offers, which typically speed the closing process by removing traditional mortgages — and rising interest rates — from the picture.

As for would-be sellers, they may want to consider waiting to list their homes until the next upswing. Despite geographic pockets of rising values and high demand, a broader nationwide cooling trend may make staying put a prudent choice.





2008 all over again? BofA just launched a test of zero-down-payment, zero-closing cost mortgages for minority communities


Chris Clark
Sat, September 3, 2022


A major American bank has launched a new program to help first-time minority buyers finance a home purchase with no down payment or closing costs. It’s a boon to buyers at a time when rising interest rates and low home inventory have stacked the deck against them.

It’s also the latest response to longstanding criticism that banks favored white borrowers.

Bank of America’s test plan is rolling out in Los Angeles, Dallas, Detroit and Charlotte and aimed at predominantly minority neighborhoods in those cities. It offers loans to minority buyers without the need for a down payment, closing costs or private mortgage insurance (PMI), an extra cost that’s customary for buyers who put down less than 20% of the home’s purchase price.

Crucially, the program also requires no minimum credit score, with eligibility focused instead on a borrower’s solid track record of rent payments and regular monthly bills like utilities and phone. Before applying, buyers must finish a homebuyer certification course that counsels them on ownership responsibilities and other considerations.

But the move quickly drew mixed responses online, as Bank of America (and other large lenders) have been criticized in the past for predatory lending practices — especially when loaning to minority groups.

No money down loans — a timely boost

For buyers in Bank of America’s test cities, the loans come at a critical time.

Rising interest rates are making mortgages more expensive and creating downward pressure on lenders to ensure their loans are as risk-averse as possible. Bank of America’s program is meant to break from this by freeing qualified applicants from down payments, credit score standards and PMI costs.

That reduces many of the barriers to entry for homeownership for buyers in communities fighting against institutional lending that often favors white borrowers.

“Homeownership strengthens our communities and can help individuals and families to build wealth over time,” said AJ Barkley, Bank of America’s head of neighborhood and community lending.

Homeownership among white households was 72.1% in 2020, according to the National Association of Realtors — compared to 51.1% for Hispanic and 43.4% for Black households.

And Black borrowers are denied at twice the rate of the overall borrower pool, according to a recent report from LendingTree.

Bank of America’s plan adds to its $15 billion program that offers closing-cost and down payment assistance to lower income buyers and another initiative aimed at providing $15 billion in mortgages to low- to moderate-income buyers through mid-2027.

The equity risk

However, critics of the program were quick to point out that it could backfire and potentially harm the communities it’s designed to help.

The 2008 housing crisis — which was heavily driven by risky loans to unqualified buyers — taught tough lessons to lenders who were stuck with foreclosed homes after buyers stopped making payments on properties they were never able to afford.
The consequences were devastating: Lenders inherited foreclosed homes and buyers saw their credit scores sink.

It’s likely that at least some of the borrowers under Bank of America’s new program would be considered “subprime” under ordinary lending rules — recalling the ugliest days of the 2008 crisis and supplying critics with easy talking points. Credit agency Experian, for instance, considers borrowers with credit scores between 580 and 669 as subprime.

And while credit scores aren’t always an accurate barometer of a buyer’s purchase power or ability to make timely payments, advocates worry the interest rates required to make up for the low bar the lender is setting could set minority buyers up for failure.


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