All Posts Tagged With: "rate"
Controversy Brews Over Latest Obama Mortgage Write-Off Plan
The newest effort by the federal government to shore up the flagging housing market is going to set off a fierce debate. The just-announced FHA Refinance Option is likely to keep a lot of homeowners out of foreclosure. This is important because until the “shadow” inventory of distressed and foreclosed homes is reduced in a [...]
29Mar2010 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
What Is A Mortgage Modification?
A mortgage is actually a contract between a borrower and a lender. The borrower gets cash up front and the lender gets back the loan amount plus interest over time under terms and conditions established in advance.
There are times though when either the borrower or the lender will seek a mortgage modification, a change in [...]
How To Read The New Good Faith Estimate Forms
Starting January 1, 2010 HUD will require lenders to use a new Good Faith Estimate form or GFE. This is important because whether you buy a mansion or a cottage, you want to know how much your mortgage is going to cost — not just the interest rate but all the fees and charges you’ll [...]
2Nov2009 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Mortgages: Less Hope For Delinquent Borrowers
For all the talk regarding mortgage modifications, the open secret has been fairly clear: Most modifications are failing. Once behind most people do not catch up.
According to Fitch Ratings, so-called cure rates for delinquent prime loans — the highest quality loans — have declined from an average of 45% during 2000-2006 to the currently level [...]
Mortgages: Interest Rates Retreat
During the past week mortgage interest rates moved visibly lower. Freddie Mac says the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.12 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending August 20, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.29 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.47 percent. [...]
22Aug2009 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Should We Cheer An 18-Percent Drop in Home Prices?
According to Business Week there’s good news on the home front.
“Case-Shiller Home Prices Decline Only 18%” reads the headline. And then we discover that “the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller housing index numbers out today show the market falling less dramatically than it had been earlier in the year. The 10 and 20 city indices were [...]
Interest Rates Rise Suddenly, Say Mortgage Bankers
The Mortgage Bankers association is reporting that mortgage rates moved up sharply during the past week.
___ “The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.25 percent from 4.81 percent, with points decreasing to 1.02 from 1.28 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The 44 basis point increase [...]
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 hedge against inflation. [...]
Up or Down — How To Measure Your Local Real Estate Market
The past year has seen a slowdown in real estate markets across the country — and an outright slump in many. But such terms as “slowdown” and “slump” are relative and should be used with care — as should “boom” and “hot”.
Given the localized nature of real estate, it pays to ask if there are [...]
Refinance Today! Act Now! (But Watch Your Wallet)
I’m always pleased when people want to help me, when they want me to get ahead. Surely such motivations describe the many folks who write with ideas that will allow me to make smaller mortgage payments and thereby save money, cut costs and better my life.
Because such suggestions are made with only my best [...]
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