Older homeowners pay more for mortgages

When you're approaching later life there's always the hope that mortgages will become cheaper, as years of making repayments brings down the overall balance and, ideally, the cost. Unfortunately, it doesn't always pan out that way, as research from Saga has revealed that older homeowners are actually being charged more for mortgages, while some find it difficult to source deals at all.

Risky behaviour

According to a Saga Personal Finance poll, a large number of those aged 50+ are concerned about the behaviour of mortgage lenders, with many providers introducing arbitrary upper age limits on lending criteria and even placing a ban on older borrowers getting a better deal. In fact, 12% of those in their 50s said they've been refused a better mortgage rate or were unable to move to a more competitive deal simply because of their age, so it seems that these concerns could well be realities.

The findings come despite the fact that working life is becoming longer for many people, not only because of the rising state pension age and the abolition of firms being able to set compulsory retirement ages, but also because many simply want to continue working in later life. This means a lot of homeowners will have a secure income with which to make mortgage repayments well into their 60s and beyond, so lenders could be penalising older borrowers unnecessarily.

Time for change

The survey revealed that an overwhelming majority (85%) thought that lending criteria should be based on ability to pay, taking into account individual income and lifestyle choices – as it is for younger borrowers – and not just on a person's age, and a further 52% thought the industry regulator should intervene to ensure fair treatment.

"It appears that mortgage lenders are blind to the fact that the world of work is changing," said Paul Green of Saga. "It simply beggars belief that people are being denied mortgages or forced to pay more for uncompetitive deals simply because of their age. This smacks of lazy lending and not bothering to understand your customers, and is another example of the industry not responding to the needs of an aging population."

Saga is joining the call for the regulator to take a proactive stance with mortgage lenders to ensure that lending criteria is fair and based on more than just age – lenders may be under more pressure to ensure affordability since the Mortgage Market Review was introduced last year, but ability to pay doesn't end as soon as a borrower is in their 60s.

Happily, it seems that the tide could be turning – earlier this month, the Financial Ombudsman Service upheld a complaint against HSBC for refusing a mortgage to a couple in their 40s on the grounds that the husband would have been over 65 at the end of the term. It's the first time this kind of age-related complaint has been upheld, with the lender being criticised for "unfair" application of its age policy, and it's hoped that this landmark decision will pave the way for future changes and acceptance of borrowing in older age.

What next?

see more: http://moneyfacts.co.uk/news/mortgages/older-homeowners-pay-more-for-mortgages/

Andy Murray looking forward to working closely with coach Jonas Bjorkman

Andy Murray will work with new coach Jonas Bjorkman for the first time at the Munich Open this week.

Bjorkman will spend the summer with the British No 1 until at least the end of the US Open in September as main coach Amelie Mauresmo, who joined Murray's team last June, prepares to have her first child in August.

The Swede was initially taken on a five-week trial, but Murray is looking forward to working more closely with the 43-year-old.

"We were on the tour for quite a few years together and I always got on very well with him," Murray told Sky Sports News HQ. 

"As a coach, I don’t know him that well, because we only spent a few days together in Barcelona last week. But he’s a very calm guy. 

"He has a good way about him. As a player, he had a very good work ethic. His mentality on the court was very good and he obviously has a lot of experience of singles and doubles, which is good. 

"We’ll see this week how it goes but I get on well with him."

see more: http://www1.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/9825609/andy-murray-looking-forward-to-working-closely-with-coach-jonas-bjorkman

IT consulting: Is moving out on your own the right move?

Have you ever thought about building your own tech consulting business? If so, you're not alone. Creating your own schedule, getting paid better, working closer to parts of projects you're passionate about and specializing in a specific area of expertise are appealing benefits.

Whether you're a full-time W-2 employee or consultant getting a 1099, remember that the grass isn't always greener. The role you will excel at will depend on who you are and what you want. "Both are viable career paths and it can largely be a choice based on personal style and preferences," says Alan Levine, principal and CIO at Enabling Digital.

