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Mortgage Interest Rates Fall Again to Yet Another New Record Low

Today Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey, showing average mortgage rates have dropped to new all-time record lows!

Mortgage Interest Rates Reported:

Mortgage Rate Update; Should you Rent or Buy a Home?

Until recently, home ownership was no bargain compared to renting, according to Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics.

Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau and published statistics from Thomson Datastream indicate that rising rents and falling mortgages are tipping the scales towards home ownership. The median monthly mortgage payment has fallen to about

Continue reading… Mortgage Rate Update; Should you Rent or Buy a Home?

St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; What income is required for a mortgage?

What income is required to qualify for a mortgage? That largely depends on your monthly debt payments and the current interest rate. This calculator collects these important variables and determines your required income to qualify for your desired mortgage amount.(click here)

 

Mortgage interest rates have fallen this year to historical lows

Continue reading… St. Louis Mortgage Rate Update; What income is required for a mortgage?

Mortgage Delinquences Increase in December but are Down over 25 percent from a year ago

Mortgage delinquencies in December increased to 2.24 percent of all mortgages, a slight increase from the month before when delinquencies were at 2.22 percent but a decrease of over 25 percent from a year ago when the rate was 3.01 percent. The mortgage delinquency rate is something I pay close attention to because it is

Continue reading… Mortgage Delinquences Increase in December but are Down over 25 percent from a year ago

Mortgage interest rates fall to match all time low!

This morning, Freddie Mac released the results of it’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealing that the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.91 percent, matching the all-time low!  Makes me want to go out and borrow some money!   At this time last year, the interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate

Continue reading… Mortgage interest rates fall to match all time low!

Mortgage Rate Update; Trends that will affect the housing market in 2012

The National Association of Realtors’ research staff recently released its comprehensive annual report: Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers for 2011.

Market researcher, Paul C. Bishop, Ph. D., Vice President and Jessica Lautz, Manager of Consumer Survey Research state that they’ve identified “trends that have not been seen in the last 10 years,” which will affect

Continue reading… Mortgage Rate Update; Trends that will affect the housing market in 2012

Mortgage Rates Finish 2011 Near Historic Lows

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS), showing average fixed mortgage rates finishing the year near their all-time historic lows. Thirty-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 3.95 percent and have been at or below 4.0 percent for the past nine consecutive weeks keeping homebuyer affordability at a near all-time high.

Hawaii homeowners have highest mortgage amounts in U.S.

Ah the beauty and splendor of Hawaii! Living in paradise comes at a price though as Hawaii, by far, leads the nation in average loan amount on a home, coming at $677,299 according to a report just released by LendingTree.com. Coming in a rather distant second is Washington D.C. at $393,453, followed by

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Credit Score FAQ's

An extraordinary 18 percent of Realtors have experienced contract failures in the last few months according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). This is double the levels of a year earlier. One of the top reasons that cause these contract cancellations is credit issues. In many cases, understanding

Continue reading… Credit Score FAQ’s

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Matches All-Time Record Low at 3.94 Percent

This morning Freddie Mac released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) which showed average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages matched an all time record low of 3.94 percent, and there was an all-time record low rate for 15-year fixed rate mortgages.

Mortgage Rate Update; The Benefits of ARM's

Even though over the past few years, ARM’s (adjustable rate mortgages) have received somewhat of a “bad name”, there are truly benefits to them including:

Mortgage Rate Update; FHA good alternative for many home buyers

In this tighter credit environment, FHA remains to be a great alternative for buyers with limited resources for a down payment and closing costs or past credit problems. Underwriting guidelines are more lenient than conventional guidelines.

Mortgage delinquency rate increases for first time since 2009

This morning, Trans Union released a report showing the national mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 or more days past due) increased to 5.88 percent (from 5.82 percent in the 2nd quarter) during the third quarter of 2011, after falling in the previous quarter by the largest rate in two years.

Continue reading… Mortgage delinquency rate increases for first time since 2009

Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) Guidelines Eased and Deadline Extended

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced it eased the requirements as well as extended the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to December 31, 2013 from the current expiration date for the program of June 30, 2012. According to FHFA, as of August 31, 2011, nearly 894,000 borrowers have been refinanced through HARP

Continue reading… Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) Guidelines Eased and Deadline Extended

Mortgage deqlinquencies decline in September; Foreclosures on the rise

The “first-look” report from Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies decreased 0.5 percent in September from the month before and decreased 12.7 percent from the year before. On the other hand, and perhaps part of the reason for the decline in the

Continue reading… Mortgage deqlinquencies decline in September; Foreclosures on the rise

Mortgage delinquencies on the rise but down significantly from a year ago

Mortgage delinquencies in September increased to 2.10 percent of all mortgages, a 2.9 percent increase from the month before when delinquencies were at 2.04 percent but a decrease of over 33 percent from a year ago when the rate was 3.14 percent. The mortgage delinquency rate is something I pay close attention to because

