September 30th, 2008 By StaceyFleece

We’re entering yet another week of turmoil in the financial markets and we’re still trying to work our way out of this mess. In the recent days, we continue to see challenges for financial companies and our economy as a whole including:

• The failure of Washington Mutual (the largest bank failure in our nation’s history) and the subsequent buyout by JP Morgan Chase.
• The buyout of Wachovia by Citibank…note that Wachovia did not fail but rather took the opportunity to sell itself before it came to that.
• The $700 billion bailout package made it out of committee on Sunday and headed to the floor for a vote – only to miss approval by The House of Representatives falling 13 votes shy.

So now what? Well, I don’t know where Washington goes on the financial bailout in their effort to “get battered US credit markets working normally again”. We continue to hear that without this bailout, the credit markets are coming to a grinding halt – with banks unwilling to lend to businesses, individuals and even to each other. I don’t want to comment on the credit crisis from a Wall Street perspective but I do think it is important today for us as consumers to understand what is happening from a Main Street perspective. So here it is…and let me make this very clear…

Here in Marin, we are still lending on real estate and closing on mortgage loans daily! The media would have you believe otherwise and I can certainly only speak from the perspective of Countrywide/Bank of America (where I work) but it is pretty much business as usual…only with AMAZING rates due to the chaos that continues to swirl around the equity markets.

Last week, Countrywide got very aggressive on jumbo 30-year fixed (yes…jumbo….like loans more than $729,750) as we are pricing below all major competitors right now. We have not seen rates on jumbo 30-year fixed loans this low since before the credit crisis began back in August 2007. Now is the time to grab these – for a purchase or a refinance – as you can borrow up to $3mm with rates around 6.375% with no points!

How long will these rates last? No one knows…but I do know that when Congress gets the bailout figured out (and I suppose eventually they will), that should provide a level of comfort to the equity markets. The potential fallout from that is a shift of funds in the market from mortgage bonds to stocks which would cause mortgage rates to rise. The advantageous low rates are available to consumers now…get ‘em while they are HOT!

Stacey Fleece is a Mortgage Loan Consultant with Countrywide Home Loans in Mill Valley.

September 15th, 2008 By Ginger Wilcox

I am very excited to announce that Blog by the Bay has a new contributor.  Stacey Fleece will be writing about the mortgage industry, the good, the bad and the ugly!  Stacey is a Senior Loan Consultant with Countrywide Home Loans.  This is her first blogging experience and I am thrilled that she is joining me here at Blog by the Bay.  I met Stacey through volunteering with the Junior League of San Francisco where she is Immediate Past President.  Stacey has 20+ years in the finance industry and is a CFA- Charted Financial Analyst.

Stacey, her husband and two children live in Mill Valley.  Stacey is also a member of the Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco and the Security Analysts of San Francisco. She is a Director of the San Francisco Opera Guild and is co-chair for the International Museum of Women’s Spring Gala (scheduled for March 2009).

While this is her first blogging venture, Stacey is no stranger to writing- she is also the co-author of SKIRTWorking, How to Network Using SKIRT which was released in September 2008.

Stacey has always impressed me with her commitment to helping others in the community and she does the same with her clients.  She is extremely knowledgeable about the mortgage industry and I am THRILLED that she will be contributing at BlogbytheBay.com.

Welcome Stacey!