What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: April 27, 2015

mortgageporter-economyWe don’t have any economic indicators scheduled to be released today. The rest of the week is packed with data that may influence the direction of mortgage interest rates, including the FOMC meeting that will be wrapping up on Wednesday. No change to the Fed funds rate is expected. Here’s what’s on deck with this week:

[Read more…]

Fannie Mae offering Home Buyer Incentives

mortgageporterraiseFannie Mae is offering first time home buyers up to 3% towards closing cost when they purchase a Fannie Mae HomePath property. On a $300,000 home, 3% would be up to $9,000 towards allowable closing cost!  A Fannie Mae HomePath property is a home that Fannie Mae has foreclosed on and now owns.

[Read more…]

Wanna close on your real estate transaction in 30 days? You better buy or sell before August 2015.

speedbumpNew disclosures created by the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) are set to go into effect on August 1, 2015. In my opinion, the new disclosures will be a huge improvement compared to the Good Faith Estimate that HUD created in 2010. At least the new disclosures will show the total payments due…and of course, they’re not perfect either. I’ll address the new forms on another post.

[Read more…]

What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: April 20, 2015 | Mortgage Rates Slightly Improved

mortgageporter-economyThere is not a lot on the economic indicator dance card this week, with no reports released yesterday or today. Mortgage rates remain very low. Here are some of the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week:

[Read more…]

Mortgage interest rates still near historic lows

In a recent blog post, “Mortgage Rates: Still the Deal of the Century”, Freddie Mac shares this graphic illustrating just how low mortgage rates currently are. Obviously I thought this was too good not to share with my readers too.

Freddie_Mac_Deal_of_the_Century

[Read more…]

What Sales Price do you qualify for with $100,000 for Down Payment and Closing Costs in Seattle?

2015-04-16_0945If you have $100,000 available for funds for closing, you may be surprised to learn that, assuming you have the income and credit to qualify, you can buy a home with a sales price of around $800,000.

Here’s one example of how you can buy a “jumbo” priced home with less than 20% down payment.

[Read more…]

How will Fannie Mae’s Collateral Underwriter (CU) impact appraisals?

detctiveOver this weekend (April 18, 2015), Fannie Mae will be releasing the highly anticipated “Collateral Underwriter” (aka CU) to lenders. CU is intended to be a tool for lenders to use to help ensure the quality of appraisals on loans that originated as conventional/Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae’s tagline for CU is “Taking appraisal review to the next level”…many in the industry, from lenders, real estate brokers and appraisers, are a bit anxious over this new “tool”.

[Read more…]

USDA Income Limits – Updated!

USDA has released new income limits effective April 1, 2015. USDA offers a no-down payment mortgage program which is available in rural areas (typically a town with population of 10,000 or less). USDA does not have loan limits, the program is limited by household income and if the property is in a USDA designated location.

[Read more…]