St Louis Home Mortgage News: Second Month In A Row Retail Sales Down [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

Nationwide retail sales fell almost $360 billion or 0.5 percent in June 2010 according to the Commerce Department which was compared with May’s upwardly revised 1.1 percent decrease.

Many economists who were surveyed by Briefing.com originally thought that sales would slip by only 0.2 percent during June.

The industry that led this worse than expected slump were autos.  Motor vehicle and parts sales dropped a whopping 2.3 percent providing nearly half of the losses during the month.

This is compared to the 0.1 percent drop in the automotive industry in sales which excluded autos and auto parts.

Once again, economists had projected these sales to hold steady in June.

Looking at other industries, sales at gasoline stations fell about 2 percent.  Furniture sales dropped for a third month in a row.

Building material sales fell once again for a second straight month which may be linked to the downward trend in the housing activity naturally following the expiration of the home buyer tax credit.

However, all was not falling as electronic and appliance stores sales rose 1.3 percent during June probably being helped by the release of new products such as Apple’s iPhone 4.

Overall, retail sales were up almost 4.8 percent over this same period back in 2009.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

St Louis Finance News: St Louis Small Business Loans Drying Up [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

Small business loans have dropped considerably from $710 billion that was made available in the second quarter of 2008 to just $670 billion in the first three months of 2010.

This data was made available through banking financial reports submitted by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

There are many reasons for the shortage of business funding for small business owners according to chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke.

He first spoke about lesser demands for funding from small business owners since they are worried about taking on new debt during these time financial times.  Can you blame them?

Another reason he says is a “deterioration in the financial condition of small businesses during the economic downturn.”

However, the St Louis commercial lending community feels it has more to do with the lack of supply of available credit.

What is interesting is that bankers say they are wanting to make more funds available to small business owners but cannot.  The reason?

Apparently, banks are being told to tighten their lending standards by bank regulators but then are asked to increase their business loans.

How nice that federal banking regulators seem to be speaking out of both sides of their mouths making this fiscal economy even worse.

And even if there were funds available, most small business owners probably could not even qualify for the St Louis loan.

Keep in mind that property values have dropped for both the residential properties as well as for commercial properties thus creating a collateral roadblock thanks to the great housing collapse.

This has become a real problem for manufacturers as well since they rely on the value of their equipment as collateral for loans.

And as you guessed, these values have fallen in some cases more than real estate values.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

St Louis Finance News: Foreclosures Are Predicted To Persist [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

There is news coming out of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland saying that they believe this country’s high foreclosure rate will most likely continue for some time.

As part of a national study involving the health of this nation’s financial system as a whole, the Fed looks closely at the overall changes in foreclosure and unemployment rates especially noting the differences in the timing of these movements.

Other data used to predict the continuation of this foreclosure epidemic was  based in part on the fact that several states including California, Texas, Massachusetts and Oklahoma experienced boom-bust housing cycles which in turn had elevated foreclosure starts for years after the peak in foreclosure starts and inventory.

These previous boom-bust cycles “were small in comparison to the current cycle,” according to the Fed’s report.

While the recession has left indelible marks in the housing and labor markets, added with the unemployment rate doubling and the foreclosure start rate tripling, the timing seems to show that the timing of the movements differs over this financial cycle as brought out by Timothy Dunne, a vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, and Kyle Fee, a research assistant.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis home mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis mortgage broker and refinance experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

St Louis Finance News: No More Non-Prime Mortgages  For Wells Fargo [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

America’s fourth-largest bank in the nation has decided it will no longer originate sub-prime mortgages.

As a result, Wells Fargo recently announced their decision to close more than 600 Wells Fargo Financial offices.

They also went on to say since they acquired Wachovia in 2008, these offices would no longer be used since they will offer their mortgage services through their other banking locations.

The huge amount of office closures will not go without financial losses. The once largest mortgage originator in the United States said it will face heavy losses and charges of about $185 million in total.

And their bank statement showed approximately $137 million or 2 cents per share as severance costs and reported as second-quarter earnings last Wednesday, July 21st, 2010.

