We have made it to Facebook. Eversley Capital Mortgage has its own fan page. The official page is http://www.facebook.com/eversleycapital

As always we strive to offer Connecticut residents the best and lowest mortgage rates and fees. We offer conventional fixed and arm loans as well as jumbo, conventional jumbo, USDA and VA loans as well as second mortgages both fixed and adjustable. We are located at 3 Everlsey Ave in Norwalk CT.

For the remainder of 2010 if you are purchasing or refinancing and read this blog or come across Everley Capital via Facebook mention either this blog or become a fan on Facebook and at the closing of your loan we will credit you back the cost of your appraisal a value up to $500 dollars. So become a fan today!

The Fed announced today it is raising the discount rate. This is the rate that they charge on emergency or overnight loans to banks. The discount rate has been at .50 percent since December 2008 and is being raised .25 percent to .75 percent.

This is the first sign the Fed is attempting to take the training wheels off the financial markets. It has been the main backbone of our financial system amidst the financial crisis and has been the backdrop for the economy and financial markets.

You can read the official  Federal Reserve Press Release

Connecticut’s lowest mortgage rates are a click away www.EversleyCapital.com

I watched an Associated Press video today that puts in question whether the stimulus a year later is working and saving jobs or not. It is worth the time to watch.

The last time I talked on this topic was the first week of August and up until then and including July of this year we had 69 banks that had been seized. That total now stands at 98. Nearly 30 banks in two months have been shuttered.

The talk now is the need to address raising capital for the FDIC. Earlier this month the FDIC had approved to turn to the banks themselves to pre-pay their dues into the fund to raise capital. The next elephant about to enter the room is the commercial mortgage market. That will weigh heavily on the regional banks and could further stress an already stressed out FDIC insurance fund.

Below is the list of recent failures since my last article:

70) First State Bank, Sarasota, FL Cost to the FDIC $116 million

71) Community National Bank of Sarasota County, Venice, FL Cost to the FDIC $24 million

72) Community First Bank, Prineville, OR Cost to the FDIC $45 million

73) Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association, Pittsburgh, PA Cost to the FDIC $6.8 million

74) Colonial Bank, Montgomery AL Cost to the FDIC $2.8 billion

75) Union Bank, National Association, Gilbert, AZ Cost to the FDIC $61 million

76) Community Bank of Arizona, Phoenix, AZ Cost to the FDIC $23.5 million

77) Community Bank of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV Cost to the FDIC $781.5 million

78) ebank, Atlanta, GA Cost to the FDIC $63 million

79) First Coweta Bank, Newnan, GA Cost to the FDIC $48 million

80) CapitalSouth Bank, Birmingham, AL Cost to the FDIC $151 million

81) Guaranty Bank, Austin, TX Cost to the FDIC $3 billion

82) Bradford Bank, Baltimore, MD Cost to the FDIC $97 million

83) Mainstreet Bank, Forest Lake, MN Cost to the FDIC $95 million

84) Affinity Bank, Ventura, CA Cost to the FDIC $254 million

85) First Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO Cost to the FDIC $6 million

86) InBank, Oak Forest, IL Cost to the FDIC $66 million

87) Vantus Bank, Sioux City, IA Cost to the FDIC $168 million

88) Platinum Community Bank, Rolling Meadows, IL Cost to the FDIC $114.3 million

89) First State Bank, Flagstaff, AZ Cost to the FDIC $47 million

90) Corus Bank, N.A., Chicago IL Cost to the FDIC $1.7 billion

91) Brickwell Community Bank, Woodbury, MN Cost to the FDIC $22 million

92) Venture Bank, Lacey, WA  Cost to the FDIC $298 million

93) Irwin Union Bank, F.S.B., Louisville, KY

94) Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company, Columbus, IN Cost to the FDIC $850 million between both institutions

95) Georgian Bank, Atlanta, GA Cost to the FDIC $892 million

96) Warren Bank, Warren, MI Cost to the FDIC $275 million

97) Jennings State Bank, Spring Grove, MN Cost to the FDIC $11.7 million

98) Southern Colorado National Bank, Pueblo, CO Cost to the FDIC $6.6 million

That is the state of the current job market. The September job report was higher than analysts’ had expected. The consensus was for 175,000 jobs lost and that number came in substantially higher at 263,000.

While the numbers are getting smaller from this time last year there still is no clear picture to any improvement. This time last year we looking at 400,000 and more lost jobs per report and those numbers have come down yet it does not mean things are improving. The un-employment rate set yet another milestone at 9.8 percent.

Employers will shy away at new job hiring if there is no clear economic picture or direction and there is not one. That could ultimately mean the un-employment rate passing the 10 percent threshold and beyond before it gets better.

As of September 5.4 million Americans have been un-employed for six months or more and presently job searchers outnumber job openings at more than 6-1. Construction and manufacturing continue to carry the largest number of job losses.

It is kind of crazy when you think about it. We have a double edged sword here as far as a recovery goes. The economy will not get any better until there is stability in the job market and the job market will not improve until there is clearly a better economic picture. Ultimately it may be a long and slow recovery, one that is longer than most experts want us to think.

So FDIC chairmen Sheila Bair who has repeatedly stated that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is well capitalized must have “overlooked” some numbers. The insurance fund that protects our money on deposit with banks up to certain dollar amounts per account is close to running dry.

