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refinancing: Should You Refinance Your Mortgage? - 05/27/10 07:10 PM
Because of strife in Greece, Spain and North Korea, conforming mortgage rates are back to all-time lows. They're at levels not seen in 50 years. For homeowners that missed the Refi Boom of November 2009, it's a second chance.
In this well-presented, 3-minute video from NBC's The Today Show, you'll get tips getting low rates and choosing the best time to lock in.
Some of the topics covered include:
Why were the experts wrong about rates moving higher this summer? How much money can you save with a 1 point drop in your interest rate? Should you buy a bigger … (1 comments)
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refinancing: More Homeowners Can Refinance as Rates Fall While Values Nudge Upward - 05/23/10 08:03 PM
While the demand for mortgage loans to purchase a new home has declined following the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, mortgage applications overall, increased last week as home owners looked to refinance. Mortgage rates have reached their lowest levels since March and many homeowners are looking to refinance their mortgage loans. While falling home prices have reduced the popularity of refinancing to tap into home equity, low mortgage rates have drawn the attention of borrowers looking to reduce their interest payments. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported an increase in the number of applications for mortgage loans. The first week … (0 comments)
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refinancing: How To Refinance When Your Home Is Underwater - 03/12/10 10:00 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency has extended the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program by 12 months.
HARP's new end date is June 30, 2011.
Originally known as Making Home Affordable, HARP aims to help homeowners refinance their mortgage who may otherwise be ineligible because of falling home values.
There are 4 basic HARP criteria every borrower must meet:
The existing home loan must be guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Your home must be a 1- to 4-unit property You must have a perfect mortgage payment history going back 12 months. No 30-day lates allowed. Your first mortgage balance must … (2 comments)
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refinancing: Home Affordable Refinance Program Extended into June 30, 2011 - 03/01/10 09:28 PM
The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has been extended until June 30, 2011, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
“FHFA has reviewed the current market situation and the state of mortgage insurance availability and has determined that the market conditions that necessitated the actions taken last year have not materially changed,” said FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco, in a statement on its website.
“Accordingly, to support and promote market stability, and to encourage lenders and other mortgage market participants to fully adopt the HARP program, including the implementation of the October 2009 expansion of loan-to-value ratios (LTVs) to 125 … (0 comments)
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refinancing: The 2010 Conforming Loan Limits - 11/18/09 07:33 AM
A conforming mortgage is one that, quite literally, conforms to the mortgage guidelines set forth by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Each year, the government sets the maximum allowable loan size for a conforming mortgage, based on "typical" housing costs nationwide.
Loans in excess of this amount are typically called "jumbo".
While home prices increased from 1980 to 2006, so did conforming loan limits. Since then, however, as home prices have dipped, the conforming loan limit has held.
Now, in 2010, for the 5th consecutive year, the government set $417,000 as the nation's conforming mortgage loan limit.
The 2010 conforming … (3 comments)
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refinancing: Banks Raise Mortgage Qualification Standards - 11/12/09 06:23 AM
Despite the economy's improvement and prodding from Congress, banks don't seem ready to open their purse strings just yet.
Nationally, mortgage approval standards are tightening.
The data comes from a quarterly survey the Federal Reserve sends to its member banks. The Fed asks senior bank loan officers around the country whether "prime" residential mortgage guidelines had tightened in the last 3 months.
For the period July-September 2009:
Roughly 1 in 4 banks said guidelines tightened Roughly 3 in 4 banks said guidelines were "basically unchanged" Just one bank said its guidelines had loosened.
Combine the Fed's survey with recent underwriting updates from … (1 comments)
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refinancing: FHA Streamline Refinance Program : There are 5 Days Left - 11/10/09 02:03 AM
Consider this a last call for FHA Streamline Refinances. Starting next Tuesday, the popular rate-lowering program gets strict on borrowers.
There's 5 days left.
Under the current streamline refi guidelines, FHA homeowners have minimal program eligibility requirements.
FICO scores must be 620 or higher The refinance must provide a "tangible benefit" No mortgage lates allowed in the last 12 months Beyond that, everything else goes, practically. There's no income, asset, or job verification with the current FHA Streamline program. Neither is there an appraisal requirement. It doesn't matter if you're 50% underwater.
Until next week, that is.
Beginning November 17, FHA … (1 comments)
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refinancing: What's Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week : November 9, 2009 - 11/09/09 01:44 PM
Mortgage markets were extremely volatile last week, carving out a wide range between Monday and Friday.
