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VA Expert Sees Need for Refinancing Surge
By Ted Cornwell
Recently, most of the talk about a "surge" has focused on sending more troops to Iraq. But a military veteran who's chair of one of the nation's most prominent producers of Veterans Affairs loans believes that today's subprime lending crisis calls out for another kind of surge.
Bill Edwards, chairman of Mortgage Investors Corp., St. Petersburg, Fla., believes that a proactive approach to refinancing borrowers facing rate resets could save many from foreclosure. And MIC, a firm that is one of the nation's leading VA lenders but is approved to originate other loan types as well, has approached industry servicers about using its workforce of loan officers to aid in a massive streamline refinancing attack on the problem. But to save many borrowers from foreclosure and to minimize losses, lenders, servicers and investors may have to make some concessions themselves, Mr. Edwards believes.
Mr. Edwards says the current subprime crisis is "shameful for the industry," noting that almost all of the headlines stemming from the failure of some lenders and higher-than-expected early payment defaults have been negative.
And already, there is concern that the problems plaguing the weaker credit quality borrowers are spreading into alt-A loans as well.
Mr. Edwards acknowledges that it won't be possible to save every troubled borrower and that finding solutions to help those who can be helped will not always be easy. But he believes it is in the best interest of lenders and investors to try to negotiate ways to salvage these loans wherever possible.
"The only answer is that there is no steadfast answer to it. It is a crisis. It's obviously less of a crisis if you don't foreclose than if you do foreclose," Mr. Edwards told MSN Bulletin.
There are a number of causes for the current rise in defaults on subprime loans. In addition to a general loosening of underwriting standards and the advent of some riskier loan products, borrowers have had to deal with rising gas prices and higher minimum payments on credit cards. Many couldn't manage to balance the competing demands on their finances as gas prices doubled and credit card payments doubled. Next, mortgage resets, particularly on teaser rate loans, have doubled the home loan bill for some.
"The only thing that hasn't doubled is your income. That's sitting the same."
For that reason, he believes the problem extends beyond the subprime market into prime loans where financially strapped borrowers are essentially becoming subprime as their credit quality deteriorates.
But Mr. Edwards thinks some borrowers are losing their homes who should not have to.
And with a record number of homes for sale nationwide, it is getting more difficult for borrowers who bought more home than they could afford to sell their way out of the problem. Some experts predict that the industry could see 2.5 million foreclosures this year.
But those foreclosed homes hitting the market will only depress realty prices further, making it more difficult for troubled borrowers to sell a home or refinance out of trouble. Instead, loan modifications and workouts will be needed to keep borrowers in their homes, Mr. Edwards believes.
Why is MIC getting involved in this issue? The company, which has produced $7 billion to $8 billion in home loans during its best years, has helped many military veterans refinance into more attractive financing through the VA home loan program. And MIC is exclusively a retail lender with a national sales force dedicated to talking to customers and educating them about their home loan options.
Mr. Edwards notes that about half of borrowers who go into foreclosure never talk to their loan servicer. Reaching out to those customers on a more proactive basis makes sense, Mr. Edwards said.
"The wisest thing would be to go to them and sit down with them and see if we can't do something in the way of a loan modification that would salvage the loan, the lender and everybody alike," he said.
Lenders may have to sacrifice things like prepayment penalties to make it work, he said. And loan terms perhaps would have to be stretched out to make the loans affordable to troubled borrowers. But those sacrifices from lenders and investors would outweigh the cost of foreclosure, Mr. Edwards believes. And nobody has more incentive to make these workouts succeed than borrowers.
"I would think they would go and jump through hoops if someone would give them a little breathing room and give them a way out," Mr. Edwards said.
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