Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
Recently Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac updated their guidelines to treat alimony payments the same way that FHA has.
With conforming mortgages (Fannie/Freddie) where there is more than 10 months remaining for alimony payments, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow the alimony to be deducted from gross income instead of being treated as a monthly debt. This often dramatically improves debt-to-income ratios. [Read more…]
CNN recently published an article about a couple’s experience buying a home in Seattle. In a nutshell, their seventh offer was accepted with multiple offers well over the list price and they were able to close quickly without contingencies with a large earnest money deposit.
Home prices and lack of inventory (which I hope is starting to change) have created a highly competitive situation for those who want to buy a home in Seattle. Buying a home just about anywhere in the tri-county area these days is not for the feint of heart. [Read more…]
Want to build an ADU on your garage? Are you having a hard time finding a home that has your dream kitchen? Whether you are buying or refinancing a home, you may want to consider a “rehab” mortgage. At Mortgage Master Service Corporation, we currently have a couple options available. [Read more…]
This weekend while driving around my neighborhood in Seattle, I noticed more “for sale” and “open house” signs on homes. It’s a welcome sight after how long we’ve been in this tight market with very little housing inventory. [Read more…]
Freddie Mac’s weekly report (PMMS) on conforming mortgage interest rates from last week shows that rates remained “level” with the 30 year fixed at 4.55% priced with points.
I read an interesting article about planning for retirement. This is a topic that I find very important. I’m not a financial planner, however as a Mortgage Professional I see a financial snapshot of what people have when applying for a mortgage. I concur with this article from CNBC, most people do not have enough money saved up for their golden years. [Read more…]
My how time goes by when you’re having fun! Thirty-two years ago, I began my career in real estate. My first job was being a “doc-puller” at Safeco Title in Seattle. I really enjoyed being the receptionist for Safeco since I believed that I had more job security…back in those days, employees were quickly hired and laid off depending on what was going on in the real estate industry. This was before title companies used “temps” to fill those types of positions. Eventually I was promoted to work in a title unit. I “retired” from Washington Title Company as a Branch Manager of the Federal Way office in 2000. [Read more…]
This week is packed with economic indicators that may impact the direction of mortgage interest rates, which have been nudging higher. Mortgage rates are based on bonds (mortgage backed securities or “MBS”). When the stock market is doing well, it’s not unusual to see mortgage rates trend higher as investors will trade the safety of bonds for the potentially higher return found with stocks. The reverse tends to also hold true – if stocks are tumbling, mortgage rates often improve as investments are moved to bonds. Signs of inflation will also deteriorate bond pricing and cause mortgage rates to move higher. [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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