12.18.08
Posted in First Time Homebuyers, Mortgage News at 8:55 pm by Administrator
First Time Home Buyers are Thriving in this current market. Homes prices have come down substantially and they are now affordable to first time home buyers. Most consumers think that you need perfect credit and a huge down payment in order to obtain financing for a loan. Although this may be the case if you are a current homeowner, the same does not hold true for a first time home buyer. There are FHA loans that only require a minimum down payment of 3.5% in order to buy your very own home. FHA loans do require certain credit qualification and the ability to prove your income with pay stubs, W2s, or tax returns but typically are more lenient than traditional loans. FHA loans were put in place to help consumers who didn’t have access to a huge down payment in order to boost homeownership. Not only are FHA loans bringing more and more First Time Home buyers in the market, but the tax incentive that was just signed into law has also brought in many inquiries. You can read more about this tax incentive at approvedteamlending.com/frontpagenews-firsttimehomebuyer.html.
Approved Team Lending specializes in helping First Time home buyers from application to closing and walks you through every single step answering any question along the way. We work with professionals in our industry such as Appraisers, Realtors, Insurance Agents, etc that we can recommend as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact one of our First Time Home Buyer Specialists at 866-790-7883.
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12.10.08
Posted in Mortgage News at 4:14 pm by Administrator
Rates are very low right now but the Treasury is debating lowering rates even more to get the supply of homes for sale down to a normal level. Here is an article about the subject by Ronald D. Orol at Marketwatch……..
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The Treasury Department is contemplating a proposal that would cut mortgage rates for new loans for homes, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The plan would employ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer mortgages with rates as low as 4.5%, roughly 1 percentage point lower than current rates.
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09.08.08
Posted in Mortgage News at 2:09 pm by Administrator
The Bush Administration has finally seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the weekend. Many have been expecting this takeover to happen but the fact that the government had to step in and take these companies over shows what a bad position this housing market is truly in. This takeover will calm the financial market now that the government is backing the two major companies and that can be seen in the stock market this morning. The European markets and the Japanese markets were up big today as well as the US stock market this morning. Confidence is key right now in the financial market so the government takeover is proving to be a success with that aspect as of now. How the rest of this will unfold no one knows but this takeover will cost taxpayers a lot of money but was a necessary evil in order to keep the financial market moving and hopefully help to put a bottom in the housing industry. Below is an article touching on the takeover.
US government takes on big role in mortgage market
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and ALAN ZIBEL, AP Business Writers
WASHINGTON – Uncle Sam has just become the 800 pound gorilla in the U.S. mortgage market. The Bush administration announced Sunday it was seizing troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a bid to help reverse a prolonged housing and credit crisis.
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09.05.08
Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgage News at 1:46 pm by Administrator
Foreclosures may be up from year to year but it looks like more and more homeowners are able to work something out with their current lender to stop foreclosure proceedings. We are seeing a massive shift in lender reaction to borrowers who are behind on their mortgage for a legitimate reason such as a job loss or illness. Not everyone can be helped but at least the conversation is beginning and lenders are finally seeing that it may be best to work something out with the homeowners that can and want to pay their mortgage. Some homeowners fell on hard times and are back on track but find themselves three months behind on their mortgage. It’s difficult to come back from this as most lenders will not take a partial payment. They want all three mortgage payments at once in order to catch up. That is just not doable for many homeowners.
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08.07.08
Posted in Mortgage News at 1:47 pm by Administrator
Interest Rates on home loans are on the rise and have been for the past year. Many homeowners that were trying to “time the market” are now finding that they made a bad trade. Interest Rates dipped in early February on long term fixed rates such as a 30 year fixed but have steadily been rising since. The rates have scaled back a bit this week but the long term trend is up and many experts say that this will continue as inflation continues to be an issue. Long term interest rates tend to follow inflation and if that proves true, interest rates are going to continue rising over the next couple years. The average rates this past week on a 30 year fixed were 6.52% per Freddie Mac and 6.07% on a 15 year fixed.
