chad ronning: FHA Adjusts Neighborhood Watch For Obama’s Refinance Plan
- 02/01/12 06:22 AM
FHA Adjusts Neighborhood Watch For Obama’s Refinance Plan The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that it will no longer rank mortgage lenders based on performance of “streamlined” loans in its Neighborhood Watch system, in an effort to open up the program for more families. Currently, FHA borrowers are allowed to refinance under the existing streamline program without a new appraisal, credit report or documentation, which is customary for standard refinances. However, as Guaranteed Rate reported earlier, due to FHA’s Neighborhood Watch, lenders have been denying some of these borrowers because it could compromise their status as FHA-lenders. By removing these streamlined … (1 comments)
chad ronning: This Week’s Economic Outlook for MN
- 01/30/12 07:39 AM
This Week’s Economic Outlook for MN In an attempt to speed up a solution for the European debt crisis, European economic officials met today in Brussels, the first of 2012. While many believe this meeting is a step in the right direction, others are hesitant of the outcome. While nothing has happened as of yet, Greece and its private investors announced on Saturday that they expect to complete a deal in the coming days. In addition to Europe’s economic meeting, the other big economic factor will be the January employment rates that are set to be released on Friday. Currently, the … (0 comments)
chad ronning: Housing Crisis Forecasted to End 2012
- 01/27/12 06:54 AM
Housing Crisis Forecasted to End 2012 On Tuesday, Capital Economics announced that they expect the housing crisis to end in 2012. What makes them feel so confident? Loosening credit by banks. Currently, the average credit score for a new approved loan is 700, a figure that was much lower prior to the crisis, but has been the norm for the past year. However, banks are now lending 82% loan-to-value ratios, rather than the low 74% they were lending in 2010. This is one of the clearest signs that point to the stabilization of mortgage lending and the improvement of mortgage credit … (1 comments)
chad ronning: 8 Tips Towards Purchasing An Investment Home in MN
- 01/27/12 06:53 AM
8 Tips Towards Purchasing An Investment Home in MN It’s known that buying a home can be a secure option to invest in. And lately, many are taking advantage of today’s low rates and home prices to buy investment homes. If you’re thinking about getting another property, keep in mind the following 8 tips to make sure your home purchase goes with the greatest of ease. And of course, call your Guaranteed Rate loan officer to make sure you qualify! 1. LocationMake sure you invest in the best location you can afford. This will determine how much you’ll earn on your … (0 comments)
chad ronning: Obama Proposes New Plan to Save Homeowners More Money
- 01/25/12 06:18 AM
Obama Proposes New Plan to Save Homeowners More Money Last night, during Obama’s State of the Union address, Obama proposed a plan to collect fees from large banks, in order to help fund more refinancings for underwater mortgagers. While the details were few, this could still have a potential impact on the financial services industry. Obama mentioned that the new plan, hoping to save homeowners an average of $3000 a year, could be paid for through fees paid by banks. This alone is a strong indicator that the administration is still considering what essentially amounts to a tax to recover funds … (1 comments)
chad ronning: Credit Scores vs. Neighborhood Watch
- 01/25/12 06:17 AM
Credit Scores vs. Neighborhood Watch The Federal Housing Administration is requesting lenders to relax their credit score minimums. Currently the average credit score on an FHA-insured mortgage is 700. If lenders allow a lower credit score to qualify for a FHA loan, more borrowers would be able to own a home. However, lenders are requesting that FHA change their lender/monitoring system known as Neighborhood Watch. Developed in the 1990s to protect low to moderate income communities from predatory FHA lenders, the Neighborhood Watch compares a lender’s performance to average default rates for all FHA loans. If lenders have a high default … (0 comments)
chad ronning: Home Buyers Feeling More Confident in MN
- 01/24/12 06:35 AM
