Archives for December 2014

Home Buyer Class in South King County

December 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Seattle Home Buyer ClassesI will be teaching a home buyer class in Kent with Ira Sacharoff of Better Properties Real Estate on Saturday, February 21, 2015 at Mortgage Master Service Corporation’s home office which is located just south of South Center on West Valley Highway.

The class is sponsored by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Students who attend are eligible for programs like Home Advantage or House Key Opportunity (the Washington state bond program) or Freddie Mac Home Possible. Students are also eligible for various down payment assistance programs and MCC (mortgage credit certificates).

If you are considering buying a home with your spouse, partner or friend, they will need to attend the class with you to qualify for the programs.  You do not need to be a first time home buyer to qualify for many of the mortgage programs. And of course, you’re welcome to attend if you’re not interested in down payment assistance programs and you just want to learn more about the home buying process.

Space is limited, so please RSVP today

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Classes for Home Buyers, Education, WSHFC

What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: December 29, 2014

December 29, 2014 by 1 Comment

mortgageporter-economyThe last week of 2014 is here. It’s another short week with the New Year holiday and so we may be dealing with traders on vacations, which can translate to lighter volumes and/or more volatility. Markets and financial offices (including ours) will be closed on Thursday, January 1, 2015 to celebrate the New Year.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Economy, Interest Rates Tagged With: ,

eBook: Financing Your First Investment Property

December 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

This is the second edition of my slide-book, Financing Your First Investment Property.

In this edition, loan limits and mortgage programs have been updated.

If I can help you with the financing of your first (second or third) investment property located in Washington state, please contact me!

Filed Under: Books, Investment Property, Residential Purchase Tagged With: , ,

Mortgage Insurance Deductible through 2014

December 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

You may have heard that last week, Congress passed and President Obama signed the 2014 Tax Increase Prevention Act. It has some good news for home owners who currently pay various forms of mortgage insurance. If you pay mortgage insurance, including private mortgage insurance (pmi), or VA, FHA or USDA forms of mortgage insurance during 2014,  you may be able to deduct that on your 2014 income taxes.

Before you get too excited, this act does not extend the mortgage insurance deduction past 2014.

So if you are paying any form of mortgage insurance, especially if it’s private mortgage insurance or FHA mortgage insurance, it still makes sense to see if you can eliminate or reduce your payment with a refinance as you will not be able to deduct your mortgage insurance during 2015 (as things currently stand).

If I can help you with your refi or home purchase on property located anywhere in Washington state, please contact me!

 

Filed Under: Financial Planning, Legislation, Mortgage Insurance Tagged With: , , ,

What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: December 22, 2014

December 22, 2014 by 1 Comment

santawalletThe last two weeks of this year are short ones due to the holidays. Many traders may be on vacation so you can anticipate the volatility to continue with stock and bond markets, which means we may see mortgage rates bump around a bit as well.

Bond markets will be closing early on Wednesday and will be closed on Thursday, as will Mortgage Master Service Corporation. Friday will be “back to normal” as far as work hours are concerned. 🙂  Next week will also be a shorter week with the New Year holiday.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Economy, Interest Rates Tagged With: , ,

FHA’s HAWK Program Delayed

December 20, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Osprey_muralFHA’s HAWK (Homeowners Armed with Knowledge) program, which was designed to help home buyers receive reduced mortgage insurance premiums, has been delayed for at least one year as the program was excluded from the 2015 budget.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: FHA, Politics Tagged With: ,

Tips on how to save up for a down payment

December 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment

iStock_000009450603SmallGet Rich Slowly recently posted How to Save Up for a Down Payment Fast.  I’d like to respond to some of the ideas offered in GRS’s post from a Mortgage Professional’s viewpoint and offer my advice.

Here are some of the suggestions on How to Save Up for Down Payment Fast along with my 2 cents (in italics).

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Down Payment Assistance, Financial Planning, First Time Home Buyer, Residential Purchase Tagged With: , , , , ,

Freddie Mac report reveals lowest mortgage rates of 2014

December 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Every week, Freddie Mac releases their Prime Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) based on a survey a mix of 125 lenders on what committed mortgage rates and points were during the previous week. Based on Freddie Mac’s report, the average rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.80 percent with an average 0.6 points. This is down from last week when it averaged 3.93 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year averaged 4.47 percent.

Freddie_Mac_Rate_Dec_18

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Fannie, Freddie and FHFA, Interest Rates Tagged With: , , ,
Next Page »