But the costs will extend to their employee database as well.  Wells Fargo will add to this economy’s job losses by cutting about 2,800 employees over the next two months downsizing from its 14,000  count personnel.

St Louis Finance News has reported rumors that Wells Fargo will most likely cut an additional 1,000 jobs over the next 12 months.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

St Louis Finance News: Bankruptcy Filings Up As Expected [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

The American Bankruptcy Institute recently posted data showing that bankruptcy filings skyrocketed 14 percent during the first six months of 2010.

There were 770,117 total filings through June which was 94,766 more than compared to the 675,351 filed during the same period in 2009.

It turns out that June saw a increase in filings totaling 126,270 which was a considerable rise of 8.5 percent from the month of May in 2009 when they totaled 116,365.

Most of their statistics were based on data supplied to them from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

“Years of rising consumer debt and low savings rates, combined with the housing and unemployment crisis, are causing bankruptcy levels not seen since the 2005,” says Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the institute.

The Bush administration signed and ushered in Congress’ newly amended Bankruptcy Code in 2005 which made it harder for Americans to file.

This in turn ignited a rush to file by the October 2005 deadline when the amendment kicked in.

When 2005 ended, total bankruptcy filings numbered more than 2 million as reported via St Louis finance news.

Although Gerdano doesn’t expect that number to be repeated this year, it looks as if there will be more than 1.6 million new bankruptcy filings that will take place by the end of 2010.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

St Louis Finance News: 7 Fantastic Home Improvement Upgrades That Your Real Estate Agent Will Love [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

Homeowners – Before you put your home on the market, make sure you read the following home improvement ideas recommended by St Louis real estate agents and how you can spruce up the old place without spending a complete fortune.

1. Make Your Kitchen ‘Hot’

This is probably one of the most important rooms in the home where people spend quality time.  Some easy fixtures to replace would be the kitchen faucet, add new lighting fixtures and new cabinet door handles.  All this can be done for just a few hundred dollars.  And if you have a larger budget to work with, look into refacing your kitchen cabinets to give it that expensive look at a low cost.

2. Face-Lifts Aren’t Just For People Anymore

Another eyesore you want to avoid is if your kitchen appliances do not match.  A simple solution would be to order new doors or face panels from the manufacturer.  Most people don’t realize this but many dishwasher panels are white on one side and black on the other and they are easy to change.

3. Bathroom Buff Up Tips

The bathroom is another important room in the house that may need updating.  And it doesn’t have to mean mortgaging the house, so to say.  Consider a new toilet seat or a pedestal sink.  They are easy to install and can create a whole new look.

An old, discolored floor can be replaced with vinyl tiles or sheet vinyl.  And if the tub or shower looks  dingy, something as simple as new grouting or replacing chipped tiles.  But if money is not an issue, many people put in a prefabricated tub and shower surround.

4. Paint A Masterpiece

This is a definite must that is relatively cheap.  That’s right, fresh, new paint.  Painting will turn an old room into a masterpiece that looks look clean and bright. And don’t forget to paint the ceiling.   And while your at it, paint the trim a contrasting color.

Some consumers are now painting their walls three different shades of the same color.  You first point the bottom wall with the darkest shade.  Once it dries, do the middle section with the next lightest shade and so forth.

5.  Let’s Get To The Bottom Of Things

Take and moment and look downward.  How does your carpet look?  Carpeting is another detail that can quickly give your home a brand new look and make it look cleaner.  Perhaps calling your local professional carpet cleaner is all that is needed.

On the other hand, if your carpet is showing serious wear, a quick cover up could be an inexpensive, strategically placed area rug.  Replacing wall-to-wall carpet is not always the best idea since most new homeowners moving in will want to choose their own carpeting.

6. Making A Grand Entrance

This is the very first thing you, and your guests, will see as they enter your home.  If the door is made of wood and in good shape, then a new coat of paint or refinishing it may be the answer.  But if you have a steel door and you notice it is dented, replace it with an inexpensive steel door, a fiberglass door or upgrade to a nice wood grain door.

Another good idea is to replace the door nob, lock set and knocker.  You can also place two large planters on both sides of the front door.  But make absolutely sure that they compliment each other and the home.

