First National reports strong growth

First National had a strong start to 2008, with solid increases in our key metrics," said Stephen Smith, Chairman and President. First National Financial Income Fund owns a 19.97% interest in First National Financial LP, a Canadian-based originator, underwriter and servicer of predominantly prime residential (single family and multi-unit) and commercial mortgages. First National's mortgages under administration were $34.6 billion at March 31, 2008, up 36% from $25.4 billion at March 31, 2007 and up 5% from $33.1 billion at December 31, 2007.

Canadian banks to improve disclosure

Canadian banks will improve certain disclosure practices as urged by the G7 in its recent Financial Stability Forum report. The severity of the financial crisis has prompted an extraordinary meeting of the heads of the central bank, the country's banking regulator, the federal Finance Department and the big banks, who will gather this morning to talk about what Canada should do to prevent another liquidity crisis. Within 100 days, Canadian banks will establish and adopt "leading practices for disclosure" by tweaking the way they disclose bank securities at mark-to-market values, among other items. Policy makers and regulators are under pressure to show they are taking action in the wake of the financial turmoil that's reverberated in markets around the world.

Bank of America to help Countrywide borrowers

Bank of America Corp., seeking approval of its Countrywide Financial Corp. takeover, plans to modify at least $40 billion of mortgages during the next two years to keep customers in their homes. Bank of America said that it will locate its national consumer mortgage headquarters in Calabasas, Calif., once it completes its acquisition of Countrywide Financial Corp. Bank of America also plans to double its community development lending, which focuses on affordable housing, small businesses and people in low-income and minority neighborhoods, to $1.5 trillion over 10 years. To accomplish this, the company will offer borrowers several options, including loan modifications and payment forbearance. It will not charge borrowers in foreclosure new late charges, and, in some cases, will waive prepayment penalties. Critics have said that BofA needs to make a strong commitment to working with troubled borrowers and minority communities in the wake of the proposed acquisition, which would ostensibly create the nation’s largest mortgage banking operation.

US 30-year mortgage rates rise

Inflation fears pushed U.S. 30-year mortgage rates up after being unchanged for three weeks according to Freddie Mac. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.03 percent this week after three straight weeks at 5.88 percent. Rates on 30-year mortgages were last above 6 percent the week of March 16 when they averaged 6.13 percent. One-year adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, climbed to an average of 5.29 percent from 5.10 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.62% this week, up from last week's 5.40% average. The mortgage averaged 5.87% a year ago. And one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.29% this week, up from last week's 5.10% average. The ARM averaged 5.43% a year ago. A separate survey released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that the volume of mortgage applications filed last week fell 14.2% compared with the week before. Lenders charged an average of 0.3 percent in fees and points on 30- and 15-year mortgages, down from 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent last week, respectively.

GMAC lends $468 million to mortgage unit

Residential Capital LLC - a money losing mortgage lender - borrowed $468 million from a new $750 million credit facility arranged by its parent GMAC LLC. GMAC has been trying to prop up ResCap after defaults soared and credit markets tightened, leading to a $4.35 billion loss at ResCap in 2007. Residential Capital, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of GMAC Financial Services, is a leading real estate finance company, focused primarily on the residential real estate market in the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America and Australia.

Canada Cuts Interest Rates - Prime @4.75%

The Bank of Canada cut its interest rate by half a point to 3% whilst noting that further cuts might be necessary. The slowdown in the United States, which is Canada's largest trading partner, has begun to affect the Canadian economy. The cut reduces the bank's overnight rate — what big banks charge each other for overnight loans — to three per cent. The overnight rate hasn't been that low since December 2005. It was second time in as many months that new bank governor Mark Carney has moved aggressively on interest rates, bringing down the key overnight rate to three per cent, one-and-a-half points below where it was at the start of December. But in an unusual reaction, Canada’s chartered banks delayed for most of the day matching the central bank’s reduction, suggesting growing unease with the state of financial markets. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was first to act, after 6 p.m. AT, announcing a 50 basis rate cut to its prime lending rate to 4.75 per cent, followed by the other four big Canadian banks.

Home Trust Helps!

Home Trust is alternative lender that provides credit solutions for borrowers with a wide range of products. Home Trust Company has developed a market niche by lending to people who have had difficulty in obtaining their financing from one of the major banks or mortgage lenders.

Home trust lends to Small business owners, self-employed people and People with former credit difficulties that have since been resolved. They also lend to discharged bankrupts without any waiting period. Landed and non-landed immigrants to Canada who do not have a credit history can also benefit from Home Trust products.

If you have equity in your property but do not have provable income that satisfies your bank, talk to a mortgage broker about Home Trust mortgages.

Missing Payments?

It is important to talk to your mortgage lender and tell them you're having difficulties. You may find they are open to revising your payments and/or extending the term of the loan, thereby reducing monthly repayments. Discuss your options with your lender as soon as possible. Then take action immediately. The longer you wait, hoping something will happen, the fewer options you will have. Lenders use foreclosure only as a very last resort. They make every attempt — within the confines of reasonable requirements — to develop an individualized solution that helps the borrowers get through a difficult time so they can stay in their homes. The key thing is not to stop making payments without warning - something that will really get your lender offside. If you find yourself seriously struggling to make loan repayments, do something about it sooner rather than later - definitely well before you miss a payment. The worst thing you can do is avoid the phone calls, letters and/or visits from your lender. There are many options. You can market your home as a short sale; get a mortgage modification agreement or even a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Communicate with your lender. Don’t try and ignore them because they won’t go away. And don’t lie to them. Be honest with them and they will help you work out the best solution.

Fixed-rate or variable-rate?

This is a question that consumers have been struggling with over the past several years while we have been enjoying historically low interest rates. With the Bank of Canada now widely thought to have concluded a series of seven interest-rate hikes in the past year, it's time to assess the two strategies.

Should you choose a fixed or variable mortgage loan? It all depends on your tolerance to risk in the face of interest rate fluctuations. A variable rate is generally more advantageous than a five-year rate on a given date. However, the variable rate may vary in time—as its name indicates—whereas the five-year rate remains unchanged for the entire five-year term. With the variable rate, you benefit immediately from rate decreases, but you may be affected if the rates go up.

Many variable-rate mortgage holders may regret not having locked in at a safe fixed rate, but mortgage brokers say that most of them fare about the same as their locked-in counterparts. By managing the variable rate product, some consumers have been able to pay down their mortgage substantially. Experts now agree that over the past ten years one would have paid less interest by taking a short term or variable rate mortgage versus a longer term mortgage. some people prefer the stability of a fixed rate over the potential cost savings offered by a variable rate. Choose your mortgage carefully. Ask a more broker for help before you sign the deal.

Walking away from your mortgage?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are warning struggling U.S. homeowners to think twice about walking away from their mortgages. Mortgage lender Fannie Mae warns homeowners planning to walk away and stop paying mortgages that doing so will make it difficult to apply for your next home loan. Borrowers facing foreclosure will be unable to obtain a loan for up to five years through the mortgage giant, unless there is "documented extenuating circumstances” in which those borrowers would have to wait up to 3 years for a new mortgage, according to a release by Fannie Mae. Even after five years, borrowers with foreclosures in their files will be required to make at least a 10 percent down payment, and will need minimum FICO credit scores of 680. Freddie Mac, Fannie's rival, counts foreclosures as major credit blots for seven years, and a senior official said the company is now aggressively pursuing some walkaway borrowers "to preserve our deficiency rights" where permitted under state law.

Walking away from the mortgage is not your only option if you are having difficulty making mortgage payments. Talk to the Realtors or mortgage brokers for more information on avoiding foreclosure.