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CashToolBox Helps Get Borrowers Approved
By Alton Gary Simpson
Fort Meyers, FL -- Eddie Hoskins, CEO and president of First Florida Financial Group saw the handwriting on the wall in regards to the current mortgage market turmoil. Seeing that the market was heading towards an environment where underwriting standards would be much tighter than consumers or loan originators were accustomed to, he created the CashToolBox program.
"Let's face it, there aren't many people out there right now that are doing anything to help consumers finance a loan," he said. "Lenders and Wall Street aren't doing anything except cutting off the pipeline and the cash, and raising the bar [for credit], making things more difficult. I thought, 'what an opportunity to bring a breathe of fresh air to what has been a lot of sad news for a lot of folks.'
"About four months ago, we started CashToolBox and tried to develop a niche where I could use my cash to solve problems that borrowers are facing when seeking mortgage loan approval."
CashToolBox utilizes the equity in one or more properties -- and potentially other assets as well -- to fix the problems that are preventing a mortgage loan from being approved. Among the tools in the CashToolBox program that can help a borrower meet loan approval requirements are: Credit Score Optimizer, Cash Reserves Booster, Debt-To-Income Reducer, Collection/Judgment Buster and DO/LP Underwriting Enhancer. The cash is secured by a short-term "spot" second mortgage originated and funded by First Florida Financial Group. This spot mortgage is structured as a five-year fixed rate mortgage that is amortized over 25 years, which is available for purchases and refinances. The interest rate varies between the 10% to 13% range depending upon an individual borrower's particular circumstances, and it is typically paid off in full when the end loan is approved.
According to Mr. Hoskins, he isn't doing the second mortgage to make money. "There's no profit in it. I can do them with virtually no interest," he said, adding that the interest rate is high primarily to motivate borrowers to get to the closing table quickly. He said that First Florida Financial Group makes its money once the full mortgage is approved and closed.
He also noted that the response to CashToolBox from the mortgage broker community has generally been positive adding that industry professionals that he has talked to were enthusiastic about having a new way to help consumers save or purchase their homes.
"What used to be a very easy viable A-borrower loan is no longer that way. If a borrower doesn't have the available equity in their property or the available funds to borrow from someone that they know, people are in tough shape," said Mr. Hoskins.
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