It's understandable why you might be considering going down the consulting path. For some, a full-time position can grow stale from working in the same environment, seeing the same people and dealing with the same problems day after day. "There can be an inherent lack of diversity, more limited exposure to different approaches. You may only experience certain types of projects once and only have one shot at success -- for instance, a major CRM application implementation," says Levine.

Many times in your career you may find yourself at a crossroads. Neither direction is the right or wrong path, but if you consider the pros and cons carefully, you should be able to make the smarter choice. To help you get closer to the answer, we spoke with c-level tech experts to find out what you need to consider.

read more: http://www.cio.com/article/2911471/careers-staffing/it-consulting-is-moving-out-on-your-own-the-right-move.html

Commercial mortgages triple in South Florida

Overall commercial mortgage volume more than tripled in South Florida between 2009 and 2014, according to a study released by Miami-based BridgeInvest, a private mortgage lender.

Over $11.4 billion in commercial mortgages were financed in 2014, up from about $9.8 billion in 2013 and $3.5 billion in 2009

Miami-Dade County captured the biggest slice of mortgage volume in the region in 2014 with 57 percent, followed by Palm Beach County at 23 percent and Broward County at 20 percent.

BridgeInvest used data from CRS Power Tool Mortgage, a Cushman & Wakefield research publication, for the study.

While Miami-Dade captured almost two-thirds of the commercial mortgage volume in 2014, the county also saw the most growth with a 42 percent year-over-year increase, compared to the 13 percent growth in Palm Beach and a 26 percent decline in Broward over the same period.

“Miami-Dade consistently has had more, but it’s considerably more this year when compared to Broward and Palm Beach,” said Alex Horn, managing partner of BridgeInvest. “Miami grew so much more. It’s very interesting and alludes to the fact that we’re seeing so much changing in the county,” he said.

The study broke out into seven classes of mortgages: land and construction, retail, multifamily, industrial, office, hotel and other. Land and construction dominated, with about $10.1 billion in mortgages, or 23 percent, followed by retail with $9.4 million, or 18 percent, and multifamily with $7.1 billion, or 17 percent.

see more at: http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/morning-edition/2015/04/commercial-mortgages-triple-in-south-florida.html

Mortgages become bright spot in big banks’ earnings report

Some of the nation’s biggest banks have received a lift from mortgage lending during the first quarter after sharply cutting back on production over the last few years.

JPMorgan Chase not only reported earnings of $5.9 billion but it also saw a spike in net income from mortgage banking during the first quarter. The company’s mortgage banking income rose to $326 million from $132 million in the first quarter of 2014.

JPMorgan’s mortgage banking net revenue was $1.7 billion, an increase of $151 million compared to the previous year, driven by lower mortgage servicing rights risk management losses, partially offset by lower servicing revenue, according to its earnings report.

One of the main drivers of the increase was a 45% year-over-year increase in mortgage originations. According to Chase, its’ mortgage originations rose from $17 million in 2014’s first quarter to $24.7 billion in 2015’s first quarter, which was also a 7% increase over 2014’s fourth quarter, which saw mortgage originations of $23 billion.

JPMorgan is the second biggest mortgage lender with 7% of 2014 loans, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. The bank announced in February that it had reduced its mortgage staffing in 2014 by 12,000 people. Additionally, JPMorgan’s annual mortgage business expenses have declined by $2.3 billion, or 30%.

see more at: http://www.mpamag.com/mortgage-originator/mortgages-become-bright-spot-in-big-banks-earnings-report-22099.aspx

What to do about mortgages as retirement draws near

Many people approaching retirement face choices on what to do about their home mortgages, especially if they are nearing a payoff or need to tap the equity for living expenses.

This story can be found in our Extra special edition about retirement in the April 18 edition of the StarNews.

Should I pay off the loan, or refinance at a lower rate, for instance? Is a reverse mortgage for me?

"One of the keys to a successful retirement is reducing your expense," said Ed Taylor of Taylor Financial in Wilmington. "If possible I like to see clients be near the end of their mortgage right around retirement."

If your mortgage balance is relatively low, paying it off may be the best choice.

