michigan: Mortgage Insurance Bad or Good?
- 03/04/08 07:31 AM
I have been a mortgage lender since 1995 and have heard every negative comment, story, rant, and opinion about Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). I never really understood why people had such strong negative opinions about PMI. I would, from time to time, try and explain that without PMI most people wouldn't have been able to buy there first home. Mortgage insurance, in my humble opinion, is great. That's right I said great. Without PMI I would never have had the ability to buy my first home, which would also have stopped me from buying my second home. Yea, sure I didn't … (4 comments)
1. Thirty-five percent of the homes in the U.S. do NOT have a mortgage. 2. Some 94.88 percent of the loans ARE performing. 3. The foreclosure problem in this country is really a story about seven states. 4. The biggest foreclosure problems are in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. These are manufacturing states that had horrible job losses. Since 2001, our fair state has lost 300,000 jobs. These states would probably have had problems no matter what the market was doing. 5. The other four states-California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona-experienced significant overbuilding. Twenty-five percent of the foreclosures in … (0 comments)
michigan: Mortgage News You Can Use October 4th, 2007
- 10/04/07 07:53 AM
The hubbub over the sub-prime mortgage meltdown has abated a bit. A month ago 151 major U.S. lending operations had imploded since late 2006. In the last month the number has increased to 161 operations. We have seen the Federal Reserve cut the Federal Funds Rate by .5% causing short-term rates to dip a bit and long-term mortgage to rise a bit. The stock market has seen a new high in the last two weeks. Jumbo rates had jumped up and have now moderated back down. The Federal government is still debating on how to intervene to stave off a high … (0 comments)
Update: 100% financing is still available. The availability is dependent upon credit score, reserves after closing, and income levels. Appraisal are being scrutinized very carefully as we are in an area with declining values. Rural Development Loans-We participate in the program and it's a great product once you get outside of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. In fact, the rest of Washtenaw County, all of Lenawee and Livingston Counties are eligible for Rural Housing loans. These are 100% loans with no mortgage insurance. Please contact us for more information. Private Mortgage Insurance-The use of pmi is rapidly expanding as combination loans … (0 comments)
michigan: Reverse Mortgages
- 08/15/07 08:04 AM
There is a lot of talk about reverse mortgages. What is true and what is false about this program. In this Blog I will try to clear up some common myths and help you, the reader, to have a solid understanding. A reverse mortgage is a FHA insured, government regulated home loan. Only seniors 62 years old and older qualify. Reverse loans differ from regular home finance in the following ways; There is no credit requirementsThere is no income neededThere is no asset requirementsYou never make a monthly payment for the life of the loan The loan is based on two factors; Your ageThe … (6 comments)
michigan: An idea to sell to first time home buyers
- 06/06/07 03:16 AM
A few weeks ago a realtor friend of mine asked me if I had any ideas how she could make her listings more attractive to potential buyers. Most of her listings were under two hundred thousand so she was looking for first time home buyers. I put together a flyer marketing the home with a zero down program (special community home buyer program with low PMI and rates in the six's). My Realtor friend would talk to her sellers and get them to agree to pay 3% to 4% of the sales price to cover all the costs and tax prorations … (4 comments)
The Subprime Dilemma-These loans have been around for years-so why all the drama now?
Many subprime and other adjustable home loan rates have moved dramatically higher, due in part to the Federal Reserve Boards recent rate hike cycle. So as these rates are adjusting higher-and the payment right along with it-the homeowners are finding that they are unable to keep up with the dramatic increase in payment. In the past, homeowners in this situation would just throw the house on the market, realize enough of a profit to cover any prepayment penalties, and quite literally move on. A soft … (1 comments)
michigan: Mortgage News You Can Use
- 02/27/07 06:22 AM
February 27, 2007 Rate Watch - Mortgage rates fell in the past week. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.22%, down from 6.30% last week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Last year at this time, the 30-year averaged 6.26%. -- What happens overseas has an impact on our interest rates. Last Wednesday, Japan's central bank-the Bank of Japan, announced a 25 basis point rate hike (.25%) boosting their benchmark interest rate to 0.5% - the second increase in the last 7 months. The USA's Federal Reserve has its benchmark interest rate currently set at 5.25%. Their economy is second only … (0 comments)
michigan: First Time Home Buyers (FTHB) Advice
- 02/16/07 09:54 AM
Are you thinking about buying a home this year? Very cool! Owning a home is such an awesome experience. You get your own space, you can paint and decorate anyway you want to. If you want orange walls with green shag carpet you can have it (although you may be stuck in the 1970's). You will receive a large income tax benefit because you can deduct the mortgage interest and property taxes you pay. You also stop paying into your landlord's investments and start paying into your own. This is one of the best times in the past thirty years to buy … (3 comments)
michigan: Mortgage News You Can Use!!
- 01/24/07 06:10 AM
Rate Watch - For the week ending January 19th, 30-year fixed rates averaged 6.22%, edging up 0.03 percent from the previous week. The average for 15-year fixed mortgages rose slightly to 5.93%. A year ago 30-year fixed rates were at 6.04%. ---- Not much on the economic calendar until Friday's New Home Sales report is due. There is some concern that the home sales numbers may come in stronger than expected showing the housing sector continues to turn around and further indicate a stronger than expected economy. ---- Starting this year Equifax and Experian - two of the nation's leading credit bureaus - will charge … (0 comments)
Rate Watch - Mortgage rates rose on solid job news after holding steady the previous week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.21% for the week ending Jan. 11, up from 6.18% the prior week, according to Freddie Mac. 15-year fixed mortgages also rose slightly to 5.96% from 5.71% the prior week. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.15%.
The economic calendar for this week is light with no high-impact releases until tomorrow's Retail Sales report.
Ann Arbor Buyer and Seller Tidbits - From the 2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers prepared for Ann Arbor Area … (0 comments)
michigan: MORTGAGE NEWS YOU CAN USE
- 12/21/06 06:18 AM
Rate Watch - Freddie Mac reported on Dec. 14 that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.12%, up from 6.11% two weeks back. 15-year loan rates increased from 5.86% from 5.84%. With mortgage rates remaining near their lowest levels, exotic mortgage borrowers are now jumping into the safety of fixed-rate loans. ---- As expected, the Federal Reserve decided to keep short-term interest rates steady at 5.25% for the fourth consecutive time in a 9-1 decision. The lone dissenting member, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Jeffrey M. Lacker, voted for a rate hike. The Fed's statement following the last meeting in October, … (1 comments)
michigan: Zero Down Loans
- 12/11/06 05:38 AM
More and more of my clients in the Ann Arbor area are buying homes with no down payment loans. In the 1990's it was very rare for someone to buy a home in Washtenaw County without some sort of down payment (except for VA loans which always offered a no down payment loan). In 1996 we were able to offer our clients in Michigan a government sponsored loan for rural properties that would allow 100 % financing. We advertised the program and were able to help a lot of first time home buys buy homes with only a few hundred dollars … (5 comments)
Rate Watch - Mortgage rates fell for the fifth consecutive week, sending rates to the lowest level in nearly a year. For the week ending Nov. 30th, 30-year fixed rates averaged 6.14%, down from 6.18% the previous week. A year ago 30-year rates were at 6.26%.
All eyes are now focusing on tomorrow's Jobs Report. While the consensus estimate is for a gain of 105,000 new jobs, economists have expectations all over the board, ranging from a low of 40,000 to a high of 217,000 new jobs. This wide range depicts the high level of uncertainty surrounding tomorrow's … (2 comments)
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