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What To Do When Your HELOC Is Reduced By The Bank 2008-06-27 10:20:00 A Home Equity Line of Credit is bank product that grants homeowners access to the equity in their home at anytime, usually using checks.
Oftencalled a HELOC, these equity-based credit lines function very much like credit cards:
The rate is adjustable, tied to Prime Rate
There is a minimum monthly payment
There is a pre-set spending/credit limit
But different from credit cards is that a HELOC is
Making English Out Of Fed-Speak (June 2008 Edition) 2008-06-25 17:10:00
The Federal Open Market Committee left the Fed Funds Rate unchanged at 2.000 percent this afternoon, as expected.
In its press release, the Federal Reserve noted the co-existence of inflation and recession.
On inflation, the Fed said that energy and food prices are contributing to an "elevated state" of inflation, but that it expects price pressures to ease "later this year and next year".
On Read more:Edition
, English
How The Fed's Words Should Trump The Fed's Actions Today 2008-06-25 10:54:38 The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its 2-day meeting at 2:15 P.M. ET today. It's widely expected that the group will leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged at 2.000 percent.
However, it's not what the Fed does today that has markets so interested. It's what the Fed will say.
One of the Federal Reserve's rolesis to promote stability in the U.S. economy by protecting it from two major threa Read more:Today
, Actions
, Trump
, Words
Simple Real Estate Definitions: PITI 2008-06-24 07:00:00 Most homeowners make fourhousing-related payments each month:
Principal on a mortgage
Interest on a mortgage
Taxes on the real estate owned
Insurance for the real estate owned
Collectively, these payments are known by the acronym PITI but don't let it fool you -- a homeowner's monthly expenses are still called PITI even if one or more of the elements doesn't apply.
For example, a homeowner wit Read more:Definitions
, Estate
, Simple
Looking Back And Looking Ahead : June 23, 2008 2008-06-23 07:00:00 Mortgage rates edged higher for the fifth straight week and thebenchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is nowat a 10-month high.
One reason why rates are spiking is because the temporary jolt from higher energy and food costs is starting to look like a longer-term trend.
For example, high energy prices get a lot of press, but its 19.4 percent increase since last year is dwarfed by the 64.8 percent i Read more:Looking Back
The Midwest Flooding And Its Impact On Your Home Mortgage 2008-06-20 09:39:58 Flooding in the Midwest
has displaced thousands of families and caused billions of dollars in damages.
It may also causemortgage rates to rise.
As the extent of the damage becomes more clear, prices for grain and livestock are soaring. For example, a host of dietary staples are suddenly more expensive at the supermarket, including:
Meat
Pork
Chicken
Dairy
Eggs
Rising food prices are conside Read more:Mortgage
, Flooding
What You Need To Know About Mortgage Rate Quotes 2008-06-19 11:11:00 Home buyers are often surprised when a "rate quote" from the morning won't be honored in the afternoon. Sometimes, the assumption is that the loan officer is just being sneaky.
This couldn't be less true.
Rate quotes change in the middle of the daybecause mortgage markets are in constant flux. All day, every day -- just like stocks.
And like stocks, a mortgage bond's morning price will likely "ex Read more:Quotes
, Mortgage
Why Home Values May Rise When Home Building Falls To A 17-Year Low 2008-06-18 09:34:00 A "Housing Start" is a new home on which construction has commenced and in May, Housing Starts fell to a 17-year low nationally.
At first glance, this may seem like a negative for the already-battered U.S. housing market.
It's not.
Falling Housing Starts reflects the broader real estate market and shows us thatbuilders are working hard to get their already-built homes "off the books".
It would b Read more:Falls
, Building
, Values
If That Home Is A "Good Buy", Make Your Offer Quickly 2008-06-17 08:17:31 Each month,University of Michigan researcher survey the U.S. population about their thoughts on the economy -- is it improving, it is worsening, is it staying the same.
May's consumer confidence survey registered it's lowest reading since 1980.
Given the recent headlines, that shouldn't be surprising:
Unemployment is spiking
Gas prices are at an all-time high
Housing markets keep getting bad pre Read more:Offer
Looking Back And Looking Ahead : June 16, 2008 2008-06-16 07:00:00 Mortgage rates moved higher last week on lingering concerns about inflation, the fourth straight week in which rates rose.
Mortgage rates are now as high as they've beensince October 2007.
Because inflation devalues mortgage bonds, market players are quick to unload themwhen signs of inflation are present.