"With a low mortgage balance the tax benefit is minimal, if any," he said. Toward the end of a mortgage's term most of the payment is toward principal, so there's little interest to claim as a deduction on tax returns.

But, Taylor points out, it depends on what assets you have and what sources of income you have available in retirement.

It might be tempting to tap into your home equity to help fund retirement, and one way to do that is a reverse mortgage.

A reverse mortgage is a loan that is available to people at least 62 years old who live in their home, and is used to release the equity in the property to the homeowner, in the form of monthly payments, a lump sum or a line of credit, according to National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. Repayment is deferred until the owner dies or leaves, or the home is sold.

In a reverse mortgage, the homeowner makes no payments and the debt on the property increases up to a pre-determined maximum amount.

see more at: http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20150414/ARTICLES/150409837

Freddie Mac Finds Mortgage Rate Drop Amid Underwhelming Job Growth

On the heels of a disappointing month of job growth, Freddie Mac reported Thursday that average mortgage rates are down across the board.

Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped from 3.70 to 3.66 percent over the past week, inching the rate ever closer to a full percentage point behind where it was a year ago, 4.34 percent. Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped by exactly the same amount, to 2.93 percent, which is slightly more than a full percentage point behind this time last year.

Variable-rate mortgages were down as well. According to Freddie Mac, 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 2.83 percent this week, down from last week’s 2.92 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.09 percent. However, 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs maintained at 2.46 percent, almost unchanged from a year ago.

Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac, cited the latest‒‒and to many, surprisingly sluggish‒‒job growth numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week in the latest PMMS report. In March, months of solid gains in an increasingly healthy labor market came up short of expectations. According to the BLS, March saw the addition of 126,000 new jobs, which is 121,000 fewer jobs than were expected.

In the 12 months leading up to March, each month saw an average of 266,000 new jobs added. Meanwhile, jobless claims have dropped to 268,000, “much lower than market expectations of 285,000,” Kiefer says.

According to the BLS, the unemployment rate remained at 5.5 percent‒‒its lowest level since 2008‒‒from February to March. However, in February, Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae, attributed declining unemployment to people leaving the labor force.

One bright spot is pay. “We did see some uptick in wages,” Kiefer said. “Average hourly earnings increased 7 cents for the month and are up 2.1 percent over the year.” The average hourly wage is now $24.86; Duncan said that higher wages are necessary to bolster growth in the housing market.

see more at: http://themreport.com/headline/04-09-2015/freddie-mac-finds-mortgage-rate-drop-amid-underwhelming-job-growth

Can A New Scoring Paradigm Correct The Credit Catch-22?

Establishing a credit history can be an unexpectedly tricky thing – to get a loan consumers need to demonstrate a past history of managing with debt well. To manage debt well, entities need to extend loans to consumers. Since the inception of credit, the above catch-22 has been an issue, but under normal circumstances, it has been a solvable one.

Unfortunately, the last seven or eight years have not been regular circumstances.

While the roots of the 2008 financial crisis are myriad and complex – at its center was a lending crisis brought on by financial institutions and consumers enthusiastically working together to create a bubble in the housing market that literally flattened the global economy when it burst.

Unsurprisingly, the immediate result of the meltdown was a crackdown – both institutional and regulatory.

Lending standards became so stringent that only two types of borrowers could be guaranteed an extension of credit by a mainstream lender: prime and super duper.

Further exacerbating matters, the credit crunch didn’t just change how regulators and institutions thought about debt.

In the five years following the crisis, consumers fell rapidly and precipitously out of love with borrowing money. According to a report by the Fed, Americans not only took out fewer mortgages and credit cards – an expected result of lenders tightening up standards –  they also applied for far fewer of each. And while a large segment of that decline can be explained by consumers who a) saw their income stream interrupted as a result of the recession or b) had their creditworthiness damaged as a direct or indirect result of the recession – the report indicated that a large number of consumers were scared off borrowing.

“Since the onset of the financial crisis, households have reduced their outstanding debt by about $1.3 trillion. While part of this reduction stemmed from a historic increase in consumer defaults and lender charge-offs, particularly on mortgage debt, other factors were also at play,” the report began. “Household choices, along with banks’ stricter lending standards, helped drive this deleveraging process.”

