The volume of U.S. mortgage applications shot up dramatically in the latest week as borrowers sought to take advantage of low interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association Wednesday.
“Many borrowers missed an opportunity to take advantage when rates dropped sharply for a brief period when the GSEs were placed under conservatorship,” said Orawin Velz, associate […]

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Interest rates on long-term U.S. home loans fell in the latest week, a reaction to the newly announced Bush administration’s $800 billion bailout package to provide more liquidity for consumer and mortgage debt markets, according to data from Freddie Mac.
“Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell for the fourth consecutive week as signs the overall […]

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The U.S. mortgage industry saw rising interest rates and declining demand in the latest week, as officials in Washington battled over the Bush administration’s proposed bailout of several major financial companies.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association Wednesday, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate home loan, excluding points, rose to 6.08 percent from 5.82 […]

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The latest word on the pending legislation with the economic stimulus bill is that the Senate and House are still ironing out some issues. The FHA conforming loan limit increase, from $417,000 to $625,000 as proposed by the House will be for a limited period of time only– two years. The increase would be even […]

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Freddie Mac recently released its 24th Adjustable Rate Mortgage Survey. The survey is taken during a given week, in this case the week of Dec. 17, and from 112 lenders. The results show that ARMs have dropped off recently, for the first time since 2003. Hopefully this means that borrowers are finally getting the message.
ARMs […]

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I am not sure when it started, but at some point in our home buying history, first time homebuyers got brownie points from banks.  Whenever I host home buying seminars, people always want to know about these programs.  However, over the years as a loan originator I have learned that when someone asks about first […]

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In part one of this series, we discussed ARMs, how they vary, and the downside of getting one. In part 2, we talked about adjustment periods and indexes. Today, let’s look at the rate caps and payment caps.
Rate Caps 
Rate caps limit how much interest the lender can charge you. There are two main kinds […]

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You hear a lot about ARMs, but a lot of people still find them confusing. The rate changes, they tell me, but they aren’t sure how. Arms aren’t all that complicated. Today I would like to try to clear up some of the confusion.
An ARM, just like a fixed rate loan, has two elements: […]

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Many people believe that when they take on an adjustable rate mortgage, if they don’t like the way it’s going they can “always just refinance.” In fact, that is what many lenders tell borrowers as an extra incentive to get them to take on the loan. However, this is not always the case. Many times […]

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If your remodeling or addition project is extensive, you may be wondering where the funds will come from. It is much easier than most people realize to get financing for a home upgrade–especially if you already have equity in the property. You may have equity because you have paid the mortgage down, or […]

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