How Adjustable Rate Mortgages Work
During the last decade, Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) have increased in popularity among consumers. These days, few homeowners (especially first-time buyers) remain in their homes for more than seven years. In this case, it often makes sense to get an adjustable rate mortgage with a lower rate, especially one with a 5-year or 7-year fixed portion, since they won’t have the loan long enough to be concerned about rate fluctuation. Adjustable Rate Mortgages have three main features: Margin, Index, and Caps. The Margin is the fixed portion of the adjustable rate. It remains the same for...
Read MoreRate versus Price Reduction
Since the Fed’s Mortgage Backed Securities purchase program ended, the markets have seen much more volatile price swings…and rates overall are off their lows. For potential buyers who are waiting to see if home prices come down a little more, that means the wait could well cost you more money in the long run. Let’s look at an example to see why. Say a home buyer wants to buy a home that costs $300,000. But the buyer wants a better deal on the home, so she delays a transaction until the home is reduced by $10,000. If, in the meantime however, rates were to rise .75% to 6.00% and...
Read MoreWhat Is Title Insurance?
Title insurance is a policy that is usually issued by a title company to protect the lender against something that might have happened in the past, rather than something that might occur in the future. In essence, an extensive search of public records is conducted by the title company to validate who has held title to the property in the past. The lender wants to know if there are any liens, judgments or easements on the property that they should be aware of. But title insurance also guards against hidden risks or unknown factors that might cause an encumbrance at some point in the future,...
Read MoreWhat Constitutes Closing Costs?
Closing costs are expenses that cover fees associated with the transfer of property ownership, fees paid to state and local governments, and the costs of obtaining a mortgage loan. Some of these fees are negotiable, and could be paid by either the buyer or the seller. Some costs are one-time fees (non-recurring closing costs, such as title search, termite inspection, appraisal, etc.); while other fees such as homeowner’s insurance or property taxes are things you will expect to continue to pay on a regular basis as a homeowner. As part of the loan selection process, your mortgage...
Read MoreThe Advantages of FHA Loans
In many regions of the US, FHA loans have only recently come back into vogue, so a lot of real estate agents and mortgage originators aren’t familiar with this great resource. The following are a just a few of the recent changes that have made FHA loans a more attractive option again for some consumers looking to buy a new home or refinance an existing one: 1) Congress passed the Stimulus Act of 2008. During the recent housing boom, home values surpassed FHA loan limits in many regions of the US. The recent enactment of this important legislation, however, increased FHA loan limits up...
Read MoreInterest Rates Change Daily
Interest rates change constantly, but it is important to know that rates are cyclical. If rates are currently at historical lows then we know there is a strong probability rates will go up again, and vice versa. Certain economic indicators such as unemployment data, consumer price index, retail sales data, and consumer confidence all have an effect on mortgage interest rates. But the key factor to watch is the relationship between stocks and bonds. When the economy is slow and the stock market is “bearish,” many investors move money out of stocks and into bonds and...
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