Thankfully for rate shoppers, the overall momentum was positive.
Mortgage rates fell for the second time in as many weeks. Rates still sit higher versus their early-October lows.
For pure "news", last week was a busy one:
The Federal Reserve held the Fed Funds Rate near 0.000 percent The Unemployment Rate crossed 10 percent The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was extended to April 2010 Combined, the 3 events reinforced the growing belief on Wall Street that the U.S. economy is in recovery, but not … (0 comments)
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refinancing: As Gas Prices Rise, Mortgage Rates Are Rising, Too - 10/21/09 10:35 PM
With crude oil at its highest levels since October 2008, retail gas is up 8 cents per gallon this week.
It's bad news for home buyers and mortgage rate shoppers. The same force that's driving oil higher is linked to rising mortgage rates.
We're talking about the weakening U.S. Dollar which is now at its worst levels versus the Euro in 15 months.
Crude oil is priced in U.S. dollars, by the barrel. When the dollar loses value, more of them are needed to buy the same barrel of oil. As a result, predictably, the price of crude oil goes up.
Now, there are … (3 comments)
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refinancing: The FHA Is Changing Its Streamline Refinance Guidelines November 2009 - 10/07/09 04:28 AM
Beginning November 17, 2009, the FHA will make it harder to qualify for its popular Streamline Refinance program.
Available exclusively to homeowners with existing FHA home loans, the streamline program is meant to help homeowners reduce mortgage payments as simply as possible.
As such, the program carries minimum eligibility requirements.
In fact, the FHA Streamline Refinance is more notable for what it doesn't require from applicants.
There's no income verification There's no asset verification There's no employment verification There's no appraisal required The two biggest qualifiers, really, are that the homeowner meets a minimum credit score and that the new loan doesn't exceed the original … (3 comments)
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refinancing: How To Know If You're Eligible For A Making Home Affordable Refinance - 04/07/09 10:25 AM
April 4, 2009, marked the official start of the Making Home Affordable refinance program.
Expected to help 5 million homeowners, the Making Home Affordable program "looks the other way" with respect to falling home values, approving mortgage applications based on borrower payment history and benefit to the homeowner.
Not every homeowner is eligible for a Making Home Affordable refinance, however. There are 3 basic criteria that must be met.
First, your existing home loan must be backed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Thankfully, both companies provide online lookup services. Start with the Fannie Mae site because Fannie has a … (0 comments)
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refinancing: By The Time You Read About Low Mortgage Rates, It Was Already Too Late To Get Them - 04/03/09 08:29 AM
Thursday morning, homeowners in different parts of the country awoke to find similar-sounding newspaper headlines:
Rates on 30-year mortgages sink to 4.78%, a new low (LA Times) Mortgage rates at record low for 2nd week (Miami Herald) Mortgages hit another record low (San Francisco) The underlying story was that Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the lowest, average 30-year fixed rate mortgage in its 38-year, rate-tracking history.
Once again, however, the headlines came too late for homeowners.
Prior to Thursday's market open, mortgage markets had already worsened from their record-setting levels. Slowly at first, and then with momentum. The shift pressured rates higher … (1 comments)
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refinancing: Some Homeowners Are Eligible For Mortgage Relief. Are You One Of Them? - 03/05/09 10:17 AM
When the White House first introduced the Making Home Affordable program in February, it was positioned as a mortgage program with two goals:
To help financially-needy homeowners get mortgage relief To help homeowners who've lose equity qualify for today's low rates Wednesday, in a much-anticipated announcement, the U.S. Treasury introduced new details about Making Home Affordable.
It also created an "Am I Eligible For Making Home Affordable" form on its website.
In the press release, the Treasury detailed the President's original blueprint. Namely, it provided explicit loan modification instructions that will assist up to 4 million delinquent homeowners and their respective mortgage servicers.
… (0 comments)
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refinancing: How The Refi Boom May Delay Purchase Closings - 12/23/08 10:24 AM
In late-November, the Federal Reserve pledged $600 billion to buy mortgage-backed securities. The announcement drove down mortgage rates and started the Refi Boom.
Then, the Federal Reserve made a second series of statements after its scheduled meeting last Tuesday, causing mortgage rates to plunge again. This started the Refi Boom's second wave.
Because of the surge in refinance activity, mortgage lenders are "backed up"; initial file reviews are taking up to 12 business days in some cases.
