Mortgage Refinance Interest Rates

Portfolio lending is on the rise. The main reason for this is portfolio lending is not subject to the crazy 4 property rule. Through a portfolio lender, it is possible to have more than 20 mortgages. But those investors looking for conventional loans through lenders such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will run into the 4 property rule wall.

It is understandable that new rules need to be put in effect to prevent the fiasco that precipitated the nefarious $750 billion bailout bill. However, the onset of the 4 property rule is among the most egregious. In fact, this particular rule is a complete rejection of the principles that the free market is founded on. That is, the 4 property rule is a massive overreach of government regulation designed to limit the free market. Worst of all, this type of regulation limits a great deal of personal liberty and freedom.

Wondering what the 4 property rule actually is? Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced in 2008 that the maximum number of financed properties a person can have is four. This crazy rule even includes a person’s primary residence so really the maximum number of rentals is limited to three.

This type of rule does very little to help our economy recover. In my opinion, it is a form of Socialism. And, last time I looked we lived in a country founded on Capitalism. So, this rule overall does nothing to improve our situation and in fact the 4 property rule can significantly weaken our economy.

Before the subprime meltdown, investors took advantage of rapidly increasing real estate values. They would purchase properties at low prices and then sell high. Sometimes, real estate investors purchased huge volumes of properties to resell. The affordable housing they provided had a positive impact on our economy.

That is, in the absence of the 4 property rule, the sale of massive volumes of real estate would yield a number of positive effects. For example, the revenues generated could be invested into the stock market. Once invested, it would provide liquidity to many different companies. It would also generate significant tax revenue to the state and local governments. And, of course, the wealth created by this multiplexing of real estate sales would greatly expand purchasing. This would improve the economy in other sectors of the market. With the onset of the 4 property rule, all of this would cease and much of the economy could be undermined. Hopefully, this rule will eventually be revoked and return a more free market approach to the world of real estate.

The good news is, regardless of whether or not this rule is revoked, portfolio lenders do not have to follow this 4 property rule. If you have more than 4 financed properties (or hope to), a portfolio lender is what you need.