Home Loan Resources

Indymac Bank closes their doors to new business.

admin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:18:37 +0000

In a shocking announcement on Monday, Indymac Bank has shut down it’s wholesale and retail operations.

Luckily for consumers who had loans about to fund with them, they will most likely still go through. They are just not allowing new submissions or new rate locks.

Just when we thought all the big banks still remaining had made it through the mortgage meltdown, Indymac releases this news. It will be interesting to see how this plas out and we will keep you posted.

The Federal Reserve did not lower interest rates this time.

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:12:05 +0000

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and said the risk of inflation has grown but stopped short of signaling that higher interest rates were coming soon. The decision by the U.S. central bank, announced at the end of a two-day meeting, leaves the benchmark federal funds rate at 2 percent.

(Source: http://www.cnbc.com/id/25370711 )

We shall see how this plays out, but it looks as if the long term mortgage rates will start to come back down with this news. That is great news for everyone looking to get a home loan.

Will the Feds lower interest rates again?

admin — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:31:24 +0000

Well, the Feds meet again this week and the big question we are looking for is if they will raise or lower the Fed funds interest rate. Have interest rates dropped too far too fast or will the economy work itself out? That remains to be seen.

As a reminder though, when you here that Feds lower (or raise) their fed funds interest rate, this does not directly affect the 15 and 30 year mortgage rates. The Fed rates are short term rates that primarily affect credit cards, home equity loans and adjustable rate mortgages.

If you are interested in what the 30-year mortgage rates are doing, get in contact with your loan officer and ask him to keep you posted on these rates. Interest rates for home loans can change every day, not just when the Feds meet. Historically, 30-year rates are still very low, although they are just slightly higher than their 40 year lows of a few years back. It is still a good time to buy or refinance a property!

Want To Sell Your Home Fast?

admin — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:26:43 +0000

The story on the street is that it takes forever and a day to sell your house in today’s market. In some cases that seems to be true, however there are ways to sell your house faster.

If you are in a position to strike a good deal for a new buyer and your home is in great condition, you should be able to find ready to buy buyers. If you are upside down on your property, you might also want to look into short selling your home, but only if you have to sell it.

We have located a group of home buyers that are looking to buy houses in all areas. They will buy homes in any condition and in any price range. This is a great way to avoid foreclosure.

To see if there are any cash buyers in your area just click here and enter your zip code.

Home Loan Applications Are On The Rise.

admin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:20:13 +0000

“The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted mortgage application index, boosted by increased demand for both purchase and refinance loans, rose 10.9 percent to 557.1 in the June 6 week.”

This is a good sign for the economy. I am seeing a lot of offers and deals on the bank owned properties getting approved. With all the buyers taking advantage of the lower priced housing and the overall low interest rates, we are optimistic in seeing a turn-around in the near future.

Obviously this will not happen over night, but I am seeing that light at the end of the tunnel.

Mortgage rates on the rise, US economy on the fall.

admin — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:59:54 +0000

The 30 year Fixed Rate Mortgage rate increased to 6.17 % from 5.96%, while the 15 year Fixed Rate Mortgage rate increased to 5.7 percent from 5.49 percent. One-year ARMs decreased to 6.8 percent from 6.92 percent. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, came in at 502.3, a decrease of 15.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 593.3 one week earlier. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 8.7 from 9.3 percent of total applications from the previous week.

Consumers are battling recession and inflation at the same time. The national average price of gas crossed $4 on Sunday, which translates into higher commodity and energy prices. The unemployment rate rose to 5.5 %, adding to the argument that we are unofficially in a recession.

Although the U.S. Treasury has already issued 57.4 million payments totaling about $50 billion in tax economic stimulus payments, opinion is that most of the tax incentives will be used to pay down debt and to keep pace with rising food and energy bills. Coupled with this is the fact that the economy grew at a slow pace of 0.8 %.

Foreclosures Lowering Values and Creating Opportunities.

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:30:01 +0000

Just looking around any neighborhood, you can see that the large amount of foreclosure are lowering values of homes everywhere. There is an article on CNBC.com, Foreclosures Weighing Heavier Than Ever On Prices, that talks about the stats and why the values keep falling.

Another way to look at things is what a great value new home buyers can find when shopping for a home. A few years ago, new home buyers were shut out at buying the larger home that they wanted because the prices were too high and out of their budget. Now they can find the same houses at nearly half the price on the foreclosure lists.

In my eyes, this is a great time to buy a house. I am seeing tons of deals coming through our office for new purchases of properties that cost twice as much two years ago. Housing is now affordable again.

If you have been putting off buying a house because you thought they were not affordable, maybe you should go out and take another look. The deals available now (and probably for the next 12 months) are incredible.

Financing a Home After The Mortgage Crisis.

admin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:14:12 +0000

Now that the “Mortgage Meltdown” has subsided, what type of financing is available to those who want to buy a house?

There are still plenty of loan programs available to finance a house. The key though is that you must actually qualify for loan and you can’t lie about you actual income. If you can afford a house and you can prove it and your credit is worthy you should be able to find a home loan that fits your needs.

While several of the loan programs require a larger down payment than people are accustomed to over the last few years, there are still a few ways to obtain 100% financing. VA programs for those that are eligible and FHA loan programs using a charitable gift program are the most popular ways to achieve 100% financing.

Loan programs can change in a moments notice, so you should keep in constant contact with your loan officer.

Countrywide heading down the drain. Will B of A scoop them up?

admin — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:28:17 +0000

Well, it finally looks as if Countrywide will be done for good. Rumor on the street is that Bank of America will buy them out or merge with them in some sort of way very soon.

Countrywide has been denying their troubled situation over and over, but when you lay the facts down on paper, they ARE in trouble.

It really shows in the value of the company and their stock prices. They were valued at nearly $26 billion last year and today their worth is about $3.2 billion. The stocks 52-week high in Feb. was $45.19 and now is currently $7.75. Awesome work guys!

How any one or any company can say “We are fine” as they deplete their worth by $23 BILLION is beyond me.

How to find the value of a house.

admin — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:53:15 +0000

Are you wondering what the actual value of a house is in your neighborhood? With the concern of declining home values and potential buyers scared to make offers, how can one determine what is a fair value to buy a home?

Well, there are several ways to get a good determination of value.

First I would go to www.Zillow.com and type in the property address. It will tell you an approximate value and the values of all the houses in the neighborhood. Now don’t take this number as the official number as this site is sometimes a little behind on updates, however it will give you a great starting point.

Then contact your Realtor, or a Real Estate Agent that you will work with in the future and have them run a comparison of the subject property. They will tell you all the similar properties on the market in that neighborhood and the listing prices. They will also show what similar properties in the area have actually sold for in the last 6-12 months. This will give you a great idea as to where values are heading in that area and if they are in line with the house you are looking at.

Finally, if you decide to put an offer in on that house, you will need to have an appraisal ordered and they will certify the value of the house. Just make sure you put a clause in your contract offer that you can back out of the deal if the appraised value comes in lower than the offered price.

These tips will help make sure you are buying a home that is at the value you are buying it for.