Last week, there were several such signs:
The American Consumer is spending undettereddespi Read more:Looking Back
Guess Which 4 States Accounted For More Than 50 Percent Of May 2008 Foreclosures 2008-06-13 09:14:51 RealtyTrac released its most recent foreclosure statistics and if you only read the headlines, you think the entire country was on the verge of losing its homes.
The underlying data tells a different story, however.
More than half of the country's foreclosure activity in May 2008was tied to just4 states in the union:
California (28 percent)
Florida (14 percent)
Arizona (5 percent)
Michigan (5 per Read more:Foreclosures
, Percent
, States
, Guess
Cancel Your PMI Before It's Too Late To Cancel It 2008-06-12 07:00:00 When homeowners borrow more than 80 percent of a home's value, mortgage lenders often require acorresponding insurance policy called Private Mortgage Insurance.
PMI provides a cash payment to lenders in the event of a homeowner defaults.
But because PMI policies are designed forhigh LTV loansonly, they usually contain cancellation options for when home equity percentages reach 20 percent or more.
Read more:Cancel
Is The Federal Reserve Telegraphing Its Next Rate Hike? 2008-06-11 07:00:00 The FederalReserve
is stumping hard on inflation this week, creating speculation that Fed Funds Rate hikes may be in store for later this month.
This is a counter-intuitive development becauseincreases to the Fed Funds Rate are typically associated with periods of rapid economic expansion.
Lately, we've seen anything but.
Witness:
High levels of unemployment
Reducedconsumer spending
Falling
Why Your "Dear Seller" Letter May Be Met With A "Dear John" 2008-06-10 07:00:00 Several years ago, when homes sometimes sold within hours, prospective buyers often drafted "Dear Seller
" letters, an accompanying personal note to help purchase offers stand out in a multiple-bid situation.
Today, some buyers are writing a different kind of letter to win a seller's favor -- a letter explaining why the buyer's offer is so far below the seller's asking price.
You can't blame buyers Read more:Letter
Looking Back And Looking Ahead : June 9, 2008 2008-06-09 07:00:00 There was no rest for the mortgage-rate weary last week.
As mortgage bonds sold off early in the week, sharp rate hikes followed. A steady stream of better-than-expected economic reports had re-ignited inflation fears, drawing money from the bond market.
On Friday, however, themoney flow reversed on a triple threat to the U.S. economy:
The Unemployment Rate took its biggest one-month jump in 22 Read more:Looking Back
Why It's Good News For Home Buyers When Unemployment Rates Surge 2008-06-06 10:58:00 On the first Friday of every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report.
More commonly called the "jobs report", today's 2-page analysisof May 2008shows that the economy shed jobs and that unemployment surged.
This is terrific news for home affordability.
That may sound counter-intuitive, so let's dig deeper into the jobs report and what it really tells us about th Read more:Good News
, Surge
, Rates
, Unemployment
, Buyers
What Happens When Bernanke Says "Inflation" 55 Times In 5 Pages Of Text 2008-06-05 10:31:00 Mortgage rates are a big deal when you're buying a home.
Witheventhe slighest uptick in rates, 30 years of mortgage payments can get substantially more expensive and one of the most substantial threats to mortgage rates is an economic event called inflation.
Inflation
's influence on mortgage rates is so large that markets can get jarred on just the mention of it and that's exactly what happened Read more:Pages
, Times
, Bernanke
The Proper Way To Give And Receive Gifts For Downpayments 2008-06-04 10:45:00 When a home buyer is gifted cash for a downpayment, there is a right way and a wrong way to receive the funds.
Theright wayincludes:
Completing an acceptable gift letter
Documenting the withdrawal of funds with receipts
Documenting the deposit of funds with receipts
The wrong way is to ignore the rules that mortgage lenders clearly spell out for you.
Mortgage lenders watch gifts closely because Read more:Gifts
, Receive
, Proper
Did You Know : The Lifespan Of A Mortgage Approval 2008-06-03 07:34:02 Mortgage approvals don't last forever.
A conforming mortgage approval from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac has a shelf-life of 120 days.
After 120 days, the approval expires and a mortgage applicant must re-submithis application for consideration.
In addition, a mortgage approval can "expire" within the 120-day period for other reasons:
Change of job status or income
Newly-acquired monthly debt (i.e. Read more:Approval
, Mortgage
Looking Back And Looking Ahead : June 2, 2008 2008-06-02 07:00:00 Mortgage rates rocketed higher last week, stunning active home buyers and mortgage rate shoppers.
Some conforming mortgage rates rose by as much as three-quarters of a percent before Friday's closing.
Even in a year in which mortgage rates have been extremely volatile, last week's spike was a large one.
