Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
At the MBA Annual Convention this week, Mel Watt, Director of the FHFA announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be reducing the minimum down payment.
“To increase access for creditworthy but lower-wealth borrowers, FHFA is also working with the Enterprises to develop sensible and responsible guidelines for mortgages with loan-to-value ratios between 95 and 97 percent. [Read more…]
The greater Seattle – Bellevue competitive housing markets have been experiencing a higher amount of buyers paying “all cash” for homes. Refinancing after you’ve paid cash for a home is also referred to as “delayed financing”. Delayed financing may also take place when a person is buying a foreclosed home at auction at the court house. Historically, “all-cash” buyers who want to refinance after closing to re-coup the cash they used to purchase their homes had to wait six months after the purchase before they can do a “cash-out” refi. Now, home buyers who used “all-cash” to buy their home no longer have to wait months to refinance to get their cash back.
Today Freddie Mac released their Primary Mortgage Market Survey showing the 30 year fixed rate at some of the lowest levels for this year. Freddie’s PMMS is based on survey of various lenders from rates quoted the previous week and is intended to show consumers what the average rate and points for that rate were last week.
Documenting large deposits on bank statements has been a royal pain in the behind for many borrowers going through the mortgage process. I am very pleased to share with you that Freddie Mac has updated guidelines that lenders, including Mortgage Master, are embracing.
I’m receiving notices from a couple of the lenders we work with that they are temporarily increasing rate lock extension fees due to Fannie Mae’s increased guarantee fees (LLPA) that will hit us in 2014. An extension fee is an additional cost that may be charged in order to keep a rate locked when the rate lock is expiring.
UPDATE: DECEMBER 23, 2013: Incoming Director of the FHFA, Mel Watts has announced that he will delay the increase to conforming price adjustments (aka LLPA or guarantee fees).
This week Fannie Mae revealed conforming price adjustments (LLPA) which will increase the cost for mortgage rates in 2014. This complied with the Fed beginning to pull back on their bond buying program will certainly cause mortgage rates to trend higher.
EDITORS NOTE: Fannie Mae is no longer offering the FannieMae HomePath mortgage program. If you are considering buying a Fannie Mae HomePath property (foreclosure that is owned by Fannie Mae) in Washington state, I’m happy to help you.
Earlier this week, a real estate agent emailed me this question regarding Fannie Mae HomePath mortgages:
I have a client looking at a HomePath home in King County. It’s listed at $470,000 and she wants to put down 5%. Is that possible? I had the impression that HomePath still has to conform to standards on loans and the limit would be 417,000.
Here’s my reply:
The Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA) who oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, confirmed that conforming loan limits will remain unchanged from 2013 to 2014. This is great news as a few weeks ago, officials were indicating that we could see conforming loan limits reduced in early 2014. This means that a single family 1-unit residence in the greater Seattle area has a conforming loan limit of $506,000. Loan amounts above conforming limits are considered “jumbo” or non-conforming.
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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