interest rates: Our Mortgage Interest Rate Forecast For 2023 - 12/07/22 12:45 PM
If you looked at house prices the past few years, you could easily say that low interest rates helped move house prices higher (in 2020 and 2021) and rapidly rising rates, equated to slower and even falling home prices (in 2022).
Many forecasts I see right now, are calling for higher interest rates in 2023 and therefore lower house prices.
Freddie Mac says interest rates will end 2023 at 6.8%, the National Association of Realtors says rates could stay near 7% and Realtor.com says they expect 30 year fixed rates to be 7.1%.
The good news about those predictions, is that these are the … (2 comments)

interest rates: What Determines Your Home Loan Interest Rate? - 10/26/17 01:10 AM

Interest rates for home mortgages are often times a bit more complex than meets the eye. Not only do they move on a daily basis, but the interest rate you receive on a particular home loan can vary greatly, depending on host factors.
 
In this article, we will discuss some of the most factors that do determine what interest rate you will receive on a home loan.
 
Your Credit
Your credit score will play a major role in determining your interest rate. In general, someone with a 620 credit score will receive a worse interest rate than someone with a 760 credit score.
And … (3 comments)

interest rates: Home Loans – What Factors Affect The Interest Rate You Receive - 10/20/16 07:41 AM
When applying for a home loan to purchase a home or refinance your home loan, the interest rate you receive will vary based on a number of factors. In this article, we will address some of the main factors that can ultimately affect what interest rate someone receives on a home loan.
Your Credit Profile
The first and most common consideration that will affect the interest rate you receive, is your credit score and down payment.
If you have a 760 credit score and are putting down a 20% down payment on the purchase of a home, you will most likely receive a better … (0 comments)

interest rates: Why Using A Smaller Mortgage Lender Makes Sense - 10/23/15 03:28 AM

Obtaining a mortgage loan can be one of the most daunting and misunderstood financial processes that someone will face in their lifetime. While the U.S. Government has done a good job in recent years in continuing to push forward legislation to protect consumers, they have also at the same time continued to add more complex paperwork to the home loan process.
 
            For these reasons, when it comes to obtaining a home loan, often times smaller is still better, when choosing a professional lender to work with. Here are a few reasons why we believe that to hold true.
 
Accountability and Responsiveness
The larger … (0 comments)

interest rates: Things To Be Thankful For – Mortgage Edition - 02/24/15 04:25 AM



As we approach Thanksgiving, it’s certainly a time for all of us to reflect on what we are thankful for. While the mortgage industry is less than perfect, there are many things that I am thankful for, after many years of working in the business.
Low Interest Rates
If you looked at a historical chart of interest rates over the past fifty years, you will see how thankful we should be that interest rates remain near the bottom of where they have ever been. That makes homeownership more affordable than it otherwise would be and we should all … (1 comments)

interest rates: VA Loans - Still The Lowest Fees Of All Mortgage Programs - 04/17/14 11:47 AM


While other mortgage loan programs backed by the Government have moved to continually raise their fees, the Veterans Administration loan program, available for active duty and veterans of our armed services has actually worked to continue to lower loan fees for their programs. 
VA loans still have no minimum down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance requirements ever. 
There is still a funding fee requirement that varies based on if you are active duty or retired and whether or not you have used a VA loan before and even your down payment. However, that fee can be rolled in … (0 comments)

interest rates: Higher Home Prices: Create Options For Homeowners To Refinance - 04/17/14 09:10 AM

Home prices in Arizona have seen a steady and somewhat rapid rise over the past 24 months. Arizona itself was a state which during the housing boom and bust of the mid 2000’s was one of the worse and first hit states for home values. However, as is often the case, the areas that are hurt first are also the first to rebound and that has been evident in Arizona in recent years. 
While we have not gotten back to the peak level of prices we did see during the last housing boom, home prices have seen dramatic increases in … (0 comments)

interest rates: Purchasing A Home For Cash – And Refinancing Right Away - 04/07/14 07:32 PM


The HARP refinance program a is a great option for homeowners who are upside down and want to refinance and take advantage of today's low interest rates.
However, for homeowners who are not upside down on their homes, the HARP program also can offer benefits as well, that a conventional home loan refinance may not. 
Benefit #1- Appraisal Waivers: Traditionally, when refinancing a conventional loan, you needed to have an appraisal done on your home. In today's market, this is an added expense and hassle in the refinance process and often times the numbers on appraisals are very … (0 comments)

interest rates: USDA Home Loan Program – Offers Streamline Refinances - 04/07/14 06:39 PM

The USDA home loan program is a loan program that often times gets lost in the shuffle when being discussed about home loan options for potential and current homeowners. The program is used considerably less often than Conventional, FHA or VA loan programs and the reason that mainly is, is due to the restrictions the program places on potential homeowners.
 
First of all, the big caveat for the program is that in order to use the loan program to purchase a home, you must be in a USDA designated rural area. However, as is the case here in the … (0 comments)

interest rates: HARP Refinance - For Homeowners Who Equity In Their Homes - 04/07/14 06:23 PM

The HARP refinance program a is a great option for homeowners who are upside down and want to refinance and take advantage of today's low interest rates.
However, for homeowners who are not upside down on their homes, the HARP program also can offer benefits as well, that a conventional home loan refinance may not. 
Benefit #1- Appraisal Waivers: Traditionally, when refinancing a conventional loan, you needed to have an appraisal done on your home. In today's market, this is an added expense and hassle in the refinance process and often times the numbers on appraisals are very conservative. … (0 comments)

interest rates: HARP - Refinance Program Eases Credit Standards For Homeowners - 02/05/14 06:10 AM


