Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
It’s fun to visit open houses on the weekends. You may be picturing yourself living in the home, enjoying the backyard or perhaps making a few home improvements to really make it “yours”.
If you’re even thinking about buying a home, I strongly encourage you to get fully preapproved before you find yourself at an open house wanting to present an offer.
Here are some steps I recommend for anyone considering buying a home. [Read more…]
Do you know the difference between being prequalified or preapproved for a mortgage? This short video reviews the importance of being preapproved.
If you are currently preapproved with a lender, I recommend making sure that your preapproval has been underwritten by a “human underwriter” and not just “AUS” (automatic underwriting i.e. a computer). One way to make sure you have been fully underwritten is to ask your mortgage professional for the underwriter’s name…if they say “Fannie Mae” or “Freddie Mac” – that’s actually the automated underwriting system that lenders use. 😉
Being fully pre-underwritten not only helps to provide you with peace of mind with your loan approval, it also helps to expedite your closing AND may also help your offer be accepted over other offers with a weaker approval status.
If you have any questions or if I can be of any assistance, please reach out to me!
Mortgage rates have been pretty steady lately. Check out my latest video for the details.
If you’re considering buying or refinancing your home, please contact me for mortgage rates based on your personal financial scenario.
Have a great week!
Next week, I will not be providing a Mortgage Update due to the holidays. I hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
When Congress resolved the latest debt ceiling with the passing of The Financial Responsibility Act of 2023, both parties agreed to stop the forbearance on student loans payments. Federally backed student loan payments have been paused for the past three years due to the pandemic. Payments on student loans are set to resume following this September and many are not going to be prepared for this. [Read more…]
I decided to take my own advice that I’ve been dishing out about credit cards and debts. Today I reviewed my credit card accounts to see what my current interest rates are. I’m pretty lucky to have great credit and that I’m able to pay off my debts monthly. [Read more…]
Yesterday I read an interesting article in the Seattle Times about how (and why) to pay off your credit card debt as soon as possible. The article warns of a slowing economy and future rate hikes by the Fed, which will translate to higher interest rates on credit card debt. In addition to the higher rates, the slower economy may cause some people to have reduced income which will be more challenging with the high interest rate debt.
The article encourages readers to have an emergency savings fund and to focus on paying off credit card debt. [Read more…]
Mortgage interest rates have been moving higher at a pace not seen in years. If you’ve been a subscriber to The Mortgage Porter, you may recall that I often say mortgage rates move up much faster than they come down…the jump over the last few days has surprised many. [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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