The main driver of last week's increase was additional evidence that the U.S. economy was neve Read more:Looking Back
10 Cities That May Be Signaling That The Worst Of Housing May Already Be Over 2008-07-16 10:00:00 Last week, Forbes Magazine published a Top 10 list that should grab the attention of housing market bottom-feeders.
The Top 10 list of Increasingly Affordable U.S. Housing
Marketsshows that falling home prices and steady mortgage rates are providing a support floor in some of the country's most beat-up regions.
The report's methodology is simple:
Take citywide income data as reported by HUD
Matc Read more:Cities
Fannie And Freddie Are Yesterday's News, Says The Market 2008-07-15 10:53:00 Mortgage markets have turned their attention back to the U.S. economy this morning, causing yesterday's rate improvements to unwind a bit.
Rates had fallen Monday after the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury's joint announcement in support of Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac. Today, it's the data that is taking center stage.
Most notably, the U.S. Dollar is trading at an all-time low versus the Euro and Read more:Yesterday
, Market
Looking Back And Looking Ahead : July 14, 2008 2008-07-14 10:00:00 Mortgage rates fell slightly in a week that included a bank failure, more oil price spikes, and questions about the health of the nations' mortgage market.
Rates would have fallen more if not for a late-Friday sell-off that added 0.125 percent to most products.
As financial markets fell under stress, most people missed the strong points that emerged about the U.S. economy last week:
Fewer Americ Read more:Looking Back
How Is The Economy Doing? It Depends Who You Ask. 2008-07-11 10:12:21 "Economic uncertainty" is turning into a 2008 buzzword and there's good reasons why.
On the one hand, there are precursors to inflation in the economy:
Rising oil costs
Rising food prices
Higher Cost of Living
On the other hand, there are precursors to recession in the economy, too:
Mounting job losses
Less access to credit and/or loans
Falling consumer confidence data
The pie chart at right ill Read more:Depends
Foreclosure Rates Are Falling (Despite What You See In The Headlines) 2008-07-10 11:26:09 According to RealtyTrac, the rate of foreclosures across the U.S. is slowing. Versus May, June foreclosures fell at a 3 percent clip.
25 states showed improvement month-over-month, led by many of the same areas that had fueled foreclosure activity in 2007.
A sampling of RealtyTrac's data includes:
California : Foreclosure
s down 4.54 percent
Georgia : Foreclosures down 14.91 percent
Arizona : For Read more:Rates
The "Sheep Effect" On Your Housing Payment 2008-07-09 10:00:00 A noon-hour, mortgage-bond rally rendered homes more affordable for Americans Tuesday. It was the second straight day on which this happened.
On both days, the action was swift.
The speed at which Monday's and Tuesday's respective rallies tore through mortgage markets illustrates how deep the uncertainty that surrounds the U.S. economy really is.
One reason why the market swings so quickly is th Read more:Housing
, Sheep
, Payment
Why July May Be The Best Time To Write A Purchase Contract In 2008 2008-07-08 10:00:00 It's a terrific time to buy a home, but not because homes happen to be affordable.
It's a terrific time to buy because the variety of mortgage products available to home buyers looks poised to shrink.
Monday, Alt-A mortgage lender IndyMac Bankstopped accepting mortgage applications and it's likely that other Alt-A lenders will likely follow suit.
Alt-A loans are ones in which borrowers can't (or w Read more:Write
, Purchase
Looking Back And Looking Ahead : July 7, 2008 2008-07-07 10:00:00 Last week was fairly uneventful in the mortgage markets, with rates slightly edging lower across the board and without much data to influencetrading.
Even Thursday morning's hotly-anticipated jobs report was met with lukewarm interest; many traders had already left for the weekend.
Mortgage rates just drifted -- a little up and little down,but mostly unchanged.
Mortgage insiders may have found la Read more:Looking Back
Happy 4th of July! 2008-07-04 17:10:44 Freedom is essential to the American way of life. Today we celebrate those who dared to declare our independence and ensure our right to pursue happiness and the American dream. We wish you a happy and safe Independence Day, and we're truly honored that you've chosen us for all of your mortgage needs. Feel free to call us any time. Read more:Happy
How Job Losses In The Economy Are Helping Home Affordability 2008-07-03 11:55:53 On the first Friday of each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its Non-Farm Payrolls report.
More commonly, it's called the "jobs report".
The jobs reportis a sector-by-sector look into the U.S. economy and whether businesses are hiring -- or firing -- workers. This is one of the reasons why its release is so hotly anticipated each month -- the jobs report can reveal a lot about the s Read more:Losses
, Helping
, Affordability
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