I encourage anyone who is considering buying a home to start the preapproval process as soon as possible. Regardless of if you’re not planning on buying for a year or you think your credit, income and assets are prefect – you never know what underwriters may find lurking in your application.
Archives for October 2013
What May Impact Mortgage Interest Rates this Week: October 28, 2013
This week is packed with data that may drive mortgage rates higher or lower, including the Fed meeting which wraps up on Wednesday. It’s highly unlikely the Fed will make any changes to the Fed Funds Rate. Traders will be waiting for clues on when tapering may begin (it’s estimated will be pushed out to March 2014). Remember, mortgage interest rates are based on bonds (mortgage backed securities – MBS) and change throughout the day, just like stocks do. It’s not unusual to have bonds react opposite of the stock market as investors will often trade the safety of bonds for the potential return found with stocks (and the reverse is true).
Seattle Real Estate Chat: Title Insurance
On Episode 6 of Seattle Real Estate Chat, we’re joined by Barbie Van Horn of First American Title and Escrow. Barbie address what title insurance is and why it’s important for Washington State home buyers. She also addresses sewer capacity charges for King County, Snohomish County and Pierce County.
Reduction to 2014 Conforming Loan Limits May Be Delayed
Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the FHFA, pretty much confirmed that we can anticipate lower conforming loan limits next year. This is from his prepared remarks for “Getting Our House in Order”:
USDA back up and running
Almost HARP 3.0: Cut-off Dates Adjusted for Home Affordable Refi’s
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced they will start using the Note date to determine if a mortgage qualifies for a HARP refinance in order to make things more transparent for borrowers. Both Fannie and Freddie are standing firm with the date of May 31, 2009. At least the NOTE date is something a borrower can find instead of using the date Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac securitized the mortgage (which the borrower has no control over).
What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: October 21, 2013
What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: October 14, 2013
The Government shutdown continues to drag on with the debt ceiling deadline pretty much here. Currently mortgage rates are at very low levels, however if the US defaults on their debts, we could see a spike in interest rates on Thursday. I hope I’m wrong… and we’ll how the next few days are going to pan out soon.
Recent Comments