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Low Price, Low Rate, Sky-High Fees

Saturday, April 18, 2009

House prices and mortgage rates are down, which sounds great for buyers and refinancers. But a series of underwriting and appraisal changes taking effect this month is throwing new obstacles in the way of borrowers and loan officers.

Take Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's add-on fees for loans purchased after April 1. In some cases, applicants are being hit with extra fees of 3 percent to 5 percent because of the type of property they want to buy or refinance, their credit scores, or the size of their down payment.

Some major lenders that sell loans to Fannie and Freddie are going further -- tightening underwriting rules beyond what either corporation requires. For example, as of April 6, Wells Fargo, one of the country's largest mortgage originators, imposed a minimum FICO credit score of 720 -- up from the previous 620 -- on all conventional loans purchased through its wholesale system that have less than a 20 percent down payment. It also began requiring a total-debt-to-income ratio maximum of 41 percent, down from the previous 45 percent.

Fannie Mae now has a mandatory fee of three-quarters of a point on all condominium loans, no matter how high the applicant's credit score. For a once-popular "interest-only" condo loan with a 20 percent down payment and a borrower credit score of 690, Fannie imposes the following ratcheted sequence of add-on fees: 0.25 percent as an "adverse market" fee, 1.5 percent for the below-optimal credit score, 0.75 percent for the interest-only payment feature and 0.75 percent because the property is a condo. The total comes to 3.25 percent extra, which can be paid upfront or rolled into the rate.

On top of the extra fees from Fannie and Freddie, borrowers are now starting to get hit with two sets of cost-raising appraisal rule changes. Fannie and Freddie have begun requiring all appraisers to complete an extra "market condition" report that includes detailed statistical analyses of local sales and pricing trends, beyond the regular appraisal data. Many appraisers are charging an extra $45 to $50 for the time required to complete the form. Both home buyers and refinancers can expect to pay the higher fees

On top of that, beginning May 1, Fannie and Freddie will refuse to fund loans with appraisals that do not follow a set of new rules known as the "home valuation code of conduct." Among the procedural changes: Mortgage brokers no longer can order appraisals directly but instead must allow lenders or investors to use third-party "appraisal management companies" to assign the job to appraisers in their networks.

How does that affect the consumer? Consider the notification one Connecticut brokerage firm recently received from a major lending partner: Starting April 15, all good-faith estimates provided to applicants must indicate a flat $455 charge for appraisals arranged through the appraisal management company. The broker previously charged $325. Consumers will now have to pay the appraisal fee upfront, before any inspection or valuation is completed.

What happens if the appraisal comes in low and the applicants can't qualify for the refi or purchase program they sought? Tough luck: They'll have just two choices: Either pay another $455 for a second appraisal, with no assurance that it will solve the problem, or cancel the application.

Jeff Lipes, president of Family Choice Mortgage, which serves the Hartford, Conn., area, said the effect of the underwriting, credit-score and pricing changes is to "squeeze some people who are creditworthy by any reasonable standard out of the market."

For instance, as a result of the restrictions on condos, Lipes said, "whenever we hear the word 'condo,' we shiver" because the deck is stacked against loan applicants.

Even for prime borrowers with 800 FICO scores and 50 percent down payments, Lipes said, "I can't tell them that we're certain we can get you a mortgage." A welter of recent rule changes from Fannie Mae have made some condo units in projects with commercial tenants or high percentages of investor units almost impossible to refinance.

In Naples, Fla., John Calabria, president of BancMortgage, said, "It has become such a nightmare to lend money" because of the layers of add-on fees and higher mandatory down payments and credit scores. One high-income client sought to put down $200,000, or 25 percent, to buy an $800,000 condo as a second home but couldn't because the minimum down payment on such a unit is now 30 percent.

"That's ridiculous," Calabria said. "Some of this just doesn't make sense."

Kenneth R. Harney's e-mail address is KenHarney@earthlink.net.

"THE MAN WHO WALKS WITH GOD ALWAYS GETS TO HIS DESTINATION"

The Nation's Housing

Low Price, Low Rate, Sky-High Fees