rates: Buying a House? Then Rates Better Not be Greek to You - The Cost of Waiting to Buy - 06/17/12 07:23 AM
With all of the recent strength in the Twin Cities housing market and Minnesota’s relatively low unemployment rate one might be confused about why we’re experiencing all-time lows (ours are even lower) in mortgage rates since typically the beginning of a recovery is followed by higher interest rates.  But the truth is that the Minnesota story is not the national or global story.  Events on the national and international stage have caused the Federal Reserve and global bond markets to drive US mortgage rates down.  This too will end and will carry a cost to those contemplating a mortgage.
First, some … (13 comments)

rates: Conventional Loan Pricing Scheduled to Hike Rates in Late Spring - 12/28/10 05:59 AM
As a follow up to Fannie Mae’s recent guideline changes, they will now be taking steps to make conventional loans more expensive across the board.  A few years back, Fannie Mae instituted an aggressive round of Loan Level Pricing Adjustments (LLPA’s) and an Adverse Market Delivery Charge (AMDC) to add market risk into their loan pricing.  AMDC’s apply to all loans and LLPA’s are based on a combination of credit score and Loan to Value.
Here is a before and after picture of the pricing hits that will be effective April 1, 2011

These are not slight adjustments to the consumer’s interest rate.  … (12 comments)