Reminders from Compliance;

• Loan logs are to be fully completed and are due on the 5th.
• Point files require the correct auto file name and the number must be transferred over into the Investor Loan Number.
• All files are due by the 15th of the month.

Disclosures;

• Compliance has an updated list of disclosures required in your loan file. See your compliance specialist for more details.

Business Card Titles;

The following are the only titles authorized to be used on your business cards,

Branch Manager

Loan Officer

Loan Specialist

Processor

Sr. Processor

Win a $25 gift card good at Chili's Bar & Grill. Simply submit your favorite recipe by Dec. 14th, 2005 to be entered into the contest. The winner will be chosen by our panel of judges and he or she will be announced in the Dec. 19th, 2005 issue of the AMS Insider. Good Luck!

The Big 25

Dan Hewitt, an AMS Network Technician, turned 25 years old on Friday, Dec. 2nd. Dan has been employed with AMS since March of this year. He currently is attending ASU in the CIS school and his major is Business Computer Information Systems. Dan’s wife, Angelique, is a proud supporter of his business and academic achievements. His 2 year old daughter, Adriana, wishes he wasn’t so busy and is all smiles when he gets home. He likes cars, computers and an occasional alcoholic beverage. Congratulations Dan!

Miko's Chocolate Covered Caramels

INGREDIENTS:

• CARAMELS
• 1 cup butter
• 2 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• CHOCOLATE
• 1 pound milk chocolate
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

1. Grease an 8 x 8 inch square pan.
2. In a heavy 4 quart saucepan melt butter over medium heat; add brown sugar, corn syrup and milk. Stirring constantly, heat to 242 to 248 degrees F (116 to 120 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a firm but pliable ball. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Pour into prepared pan.
3. When caramel has cooled and set, cut into 1 inch squares. Chill in refrigerator until firm.
4. Melt chocolate with 1 tablespoon butter in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl in the microwave. Stir until smooth.
5. Dip caramel squares in chocolate and place on wax paper to cool.

The Aging Explorer

A young reporter went to a retirement home to interview an aged but legendary explorer. The reporter asked the old man to tell him the most frightening experience he had ever had.

The old explorer said, "Once I was hunting Bengal tigers in the jungles of India. I was on a narrow path and my faithful native gunbearer was behind me. Suddenly the largest tiger I have ever seen leaped onto the path in front of us. I turned to get my weapon only to find the native had fled. The tiger leapt toward me with a mighty ROARRRR! I soiled myself."

The reporter said, "Under those circumstances anyone would have done the same."

The old explorer said, "No, not then - just now when I went ''''ROARRRR!''''"

Conventional Loan Limits Increased For Freddie and Fannie

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) announced on Tuesday that new limits will apply for loans that can be purchased by the two Government Sponsored Enterprises for which it has oversight.

Effective January 1, 2006, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will be able to purchase single family home mortgages up to a limit of $417,000. This is an increase of 16+ percent from the $357,650 cap for 2005.

The increase was in keeping with figures released earlier in the day by The Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) reporting that, nationally, the average cost of a one-family house October was $306,759, an increase of 15.96 percent since October 2004.

Mortgages that meet the purchase criteria of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are called “conventional loans” and generally carry lower borrowing costs than non-conventional loans. In addition to the maximum loan amount conventional loans must meet other underwriting standards such as the credit of the borrower.

Other loan limits announced by OFHEA for multi-family houses and the corresponding figures for 2005 are as follows:

The limit on conforming second mortgages was raised from $179,825 to $208,500.

The high cost areas of Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Island come under a separate schedule with limits 50% higher than for corresponding properties in the continental United States. Second mortgages in those high cost areas will be limited to $208,500.

If tradition holds, the Veterans’ Administration and the Federal Home Administration will shortly announce new loan limits which will closely reflect the OFHEO changes.