Bank Mortgage Credit Expanding

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Bank Mortgage Credit Expanding

Hello everybody,

There is a press release on Focus that indicates that at least a few of the banks making mortgages in Bulgaria are starting to loosen the reigns a little for prime borrowers and prime properties. Here’s the article:

Banks lend up to 80% of the real property price
10 November 2009 | 00:15 | FOCUS News Agency
Sofia. The banks in Bulgaria have been getting increasingly resilient in their lending policies. At least 4 financial institutions have been reported lending amounts covering up to 80% of the real estate price – something we haven’t seen since the summer of 2008. According a recent market survey of CreditCenter, only people with steady income, willing to buy liquid apartments have benefitted from the more resilient terms.
Presently, only monolith buildings in Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv and Burgas can get you a loan that covers 80% of the deal.
Panel flats are still in the wrong end of the scale, as banks lend between 60% and 65% of the price.
© 2009 All rights reserved. Reproducing this website’s contents requires obligatory reference to FOCUS Information Agency!

To me, that’s a reasonable move, both for the market and also for the banks! It appears that at least some of the less internationally-controlled banks are feeling the pinch of reduced interest income. The international banks are most likely still under severe constraint by their parent organisations that could still be in trouble from the “crisis.”

The next item in the same series of press releases by Focus talks about the increase in bad loans in Bulgaria to over 8,5 percent. They don’t say whether that’s based on the number of loans or the value if the loans, but I expect the former. That’s high, historically speaking, but under the circumstances, probably not that bad. For me, it represents a potential for the investor with cash to take over some prime properties at a severe discount, possibly even with a mortgage back from the seller (the bank) under certain circumstances.

In other news, there are opinions surfacing that the Bulgarian real estate market will bottom out in the spring-summer 2010 time frame. This would place the ideal timing for investing in the market (for people with resources and/or being classified as a prime borrower) in the coming six months. After that (when the 2010 summer season starts) the prices presumably will have already started the seasonal increase, and the best of the properties will already be taken or at least “reserved” in some way.

That’s all for now,

Craig
for
Good 2004

Bank Mortgage Credit Expanding

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Finance | No Comments »

How to Avoid Mortgage Fraud

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Hi there!

I found this article on another blog, and I think it is important for loans in Bulgaria, just as it is for loans in the USA (the basis for the article). The bottom line is, read everything and understand it. Don’t lie about anything, and don’t sign anything with blank spaces in it.

Top 10 Ways to Avoid Loan Fraud: by David E. Brumbaugh

Every year, misinformed homebuyers, often first-time purchasers or seniors, become victims of predatory lending or loan fraud. Below you’ll find the top ten ways to avoid becoming a victim yourself.

  1. Take your time and shop around. You should be able to compare prices and houses. If a lender or broker tells you they are your only chance to get a loan or owning a home, don’t do business with them.
  2. Do not sign a sales contract or loan documents that are blank or that contain information which is not true.
  3. Be certain that the costs and loan terms at closing are what you originally agreed to.
  4. Do not be talked into lying about or lie about your income, expenses, or cash available for down payments in order to get a loan.
  5. Watch out for higher-risk loans such as balloon loans, interest-only payments, and steep pre-payment penalties.
  6. Be careful about disclosing things like your need of cash due to medical, unemployment or debt problems. You are very vulnerable in these cases.
  7. Don’t strip your home’s equity by refinancing again and again when there is no benefit to you.
  8. Beware of false appraisals.
  9. Do not let anyone convince you to borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay. If you get behind on your payments, you risk losing your house and all of the money you put into your property.
  10. Get several quotes from multiple brokers or lenders so you know you’re being charged a fair interest rate based on your credit history, not your race or national origin.

David Brumbaugh is the owner and operator of EZandFree.com. EZandFree.com provides consumers with online tools for easily obtaining free competitive Mortgage and Loan Quotes. It also serves as a mechanism by which Mortgage Brokers can obtain legitimate qualified leads from people who need their services.

Copyright 2004 David E. Brumbaugh. All rights reserved. This article may be published in your newsletter or web site.

Did you understand what was being said here? The idea is to be sure you look out for yourself, because nobody else will do it for you.

Ciao for now

Craig

How to Avoid Mortgage Fraud

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

  • Share/Bookmark

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Finance | No Comments »