Tuesday, August 25, 2009

BUSINESS CHANGES

It is with mixed emotions that I share the following important news with clients, friends, and family.

As you have seen in the financial news through the variety of media and as I’ve discussed in several of my blogs, the mortgage business is changing on a daily basis. Some of it is positive and will help borrowers get affordable loan products. But many of the new regulations appear to be pushing the mortgage brokers out of business.

Conventional loans have been a mainstay of our business, but these days you need to have 20% down, a perfect credit file, and a perfect property with quality comparables for the appraisal. And we know how tough that is in today’s financial market. There is good news for first time buyers with the tax credit and some grant programs. FHA/VA seems to be the 2 most popular products right now - still allowing folks to get into homes.

After much praying and with God’s guidance, I made the decision to close down InSight Mortgage Group. BUT, there will an InSight Team! I am teaming up with Jewel Callahan at Mid America Mortgage. Jewel and I have been friends and business colleagues for several years, and she is the loan consultant to whom I have been referring all my FHA loans. Jewel and I have the same core values and strong work ethic and are working together to help you make good sound choices with your home financing needs. And we have a wide variety of loan products to offer you.

There will be more to come as we get this new venture rolled out. Please continue to visit our blog at http://wantinsight.blogspot.com and watch for the new website with the same address www.wantinsight.com .

If you are looking to purchase or refinance, please contact us:

Michele “MAC” Cole,
Business Development Representative
Mid America Mortgage
michele@wantinsight.com

Jewel Callahan
Mortgage Consultant
Mid America Mortgage
851 NW 45th St, Suite 200
Kansas City, MO 64116
816.510.1399 cell
816.455.7770 office
816.455.1232 fax
jcallahan@mamsikc.com

I value your support and continued business. Please remember that I am available if you have any questions. Feel free to contact me via email at michele@wantinsight.com.

Blessings

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

More Encouraging News

Hidden underneath all the headlines and stories on the proposed government health plan, there are signs of encouraging news that the recession may be easing.

The first full week of August saw some positive results in economic activity, but the news of the declining unemployment rate made investors optimistic. For the first time in the past 17 months fewer job losses were posted and we saw an improved unemployment rate. July saw the lowest number of job losses all year, and the number came in much lower than anticipated. The stock market climbed upward as well. The Dow is now up almost 7% for the year.

This isn’t to say the recovery is in full swing yet, but don’t we all deserve some good news!

And, we saw another positive housing report too. Pending home sales jumped an unexpected 3.6%, when a 0.7% increase was predicted by the experts. We’ve now seen 5 consecutive months of gains in pending contracts. That’s the first time since July 2003 we’ve seen that happen! Affordable home prices and low interest rates have been driving the market upwards. Construction spending was up slightly as well, much better than the drop that was expected.

The 28 major markets the real estate experts watch saw a drop in inventory of 2.5% from June. (The average drop over the last 25 years from June to July is 1%) AND, compared with the inventory in July 2008, there was a big drop of 27%!

Mortgage interest rates are still holding at low levels as well.

At InSight Mortgage Group we’re available to answer your questions regarding new home purchase loans or refinancing your current loan. Call us, 913-642-3334 or email us at michele@wantinsight.com or dickw@wantinsight.com. Look to us for integrity and ethical handling of your financial transactions. Blessings.