Continue reading… Mortgage delinquencies on the rise but down significantly from a year ago

5 Tips on How to Find Rock-Bottom Mortgage Rates

Mortgage interest rates hit an all time low in the past month with 30 year fixed rate mortgages dropping below 4 percent for the first time ever! Over the past couple of weeks, rates have ticked up slightly but are still dirt cheap! So what can you do to make sure you are getting the lowest mortgage rates possible? According to Doug Lebda, Chariman and CEO of LendingTree.com, if borrowers follow the guidelines listed below they can increase their chances of being approved for a mortgage loan at the most desirable interest rate:

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This morning, Freddie Mac released the results of it’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealing that the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.94 percent, dropping below 4.0 percent for the first time in history! All I can say is WOW!

Record low interest rates coupled with low prices make buying a home more affordable than ever

This morning, Freddie Mac released the results of it’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealing that the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.01 percent, which is an all-time record low and the interest rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.28 percent, also an all-time record low!

Mortgage loan fraud reports in 2nd quarter up 88 percent from a year ago

A report released today by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shows that financial institutions filed 29,558 reports suspecting mortgage loan fraud activity during the 2nd quarter, an increase of 88 percent from the 2nd quarter of 2010 when there were 15,727 reports.

Restitution for victims of improper foreclosure practices

Robo-signing is one of those terms I never heard until the news of improper foreclosure practices by some of the nation’s largest lenders started hitting the news in the past year and now the word has become synonymous with bad foreclosure practices. As a result, in April of this year the Office of the

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Mortgage delinquencies decline in August; down almost 12 percent from year ago

I keep saying that, until the foreclosure rate gets back down closer to a “normal” rate and the REO inventory is absorbed to the point where they are no longer putting such immense downward pressure on home prices, we are not going to see any sort of sustainable recovery in the housing market.  It all

Continue reading… Mortgage delinquencies decline in August; down almost 12 percent from year ago

Double-dip recession concern by consumers is putting a damper on the housing market

Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group says that we are not out of the woods yet and that the economy is “flirting with another economic downturn” now after more than two years since the worst recession since the World War II era. Fannie Mae Chief Economist, Doug Duncan, said “the weakening economic

Continue reading… Double-dip recession concern by consumers is putting a damper on the housing market

Homeowners in negative equity position declines in 2nd quarter; majority have above market interest rates

A report released today by CoreLogic shows that 22.5 percent (10.9 million) of all homeowners in the U.S. with a mortgage were in a negative equity position in the second quarter of 2011, down slightly from 22.7 percent the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being “underwater” or “upside down” and

Continue reading… Homeowners in negative equity position declines in 2nd quarter; majority have above market interest rates

Minnesota Emerges as Mortgage Fraud Hot Spot

Minnesota has emerged as the state with the highest amount of mortgage fraud (in total dollar amount) according to the second-quarter 2011 Mortgage Fraud Index from MortgageDaily.com. With $184,715,000 of mortgage fraud activity in the 2nd quarter Minnesota inched out the first place spot from Florida which had $184,009,434 in loans with mortgage fraud

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Mortgage interest rates dip to lowest rate this year

Mortgage interest rates have hit a new low for the year, dipping to an average of 4.29% (4.54% APR) for 30-year fixed mortgages, 3.53% (3.90% APR) for 15-year fixed mortgages and 3.38% (3.63% APR) for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) earlier this week according to the LendingTree Weekly Mortgage Rate

Continue reading… Mortgage interest rates dip to lowest rate this year

Four Florida Men Charged in Boston with Defrauding Homeowners in Home Loan Modification Scam

Four Florida men were arrested on charges that they defrauded homeowners in Massachusetts and elsewhere in connection with a home loan modification scam.  Earlier this month, a 20-count indictment was unsealed in federal court in Boston, charging Christopher S. Godfrey, 42, of Delray Beach, Fla.; Dennis Fischer, 40, of Highland Beach, Fla.; Vernell Burris Jr,

Continue reading… Four Florida Men Charged in Boston with Defrauding Homeowners in Home Loan Modification Scam

Businessmen, Loan Officer, and Title Company Attorney Indicted for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering in a Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme

HOUSTON—Two Houston businessmen, a mortgage company loan officer, and a title company attorney and escrow officer have been indicted for their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud residential mortgage lenders of more than $22 million in loans.

Freddie Mac offering to pay future condo fees through HomeSteps special

HomeSteps, the home-sale division of Freddie Mac, announced “Condo Cash”, a special limited-time offer to pay up to $1,500 in future condo fees for eligible buyers purchasing a condominium being sold through the Freddie Mac HomeSteps program. 

Homeowners not happy with their mortgage servicers

After all the bad press mortgage companies have received lately,  this probably won’t come as a surprise, but according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study, homeowners satisfaction with their mortgage servicers has “declined notably from 2010.“