And while a moment might have been spared four or five years ago to congratulate the American public on their newfound thrift – since profligate borrowing had tanked the entire financial system briefly- by 2012 it was fairly obvious that a credit shy economy was recovering much more slowly than expected. PYMNTS has extensively covered the SMB side of this – and how alternative lending vehicles of various descriptions are working to fill that gap – but the consumer side of the lending scene has seen a less sharp, but still noticeable decline. And those declines are particularly notable in some segments of the economy more than others.

“It seems likely at this point that the pendulum has swung too far the other way, and that overly tight lending standards may now be preventing creditworthy borrowers from buying homes, thereby slowing the revival in housing and impeding the economic recovery,” then Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke said in a 2012 speech. “Lower-income and minority communities are often disproportionately affected by problems in the national economy, and the effects of the housing bust have followed that unfortunate pattern. Indeed, as a result of the crisis, most or all of the hard-won gains in homeownership made by low-income and minority communities in the past 15 years or so have been reversed.”

see more: http://www.pymnts.com/exclusive-series/2015/can-a-new-scoring-paradigm-correct-the-credit-catch-22/#.VSPSs5OUL6k

Free business consulting in Decorah April 14

Steve Horman, a professional business consultant who specializes in helping small-business owners or prospective owners, will be available for one-on-one sessions in Decorah, Tuesday, April 14.

The free and confidential sessions will be at the Chamber/Development/Tourism Building at 507 W. Water Street. Although the sessions are free, reservations must be made.

Horman’s background includes small business ownership and managing manufacturing and service industries. In addition to private consulting, he serves as a business consultant/counselor for the Northeast Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC.)

Horman served 13 years as president and chief executive officer of the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce; five years as the executive vice president of the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce; and 10 years in various staff management positions with the Sioux Falls, S.D. Chamber of Commerce.

He has served numerous professional state, regional and national associations including the National Board of Trustees of the Institute for Organization Management, chairman of the University of Colorado Institute for Organization Management, and the board of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Association.

Horman is a certified Chamber of Commerce Executive (CCE) – the highest professional designation that can be awarded a chamber executive. His honors include a Presidential Commendation, the Iowa Statesman Award presented by the Iowa Department of Economic Development for outstanding leadership, and he was named Iowa Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year by the Iowa Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Association.

In addition to working with small businesses, Horman also provides consulting services for government and nonprofit organizations.

His consulting service is sponsored by the Northeast Iowa Business Network (NIBN), Northeast Iowa Community College and Winneshiek County Development, Inc. through a Rural Business Opportunity Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

read more: http://www.decorahnewspapers.com/Content/News/Local-News/Article/Free-business-consulting-in-Decorah-April-14/2/10/37191

Jeff Ross prepared for the Justin Bieber roast by consulting Selena Gomez

 

Comedy Central broadcast its much-anticipated roast of Justin Bieber on Monday night, and on Tuesday night's Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jeff Ross, one of the head roasters, explained how he prepared to whack his easy target. His gleeful preparations included a chance encounter with Bieber's ex-girlfriend, Selena Gomez.

"Excuse me, my name is Jeff Ross and I'm America's roastmaster general, I'm on official business to roast Justin Bieber vicariously for the whole world, and I need some advice," Ross said he told Gomez when they met at a party at his agent's house. Her response, according to Ross: "Tell Justin the truth. The truth always worked for me." Ross' response doesn't match that level of class, obviously:

On Tuesday's Late Night, fellow roastmaster Chris D'Elia related his totally different Gomez experience — her fans inadvertently goaded him into making lots of Selena Gomez jokes at the roast, he told Seth Meyers. Watch D'Elia explain why roasting strangers is more perilous than mocking your loved ones, and why he gets delighted at the idea of dying at the hands of a 12-year-old Gomez fan. —Peter Weber

read more: http://theweek.com/speedreads/547400/jeff-ross-prepared-justin-bieber-roast-by-consulting-selena-gomez