Sam Gendusa, Author at Blue Streak Docs, LLC.

New Policies Make Home Buying More Accessible for Some, Raises Fees for Others

Newsletter - May 2023 Back in May of 2022, President Biden announced a series of initiatives to ease the burden of housing costs for Americans both renting and buying. One aspect of the Housing Supply Action Plan was to "deploy new financing mechanisms to build and preserve more housing where…

What Recent Bank Failures Mean for Fluctuating Mortgage Rates

Newsletter - April 2023 Predictions for this year's mortgage rates and real estate trends shifted this week after the second-largest and third-largest bank failures in history occurred. Investors quickly withdrew their funds from banks across the country causing changes in the Fed's plans to reduce inflation. The Federal Reserve had…

Rising Household Debt Leads Homeowners to Tap into Home Equity

Newsletter - March 2023 As inflation continues to affect the country, many Americans are turning to credit cards and home equity lines of credit (HELOC) in order to find relief from the rising costs of basic needs, like groceries and gas. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,…

Millennials priced out of housing market (or maxing their budgets)

Newsletter - February 2023 Millennials and other first-time home buyers have been hit particularly hard by one of the most expensive housing markets in U.S. history. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, high demand driven by low inventory and even lower interest rates sent home prices skyrocketing. Many millennials lost bidding…

Upside-down mortgages on the rise as market corrects

Newsletter - January 2023 U.S. home prices increased by 10.1% annually in October compared to 11.4% in September. That's the lowest year-over-year increase since early 2021, and the trend is expected to continue. One in 12 U.S. homes purchased in 2022 now have upside-down mortgages, according to Black Knight's October…

Refinance activity ends year on a low note

Newsletter - December 2022 There were no surprises when real estate data agency ATTOM released its Q3 Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report last month. Mortgage originations were down 47% from Q3 of last year-the sixth quarterly decrease in a row and the steepest annual drop since 2001. Mortgage rates that…

Housing market cooling, Realtors feeling the heat

Newsletter - November 2022 There's a chill in the air, and not because it's autumn. The housing market is cooling off fast, and some experts say winter is coming. Mortgage rates topped 7% last month while originations plummeted, and things aren't expected to turn around this year-or next. The Mortgage…

Mortgage rates rising, house prices dropping — eventually (probably)

Newsletter - October 2022 Mortgage rates have been flirting with 7% since late September - more than double the all-time low of 2.65% in January - pushed up primarily by the highest inflation we've seen in 40 years. Rates changing this quickly can have a "chilling effect" on homebuyers since…

Experts Say We’re on the Verge of a Housing Market “Meltdown”

Newsletter - August 2022 If the state of the housing market — and economy in general — has you feeling a bit queasy, you’re not alone. We’re facing a “perfect storm” for a 2008-type housing crisis, said Jose Torres, a senior economist for Interactive Brokers. “At this point, housing is…

Are a Housing Crash and Recession Imminent?

Newsletter - July 2022 After two years of a red-hot housing market fueled by low inventory and even lower interest rates, things seem to finally be cooling down. As the 30-year fixed rate hovers near 6%, "fewer people are getting mortgages, homes are sitting on the market for longer, and…

Are Increasing Adjustable-Rate Mortgages a Red Flag for Today’s Housing Market?

Newsletter - June 2022 With interest rates climbing and home prices still sky high, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) are on the rise. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 5.30% last month - compared to 3% a year ago - significantly increasing the cost of financing a home. In May 2021, the…

FHA Adds 40-year Loan Modification to COVID-19 Recovery Options

Newsletter - May 2022 Mortgage servicers can now offer a 40-year loan modification as part of the COVID-19 Recovery waterfall. For now, only borrowers with FHA Title II forward mortgages who were financially affected by the pandemic are eligible, and the option must be used in conjunction with a partial…

Housing Market 2022: No Relief in Sight for Buyers

Newsletter - April 2022 Virtually every real estate firm predicted that home price growth would slow down this year, but just a few months in, that consensus has fallen apart. Home prices surged an unsustainable 18.8% last year, fueled by a depleted inventory and record-low mortgage rates. But with interest…

2022 Forecast: Rising Mortgage Rates Ahead

Newsletter - March 2022 The 30-year mortgage rate topped 4% last month for the first time since 2019, and is expected to go higher before the year's over. Experts point to three factors behind rising mortgage rates: a recovering economy, the Fed winding down the buying of mortgage-backed securities, and…

What is Document Retrieval & How Does it Work?

