Helping Washington State homeowners learn more about their mortgage options.
FHA loan limits for 2014 have been reduced from 2013. For a home located in greater Seattle, the new FHA loan limit is reduced from $567,500 to $506,000 in 2014. The reductions are across the board for Washington state counties and some loan limits are below 2014 conforming loan limits.
FHA streamline refinances without appraisals and with loan amounts over the the 2014 loan limits will not be subject to the new loan limits.
I will be teaching a Home Buyer’s Education Class at the corporate office of Mortgage Master Service Corporation on Saturday, January 18, 2014. My co-instructor is Ira Sacharoff, a Real Estate Broker with Better Real Estate.
Participants who attend this Washington State Housing Finance Commission sponsored class are eligible for programs like Home Advantage and for down payment assistance. The 5 hour WSHFC course is a requirement in order to qualify for these programs.
NOTE: This post has been updated. We decided to postpone the class, which was originally scheduled for January 11th to January 18th because of the Seahawks game. GO HAWKS!!
This week is packed with economic data that may impact mortgage the direction of mortgage interest rates including the Jobs Report on Friday. Here are some of the economic indicators scheduled to be released:
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.
We have a very short week. The holidays are pretty much here! Our office will be closed to observe the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Friday. Mortgage Master Service Corporation will reopen for business as usual on Monday, December 2, 2013.
In the last episode of Seattle Real Estate Chat, Jim Reppond and I discuss what happens when an appraisal comes in low for a home purchase. Since appraised values are based on comps (recently closed homes), the data used to determine an appraised value is often “lagging” behind current home prices. Factor in bidding wars when prices may be escalated along with HVCC (regulations that do not allow lenders to select appraisers) and it’s not entirely uncommon to have an appraisal come in lower than the offer price.
Last week mortgage interest rates improved thanks to Janet Yellen indicating at her confirmation hearing that as our next Fed head, she will continue on with QE and support the Fed’s actions of buying mortgage backed securities to keep mortgage interest rates artificially low. This was sweet news to the markets and we’re still seeing lower mortgage rates this morning.
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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