Typically, this process takes 2 days.
Underwriting delays are problem for refinancing Americans because when a mortgage rate is locked, it's most often locked … (0 comments)
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refinancing: STOP! Before You Open That Store Charge Card To Save 15 Percent... - 12/19/08 10:12 AM
During the holiday season, retailers bombard shoppers with at-the-register offers to "open a charge card and save 15%".
It's an immediate money-saver, but for Americans in the market for a new home loan, taking advantage of the in-store savings could be a long-term loser.
This is because new credit card applications are damaging to credit scores. According to myFICO.com, "new credit" accounts for 10 percent of a credit score; recent applications may signal weakness in a borrower's profile.
Meanwhile, conforming mortgage lenders make rate adjustments for low credit scoring applicants. As an example, a home buyer with a 20 downpayment and a 715 credit … (0 comments)
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refinancing: The Fed Funds Rate May Fall Today, But Mortgage Rates May Not - 12/16/08 12:24 PM
The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its 2-day meeting at 2:15 P.M. ET today.
It's widely expected that the Ben Bernanke-led FOMC will reduce the Fed Funds Rate by a half-percent to 0.500 percent.
Fed Funds Rate cuts are meant to stimulate the economy by lowering borrowing costs for businesses and consumers; interest rates on business credit lines and consumer credit cards are directly tied to the benchmark rate.
However, it won't be what the Fed does today that will be as important as what the Fed says. And the markets are listening closely.
See, this FOMC meeting … (0 comments)
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refinancing: Simple Real Estate Definitions : Refinance - 12/12/08 11:35 AM
A mortgage is a contract between a lender and borrower, defining the terms by which a home loan must be repaid.
The paperwork, signed by both parties, includes provisions for things like:
The interest rate The length of the loan The amount of money to be borrowed But, like all loans, a mortgage loan can be paid off at any time. So, when market interest rates fall, homeowners will often exercise their right to an "early payoff" by securing a new loan that pays off the old one.
This process is most commonly known as a refinance.
A refinance is the … (0 comments)
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refinancing: Now That You've Joined The Refinance Boom, You've Got To Worry About Closing In 30 Days - 12/02/08 11:02 AM
Each Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association releases its Weekly Applications Survey, a detailed look at new mortgage applications submitted over the previous 7 days.
This week's report will reveal what most of us already know -- plunging mortgage rates created a flood of mortgage activity.
If you're among the many Americans taking advantage of today's low rates, don't forget that when your rate was "locked", it was locked with an expiration date.
Most likely, that rate lock is for 30 days.
And, while 30 days may seem like a long time, it's not. Especially because rate locks made prior to Thanksgiving lose a combined … (0 comments)
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refinancing: As LIBOR Falls, Homeowners With Adjusting ARMs Get Lower Rates - 11/20/08 04:09 PM
The interest rate against which adjustable-rate mortgages change is falling -- evidence that the global banking system is starting to stabilize.
This is good news for U.S. housing markets.
On any adjustable-rate mortgage, the initial "starter rate" remains fixed for some period of time, and then adjusts according to some pre-determined rules.
For a conforming mortgage, an ARM will typically adjust once per year, based on this formula:
(Adjusted Rate) = (Variable) + (Constant)
Where the variable is often assigned to 12-month LIBOR, and the constant is often fixed at 2.250 percent.
LIBOR is the equation's variable. Therefore, it's of paramount import … (0 comments)
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refinancing: Here's good news for homeowners with "problem" loans. - 06/06/08 01:06 AM
Hope Now, the private sector alliance of mortgage servicers, counselors, and investors that is working to help prevent foreclosures, announced today that mortgage servicers provided loan workouts to approximately 183,000 homeowners in April 2008, the highest monthly amount since the program was begun in July 2007. Since July 2007, the industry has helped almost 1.6 million homeowners avoid foreclosure through workouts which include loan modifications and repayment plans.
Here is a link to the entire article, detailing some recent success for the program: http://hopenow.com/upload/press_release/files/Homeowner%20Workouts%20Reach%20Record%20Level%20In%20April.pdf
For more information on HOPE NOW, and to see the full membership of the Alliance, please visit … (0 comments)
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Bob Phillips, CDPE, SFR South Orange Co., CA
Coto de Caza,
CA
More about me…
Realty ONE Group
Address: 25910 Acero, #100, Mission Viejo, CA, 92691
Office Phone: (949) 643-2100
Cell Phone: (949) 887-5305
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