Articles in Category: Fixed Rate Mortgage

December 19, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Approaching Mid Four Percent Range

Since our last report on mortgage rate trends, we’ve seen the upward trend continue into highs not seen for quite some time. Market watchers note that some seasonal market trends that affect rates are at work here, but those forces are not the only ones with the power to alter mortgage rates (based on investor reaction to things like breaking economic or political news, etc.) 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage rates have, best execution, moved into a range of rates that are at or near the mid four percent zone. At the time of this writing, don’t be surprised to find best execution conventional rates ranging between 4.25% and 4.625%. The upper and lower ends of this range are more rare, but according to our sources certain lenders may offer | more...

December 8, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Lower

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage rate numbers have fallen a bit since our last report. The current upward trend has seen some corrections, but Wednesday’s lower rates are inspired by overseas economic developments. Specifically, the European Central Bank(ECB) is set to make an important announcement about tapering-an issue that was a major spoiler in mortgage loan interest rates at home in years past. The ECB announcement has no direct connection to the daily FHA or conventional mortgage rate, but investor behavior often does, and that’s what happened on Wednesday. Investors are placing their money where they anticipate it will do the most good depending on whether the investor believes tapering will happen soon or not. The details of those investment strategies are unimportant for our purposes here; suffice it to say that investor behavior | more...

December 5, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Higher, Then Lower

By Joe Wallace

Since our last look at mortgage loan interest rate trends, rates spiked to 24-month highs (Thursday), but then recovered on Friday. Thursday’s move took 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loan rates to a range between 4.25% and 4.375% (best execution). But Friday saw the same rates move back down to at or near 4.125%, best execution. On both Thursday and Friday, FHA mortgage rates remained at 4.0%, but that’s up from a previous range that still had a bottom end in the sub-four percent zone. That is gone for now, but FHA rates, best execution, haven’t been in the four percent zone in quite some time leading up to the current upward trend. Friday’s rate recovery happened in spite of job report numbers that, in times past, have served to | more...

November 30, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Slightly Higher

By Joe Wallace

Were giving additional time for mortgage rate trends this week in light of the sharply higher movement and attempts at recovery weve seen in recent days. Since our last report, mortgage rates have moved higher once more, but overall the best execution numbers are roughly about in the same range as mentioned in our last report. There are a variety of reasons for Wednesdays upward turn for rates. One factor is overseas economic news related to the OPEC deal, which in and of itself might serve to put some upward pressure on rates depending on investor reaction to those developments. However, the OPEC situation combined with domestic inflation fears related to the incoming President and his administration serves to dump more fuel on the fire. These two factors are cited | more...

Will My Home Loan Application Be Approved?

November 30, 2016

2017 Home Loans: Is Your Holiday Spending A Factor For An FHA Loan?

By Joe Wallace

Holiday credit card use tends to spike, and those considering 2017 home loans should take this into account when planning for a new mortgage loan application. Your credit card debt affects your debt-to-income ratio, which the lender will calculate at application time. That ratio, called DTI for short, is a very important factor in home loan approval. For some borrowers, the amount of credit card debt, even holiday spending, isnt as much of a problem as timely payments. Some consumers are tempted at holiday time to skip payments in order to free up some much-needed cash, but a missed payment within 12 months of your FHA mortgage or refinance loan application is not a good thing. Financial experts recommend borrowers maintain on-time payments with no late or missed payments for | more...

November 29, 2016

Mortgage Rates: Recovering

By Joe Wallace

Since our last report on mortgage loan interest rate trends, we saw 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage rates hit 4.25% best execution (depending on the lender). That was something of a milestone in 2016 after many, many months of sub-four percent mortgage rates. But since that time, rates have recovered some lost ground and while the current best execution rates are still above the four percent mark, any news of lower rates at this point is welcome. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages are, at the time of this writing, reported at a best execution range between 4.125% and 4.25% depending on the lender. FHA mortgage loan rates are still within a range between 3.75% and 4.0%, best execution. As we always point out, the rates seen here are listed assuming | more...

November 23, 2016

FHA 203(k) Loan Rules: A Reader Question

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “I’m attempting to buy a mixed use residential/commercial property through an FHA 203(k) loan, and the building meets the size requirements. The commercial section is drywalled and spackled with plywood flooring. The residential section is in compliance, but the FHA appraiser listed a bunch of things needed in the commercial section, like a washroom, finished flooring, and baseboard.” “Where did they come up with this list? Is this a requirement for getting the loan? Ill have to make the seller do these things before the sale since I cant do any 203k work on the commercial section, so how do I know what is expected in the commercial section? The HUD doc says nothing on this.” FHA 203(k) loans are also known as “fixer-upper” loans, but even | more...

November 22, 2016

Mortgage Rate Trends: Pushing Higher

By Joe Wallace

Since our last report on mortgage rates, we’ve seen rates climb to highs not seen in well over a year. The markets that influence mortgage loan interest rates are reacting to economic uncertainty-specifically the unknowns related to fiscal policy for the incoming administration in Washington. Markets don’t like uncertainty, and current investor behavior is putting upward pressure on mortgage rates overall. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages are, at the time of this writing, reported at a best execution range between 4% and 4.125%. FHA mortgage rates are in their own best execution range between 3.75% and 4%. We haven’t seen rates break into the four percent zone in a very long time, and market watchers speculate that it will take a big dramatic shift to get back into the three | more...

How much can I borrow with an FHA refinance loan?

November 21, 2016

Getting An FHA Loan In 2017

By Joe Wallace

Are you considering an FHA loan in 2017? There are several things that can help you on your journey to home ownership in the new year. The first is knowing that the FHA updates its list of loan limits every year-at the time of this writing the FHA loan limits are not available yet for 2017, but new limits will go into effect on January 1, 2017. That means that some limits may change depending on the housing markets; sometimes low-cost and/or high-cost areas get an adjustment for the new year, other areas may also be affected depending on the state of the market. The FHA loan limits for each new year are adjusted based on averages for each individual market. From the FHA official site: “FHA publishes updated limits | more...

November 16, 2016

Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Trends: Sharply Higher

By Joe Wallace

Since the election, mortgage rates have been on the move, and this week has seen a sharp increase in rates that we haven’t experienced in some time. In fact, rates are the highest they’ve been all year. It’s unclear at this point whether this is a short term reaction to current events, or if this indicates a longer-term trend. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages did something they haven’t done in a very long time-they broke into the four percent range, with a best execution 4.0% for the most well-qualified borrowers. Rates have flirted with the bottom end of the four percent range in the recent past, but managed to stay below four percent for a very respectable length of time. FHA mortgage loan interest rates are now at a best-execution | more...