A total of 95 banks have failed this year so far and 28 in 2008. The FDIC is predicting now that it will run in deficit until 2013. Regulators now expect upwards of $100 billion in claims due to bank failures over the next 4 years and that was revised from earlier estimates of a need of $70 billion.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. or (FDIC) collects its reserves from fees that banks are charged for the account protection. The FDIC also has a $500 billion credit line with the Federal Reserve but at this point is not prepared to use it just yet. Instead they are proposing for banks to pre-pay their fees to the tune of $ 45 billion to replenish an extremely dry well of liquidity from the FDIC. Tapping into the line of credit would ultimately mean a tax payer bailout of the FDIC something that Bair has adamantly stated would not happen. At the pace banks are folding the likelihood is very possible for the FDIC to turn to the Fed for help.

In July of 2009 U.S. new home sales increased 9.6 percent. Take note that this figure is for new construction and not existing home sales. That is a big jump and certainly something that we have not seen in a while. On the surface things look good, great in fact. Home builder sentiment is improving, consumer confidence is rising, the stock market seems like it is back to its never ending upward incline and last but not least the recent CARS program was a huge success, in fact it helped push over 700,00 cars being sold during the program. Even Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is making comments that the worst is behind us.

While I think it is fairly obvious that the worst is behind us we are far from calling it a recovery. Let’s look at what the “worse” part of that statement was. In one weekend we saw the Fed orchestrate the sale of the collapsed Bear Sterns, the fall of a 100 year old Investment Bank in Lehman Brothers. We literally witnessed the credit markets seize. Washington Mutual collapsed, AIG bilked the tax payer out of billions and not just a couple billion over 100 billion in bailouts. The Government has spent trillions to prop up the financial system in the past year. So to say the worst is behind us is indeed true, to say we may we may be in recovery is extremely premature.

The issues still at hand are some big mountains in the way of the road to recovery. First the job market is still weak so no improvement in the job arena means no chance anytime soon of recovery. The deficit has surpassed $10 trillion, the FDIC is near broke and the bright spots that we have seen in the real estate and economy is all smoke and mirrors.

An uptick in existing or new home sales recently is due mainly in fact that the 1^st time home buyer tax credit is due to expire within the next several months. The 700,000 cars that were sold are artificial sales propped up by the government spending billions to entice the sales, the stock market is way overbought, foreclosures are still on the rise and mortgage rates are still north of 5 percent.

So where does that all leave us? We have seen the worst but the road ahead is a long one indeed any thought of recovery being here is foolish. Maybe summer 2010.

The Fed announced this week the extension of the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility of best known to the public as the TALF fund.

The TALF fund which was derived in a ‘think-tank’ episode to combat a frozen and severely wounded economic and financial market environment was set to expire at the end of the year. The Fed has extended the fund until March.

With the credit markets seizing up for not only mortgage loans but auto, consumer and student loans as well as small business loans the Fed rolled out the TALF fund with a backstop of $1 trillion. Designed to provide investors a low cost way to buy consumer and commercial loans so far has not proven all too effective. Consumers and small business are still finding it extremely difficult to obtain credit or financing. Of the $1 trillion pledged by the Fed to date about $29 billion has been lent out with proceeds from the program.

The TALF is there to help facilitate commercial mortgage lending as well and as the market for commercial real estate deteriorates rapidly lenders may look to the TALF a lot more in the coming months as the commercial real estate market may be the next shoe to drop.

In July the Fed seized 24 banks in the month alone bringing the total for all of 2009 to 69 banks that have been seized by the Fed. The “watch list” of troubled banks is still extensive and the likelihood of another large bank failure like a Washington Mutual is certainly a strong possibility. To date the FDIC Insurance Funds has been hammered to the tune of $14.677 billion.

53) Bank of Wyoming, Thermopolis, WY Cost to the FDIC $27 million

54) First Piedmont Bank, Winder, GA Cost to the FDIC $29 million

55) BankFirst, Sioux Falls, SD Cost to the FDIC $91 million

56) Vineyard Bank, Rancho Cucamonga, CA Cost to the FDIC $529 million

57) Temecula Valley Bank, Temecula, CA Cost to the FDIC $391 million

58)Waterford Village Bank, Williamsville, NY Cost to the FDIC $5.6 million

59) Security Bank of Gwinnett County, Suwanee, GA

60) Security Bank of North Fulton, Alpharetta, GA

61) Security Bank of North Metro, Woodstock, GA

62) Security Bank of Bibb County, Macon, GA

63) Security Bank of Houston County, Perry, GA

64) Security Bank of Jones County, Gray, GA Cost to the FDIC $807 million between the six banks

65) First State Bank of Altus, Altus, OK Cost to the FDIC $25.2

66) Integrity Bank, Jupiter, FL Cost to the FDIC $46 million

67) Peoples Community Bank, West Chester, OH Cost to the FDIC $129.5 million

68) First BankAmericano, Elizabeth, NJ Cost to the FDIC $15 million

69) Mutual Bank, Harvey IL Cost to the FDIC $696 million

In this case privacy is a ‘con’. We all know that we are in full swing of a mortgage, banking and financial crisis. The worst some have stated since the great depression.

For those of us in the great “nutmeg” State of Connecticut we have our own financial/mortgage woes. We do not have stories like this though.

In Florida it is no secret it is one of the 5 that are hardest hit in this crisis. A mass glut of overbuilt and overdeveloped areas of the state. Imagine being in a brand new high rise building 32 stories high and you are the only tenant in the place. In Fort Myers, Florida there is a place that this exists. The article was originally written by the AP and picked up on Yahoo. Read this article and you will be glad we are in Connecticut and not the sunshine state. A complex 32 stories high and 1 tenant