Washington State Mortgages, Made Clear. Buying or Refinancing? Let's find the right loan together.
In this year’s final episode of Seattle Real Estate Chat (we’re coming back in 2014!), Jim Reppond and I review 2013 and make a few prediction for 2014 regarding the real estate market and mortgages in the greater Seattle area.
We will resume our regular scheduling of Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am PST for Seattle Real Estate Chat on Tuesday, January 7, 2014.
Thank you for watching our show – I hope you’ll tune in next year. 🙂
Happy Holidays! With this being a short week due to Christmas, we may see a bit more volatility with mortgage rates with many traders taking time off for the holidays. Markets will be closing early on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and will be closed all day Wednesday. Here are some of the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week:
2014 VA loan guarantee limits for Washington State have been released. VA loans do not have “limits” like conforming or FHA loans. They do have limits as to the amount VA loans will guarantee. The loan amounts below reflect what VA will lend up to 100% loan to value. Loan amounts above the limits below have reduced down payments for Veterans who qualify for this benefit.
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.