Home Buyers Feeling More Confident With 4.61 million existing-home sales completed in December, this 5% increase since November means that consumers are feeling more confident in the economy and moving forward with home purchases. With continually low mortgage rates, job growth and bargain home prices, the housing market is seeing a steady recovery as it enters into 2012. The American dream of owning a home seems to still be in high demand, but has been pent-up the last couple years and now those new homebuyers are ready to become homeowners. As the job market continues to grow, we’ll also see the … (0 comments)
chad ronning: Positive Economic Indicators in MN
- 01/24/12 06:34 AM
Positive Economic Indicators Rates inched up last week after positive domestic and international economic news. We saw initial jobless claims fall to the lowest level in nearly 4 years, while showing minimal inflation risk with nearly no increase in the Consumer and Producer Price Indices. Abroad, investors seem to be reacting positively to Greece debt restructuring talks along with speculation that positive steps will be made to quell the overall European sovereign debt crisis. With improved sentiment among investors, mortgage and treasury rates have been inching upward the last several days. But, the government continues to buy a relatively constant amount … (1 comments)
chad ronning: 10 Reasons You Need a Buyer’s Agent
- 01/13/12 05:52 AM
10 Reasons You Need a Buyer’s Agent Due to the age of the internet, you may think you’re able to find your dream home without the help of a realtor. However, here are ten reasons why you still need a buyer’s agent: 1. Convenient: Researching and scheduling showings can consume a lot of your time. Why not let someone who does it for their job do it? 2. Market Knowledge: Realtors understand the market, making it easier for them to find the best home at the right price for you.3. Insider Knowledge: Not only do they know the market, they also … (1 comments)
chad ronning: What is a Jumbo Mortgage?
- 01/13/12 05:51 AM
What is a Jumbo Mortgage? When you’re beginning the mortgage process, you may start coming across many terms you’re not familiar with. At Guaranteed Rate, we know educating our customers is one of the most important parts of helping them obtain a loan. Today we wanted to break down what a Jumbo mortgage is and if it’s a loan option for you. A jumbo loan is a mortgage with a loan limit exceeding the conforming loan limits. This is $417,000 in most areas, but in more expensive places, it can be as high as $729,750. These limits have been set by … (0 comments)
chad ronning: How To Take Advantage of Today’s Real Estate Market
- 01/13/12 05:48 AM
How To Take Advantage of Today’s Real Estate Market In our daily blogs, we’ve been over and over how great the real estate market is for purchasing a home: such low rates, so many homes for sale and such low prices! It’s almost like a candy shop for potential buyers. But the economy is still slowly recovering, so how do you benefit from this type of market? Here are three ways: 1. RENTBecause of the past economy, the rental market has sky rocketed, making rental homes in high demand. Consider buying an affordable foreclosure and rent it out to a good … (0 comments)
chad ronning: 18 House Hunting Warning Signs
- 01/12/12 09:11 AM
18 House Hunting Warning Signs When you’re house hunting, it can be a very exciting experience and you’re just looking for that dream home you’ve been imagining. However, you should go into each house with a critical eye before allowing yourself to fall in love with it. A realtor can help you spot potential dangers, but here’s a list of warning signs you should keep track of to prevent yourself heartbreak and save you money: 1. Is there diagonal cracking at the corners of the doors or windows?2. Does the floor feel like it’s sloping or does it have sunken sections?3. … (1 comments)
chad ronning: Freddie Mac Offers One Year Tolerance for Unemployment
- 01/10/12 07:57 AM
Freddie Mac Offers One Year Tolerance for Unemployment Freddie Mac has announced that they will now provide one year of forbearance for unemployed borrowers to pay their mortgage payments. Prior, lenders were only allowed to grant out-of-luck borrowers three months. Part of this new deal allows lenders, like Guaranteed Rate, the ability to approve unemployed borrowers’ loans with Freddie Mac for six months without prior approval from the government. From there, Freddie Mac can choose to extend the forbearance for another six months if they feel it is necessary. These new options have been put in place in direction of the … (1 comments)
chad ronning: Three Reasons Why You Should Purchase a Home in 2012
- 01/09/12 07:34 AM
