All Posts Tagged With: "ARM"
Bulletin: 5-Year ARM Mortgage Hits Record 2.96 Percent
The five-year ARM has hit an all-time record. Having fallen for the eighth consecutive week it now stands at 2.96 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The idea that ARM rates across the country would fall below 3 percent is stunning, proof that the country is awash in capital that essentially has nowhere to go. While [...]
1Sep2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Mortgage Rates Sink, Hit Yearly Low
Mortgage rates are in the dumper. Freddie Mac is reporting that mortgage rates have hit their lowest levels since last November. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.39 percent, its lowest level for 2011. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.49 percent. The 15-year fixed and 5-year ARM set new historical record lows [...]
4Aug2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
What’s A “Qualified Mortgage” In Real Estate
One of the better ideas to come out of the Wall Street Reform Act was to create something called a “qualified residential mortgage.” You want to know about such financing because most lenders will offer nothing else — and that’s good news for borrowers. Under Wall Street reform several federal agencies are supposed to work [...]
21Sep2010 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Mortgage Modification or Refinance — What’s The Difference?
Is it better to modify a mortgage or to refinance? While both result in new loan terms, the two choices are very different. When you refinance a mortgage you replace an existing loan with a new one. There’s no need to negotiate with the old lender because his mortgage claim will be extinguished. However, borrowers [...]
25May2010 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
ARMs & Out-Of-Whack Pricing
The government reports today that interest levels for fixed-rate 30-year loans reached 5.13 percent in February — up a touch from 5.06 percent in February 2009. What’s really amazing, however, is the interest level for adjustable-rate mortgages. In February a typical ARM was priced at 5.03 percent. You have to wonder: Why would any sentient [...]
30Mar2010 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Can “Equity Sharing” Prevent Foreclosures?
In the coming two years option ARMs worth $134 billion will be re-cast according to Fitch Ratings. This means more than 500,000 borrowers are likely to face steeply higher monthly costs, costs which in many cases will lead to foreclosure. It doesn’t have to be this way. Stop foreclosures and you can stop the widespread [...]
11Jan2010 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Can 11,000 Appraisers Be Wrong?
Gee, golly, mention the idea of pressuring appraisers to come up with the “right” valuation numbers and you’re hardly alone. There seem to be a large number of appraisers who have encountered efforts to distort their valuations. Say 11,000 of them. That’s how many signed on at AppraisersPetition.com. And what, exactly, is their beef? As [...]
29Jun2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Mortage Rates Turn Upside Down
Every week Freddie Mac issues a general survey of mortgage rates and last week’s results were a shocker: Rates for fixed-rate loans were lower than the rates for ARMs. If you’re a borrower the conclusion is obvious: Stay away from ARMs. Here’s why: No Cash Refinancing If you have a fixed-rate loan you have a [...]
27Apr2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Mortgages, Foreclosures & The Disgrace of Journalism
It was long ago when I received a degree in journalism. I wanted to study journalism because it gave me an opportunity to travel and to meet interesting people. I have been a correspondent on Capitol Hill and at the White House, I have lived on an offshore drilling rig in pursuit of a story, [...]
14Mar2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Mortgages & The Unnecessary Crisis
July 14, 2008 should be remembered as a notable date in the long history of mortgage lending. The federal government gingerly stuck its regulatory foot into the warm waters of consumer advocacy and for the first time enacted rules which would protect borrowers. Not all borrowers, of course, and nothing that would materially disturb the [...]
31Dec2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
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