Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
Conforming loan limits will be going up in 2024 across the country. Conforming high balance loan amounts for Washington state will remain unchanged from 2023.
Here are the 2024 conforming loan limits:
The following counties have “high balance” loan limits
King County, Pierce County and Snohomish County: [Read more…]
Bridge loans allow people who want to buy their next home to access a portion of their home equity to use as down payment and/or closing cost. They have been around for quite a while and has been a great tool to help accommodate home purchases. When I was at Mortgage Master, we offered bridge loans to qualified borrowers. [Read more…]
Zillow’s recent gloomy attention grabbing headline stating “If you buy now, it can take 13.5 years to make a profit on your home sale” has been creating quite a buzz with various media outlets. I thought I’d run some scenarios to compare. [Read more…]
If you’re a homeowner wanting to buy your next home, you might be feeling reluctance to trade your existing interest rate for a current mortgage rate. It’s easy to understand when mortgage rates are double from what they were a few years ago. Historically speaking, mortgage rates are actually closer to what would be considered more of an average range than the Fed manipulated rates of years past.
I may have some good news for you. No, it’s not a trick…this can actually be a treat! [Read more…]
Late Thursday night, I returned home from a three week vacation in Italy visiting my son and daughter-in-law, who are currently living in Europe. This is the longest vacation away from my wonderful hubby and work that I have ever done. My fantastic sister-in-law Marilyn joined me on this adventure to celebrate her retirement from Mortgage Master Service Corporation. [Read more…]
Good morning! It’s just before 7:00 am PST as I’m writing this post. In a couple of hours, we’ll hear the announcement from the FOMC wrapping up their two day meeting on measures they will take to get inflation in line, which includes adjustments to the Fed Funds rate. The Fed Funds rate does not directly impact mortgage interest rates (except for HELOCs attached to the Prime rate), however the action the Fed takes does influence the direction of mortgage interest rates. Mortgage interest rates are based on bonds (mortgage-backed securities or MBS) and react similarly to stocks. Inflation is the “arch enemy” of bonds, which is a big part of why mortgage rates have been higher these past few years. Should the Fed indicate that inflation is taming and investors believe what the Fed is saying, we should see mortgage rates improve…and of course, the opposite is true. [Read more…]
Update: Thanks to all our students! It was wonderful teaching you about the home buying process and I look forward to teaching another class again soon!
[Read more…]
Seattle area Real Estate Broker, Kim Mulligan, posted this on Facebook a couple of days ago regarding a recent listing:
“For those of you that were clamoring to be my neighbor, I have bad news. A pricing war ensued and an offer was chosen last night. Ends up we had well over 80 parties tour the home in two days, several offers came forth, and a lucky buyer will get to share a fenceline with me. Why do I mention this? Many people think that there isn’t a market right now because of interest rates. Yes, buyers are careful and shy. The truth is some people have to move in any market. Sellers don’t need to be afraid to list their homes. Yes, buyers are choosey, but priced and presented well, and with the right lender where you can change your interest rate when it drops down again, your home could sell within 3 days as well!” [Read more…]
Rhonda Porter is a Licensed Mortgage Originator MLO121324 living in the greater Seattle area. Rhonda began her career in 1986 in the title and escrow industry and began her mortgage career in 2000. She enjoys helping people understand the mortgage process and started writing The Mortgage Porter in late 2006. Read More…
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