Good morning, Memphis. Rise and shine. Grab your coffee or juice and join us around the coffee table. You’re on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe Program with me, Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. Also around the table we have Attorney Ron Cohen, co-owner of Premium Title Group and Jenett Rochester, manager of the Premium Title Group’s Memphis office.

Ron, you guys have been doing a marathon closing our loans. My customers LOVE YOU GUYS! (and I like you too). Tell our audience a little about yourself and what Premium Title Group can do for them.

Jenett Rochester, glad to have you around the coffee table. You’ve been closing real estate loans for over 30 years and you take good care of my Memphis area customers. Tell us a little about yourself and what you do for your customers.

Our topic today is whatever real estate topic you want to discuss. Give us a call at 901 535 WREC. That number again to join us on the air is (901) 535 9732. Ron and Jenett and I were discussing earlier this week about situations involving co-ownership of real estate. It can get a little dicey when the owners don’t play well together. So we thought we would talk a little about “Working It Out With Real Estate Co-Ownership & Mortgages”

Most of the real estate mortgage transactions we see involve two or more people whether it’s a refinance loan or a purchase loan. Its not often that we have to keep the two borrowers apart to keep the peace—BUT it DOES HAPPEN. One thing most every co-owner is agreeing on right now are that the rates are great and its time to do something.

Better do it soon too. Thursday the European markets started heating up and Friday morning mortgage-backed securities took a beating with mortgage rates running a little higher. Next week the treasury auctions, housing data, the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting, and the unemployment report come out. Rates may be like the Memphis thermometer—up and down again. Are you dizzy yet?
The conventional 30 yr fixed rates Friday are still between 3.25% to 3.75% or close. The FHA 30 yr fixed rate is a little bit lower. The conventional 15 year fixed rate is in a range of 2.75 to 3.25%.

Obviously we are seeing real volatility in the mortgage rate track. Word to the wise : If the refinance or purchase deal works for you today—DO IT TODAY. You don’t want to look back on this opportunity and have regrets about missing the opportunity. What could you do with the extra cash each month by lowering your payment? Would you feel better knowing that your mortgage will be paid off sooner rather than later? Would cash out help you eliminate your higher interest loans or credit cards? What do you want to accomplish from your refinance or home purchase? My very capable assistant Susan Belew and I would like to do the numbers for you to see if we can help you accomplish your goal quickly. To talk directly call me OFF the air at 901 482 0354. The direct number again is 901 482 0354.

The special HARP program with no appraisal value needed, its still the most poplar loan especially for homeowners underwater on their homes but its popular for people who AREN’T underwater too because “who wants to pay for an appraisal?”

The FHA Streamline refinance –refinancing your existing FHA loan to one with a lower rate with no appraisal is very popular too. If you;ve been told by your lender that you will need to bring a lot of money, call me or my assistant Susan Belew. We have a way of getting you an FHA Streamline refinance with no appraisal and not very much money needed at closing.

People are out buying houses right now. Loan programs with down payment assistance are popular. We have the new Helping Homeowners Down Payment Assistance where you don’t even have to be a first-time homebuyer. We have various grant money programs for Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Call me. A lot of companies give away samples of their products. Hey, I am giving away MONEY!

For those of you who don’t want to pay much money down on a home purchase but you don’t want private mortgage insurance? Evolve Bank right now has a special extra low-priced equity line you can piggy-back behind an 80% loan-to-value first mortgage . This will help you pay very little down down and eliminate unnecessary mortgage insurance.

Even if you have a co-owner on your real estate and you guys don’t get along, most homeowners ALL want lower their mortgage costs. So let’s do it.

Ron and Jenett. You guys are experts in the legal side of real estate. Since we started talking about being a co-owner of real estate with someone else, what are some types of co-ownership you see and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this type ownership?

Questions answered by Ron Cohen and Jenett Rochester:
What are some real live stories that stick in your memory where multiple owners are on the real estate title?
In the state of Tennessee when there is a purchase or refinance of a primary residence, the legal spouse of the borrower is required to sign a few documents due to marital rights in the state. How do you guys handle the closing if the two spouses cannot stand to be in the same room with one another?
What do you do if the spouse of the person refinancing their primary residence is out of state or out of the country. What steps do you take to get the needed signatures?
What can you do if you have a client who owns a property by himself but wants to gift part of the ownership to children or a spouse?

How is the best way to handle title with unmarried borrowers?

