When I purchased my house a little over three years ago, I was fortunate to get an interest rate in the high fours when market rates were in the mid-sixes at the time. We just happened to purchase from a home builder who was offering an incentive to permanently buy down the interest rate. Having
Category Archives: Mortgage Market
Austin Home Buyers: Opportunity is Knocking
November 10, 2010
Over the past six months I’ve helped a young couple purchase their first home; a couple of empty nesters downsize; a growing family buy a larger home in a wonderful neighborhood; and a gentleman relocating to Austin negotiate a terrific deal on a new construction home.
30-year fixed-rate mortgages still below 5%
September 17, 2010
Inman News -Â For borrowers with good credit and cash for a downpayment, mortgage rates remained at or near record lows this week, according to Freddie Mac’s latest weekly rate survey. The survey found rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.75 percent for the week ending June 17, with an average of 0.7 point. That’s
Tags: Mortgage Market Fannie Mae’s Loan Credit Standards Tightened Further
September 17, 2010
Their making a list and checking it twice . . . . We thought the worst was over but it seems like every month there is some new federal guideline tied to final mortgage approval; an extra hoop to jump through. First it was full disclosure on the good faith estimate, then it was raising
Mortgage Market Update
September 15, 2010
They say March comes in like a Lion and out like a Lamb. . . But this year, the exact reverse is true when it comes to home loan rates – for quite a few reasons, including the end of the Federal Reserve acting as a large buyer of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS). The “demand”
Tags: Mortgage Market Underwater Home Owners Continue to Struggle
September 14, 2010
The government is ramping up its foreclosure prevention plan.  As part of the President’s $75 billion foreclosure modification program, eligible borrowers who are at risk of default are being allowed (upon approval of course) to lower their monthly payments on a trial basis for several months to make sure that they can handle the adjusted
10 Ways to Get a Down Payment to Buy A House
September 14, 2010
Nicole Lahti with United Lending here in Austin Texas recently published a blog post detailing 10 Ways to Get a Down Payment. With the new expanded tax credits available to home buyers between now and April 2010, mortgage rates hovering around or below 5%, the market is ripe with opportunity. However, with first time buyers
Option ARMs – What a Mess!
September 14, 2010
About a month after I got my real estate license in 2006, I had a meeting set up with a lender acquaintance of mine for a brief seminar on some of the “hot” loan programs. One of the first things he was so anxious to tell me about was option-ARMs. I distinctly remember him telling
