well it has been a busy couple of weeks since my last post. Mortgage Bonds have been up and down but rates are still great. One of the biggest news makers is a law that was resently went from the house to the senate and if passed in it's current state with put mortgage brokers and small to medium size mortgage lenders that rely on warehouse lines of credit out of business. Here is some facts

H.R. 1728: Not All Reform Is Created Equal
What You Need to Know About H.R. 1728!
Last week, H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009, was passed by the House of Representatives and sent to the Senate for consideration. The bill is a tougher version of a measure to overhaul mortgage regulations that House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank sponsored in the previous Congress.
So what does all of this exactly mean for your business...and for your clients? Mortgage Success Source Faculty Member Mark Madsen says that, "While this bill is much more than just a ban or regulation on YSP, the first thing that jumps out to me is the fact that we will no longer be able to offer clients limited closing cost options for refis or purchases. A simple .125% bump in rate could literally save clients thousands of dollars in closing costs, which is what the political powers in support of this bill fail to recognize."
Echoing these concerns, Mortgage Success Source Faculty Member S. John Murray explains that, "If the Senate passes the House bill, Barney Frank will have succeeded in his quest to ban fees attached to interest rates (YSP), limit all non-conventional lending and reward 30 yr. fixed rate mortgages, provide legal redress of mortgage related complications, and require all originators of mortgage loans (except 30 year fixed rate loans) to retain at least 5% stake in the loan, for the life of the loan, so in short put all mortgage brokers and lenders that rely on warehouse lines out of business."
Murray added that, "Now is not the time to limit financial choices and increase borrowing costs."
Mortgage Sucess Source Faculty Member Jim Sahnger commented, "What I think the writers of this legislation fail to recognize is that by limiting mortgages at wholesale to par pricing, the consumers that would likely be hurt the most are the ones they are working to protect, those with the least amount of available cash for closing costs and down payment. This will not help the housing market, it will only impede recovery."
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has also expressed their concerns about how the bill will impact the current economic situation in our country. In a letter to Congress, the MBA said that the bill will "make it highly problematic for many lenders to operate, particularly smaller non-depositories that lend on lines of credit. It will also necessitate that larger lenders markedly increase their capital requirements. Both results will narrow choices, lessen credit, and force an inefficient use of capital at the worst possible time for our economy."
If H.R. 1728 passes the Senate and is signed into law by the President, the mortgage lending industry won't be the same...and this may not be welcome news for everyone. As the MBA noted, "If carefully crafted, improved regulation is the best path to restoring investor and consumer confidence in the nation's lending and financial markets and assuring the availability and affordability of sustainable mortgage credit for years to come. At the same time, if regulatory solutions are not well conceived, they risk exacerbating the current credit crisis."
We'll continue to watch this situation closely and keep you updated.

thanks Brian McLaughlin