Questions answered by Jo Garner
How do you handle doing a refinance on a property owned by an LLC?
On most traditional residential mortgage products the mortgage cannot be in the name of a business. Now if the owner has titled their property to their LLC and that person owns 100% of the LLC, when they switch the ownership back to themselves, we can complete the refinance right away. If the LLC is owned by another corporation or multiple parties, then the ownership transfer will require some seasoning

On the special HARP refinance programs and on the FHA streamline refinance program how can your refinance with no appraisal value if one of the owners of the real estate property will no longer be on the loan?
As long as the mortgage payment has been paid without any over 30 day late payments over the last 12 months, we can help that person wanting to refinance. On FHA loans we would need to fully verify the borrower’s income if we are removing a former borrower.

Most of the down payment assistance programs available for people buying homes have a household income limit to determine eligibility for the program. What if only one spouse is going to be on the title and the loan. How do the assistance programs calculate income?
Jo makes a quick explanation about how household income is calculated.
Also mentions that if the down payment assistance program requires the borrower to be a first time homebuyer, then BOTH spouses are required to show that they have not been on title to real estate over the last 3 years—even though only ONE spouse is buying the house and getting the financing.

What happens if the person wants to buy a new home but has their name on a mortgage from the house they shared with a former spouse? The former spouse was awarded the house AND told by the court to pay the house notes on from the house awarded to them in the marital dissolution agreement. Does the mortgage company count the old house note against the spouse who was not awarded the house?
Jo explains the importance of having the mortgage specifically mentioned in the marital dissolution agreement including the account number. The martial dissolution agreement needs to be detailed. Also the mortgage on that once-shared house needs to show payments made on time over the last 12 consecutive months.

REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK: (Ron and Jenett: if you have a good tip that you have not shared before, you can give the tip of the week –about 1 minute or 1.5 minutes.)

Jo announces: “ Talk Shoppe offers the business and real estate community free education and networking for anyone interested in real estate or business. This Wednesday 9A to 10A. Talk Shoppe offers “The Mastermind Principal: based on the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. For more information about Talk Shoppe go to www.TalkShoppe.BIZ.

Next Saturday on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe Rob Richardson of 1-800-GOTJUNK and Clint Cooper of Redeemers Group talk about “Your Home: Clean It Up, Fix It Up To Add Value”
We’ll talk about an easy way to dispose of clutter. We’ll talk about foundation and crawl space fix ups. I’ll talk about FHA’s renovation and repair loan and how you can add value to a home by financing some of these repairs.

Transition Songs: Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealers Wheel; Just The Two Of Us by Grover Washington, Jr.; We Can Work It Out by the Beatles.

Notes On Co-ownership Topics from Attorney Ron Cohen

Jointly owned property:

Vehicles:

Artificial Entity:

Corporation, Partnership, Trust.

Co-Ownership (Co-Tenants):

Joint tenants.
Tenants in Common.
Tenants by the Entirety.

Tenancy in Common:

If the deed specifies tenancy in common or the deed is silent as to the type of vesting, then tenancy in common is created.
Ownership interest passes through the estate of each tenant.
Ownership shares need not be equal.
More than two people may hold real estate in tenancy in common.

Joint Tenants:

Rights of survivorship.
More than two people may hold real estate in joint tenancy.
Each joint tenant must own an equal share.
Joint tenancy may be unilaterally severed.

Tenants by the Entirety:
Must be husband and wife and married to each other (caught you).
Tenancy may not be unilaterally severed.
Bars judgment creditors from enforcing a judgment against one spouse while the vesting remains in place.

Regretfully, Mrs. O’Leary and her cow are travelling in search of a cow bell and therefore are unable to appear on the show this week(see you in the spring).

Ron A. Cohen
Of Counsel: Kusper & Raucci, Chartered
30 N. LaSalle Street
Suite 3400
Chicago, Illinois 60602
312-332-5000
312-346-1145 (direct)
312-332-4663 (facsimile)

Jo Garner’s Notes from her News You Can Use
Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer Mortgage Loan Officer Evolve Bank and Trust
901 482 0354 www.MoneyShoppe.NET podcasts available at www.mortgageloansblog.com

Housing Poised to Lead Overall Economic Growth:The housing sector is poised to be the main anchor for economic growth this year and in the future, Fannie Mae said in its January 2013 outlook. http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/eletter/profile/3/3695.html?ET=nationalmortgage:e3695:101982a:&st=email
For real estate financing solutions and insurance solutions, plug into the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program. You can find mortgage rates, FHA Streamline refinance with no out-of-pocket costs, refinancing options, home purchase loan programs, answers and information on co-ownership title issues.