According to "The Wall Street Journal," the city of Las Vegas wants to use two million dollars of the economic stimulus for new neon signs. City officials are concerned, since they don’t want to make the city look tacky.

Is it any wonder that Bill Gross wants mortgage rates to come down? Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) is rumored to have made large investments in mortgage-backed securities last month, and their “Total Return Fund” has $136 billion under management – 83% of which are mortgage-backed securities. Mortgages are “a very safe and well-supported security based upon what the Treasury has announced and the Fed has announced that it’s going to do,” Gross said in a Feb. 6 interview on Bloomberg television. One cannot argue with their performance last year, which beat many other funds.

Yesterday the Treasury market, and mortgage bonds, continued its rally from Tuesday yesterday led once again by the long end of the curve: 30-yr paper. The 10-yr auction went reasonably well, which helped, coming in at a yield of 2.82% 37.8% going to indirect bidders (foreign buyers). The last leg of the Treasury refunding is today with $14 billion 30 year bonds.

The stimulus package could be heading for a vote. Borrowers will be dismayed to find that the $15,000 tax credit for anybody buying a home over the next year was dropped; instead, first-time homebuyers could claim an $8,000 credit for homes bought by the end of August. And there is a rumor that the loan limits will not change, but I do not have confirmation of that.

Is someone giving me a hint when they sent this along to me?  http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

PMI, effective on the 20th, has declared that the following will be ineligible for their mortgage insurance: Manufactured Housing, Construction-to-Permanent, 2-unit properties, Interest Only, Third Party Originations, and Nontraditional credit. In addition, a minimum 680 credit score will be required on all products and programs, with the exception of High Balance loans, which will have a minimum 740 credit score.

US Bank’s correspondent group VA Loan Guaranty Memo 26-08-19 made a temporary increase in the maximum guaranty amount for loans closed January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2011. Loans amounts $417,000 or less: The guaranty amount of 25% remains unchanged. Certificates of Eligibility are issued showing a maximum guaranty of $36,000, however if the loan amount is between $144,000 and $417,000, the guarantee amount is increased to 25% of the loan amount with a maximum of $104,250. ($417,000 X .25 = $104,250) Effective for all locks taken on or after February 23, 2008, for loan amounts greater than $417,000, U.S. Bank Home Mortgage Correspondent Lending Division has set maximum loan amounts with guarantee/entitlement and cash down payment as follows: • Loan amounts from $417,001 to $650,000 must have 30% total minimum coverage which is the total of entitlement and cash down payment. Loan amounts from $650,001 to $1 million must have 35% minimum which is the total coverage of entitlement and cash down payment. For loan amounts greater than $417,000, the applicable maximum guarantee amount is available on line at: http://www.homeloans.va.gov/docs2009_county_loan_limits.pdf.

Fannie reminded sellers, “Don't forget that High Balance Loans (HBL) are eligible for delivery though our standard whole loan pricing grids in amounts up to 10% of the total commitment.  This is consistent with SIFMA's guidance on MBS TBA-eligibility for HBL.  For HBLs that exceed the 10% rule, we have separate grids -- with recently improved pricing -- that can accommodate 100% HBL commitments.”

Do you know how a short sale will show on a person’s credit report? Per an underwriting expert, a short sale will appear on a borrower’s credit report, although sometimes it will show as settled for less than originally owed.

I didn’t know that you could lock a loan through Wells Fargo’s wholesale group for a whole year! Speaking of which, they just increased their extended lock fees, so for a 90 day lock it will now cost .5, and for a 360 day lock it will cost 2.375 over their rate sheet.

On the first day, God created the dog and said: “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.”

The dog said: “Man, that's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?”

So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said: “Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty -year life span.”

The monkey said: “Dude, monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?”

And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said: “You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.”

The cow said: “Hombre, that's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?”

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said: “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.”

But man said: “Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?”

“Okay,” said God, “You asked for it.”

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.