7. Curb Appeal Can Be Priceless

You may have heard this advice time and time again especially from your agent, but a nicely mowed lawn, a few well-placed shrubs and a swept walkway makes an incredible first impression.  As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.  Your house may be immaculate, but if the outside is in shambles, they may never come back.

So, if you don’t have a green thumb or not enough time, hire a landscaper.  These changes can be inexpensive and will change the perception of your home.  It may even help increase the overall value of the house you are selling which you and your St Louis mortgage broker will love when buying your next home.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

St Louis Commercial Finance News: The First Quarter Of 2010 Showing Stability In The Commercial/Multifamily Real Estate Sectors [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

Early in July, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Quarterly Data Book for the first three months of 2010.

The optimistic financial analysis depicts commercial real estate fundamentals are finally starting to show signs of stabilization although in general, property and mortgage performances were weak and unchangeable.

St Louis lending experts are readily agreeing that as the economic growth hopefully continues, this impact on commercial real estate markets should broaden and ultimately reach rents, vacancies and delinquencies.

Their Data Book compiles the most recent housing information on various topics of real estate ranging from commercial to multifamily real estate.

They also include known finance industry participants and of course, observers who carefully watch the trends in property sales, originations, delinquencies and any outstanding mortgage debt.

There was no mention or comments about the potential problems that still face the commercial lending arena largely due to property values dropping and large amounts of business loans coming due needing refinancing or some type of modification.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

St Louis Finance News: Whopping Discounts Equaling 27 To 30 Percent For Foreclosures [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

Amazing numbers are coming from the housing industry as far as current home sales are concerned.

It seems that foreclosures accounted for a third of all sales during the first quarter of 2010.

What is even more surprising is that residential properties sold at a 30 percent discount.

RealtyTrac also put a recent report out stating that 31 percent of all residential sales were foreclosure properties.

What a deal home buyers received.  Those who purchased these properties paid on the average a shocking 27 percent less compared to the sales of non-distressed houses.

The catalog of foreclosure properties included real estate being sold as short sales and REOs which are bank repossessions as the industry calls them.

But to be clear, these numbers do not include property transfers from borrowers to banks such as takes place in a sheriff’s auction.

Although the sinking economy as helped foreclosures to thrive to unbelievable proportions, they have none-the-less become the dominant feature of many real estate markets.

And it’s not difficult to find willing buyers among young bargain hunters and savvy housing market veterans who are taking full advantage of these historically low home prices.

The states where foreclosure sales were highest were in the expected real estate bubble states of Nevada, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Florida.

St Louis mortgage lenders along with national banks have been trying to better manage their inventories of foreclosed homes so as not to flood the market which would inevitably drag prices down.

The other negative impact that foreclosure sales has on home sales in this already depressed market is that they have a terrible depreciating effect on the entire real estate inventory as millions of consumers have found out.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

St Louis Finance News: Taxpayers Could Pay Over $1 Trillion For Fannie And Freddie Bailout [News Hot Line: 314-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

It is now being estimated that American consumers may be on the line for more than the original $145 billion in housing losses connected to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac home loans.  That may be only the beginning.

Recent data from the Congressional Budget Office predicts that current losses could balloon to over $400 billion.

And if housing prices continue to fall as they have done nationwide, the potential cost to taxpayers could swell to approximately $1 Trillion.

Robert J. Shiller, a Yale University economics professor and co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices put it plainly saying “some of us who don’t even own homes are paying to support others and their home ownership, and they ask ‘why?’”

The indices spoken about above measure the housing market by monitoring changes in the value of residential real estate both nationally and then taking a closer look in 20 metropolitan regions.

An interesting evaluation of what should be done was also provided by Shiller.  He added that the mission of Fannie and Freddie should be severely cut back “so that they’re not helping middle-class homeowners, [but] they’re helping poor people get into the housing market.”

If this would have any type of bearing on the losses this nation faces regarding the housing industry bailout loans, we shall wait and see.

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.

