Hey friends,
It's been a while since I last blogged. I've been waiting for something of note to blog about. Well, tonight I thought I'd let you all in on a little secret, just in case you hadn't heard the news.
MORTGAGE RATES ARE VERY FAVORABLE RIGHT NOW
Now, before you run out and buy a house just to take advantage of some fabled, low rate, let me clarify. They're not like they were in 2002/2003. But I quoted a girl 5.875% on a 5yr ARM this week. That's right, I found a loan for less than 6%, and it wasn't a bad loan. There's no prepay or any hitch like that either. Since I got into the business (after the historc lows of a few years ago), these are the lowest rates I've ever seen.
That being said, I'll let you all know that there's no way of knowing how long they'll be down. Many loan officers at my office are working insane hours right now in order make sure they lock every loan they can before the weekend is over. We really don't know what the market is doing or how it will react to the recent craziness in the stock market.
Also, l want to point out that the sub-prime market is an alltogether seperate animal. If you've got credit below 620 or you want a stated loan product, etc, then you shouldn't expect too much. In fact, the sub prime world is more or less in shambles right now, so be sure to do your homework before you take a mortgage through a sub-prime lender. Some sub-prime lenders are Suntrust, First NLC, Delta Funding, Equifirst and New Century. These are not bad lenders, but they're less predictable than conforming (loans that conform to Fanny May guidlines) lenders like Chase, Wells Fargo, 5/3, CitiMortgage, Bank of America, Washington Mutual, National City, ING, etc. You can usually tell a sub-prime lender by the fact that they don't have actual brick and mortar banks. By and large, you can open a savings or checking account with a lender that does conforming loans.
I don't know if this is going to help anyone today or tomorrow, but it's my hope that the knowledge will help you in the future and, at the very least, give you confidence when looking for loans.
Stay smart, motivated, honest and compassionate at all times.
Abe
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