From the category archives:

Mortgages

De-Mystifying The Loan Approval Process (It is not as tough as you think)

by Alex Stenback 09.28.2011
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Mortgage Applications Are Rising, but… The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that mortgage purchase applications rose 2.6% pecent last week. While this is potentially good news for the ailing housing market, these numbers are not as high as they should be when we have record low interest rates and housing prices have been rolled back by [...]

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Mortgage Market Weekly Update: Monday, Sept 26th 2011

by Alex Stenback 09.26.2011

Last Week: The Fed statement and announcement of Operation Twist (more on this here) contained a bonus for mortgages.  The simple plan? The Fed will buy more mortgage-backed bonds in 2011 and 2o12 in an attempt to anchor mortgage rates at low levels. Add to the mix renewed economic pessimism globally and from our own [...]

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How To: Refinance Your Mortgage Without Paying Closing Costs

by Alex Stenback 09.22.2011

Refinancing can be expensive.  But it does not have to be. That’s because, with a little bit of creative thinking, or if you are working with a lender that knows what they are doing (and probably does not work under the thumb of a major national bank,) your lender will pay your costs for you. This [...]

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What Today’s (semi-surprising) Fed Statement Means for Mortgage Rates (Thanks Ben!)

by Alex Stenback 09.21.2011

Today the Fed punctuated it’s two day conclave in the usual manner – by releasing a policy statement. Though it was widely expected that the Fed would address the persistent economic weakness and add additional measures to bolster an obviously stalled-out economy, the exact nature and size of the initiative was a bit of an [...]

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Weekly Mortgage Market Update: September 6th 2011

by Alex Stenback 09.06.2011

Last Week: Mortgage rates improved modestly last week, with the benchmark 30 year fixed seeing about .125% improvement by week’s end. The reason?  A drumbeat of very lukewarm economic data, capped off with a truly dismal Employment Report from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) which showed our economy netted ZERO new jobs in [...]

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The Federal Govt and The Housing Market: Where do we go from here?

by Alex Stenback 09.01.2011

Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke gave a lengthy speech today regarding the still-ailing housing market, and put forth a handful of solutions worthy of consideration. Anyone looking for clues as to future policy possibilities should read the entire statement (which is available at The Fed website.) But I read this sort of thing so you don’t [...]

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Weekly Mortgage Market Update: August 29th, 2011

by Alex Stenback 08.29.2011

Last Week: Mortgage rates drifted higher last week, with 30 year fixed rates adding about .125% for the week, and a full .25% increase since the near-term (and all time) low set on August 10th. The most significant news last week was Ben Bernanke’s vaguely optimistic statements from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Here the Kansas City [...]

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Born Again: How Long Do You Have to Wait After a Short Sale, Bankruptcy, or Foreclosure?

by Alex Stenback 08.26.2011

(click image to biggify) At nearly 4 years (and running) into the real estate downturn, one question we still hear all the time is: “When will I be able to buy a home again if I go through a foreclosure, short sale or bankruptcy”  With that in mind, the chart above illustrates the standard waiting [...]

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Fed Statement: Does a Promise That Rates Will Stay Low Until 2013 Apply to Mortgages?

by Alex Stenback 08.09.2011

“The Committee currently anticipates that economic conditions–including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run–are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through mid-2013.” The money quote from Today’s Fed Statement – unusually suggesting a specific timeline before any interest rate hikes [...]

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