President Obama to announce drop in FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums

January 7, 2015 by 1 Comment

2013-08-06_0653Tomorrow President Obama is expected to announce a reduction in the mortgage insurance premiums for new FHA mortgage loans.

From Bloomberg News:

As part of an effort to expand homeownership among entry-level buyers, President Barack Obama will announce a cut in Federal Housing Administration mortgage-insurance premiums during a speech in Phoenix tomorrow, according to three people with direct knowledge of his plans.

The annual fees the agency charges to guarantee mortgages will be cut by 0.5 percentage points, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified because the White House hasn’t yet made the announcement.

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Filed Under: FHA, Politics Tagged With: , , ,

Mortgage Insurance Deductible through 2014

December 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

You may have heard that last week, Congress passed and President Obama signed the 2014 Tax Increase Prevention Act. It has some good news for home owners who currently pay various forms of mortgage insurance. If you pay mortgage insurance, including private mortgage insurance (pmi), or VA, FHA or USDA forms of mortgage insurance during 2014,  you may be able to deduct that on your 2014 income taxes.

Before you get too excited, this act does not extend the mortgage insurance deduction past 2014.

So if you are paying any form of mortgage insurance, especially if it’s private mortgage insurance or FHA mortgage insurance, it still makes sense to see if you can eliminate or reduce your payment with a refinance as you will not be able to deduct your mortgage insurance during 2015 (as things currently stand).

If I can help you with your refi or home purchase on property located anywhere in Washington state, please contact me!

 

Filed Under: Financial Planning, Legislation, Mortgage Insurance Tagged With: , , ,

Seattle RE Chat – FHA’s HAWK Program [Video]

July 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

In this episode of Seattle Real Estate Chat, Jim Reppond and I discuss FHA’s HAWK program with special guest, Frances Flynn Thorsen.

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Is it time to refi your FHA mortgage?

June 25, 2014 by 3 Comments

mortgageporter-thinkingWith the appreciation homes are seeing in the greater Seattle – King County area, home owners who purchased their home a couple years ago using an FHA mortgage may now be able to refinance into a conventional mortgage. FHA mortgages are often used when a home buyer needs a lower down payment option or if credit scores are lower. FHA jumbo mortgages offer home buyers lower down payment with higher loan amounts than what conforming mortgages will permit. There are many reasons why someone might opt for an FHA mortgage when buying a home.

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Mortgage Insurance loses tax deduction benefit in 2014

May 21, 2014 by 2 Comments

mortgageporterraiseOver the past few years, home owners have enjoyed deducting private mortgage insurance (pmi) premiums from their income tax. This is also true for government forms of mortgage insurance (aka funding fee or guarantee fee) with FHA, VA and USDA mortgage loans. This benefit is coming to an end effective on 2014 tax returns.

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Seattle Rising Home Prices is Good News for Refinancing

September 6, 2013 by 2 Comments

If you have been waiting for Congress to pass HARP 3.0 or have been previously turned down for a refinance because of lost equity in your home, you might consider trying to refinance again.

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One month left before FHA mortgage insurance is permanent…SO WHAT??

May 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Borrowers not wanting to have FHA mortgage insurance as part of their mortgage payment for the life of the loan have about thirty days to take action. This shouldn’t be a reason to panic. 🙂

Effective FHA case numbers issued June 3, 2013 and later, FHA mortgage insurance will become a permanent part of the FHA mortgage payment.

Why do I say “SO WHAT?”

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Filed Under: FHA, Mortgage Insurance, Opinion Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mortgage rate update for the week of April 8, 2013

April 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Mortgage rates continue to remain at historically low levels. Homeowners who have not recently refinanced may want to contact their mortgage professional to see if they can reduce how much they’re paying on interest.

Something that’s not staying low in the Seattle/King County area is home prices. The Seattle Times reports that in March, home prices are up 20% year over year. The median price for a home sold last month in Seattle jumped to $462,375. This is largely due to a lack of inventory. If you’ve been considering selling your home, now may be a good time.

Here are some of the economic indicators scheduled to be released this week:

Wednesday, April 10: FOMC Minutes

Thursday, April 11: Initial Jobless Claims

Friday, April 12: Retail Sales; Producer Price Index (PPI); Consumer Sentiment Index (UoM)

Also important to note: there has been some confusion as to the recent changes to mortgage insurance premiums on FHA loans regarding when the coverage terminates. FHA mortgage insurance will not become permanent until June 2013 and impacts newly originated FHA loans only with case numbers issued after May 31, 2013.

If I can help you with your home purchase or refinance for your home located anywhere in Washington state, please contact me. Have a great week!

Filed Under: Economy Tagged With: , , ,
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