What exactly is document retrieval? We're here to break it down for you. Have you ever needed important vital records for a family member, such as a marriage record or death certificate? What about requesting a deed or title search for a new home you're looking to buy? If so,…

Investment in Mortgage Tech Critical for 2022 and Beyond

Newsletter - February 2022 By now, most lenders have adopted mortgage tech that enables homebuyers to apply for loans online, but a shifting market demands even more investment in automation. The Mortgage Bankers Association predicts the 30-year fixed-rate could reach 4% before this year is over, which will reduce the…

Home Prices in 2022: Going Up, Says Zillow

Newsletter - January 2022 The hot housing market we saw in 2021 doesn't appear to be cooling off anytime soon. According to the Zillow Economic Research team, home prices in 2022 will continue to rise, keeping homeownership out of reach for some would-be homebuyers. Zillow predicts the price of homes…

Still No Spike in Foreclosure Rates as 2021 Winds Down

Newsletter - December 2021 Despite the federal moratorium ending months ago, foreclosure rates increased by just 2.6% in October, according to Black Knight's First Look report. Meanwhile, fewer homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments, with around 2 million loans at least 30 days past due in October - 1.45…

Will the New CFPB Director Bring Back the Bad Old Days?

Newsletter - November 2021 That sound you heard on Sept. 30 was the collective groan of the mortgage industry upon learning the Senate confirmed Rohit Chopra as CFPB director for the next five years. Experts in consumer finance expect Chopra to step up the agency's enforcement activities after Kathy Kraninger's…

Want to Pay Your Mortgage in Bitcoin? You Could Soon

Newsletter - October 2021 If you're one of the 13% of Americans who invests in cryptocurrency and you'd like to use it to make your mortgage payments, you're in luck. United Wholesale Mortgage, the second-largest mortgage lender in the country behind Rocket Mortgage, are aiming to let borrowers pay their…

Supreme Court Ends Federal Eviction Moratorium

Newsletter - September 2021 It's finally over. The federal eviction moratorium - initially set to expire more than a year ago - was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court last month after a challenge from a coalition of landlords and real estate groups. The ban, which was passed as…

What is a Title Report?

A title report is a documented review of real estate property that gives a clear picture of the current status of said property. It includes the history of the property over a specified period of time, depending on the intended use of the report. This report can be used for…

What is a Title Search?

There are so many different types of real estate documents, we understand it can be challenging to keep them all straight! Our experienced document retrieval and title search team is here to break down what a title search is and how they work. What is a Title Search? A property…

What is Certified Document Retrieval?

There are many different types of document retrieval, but what is certified document retrieval? Our document retrieval experts are here to teach you what certified document retrieval is and how the process works. In the mortgage industry, document retrieval is the activity of locating any missing documents that may be…

Foreclosure Ban Ends With Millions Still Behind on Mortgage Payments

Newsletter - August 2021 The federal eviction and foreclosure bans officially expired July 31, but protections are still in place to prevent people from losing their homes - or at least delay it for a bit longer. At the end of July, the Biden administration announced new loan modification and…

We have been with Blue Streak since shortly after you opened, I think about 11 years now? Maybe many more? Time goes by. In any case, Blue Streak is one of the 2 best firms we have worked with – always patiently explaining any questions we have, re exactly what is requested if unclear to me, prompt payments, friendly and supportive – we truly feel as if we are part of a team, not just another cog on the wheel.

D.F. (vendor)

Sam, our office needed to have a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit recorded in Erie County, Ohio. The document was mailed to Blue Streak Docs, LLC, in Clearwater, Florida on a Friday afternoon, and the document was e-recorded by Wednesday. Very impressive. I will keep Blue Streak Docs, LLC, in my contact folder and when needed I will definitely use again.