Kenneth Polin

Kenneth Polin, president of Banner Mortgage Group Inc. of Scarsdale, said he asks his clients two questions:
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"Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into," Polin advised."Understand the nature of the adjustable rate products that you are taking."

Some ARMs are adjusted monthly, so consumers who buy those products would have to have a tolerance for regular changes in what they owe each month.Other ARMs have features such as negative amortization, in which the rate that you pay over a given period may be less than what you actually owe.The difference is added to the principal, a form of compounding debt that Polin warned can be "very dangerous."

"An increase in housing payments, over their present payment, could potentially pose catastrophe," he said.

Kenneth Polin, president of Banner Mortgage Group Inc. of Scarsdale, said buyers who lack large down payments can avail themselves of other mortgage products that help reduce monthly payments, including 40-year mortgages and interest-only mortgages.Mortgage lenders are aggressive, he said, and consumers usually can get the loan they want.

"The better question is, once they get it, will they be able to handle it?"Polin said.

By KENNETH POLIN
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Kenneth Polin is the president of Banner Mortgage Group Inc., a mortgage broker with offices in Scarsdale since 1993.

"The recent credit crunch has curtailed the granting of many HELOCs especially those done on a low documentation basis," says Ken Polin of Banner Mortgage Group in Scarsdale, NY. "However, if the HELOC is not the appropriate vehicle for a homeowner, other options need to be examined on a case by case basis with a reputable mortgage professional," Polin added.

Ken Polin, a mortgage broker for Banner Mortgage Group in Scarsdale, said a number of factors can reduce house prices in a particular location.Not all of them are easily quantifiable, such as an increase in interest rates or the unemployment rate.

"If, God forbid, there's another act of terrorism, if, God forbid, the economy goes down ... to a certain extent you can throw some of these numbers out," he said.

Kenneth Polin of Banner Mortgage Group in Scarsdale said the local housing market is far different from the nation as a whole.

"There's no question that if someone wants to make a play to stay in their home, they can tap into equity," he said."When it's that easy to sell a piece of property, people don't have to go through foreclosure.

"We take for granted how hot real estate is in Westchester County," he said."Foreclosure rates in Westchester County are not a good indicator of how many people are falling into financial difficulties. ...You fall into difficulty in the backwoods of West Virginia how much of a market is there?"

Polin warned that mortgage default rates will increase because of "gimmick" mortgage products.Such mortgages allow people to borrow more than they can afford and are creating foreclosure problems that some other parts of the country are seeing.

Some lenders may not even look at a borrower's income if his credit history and the appraisal on the property are strong enough, he said.

Bad news on Wall Street could spur refinancings Lower Hudson Journal news, NY - Sep 16, 2008 But Soliz and other experts stress that refinancing is not the right decision for everyone. Kenneth Polin, the president of Banner Mortgage Inc. in ... Smallpox Eradication Commemoration 2010 Secretariat Launched at ... - PR-CANADA.net (press release)