Archives for July 2013

S&P Case Shiller: Seattle home prices on the rise

SP_CS_postThis morning the S&P/Case Shiller Home Prices Index was released revealing gains across the board for the 20 city index.

The report states that Seattle had their largest monthly gain to home prices since April 1990 of 3.15% from April to May.

Year over year, Seattle boasted double digit gains of 11.9% for May.

This can be good news for people in the greater Seattle area who are considering selling their home and for those who have been waiting for home values to improve so they can refinance.

Mortgage interest rates are off their record lows. However, they are still what would be considered historically low.

If you’re interested in getting preapproved to buy a home or refinancing your existing home located in Washington State, I’m happy to help you!

What may impact mortgage rates this week: July 29, 2013

Tmortgageporter-economyhis week is packed full of economic data that may dramatically impact mortgage rates. Not only do we have the results of the Fed meeting on Wednesday, we wind up the week with the Jobs Report on Friday. I anticipate this will be another volatile week for mortgage interest rates.

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What may impact mortgage rates this week: July 22, 2013

This week’s calendar is looking a little light as far as economic indicators that are scheduled to be released. Mortgage rates have been improving following Ben Bernanke’s dovish comments to Congress last week.

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The Northwest Real Estate Summit and Mortgage Expo

I’m honored to have been invited to participate on the panel at the Northwest Real Estate Summit and Mortgage Expo.  This event is scheduled to take place September 13, 2013 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. To rsvp or for more information, visit www.mywamp.org.

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Eight Down Payment Assistance Programs for Washington Home Buyers

2013-03-07_0746Did you know that the Washington State Housing Finance Commission offers 8 different down payment assistance programs for Washington state home buyers? It’s true! And some of them do not require you to be a first time home buyer.  The WSHFC down payment assistance programs listed below can be used with a Home Advantage first mortgage:

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Mortgage Interest Rate Locks 101: UPDATED

MortgagePorterHourGlassHouseEDITORS NOTE: One of the joys of writing a mortgage blog is that guidelines and procedures change…and change often.  This gives me a great opportunity to provide you with an updated post.  With HUD’s creation of the 2010 Good Faith Estimate, a lot of the information in the original post is no longer relevant (relating to the GFE) from the original article I wrote on locking back in 2007.  With that said, here’s my updated post…we’ll see if we need to revise this again once CFPB issues their version of the Good Faith Estimate! 

I love it when I’m asked an excellent question from a potential client. This person is still shopping for his next home and who the lender will be to provide financing.   At this point, I have provided several good faith estimates and a total costs analysis to compare possible scenarios side by side along with how the mortgages may be working for him in 5 and 10 years.

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What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: July 15, 2013 [with mortgage rates]

This week, mortgage rates continue to be bumpy and with Ben Bernanke speaking tomorrow on Capital Hill, we may additional volatility. Here are some of the scheduled economic indicators to be released this week:

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I Want to Buy a House

Do you or someone you know want to buy a house?

Could you use some help with down payment?

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