If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage that's due to reset this season, don't rush to refinance. For at least one more year, you can benefit from low rates and low payments. As for the next adjustment, though, that's anyone's guess.
Beginning with FHA Case Numbers assigned April 18, 2011, mortgage insurance premiums will be higher by 25 basis points per year, or 0.25%.
Mortgage rates remain low but qualification standards do not. Last quarter's banking survey shows that guidelines may be loosening, though. It's another good sign for housing.
In 2011, for the 6th consecutive year, the government is fixing $417,000 as the country's conforming mortgage loan limit.
According to the Federal Reserve's quarterly survey of senior bank loan officers, roughly 1 in 10 lenders added mortgage qualification hurdles between April and June. It's a huge departure from just 2 years ago when the mortgage industry was facing its first wave of challenges.
As lenders tighten mortgage guidelines, minimum downpayment requirements are increasing. It's leading to an increase in the number of buyers accepting cash gifts from family. There's a right and wrong way to accept a gift.
If you plan to finance your home with a conforming interest only mortgage, get your loan application submitted no later than this Friday, June 18. Starting next week, Fannie Mae is clamping down on the popular loan product.
A new loan quality initiative from Fannie Mae is making it harder for home buyers and refinancing homeowners everywhere to close on a mortgage.
As lenders tighten mortgage guidelines, minimum downpayment requirements are increasing. It's leading to an increase in the number of buyers accepting cash gifts from family. There's a right and wrong way to accept a gift.
A mortgage approval is never final until it's funded. A host of things can "go wrong" while your home loan is underway. Some are in your control, many more are not. And just being aware of some potential pitfalls could help save your loan down the road, and your peace of mind today.
The economy's improving but lending standards are not. Nationally, banks are making mortgage approvals harder to come by. Underwriting guidelines are tightening.