St Louis Finance: Consumers Exit Troubled St Louis Mortgage Programs [News Hot Line: 877-334-0210 | Floyd Tapia]

There seems to be peril at hand for the Obama administration’s flagship loan modification program as it sinks deeper and deeper into oblivion.

Approximately 1.24 million borrowers who have enrolled in the $75
billion mortgage modification program have dropped out or been kicked out as it were.

That amazing number is only exceeded by the number of consumers who have managed to successfully have their loan payments reduced to help them save their homes.

Only 340,000 homeowners have graduated to the permanent home loan modification plateau and are also making payments on time.

Of course, White House officials are saying the housing market is much better financially than when President Obama entered office.

They base this strong comment by continuing that the large number of homeowners who were rejected from the program will somehow and some way receive help in other ways.  That’s pretty optimistic especially since their program has failed Americans over and over again.

But St Louis home loan analysts expect the majority of these individuals will still wind up in foreclosure which will inevitably slow the promised economic recovery.

What some people don’t understand is that when this loan modification program was introduced, the Obama administration initially pressured banks to sign up borrowers without insisting first on providing proof of their income.

So, when banks later required that this information be collected, thousands of these distressed homeowners who originally qualified were now disqualified or dropped out due to the administration’s short-sightedness.

Then came the war between the borrowers and the banks. Side A said the banks and their servicers lost lost their documents.  Side B fervently said that these borrowers were not sending back their paperwork or it was not properly filled out.  Right or wrong, in the end, the banks won.

There have been cases where consumers have made their house payments and yet have been unfairly kicked out of the program by irresponsible banks.

Such mistakes happen “more frequently than not, unfortunately,” said real estate lawyer, Sumani Lanka. “I think a lot of it is incompetence.”

Since then, more changes have evolved.  The U.S. Treasury now requires banks to collect two recent pay stubs at the start of the process.

Consumers are also required to give the Internal Revenue Service the right to provide their most recent tax returns to lenders and servicers at their request.

When this facet of the program was enacted, many people stopped enrolling in the program thus not deserving of financial help.

In fact, the number of homeowners who applied in May 2010 was 30,000 compared to last summer when more than 100,000 borrowers signed up every month.

Thus, as more people exit these loan bailout programs, this results in a new wave of foreclosures. Once again this would have an adverse toll on the housing market.

And if that doesn’t do the householder in, their very high debt burden might.

Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings is now projecting that about 67 percent of borrowers with permanent modifications will later default once again within 12 months after getting their home loans modified.

Current data from the Obama administration published recently shows that nearly 50 percent of the  borrowers who fell out of the program in April 2010 received an alternative loan modification from their lender.

They also said only 7 percent went into the foreclosure process.

Another option that is now being used more often is the short sale in which banks agree to let borrowers sell their homes for less than they owe on their mortgage.

The consumer will take a less severe hit to their credit report  and may be better for communities because homes are less likely to be vandalized or fall into ruins.

The White House has provided a plan to give such homeowners who agree to short sales or voluntarily work with the banks and turn over their keys $3,000 for moving expenses.

The overall plan for this foreclosure prevention plan was to not only stabilize the housing market, but to provide additional funding for St Louis loans, push down mortgage rates and provide federal tax credits for home buyers.

The argument is that although many of these thing were put into place, most utterly failed or had miserable results.

Simply put, consumer advocates had high hopes for Obama’s home loan program when it began but quickly grew disenchanted at the less than desirable numbers.

“The foreclosure-prevention program has had minimal impact,” said John Taylor, chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a consumer group.

He goes on to say:  “It is sad that they didn’t put the same amount of resources into helping families avoid foreclosure as they did helping banks.”

==================================================

When applying for any type of St Louis mortgage, call Liberty Lending Consultants, the recognized St Louis home loan and refinancing experts, at 877-334-0210 and ask for Steve Swan or Doug Stahlschmidt.

For business owners looking for small business loans and alternative financing that works, call Floyd Tapia, host of the St. Louis “Mortgage Minute” at 314-334-0210. He is a successful hedge fund originator assisting local and national business owners in getting private and public St Louis finance and commercial lending with no upfront fees.

Sponsored by:

Check back daily for more financial news.