New Home Appraisal Nightmares For Homebuyers
I just read this very interesting article about how the new rules regarding home appraisals are having some unintended negative consequences. I know this to be true because I just went through a similar situation with one of my clients. The appraisal for the home she was buying came in much lower than expected and much lower than the home was actually worth. The result was, the deal was dead.
Read this article to learn more.
When It Comes To Getting A Mortgage, Patience Is A Virtue
If you are in the process of buying a home or refinancing your current mortgage, you may need to exercise a great deal of patience. Mortgage lenders have now become the gold standard in caution. Where once they would approve a monkey with a social security number, now you will have an easier time getting top secret clearance from the federal government. And why shouldn’t they? After all, it’s our money they are lending us, right? I am not saying that banks shouldn’t be careful and take necessary precautions before issuing mortgages. However, they have gone completely overboard in the opposite direction.When I first got into the mortgage business, long before there was any such thing as automated underwriting, there was a a standard that every one lived by. Banks, brokers and lenders would look at a mortgage application and ask: does it make sense? And if the answer was yes, then generally, the loan would be approved. If it did not, then it would be denied. Then came the housing boom. And when the question “Does it make Sense?” was asked, everyone said “Who Cares?” Now we have flopped over to the extreme opposite and when the question is asked “Does it make Sense?” The answer is “Even if it does, you probably won’t get approved anyway.” These are our banks, people. The ones we spent a trillion dollars bailing out which is why it stings a bit more.
If you need a mortgage, start early to avoid any disappointment.
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Mortgage Rates In Waiting Mode Again
Mortgage rates are heading lower again. Just when thought they had already reached bottom and were heading back up for good, down the go once more. This post explains the details. If you are wondering weather to lock your loan or not, this article may give you some insight on what you should do.
Click here to find your best rates from the best lenders in the country at Lending Tree.
Here’s the Story:
Last week, progress was made in the mortgage market as Treasuries rallied and prices of mortgage backed securities moved higher. By week’s end “rate sheet influential” MBS coupons improved in price by almost 0.50 discount points, bringing the par 30 year fixed rate mortgage back under 5% for the first time in almost two months. This rally in fixed income was led by a shift in investor sentiment from recovery to a stagnate economic outlook. This shift has resulted in market participants liquidating their risky equity positions and moving money into safer/risk averse fixed income assets like MBS and Treasuries.
Mortgage Lenders Are Crazy!!!
This is a simple word of caution to anyone seeking a home loan out there. If you think that banks and mortgage lenders are rational business people, think again. Just as they were insane before the housing crash by lending to anyone with a heartbeat and probably some without heartbeats, the are equally insane now with their over cautious lending practices.
I have client who was supposed to close on their loan on June 30th and they are still waiting. The reason? The home they are buying is owned by a trust. I don’t want to get into what a trust is except to say that people set up trusts so that when someone dies they can avoid probate and the trust can sell or transfer the property to whomever.
It is not very complicated, the transaction is the same as any other. Except the lender is making it soooo difficult, requesting one stupid document after another, none of which really have anything to do with trust. The latest request is that the bank would now like a copy of the the sellers death certificate. First of all — the seller is the trust (They Know that), secondly, do they not believe that the person actually died????? Can you tell that I am a little P O’d?
I guess, my advice to you is that if you are in the process of buying a home, make sure all your ducks are in a row and your loan is cleared to close well ahead of the closing date. In this day and age you never know what kind of crazy conditions the lender will require before they actually lend you the money.
Avoid and complications and Get Your Approval Completed Quickly At Lending Tree
Wow! Mortgage Applications Climb Out Of 7 Month Low
The Mortgage Bankers Association is reporting that mortgage applications have climed out of a 7 month low last week. Is this a sign that the housing collapse is starting to stabilize? Perhaps. Maybe it is that folks are realizing that the fantastic mortgage rates we have right now will not last forever. In any event, the fact the more and more people are applying for mortgages is a good thing. Let’s hope the trend continues next week. By the way, if you haven’t heard, mortgage interest rates are great today. If you are thinking about buying or refinancing your home, now is a great time to act.
Click here to get great rates and fantastic service from Lending Tree.
Don’t Ask Me When You Should Lock Your Loan… Please!
I can’t tell you how many phone calls I get every day where people ask me if they should lock in their loan. And the answer is definitely, “I DON’T KNOW” I will never know and that is the end of that. I will never tell you. And the reason is that as sure as I am sitting here writing this, as soon as I tell you to lock or not to lock, the market is going to move in the opposite direction and you will hate me forever. The only people who really know if you should lock or not are the puppet masters on Wall Street who control everything — And they’re not talking.
If you want my opinion, here it is. Get four offers from different lenders, then negotiate your best deal.
Should I Refinance?
Should You Refinance?
There is no doubt about it, the current state of the economy has many people asking this question.
Right now, interest rates are the lowest that they have ever been. Even during the refinance boom of the late 1990’s, no one ever dreamed that you would be able to get a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for around 4%.
But the reality is that right now you can get a fixed rate mortgage near 4%. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that a great deal like this one will probably disappear pretty quickly.
So Here is the answer to your question “Should I refinance?”
You should not consider refinancing if:
You plan on moving in the near future.
If your interest rate will only drop by 1/4% or less.
If you are uncomfortable with the new terms being offered.
Do not refinance your home to buy luxury items that you would otherwise not afford.
You Should Definitely Consider Refinancing If:
Your interest rate will be lowered by 3/8% Or More.
If you can lower your interest rate by 3/8% percent or more it is usually a no brainer. The savings that you will acquire from lower monthly payments will usually more than make up for any costs involved.
If you currently have an adjustable rate mortgage it would be very wise to lock in a low fixed rate right now.
You Should Refinance If you have a lot of credit card debt.
If you have sufficient equity in your home, you may be able to get some “cash out” which you can use to consolidate your bills. When this happens, you will be a double winner.
A quick formula to determine if refinancing is worth it
Take your total closing costs and divide them by how much money you will be saving every month. This will tell you how many months at the new payment it will take to pay off the closing costs. If you think you will be living in the home at least that long, then it may well be worth it.
We recommend getting several Interest rate offers from different banks.
When you do this, banks will fight over each other to do your mortgage and they tend to lower their interest rates and fees even more.
We highly recommend LendingTree Mortgage Loans
Lending Tree is Great Because you only have to fill out on simple form to get up to four great offers for your mortgage from the best banks in the country and their rates beat the national average.
Also By using Lending Tree, you will not have to deal with all those salesmen calling your house non-stop. Lending Tree filters all of this out for you. So you can make your decision comfortably without the pressure from pushy sales people.
By filling out the Lending Tree Form, you will get your answer as to weather you should refinance your home or not. It does not cost anything to find out so you should take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity of record low interest rates to find out.
