2026 Conforming Loan Limits: What Washington Homebuyers Should Know
December 5, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Low-Down-Payment Programs, Renovation Loans & Down Payment Assistance OptionsTurned down for a Mortgage Because of Credit Scores? New Guidelines May Help You!
November 20, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Fannie Mae (conventional lending) recently changed their underwriting guidelines to no longer factor in credit scores for underwriting approval!
Before this guideline change, borrowers needed to have a mid-score of at least 620 to qualify for a conventional mortgage. Scores below 620 could mean that someone may have to opt for an FHA mortgage, which has both upfront and monthly mortgage insurance regardless of the amount of down payment or equity with the property. [Read more…]
Fannie Mae’s March Forecast Stomps out 5% Mortgage Rates
March 21, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Fannie Mae released their monthly forecast for mortgage rates. The previous month, they received a lot of attention because of how rosy it was with rates forecasted to hit 5.9% by the end of this year with nearing the mid-5% range in 2025. The March forecast, which was released yesterday, is not as optimistic. [Read more…]
Price Adjustments coming soon to Conforming Mortgages
January 24, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Last week, the FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) announced changes to how conforming mortgages are priced with loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs). Some borrowers will find improved pricing where others will have to pay more in fees. The fees are typically incorporated into the interest rate for the mortgage.
From Fannie Mae’s Lender Letter dated January 19, 2023:
“We are implementing additional changes to our LLPA framework that represent the next step in our effort to increase support for borrowers historically underserved by the housing finance market…”.
Big Expensive Changes for Second Homes and Investment Properties
March 11, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Last night, Fannie Mae announced they are essentially going to be limiting how many second homes and investment properties they will provide mortgages for. This is largely due to the additional risk associated with second homes and investment properties. This goes into effect with loans delivered to Fannie Mae on April 1, 2021 – which pretty much means “immediately” as mortgage loans are delivered to Fannie Mae (or Freddie Mac) after they close…sometimes weeks after they close with the originating mortgage company. [Read more…]
Appraisals waived for some refinances!
December 5, 2016 by 2 Comments
Fannie Mae will begin offering appraisal waivers on some refinance transactions. This is great news as it will help transactions that qualify have a quicker closing and help reduce the work load for appraisers which will hopefully help expedite current appraisal turn-times. This will also help home owners save money on their transaction by not having to pay an appraisal fee, which have gone up dramatically over the last few months. [Read more…]
What’s trending? How about your credit report.
March 3, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Fannie Mae is introducing a new format for credit reports called “trending credit data”. Typically a credit report shows more of a snapshot of what someone’s credit looks like today with late payments as a summary, more or less. Fannie Mae’s “trending” report will actually show a detailed 24 month history of each payment and the balance of that account for every month for the last 24 months. [Read more…]
Fannie Mae no longer requires revolving debts to be closed
May 30, 2015 by Leave a Comment
This week, Fannie Mae issued new underwriting guidelines for conforming loans approved through DU (Fannie Mae’s automated underwriting system). One of the new guidelines that is catching a lot of attention is that Fannie Mae will no longer require that revolving debts that are paid off in order to reduce a borrowers debt to income ratios and help them qualify, to also be closed. The new guidelines will allow a revolving debts that are paid down to zero balance to no longer be factored for qualifying purposes.
If I can help you with your purchase or refi mortgage needs for your home located anywhere in Washington state, please contact me.
Recent Comments