Three Reasons Why You Should Purchase a Home in 2012 With all the news about record-low rates recently, you may be contemplating if now is the time to plunge into home ownership. But maybe you’re a bit hesitant about entering the housing market with all this uncertainty about when home prices will rise, wondering if owning a home is a good investment. Well in actuality, the low home prices we’ve experienced make it the perfect time to buy a home! Here’s why: 1. Buying a home now will give you appreciation in the future. With mortgage rates being so low and … (0 comments)
chad ronning: Five Realtor Secrets Home Buyers Should Know
- 01/05/12 07:54 AM
Five Realtor Secrets Home Buyers Should Know When preparing to purchase a home, whether you’re a first time home buyer or looking for an investment home, it pays to do your homework before house hunting. But where do you start? Do as the experts do! Here are some insider tips Real Estate Agents follow to know where to find great homes for their clients. Study The Local PricingEvery agent knows to study current house price trends in their areas, and you should too. See what the average home price is in the town you’re looking at, then compare them to the … (2 comments)
chad ronning: New Year Starts Off Volatile
- 01/04/12 01:00 PM
New Year Starts Off Volatile 2012 is off to a volatile start, with very little origination out of mortgage lenders and the usual Fed buying. MBS is over 10bps tighter to Treasury bonds and we saw the effect of that this morning as front-month Fannie 3.5s were trading just above 103. As origination comes back in from the holidays, we expect mortgages to snap back as lenders pick their spots to be sellers and fast money sellers take profits. We’re starting to see a little of that right now, as Fannie 3.5s have retreated to 102-22, down 10 tics from the … (1 comments)
chad ronning: What is a FHA Mortgage?
- 01/04/12 12:59 PM
What is a FHA Mortgage? A FHA mortgage is a home loan that requires a small down payment. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) runs several programs that make it easier for home buyers to qualify for a mortgage loan. The FHA does this by promising the lender to pay for the mortgage if the borrower should default. A FHA loan can require a down payment as low as 3.5%. It also makes it easier for you to use gifts towards your down payment or your closing costs. There are a few other perks towards a FHA mortgage, including leniency during hard … (1 comments)
chad ronning: 90 Day Flipping Waiver Extended
- 01/04/12 12:58 PM
90 Day Flipping Waiver Extended Last month we notified you that the 90 Day Flipping Waiver was set to expire at the end of 2011. However, late last week, it was announced that the waiver was to be extended until December 31, 2012 unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by the FHA. All other terms of the existing waiver will remain the same. The below are the following terms for any FHA transactions where the subject property is being resold within 90 days of the previous acquisition and the sales price of the subject property is 20% or more above the seller’s … (1 comments)
chad ronning: 90 Day Flipping Waiver Set to Expire
- 12/22/11 03:31 AM
90 Day Flipping Waiver Set to Expire Currently, the 90 day flipping waiver that is in place allows properties to be re-sold within 90 days and the seller won’t come under any specific exemptions that apply to the 90-day rule. However, this waiver is set to expire on December 31st, 2011! HUD has not issued an extension on this waiver at this time. To make sure you’re eligible for the current 90 day flip, make sure your case number is ordered BEFORE December 31st. Reminder: a case number can only be ordered on active applications with borrowers. The below are the … (0 comments)
chad ronning: What Is a 30 Year Fixed Mortgage?
- 12/21/11 04:01 AM
What Is a 30 Year Fixed Mortgage? We know that getting a mortgage can get frustrating, especially if you’re buying your first home. There are many options and terms associated with a mortgage: fixed vs. ARM, FHA, Jumbo and so much more. At Guaranteed Rate, we never like to leave anyone in the dark and want to educate our clients about all mortgage terms so they can choose the best loan for their lifestyle. Today we’re going to explain one the most popular loan options: the 30-year fixed mortgage. A 30-year fixed mortgage is a loan whose interest rate stays the … (0 comments)
FHA Adjusts Neighborhood Watch For Obama’s Refinance Plan The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced that it will no longer rank mortgage lenders based on performance of “streamlined” loans in its Neighborhood Watch system, in an effort to open up the program for more families.
;)
;)
