Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
The FHFA announced expanded guidelines for appraisal waiver increasing the maximum loan to value (LTV) from 80% to 90% on purchase transactions. An appraisal waiver is not guaranteed on all conforming mortgages. Loans are submitted to the automated underwriting systems for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which determine whether or not a transaction will receive an appraisal waiver.
Possible eligible transactions include: [Read more…]
Fannie Mae released their monthly forecast for mortgage rates. The previous month, they received a lot of attention because of how rosy it was with rates forecasted to hit 5.9% by the end of this year with nearing the mid-5% range in 2025. The March forecast, which was released yesterday, is not as optimistic. [Read more…]
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…]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced earlier today that it is rescinding the debt-to-income (DTI) loan level price hit adjustment (LLPA) that was announced in January of this year. Previously, people with a debt-to-income ratio higher than 40% with a loan-to-value greater than 60% would have an additional price hit to their interest rate. This price hit makes it even more challenging for someone who is pushing the DTI limit to remain under the 40% number to avoid having either a higher rate or paying more for the same rate because of the LLPA. The additional price hit for DTI ranged from 0.25%-0.375% depending on the loan to value/how much equity is in the transaction. On a $400,000 loan, this would be an additional cost of $1,000 to $1,500 if paid as “points” instead of having it priced into the interest rate. [Read more…]
Last week, the FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) announced changes to how conforming mortgages are priced with loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs). Some borrowers will find improved pricing where others will have to pay more in fees. The fees are typically incorporated into the interest rate for the mortgage.
From Fannie Mae’s Lender Letter dated January 19, 2023:
“We are implementing additional changes to our LLPA framework that represent the next step in our effort to increase support for borrowers historically underserved by the housing finance market…”.
Conforming loan limits for 2023 are going up for homes located in Washington state.
The following counties have “high balance” loan limits: [Read more…]
The FHFA has announced the conforming loan limits for 2022. The conforming loan limit for a one-unit property will be $647,200. This is an increase of $98,950 from the 2021 loan limits. Homes located in counties designated as “High Balance”, such as King County, Pierce County and Snohomish County, will have higher loan limits.
Here is a complete list of the 2022 Conforming Loan Limits for homes located in Washington state. [Read more…]
Typically in late November, conforming loan limits are announced for the following year. Loan amounts under the conforming loan limit tend to have lower interest rates than loan amounts that are “high balance conforming” (available in certain counties, such as King, Pierce and Snohomish) or jumbo mortgages. [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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