Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
If you have $100,000 available for funds for closing, you may be surprised to learn that, assuming you have the income and credit to qualify, you can buy a home with a sales price of around $800,000.
Here’s one example of how you can buy a “jumbo” priced home with less than 20% down payment.
Over this weekend (April 18, 2015), Fannie Mae will be releasing the highly anticipated “Collateral Underwriter” (aka CU) to lenders. CU is intended to be a tool for lenders to use to help ensure the quality of appraisals on loans that originated as conventional/Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae’s tagline for CU is “Taking appraisal review to the next level”…many in the industry, from lenders, real estate brokers and appraisers, are a bit anxious over this new “tool”.
USDA has released new income limits effective April 1, 2015. USDA offers a no-down payment mortgage program which is available in rural areas (typically a town with population of 10,000 or less). USDA does not have loan limits, the program is limited by household income and if the property is in a USDA designated location.
Mortgage rates have been bouncing in a fairly tight range. Although we don’t have any economic indicators scheduled to be released today, the rest of this week is packed:
Recently Travis Pittman of King 5 news shared his personal story about how he is unable to sell his condo in Kent. He sites part of the reason that he is unable to sell the condo is because of FHA requirements. I do agree, it’s important to keep your condo on FHA’s approved list, however the data that was provided in the article is not entirely correct.
Yesterday, Freddie Mac released their weekly mortgage rate survey revealing that mortgage rates trended lower last week following the weaker than expected March Jobs Report.
Friday’s weaker than expected Jobs Report surprised the market, causing mortgage rates to improve. This week appears to be a little light on economic calender for indicators scheduled to be released. Watch for the FOMC minutes to be released on Wednesday. You may also want to watch the Seattle Mariners first game of the season this afternoon against the Angels. For the record, I will not be at the game today…it’s a typical work day for me, helping my clients buy and refinance homes around the greater Seattle area. 😉
Home Buyer Classes or Seminars are popping up every where. They are often taught by a Mortgage Originator paired with a Real Estate Agent, both with hopes they will earn a chance to help students with the purchase of their home. Sometimes home inspectors or escrow officers may take part in teaching as well. Class content can vary as well as the length of the class. Some classes will even help students become eligible for down payment assistance programs and/or tax credits (MCC).
How do you know which home buyer class is the right one for you?
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…
Recent Comments