The Home Affordable Refinance Program or HARP is a Government sponsored refinance program designed for homeowners who took out a home loan prior to June 2009. If you previously tried to refinance your home loan through this program and were denied for credit reasons, then new changes to the program may allow you to now refinance. 
The HARP program is aimed at helping homeowners who may be upside down on their homes, or who owe more than 80% of the value of their homes.
However, the program also works for homeowners who have equity in their homes with and … (0 comments)

interest rates: FHA Home Loans – Still A Good Choice For Low Down Payment - 01/07/14 10:55 AM




FHA home loans have traditionally been used by many homebuyers to purchase a home with a smaller down payment. In fact, the minimum down payment on an FHA loan is still just 3.5% and that amount does not appear to be changing in the near future.
              In addition, if you are purchasing a home using an FHA loan, all of those funds can be gifted from a family member for the purchase. Essentially meaning that a home buyer would not have to use any of his or her own funds used for the down payment of … (0 comments)

interest rates: Rising Property Values - Create Refinance Options For Homeowners - 01/07/14 10:52 AM


Home prices in Arizona have seen a steady and somewhat rapid rise over the last two years. As a result, many homeowners who were previously upside down on their homes are no longer underwater and many homeowners now have a good deal of new found equity in their homes once again. 
Arizona itself was a state which during the housing boom and bust of the mid 2000’s was one of the worse and first hit states for home values. However, as is often the case, the areas that are hurt first are also the first to rebound and that … (0 comments)

interest rates: HARP Refinances – Now Easier For Homeowners With Past Foreclosures or Short Sales - 01/07/14 10:50 AM



In November 2013, Fannie Mae released a new version of their automated approval software, known as DU or Desktop Underwriter and along with that release came a fix for homeowners looking to refinance through the HARP program.
As has been covered many times in our past articles, the HARP refinance program is a program aimed at streamlining home loan refinance for underwater homeowners. If your loan is Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owned and was established prior to May 31, 2009, then your home loan should be HARP eligible.
Now, in the past many homeowners whose loans were … (0 comments)

interest rates: More Homeowners Contiue To Turn To 15 and 10 Year Fixed Loans - 08/20/13 08:25 AM
Even as interest rates have stared to move up, historically speaking , home loan interest rates are still very low. Traditional 30 year fixed loans are still in the 4’s for an interest rate and 15 and 10 year fixed loans now in the 3’s. This has meant increased afforability for new homeowners and also for existing homeowners looking to refinance. 
 
In turn, more and more homeowners are starting to consider and taking 15 year and 10 year fixed mortgages, as opposed to the more common 30 year fixed mortgages. This is now a means to an end to pay … (0 comments)

interest rates: Loan Interest Rates Rise – Variable Home Loans Payments To Increase - 08/20/13 08:07 AM
For many homeowners who took a variable rate interest loan in the past decade, the gamble has paid off.  However, those days are soon to be over as interest rates have started a steady climb higher.
 
On most variable rate loans, the interest rate will be fixed for a certain number of years, most commonly, 3, 5 or 7 years. After that period expires, the interest rate on the loan can adjust every 6 months or 1 year, depending on your loan type. In recent years many homeowners have chosen to keep their variable rate loans, due to the fact … (0 comments)

interest rates: If You Have An Adjustable Rate Mortgage Still - It May Be Time To Act - 05/17/13 07:32 AM
What To Do If You Have An ARM Mortgage
 
Right now there are mortgage borrowers with adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) on which the rate has adjusted within recent years are currently enjoying extremely low interest rates.
 
This is a reflection of the unusually low levels of the rate indexes used by most ARMs. But of course the flip side of the equation is that adjustable rate loans are just that, adjustable and with interest rates expected to rise, the question for many borrowers is how long to stay in arm loan in the current market.
 
The first … (0 comments)

interest rates: HARP Refinance Program – extended until 2015 - 04/15/13 03:05 AM
As we have discussed over the past few years, the HARP refinance program is a rare Government sponsored program, in that it actually has helped many homeowners in refinancing their homes. For those who are upside down in their homes, it has allowed them to refinance into a new conventional loan without an appraisal in most cases and even for those with some equity in their homes, it can be an option as well (as we covered in a recent article).
The program was set to expire on December 31, 2013. However, on April 12, 2013, an announcement was made by … (1 comments)

interest rates: HARP Refinances - For Homeowners Who Equity In Their Homes - 03/26/13 08:27 AM
The HARP refinance program a is a great option for homeowners who are upside down to refinance and take advantage of today's historically low interest rates. However, for homeowners who are not upside down on their homes, the HARP program also can offer benefits as well, that a conventional home loan refinance may not. 
 
Benefit #1- Appraisal Waivers: Traditionally, when refinancing a conventional loan, you needed to have an appraisal done on your home. In today's market, this is an added expense and hassle in the refinance process and often times the numbers on appraisals are very conservative. Even if … (0 comments)

interest rates: USDA Home Loans – Streamline Refinances Available - 02/12/13 05:58 AM
 
The USDA home loan program is a loan program that often times get losts in the shuffle when being discussed about home loan options for potential and current homeowners. The program is used considerably less often then Conventional, FHA or VA loan programs and the reason that mainly is, is due to the restrictions the program places on potential homeowners.
 
First of all, the big caveat for the program is that in order to use the loan program to purchase a home, you must be in a USDA designated rural area. However, as is the case here in the … (0 comments)

 
Bill Kamboukos (Strategic Mortgage)

Bill Kamboukos

Scottsdale, AZ

More about me…

Strategic Mortgage

Address: 2111 E Broadway Road, Suite 14, Tempe, AZ, 85282

Mobile: (480) 703-5844

Office: (480) 219-3682



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