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Posted in Foreclosures at 1:31 pm by Administrator
The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act (H.R. 3221) was signed by the president last week and helps homeowners that are in foreclosure stay in there homes and also gives incentive for first time homebuyers to purchase now. The legislation gives first time homebuyers a refundable tax credit that works like an interest-free loan of up to $7,500 (to be paid back over 15 years). The credit will begin to phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $70,000 ($140,000 in the case of a joint return). This part of the legislation is an effort by Congress, the Senate, and the president to spur purchasing and help stabilize a declining Real Estate market.
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07.23.08
Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgage News at 8:14 pm by Administrator
Good news today for homeowners that are having problems paying their mortgage each month. The housing bill is almost ready to be passed into legislation. At first there were rumors that President Bush was going to veto it due to one or two items that he wanted removed but that changed this week. He is still opposed to certain parts but the most important part of the legislation is the infusion of liquidity to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both of who have been rumored to be under-capitalized. This is the reason that the Senate, Henry Paulson, and the president are pushing this bill through. In the process, it is slated to help 400,000 homeowners that are either in foreclosure or very close to foreclosure and help them to get into lower 30 year fixed mortgage payments. We still have a ways to go but good thing they are passing something that will help stop the bleeding of foreclosures and put some confidence back in our consumer. Read more about this in the article below.
President Bush drops opposition to housing bill
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – Congress is moving quickly to pass a housing package that aims to help 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosures and prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from collapsing.
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07.18.08
Posted in Mortgage News at 1:18 pm by Administrator
We think we are in the beginning stages of a bottom in the real estate market. The news about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac not having enough capital but then reassured by the treasury and Federal Reserve that they have access to capital if needed was the first sign. A major bank going under is another sign (Indymac being taken over last weekend). We do feel that tough times are still ahead as is normal during a stabilization period but that these signs as well as the many number of banks and mortgage companies that have gone out of business show that a bottom is close. This is great news for our economy. Although it’s tough for most of our country, the housing market is what really started this downturn and it should be the first industry to pull out of the downturn. Once the real estate market stabilizes and stops declining, it will rebuild the consumer confidence that has been falling the last 2 years. Consumer confidence is at an all time low understandably so and this component changes the way the consumer shops, spends, and makes important decisions. When consumer confidence is low, the consumer spends less on everything which slows the economy. A slower economy will depress the country even more and stop growth. This is why we feel that a stabilization in the Real estate market will build consumer confidence which will strengthen a very weak economy and bring us out of this downturn.
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07.16.08
Posted in Foreclosures at 9:18 pm by Administrator
Apparently foreclosures are still rising in Florida but at a much slower pace which is a great sign. This is probably caused by lenders working with current borrowers who are behind on their payments. The lenders are realizing that it’s better to just arrange a payment plan with the borrowers than to foreclose and have to take on an additional property. Couple that with the hefty cost of the actual foreclosure process. I hope this continues and more homeowners have the opportunity to stay in their homes. Check out the stats from RealtyTrac below.
Foreclosures in Florida continue to rise, but at a slower pace.
The number of homes in some process of foreclosure in June rose nearly 8 percent over last month, to 40,351, a new report from RealtyTrac shows. That means one in every 211 homes in the state was facing some kind of foreclosure.
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Posted in Mortgage News at 4:11 pm by Administrator
Many Americans are now realizing that qualifying for a home loan is not as easy as it used to be. In the past few years with the Real estate boom, mortgage financing was extremely easy to come by which is one of the reasons the mortgage industry is in the position its in with all these foreclosures. Borrowers were taking on too much of a home and lenders were allowing it due to the fast appreciation in home value. Now home values are declining and many homeowners can’t afford their payments.
You can still get mortgage financing in this day and age but you need to have all your ducks in a row. A great credit score used to carry the loan to an approval in the last couple years but now is only one of the things you need to have in place in order to get financing. This article touches on the main things we look for as lenders which include your credit, your income, your equity (or down payment on a purchase), and your ability to repay the loan. It’s back to basics and back to the old way of obtaining a home loan. Borrowers need to have all 4 components or they might be turned down. Below is the article that will help you prepare to make a mortgage approval easy.
By Marcie Geffner • Bankrate.com
Whether you’re buying a home or refinancing an existing home loan, you’ll soon find out that lenders today are a picky and demanding bunch when it comes to loan approvals. Even well-qualified borrowers are expected to jump through some pretty high hoops to qualify for financing.
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