Category Archives: Mortgage Loan

Applications for mortgage refinances continued to tumble last week as mortgage rates hovered near two-year highs. The total number of mortgage applications “including refinances and home purchases” dropped 1 percent last week compared to the prior week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for refinances were down 1 percent, reaching its lowest level in two years. The index measuring applications for home purchases “an indicator for future home sales” dropped 2 percent last week compared to the previous week. After climbing every week since May, mortgage rates did drop […]

Margin loans for short-term financing can help potential home buyers get cash fast to close a deal or win a bidding war and an increasing number of people are turning to them for a quick fix. “A person with easy access to cash may have a leg up over someone who has to have long-term financing,” explains Tucker Watkins, a private wealth adviser with wealth-management company Ameriprise Financial Inc. The product offers some pricing benefits, as there are no closing costs, no property appraisal is required, there are no prepayment […]

Mortgage rates recently soared to a two-year high, prompting more borrowers to take a closer look at adjustable rate mortgages. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages have moved from below 3.5 percent as of late April to above 4.5 percent recently, increasing monthly payments for new home buyers. Meanwhile, ARM rates have stayed relatively steady in recent weeks between 2.7 percent and 3.1 percent, according to Bankrate. Adjustable-rate mortgages are often blamed for the housing bubble, luring buyers with their low introductory rates that later rise. Some home owners were not able to […]

You’re looking into buying your first home or refinancing your existing loan to a lower interest rate – congrats! But while you probably know the basics of the mortgage process, did you know there are a whole lot of nitty-gritty details that can go into getting the best deal on your mortgage? If you’re new to mortgages or have had one before, it is important to know that policies, requirements, and conditions are always changing. Professionals from a good company like mortgage broker chatanooga can work with you, and your […]

Six regulatory agencies issued a proposal Wednesday that would exempt three types of higher-priced mortgages from appraisal requirements. The plan would exempt loans secured by existing manufactured homes (and not land), certain types of “streamlined” refinancings, and loans of $25,000 or less. To learn more, check this property appraisers guide at the link. The six agencies “Federal Reserve Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency” announced the […]

A surge in mortgage rates to the highest level in two years dampened demand for mortgage applications last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports in its weekly survey covering 75 percent of the residential mortgage market. For the ninth consecutive week, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose, averaging 4.68 percent for the week ending July 5. It was the highest average since July 2011. However, rates still remain low by historical averages. During the week, loan requests for home purchases dropped 3.1 percent, the second consecutive week posting declines, the MBA reports. […]

The recent rise in mortgage rates has made buying a house a little more expensive: the increase in the 30-year fixed rate over the past month from 3.4% to 3.9% (Freddie Mac) raised the monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage by $56, or 6%. However, because mortgage rates are still near long-term lows, and because prices fell so much after the housing bubble burst and remain low relative to rents even after recent price increases, buying is still much cheaper than renting. That means that the recent jump in rates doesn’t change […]

Citigroup has agreed to pay Fannie Mae $968 million for millions of mortgages the bank is accused of misrepresenting to the mortgage giant. Fannie Mae alleges bank officials had failed to confirm underwriting details on the loans, such as borrower income. About 3.7 million mortgages that Citi sold to Fannie Mae between 2000 and 2012 are part of the resolution agreement, Mortgage News Daily reports. The agreement “resolves legacy repurchase issues, compensates taxpayers for losses, and allows Fannie Mae and Citi to move forward and strengthen our business relationship,” says Bradley […]

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage took a large jump this week, rising from 3.93 percent last week to 4.46 percent this week — its largest weekly rise since 1987, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey.

As mortgage rates rose last week, mortgage applications dropped 3 percent, moving to their lowest level since November 2011, the Mortgage Banker’s Association reports.