In Seattle’s competitive real estate market, we’re seeing offers coming in with shorter closing times, appraisals waived or even financing waived. It’s not unusual for me to have a Real Estate Broker say “the offer has been accepted, you can order the appraisal now!” I recently had a Real Estate Broker from Seattle ask an excellent question:
When can an appraisal be ordered?
September 25, 2015 by 2 Comments
What May Impact Mortgage Rates this week: September 21, 2015
September 21, 2015 by 1 Comment
Tomorrow is officially the last day of summer. [sigh]
Here are some of the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week:
The new Loan Estimate and Title Insurance Fees
September 18, 2015 by 3 Comments
In just a few weeks, the Good Faith Estimate that was created by HUD in 2010 will be replaced by CFPB’s Loan Estimate. The Loan Estimate will also replace the “Reg Z/Truth in Lending” document. When the samples of the “Loan Estimate” where first revealed, I was pretty excited. It appeared to be a significant improvement over the well intended but flawed 2010 Good Faith Estimate, which caused a lot of confusion for consumers. As I’m learning more and more about CFPB’s Loan Estimate, I can see that we are all in for a huge adjustment as we deal with not only implementing new documents and procedures, but also dealing with the flaws to the document and the procedures to the document.
LIVE POST: Will the Fed Impact Mortgage Rates?
September 17, 2015 by 1 Comment
I like writing a “live post” with updates throughout the day to attempt to illustrate how mortgage rates (or the pricing of mortgage rates) can fluctuate throughout the day.
Today the two day Fed meeting wraps up and we’ll learn if the Fed is going to raise the Fed Funds Rate. Following the announcement from the Fed (around 11:00 am PST), we will have commentary from Fed Chair Janet Yellen. While the Fed doesn’t directly dictate what mortgage rates will be, their actions certainly influences mortgage interest rates.
Click here for a mortgage rate quote for your home in Washington.
What May Impact Mortgage Rates this week: September 14, 2015
September 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment
All eyes and ears are on the Fed this week as we wait to see if they will raise rates on Thursday following the wrap up of their two day meeting. The Fed does not control mortgage interest rates, however, they do have a lot of influence on the direction of mortgage interest rates. Here are some of the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week:
Establishing Credit Scores
September 9, 2015 by 1 Comment
If you’re a reader of Mortgage Porter, you probably know that I just returned from a long weekend to Nashville to visit my son and check out his new apartment. Getting started on your own is an important part of your life and it helps to have established credit. This is especially true if you plan to buy a home as most lender will require that you have three to four established accounts. The credit lines you establish (and other credit events) will determine what your credit scores are.
What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: September 7, 2015
September 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Howdy from Nashville! I’m in Music City to visit my son and check out his new home. I will be back to work on Wednesday morning. My team at Mortgage Master can take great care of you while I’m away. Right now, my son and I are taking a quick break from exploring the city so I thought I’d share what economic indicators may be impacting mortgage rates this week.
There’s not a lot of economic indicators on the dance card this week, so watch for mortgage rates to take their direction from the stock market. Remember, typically if the stock market is doing well, mortgage rates may be deteriorating. The reverse is also true. This is because investors will seek safety with bonds (like mortgage backed securities).
Waiving your financing contingency?
September 4, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The greater Seattle real estate market is hot. With the lack of inventory, some home buyers have found themselves in a position where they feel they need to waive their financing contingency or the appraisal. I see this strategy happen when home buyers have been competing with multiple and/or cash offers.
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