You guessed it. Just in time for the holidays, mortgage rates fell to yet a new record low. What a nice gift to give existing and prospective homeowners. Average interest rates on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped to 3.91% during the week ending December 22, down from 3.94% a week earlier, per Freddie Mac [&hellip
The post Happy Holidays: Your Gift is Record Low Mortgage Rates first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
Yet another mass refinancing program has been proposed, this time by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. His program, âThe 4% Mortgage: Rebuilding American Homeownershipâ (RAH), is geared toward underwater borrowers who have kept up with their mortgage payments, but havenât been able to receive assistance via existing programs. It specifically targets those who hold mortgages that [&hellip
The post New Refinancing Program for Loans Not Owned by Fannie or Freddie first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
Most properties require some amount work to get into their desired shape, even newer ones. And just about everyone knows that home renovation projects arenât cheap. This is generally the case regardless of whether the job is a small one or a large one, or a matter of preference versus a mandatory fix. Itâs going [&hellip
The post How to Pay for Home Renovations: Pros and Cons to Different Methods first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
Despite a slight uptick this week, mortgage rates are still pretty much rock bottom, and unarguably at ridiculously low levels. This has sparked yet another refinance boom, with mortgage application volume rising to its highest point since May 2009, per the latest data dump from the Mortgage Bankers Association. This is great news for existing [&hellip
The post Are the Low Mortgage Rates a Home Buyer Trap? first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
Over the past several months, it has become somewhat clear (insert gigantic grain of salt here) that home prices may have bottomed last year, at least in some areas of the country. While itâs still too early to say so definitively, it looks like some homes were snatched up at rock-bottom prices a year ago. [&hellip
The post You May Have Missed the Housing Bottom, But Not the Mortgage Rate Bottom first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
As a result of recent enhancements, and perhaps ua-low mortgage rates, the Home Affordable Refinance Program has actually made a meaningful impact. Last month, there were a total of 98,885 HARP refinances recorded by the FHFA, which accounted for nearly 24% of all the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refis during August. Thatâs a big [&hellip
The post HARP Refinancing Takes Off Thanks to New Guidelines first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
Looking for the best mortgage rates? Weâve all heard about the super-low mortgage rates available, but how do you actually get your hands on them? When itâs all said and done, it never seems to be as low as the bank originally claimed, which can be pretty frustrating or even problematic for your loan closing. [&hellip
The post Mortgage Rate Shopping: 10 Tips to Get a Better Deal first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
As youâre probably aware, the latest move to boost the economy was another round of quantitative easing, known as QE3. This most recent initiative targets mortgage-backed securities specifically, with the Fed pledging to purchase $40 billion per month, on an open-ended basis, until things improve. Since it was announced, mortgage rates have inched down to [&hellip
The post Consumers Donât Care About Low Mortgage Rates Anymore first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
As widely expected, the Federal Reserve announced âQE3â last week, a move taken to bolster the flagging economy by putting downward pressure on long-term interest rates. More specifically, the Fed pledged to purchase even more agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in an effort to push mortgage rates lower than already are, via a method known as [&hellip
The post What QE3 Means for Mortgage Rates first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.
Yet another proposed rule is being floated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (yes, theyâve been busy) to help mortgage shoppers better understand the origination costs and fees associated with their home loans. The group argues that in its current state, itâs difficult for consumers to compare different combinations of mortgage rates, points and fees. [&hellip
The post New Rule Aims to Demystify Mortgage Origination Costs and Fees first appeared on The Truth About Mortgage.