New Mortgage Disclosures additional Wait Periods to Mortgage Transactions

MortgagePorterHourGlassHouseEffective on mortgage applications taken October 3, 2015 and later, lenders are required to use two new disclosures created by the CFPB. The Loan Estimate, which replaces the 2010 Good Faith Estimate and the RegZ/Truth in Lending; and the Closing Disclosure, which replaces the HUD-1 Settlement Statement.

The new disclosures, the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure, have “wait periods” that restrict how soon a real estate transaction with a mortgage can close. The Loan Estimate is issued once a lender has received an application (the six points of information that creates an application per the CFPB) within three business days. There is a seven day waiting period that takes place once the Loan Estimate has been delivered before the borrower can sign their final loan documents (also referred to as “consummation”).

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What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: October 19, 2015 – MORTGAGE RATES MOVE LOWER

mortgageporter-economyThis week, there isn’t a lot scheduled as far as economic indicators. Overall, mortgage rates are trending lower compared to my last rate post two weeks ago. Here are the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week:

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High Balance Conforming Mortgages to Reduce Down Payment Requirements

iStock-000018668640XSmallFannie Mae has announced that effective mid-December 2015, high-balance conforming mortgages will have lower down payment requirements. “high balance conforming” mortgages are loan amounts that are higher than “traditional” conforming loan limits ($417,000) and less than non-conforming mortgages and are available only in certain counties that are considered to be “higher cost”. In Washington State, currently (2015) King County, Snohomish County, Pierce County and San Juan County have “high balance conforming” loan limits. The high balance conforming loan limit for King, Snohomish and Pierce County is presently $517,500 for a single family dwelling.

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Freddie Mac Reports Mortgage Rates Remain Below 4% for the past Twelve Weeks

Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey was released this morning revealing that conventional mortgage rates have remained below four percent for the past twelve week. The PMMS reports that average rate for the 30 year fixed last week was 3.82% with an average of 0.6 points.

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If you are considering buying or refinancing a home located in Washington state, I’m happy to provide you with a rate quote.

What May Impact Mortgage Rates this week: October 12, 2015

mortgageporter-economyHappy Columbus Day!

Bond markets are closed today so I will not be posting rates this week (at least, not today). However, I will share some of the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week that may impact the direction of mortgage interest rates:

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What’s the big deal about Loan Estimates?

iStock-000018668640XSmallEffective for new applications on October 5, 2015 and later, the “Good Faith Estimate” was replaced by CFPB’s “Loan Estimate”. This document is similar to HUD’s 2010 Good Faith Estimate (GFE) as it makes the lender be accountable for the Loan Estimate provided to the consumer. It must be delivered within a certain time period, upon specific circumstances and may only be re-issued upon specific circumstances (aka “a changed circumstance”). Similar to the retired 2010 GFE, the Loan Estimate has varying levels of “tolerance” as to how much certain fees are permitted to change from when the Loan Estimate was issued to closing. The lender may be responsible for fees that exceed the allowed tolerance.

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USDA Upfront Guarantee Fee Increase

2014-09-03_usdaUSDA has increased the upfront funding fee (aka “upfront guarantee fee”) by an additional 0.75 percent as of October 1, 2015.  From USDA:

On October 1, 2015 the upfront guarantee fee for purchase and refinance loans will increase from 2 percent to 2.75 percent.  The annual fee will remain at 0.50 percent for purchase and refinance loans.  This change is necessary to maintain the program’s operational cost structure, which requires no congressional subsidy support to offset credit costs.

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What May Impact Mortgage Rates this Week: October 5, 2015 – RATES IMPROVED

10527303_10152476072701046_2911459444863856330_nWe don’t have a lot of economic indicators scheduled to be released this week. We do have the Seahawks on Monday Night Football!!!

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