Fannie Mae offering Home Buyer Incentives

⚠ Program Ended October 2014

The Fannie Mae HomePath closing cost incentive for first-time buyers described in this post is no longer available — the HomePath Mortgage program was retired in October 2014. Washington State still has excellent options for first-time buyers today, including down payment assistance grants and 3% down conventional programs. See first-time homebuyer programs in Washington State →  |  See the updated HomePath guide →

Fannie 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.

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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.

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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:

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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

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

buying a home in redmondUPDATE: Please visit our Conforming Mortgage Guide which includes current loan limits for homes in Seattle and Washington state.

If 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.

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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.

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What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: April 13, 2015

mortgageporter-economyMortgage rates have been bouncing in a fairly tight range. Although we don’t have any economic indicators scheduled to be released today, the rest of this week is packed:

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Freddie Mac Reports Rates Improved Last Week

2015-04-10_0719_PMMS
Yesterday, Freddie Mac released their weekly mortgage rate survey revealing that mortgage rates trended lower last week following the weaker than expected March Jobs Report.

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