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Why VA Mortgage Loans Are Best Bet for Military Home Financing
Posted by: | CommentsVA home loans for refinancing and home buying have been the talk of the mortgage industry for most of 2010. While most mortgage lending programs have been tightened this year, the VA mortgage programs remain aggressive and VA mortgage rates have hit record lows this year as well. The only problem most borrowers have with VA loans is the eligibility, because you need to be in the military, a retired veteran or married to either of the two.
Fixed VA Mortgage Rates Starting at 4.25%
As far as military home loans go, nothing beats the VA mortgages for flexibility and affordability. VA home loans enable a borrower to finance the purchase of the home with no money down. VA loans also enable military borrowers to refinance their home with no equity. With the exception of the USDA loan, there is no other zero down home loan than the VA mortgage available on the retail or wholesale mortgage market today. If you are active in the military or a veteran financing a home has never been easier.
Zero Down Home Loans and 100% Mortgage Refinancing with VA Home Loans
The 100% refinance programs enable rate and term refinancing with no equity. The VA streamline mortgage is unique because it often requires no appraisal and no income documentation. The VA streamline refinance really is amazing because with 100% mortgage refinancing and no appraisal, the loan to value could be more like 115 or 125% in this depressed housing market. VA mortgage lenders like originating VA loans because the underwriting is flexible with credit and the borrowers typically have income that can be easily documented. According to a spokesman for the VA Home Mortgage Loan Company, “VA mortgage loans ensure affordability with low VA rates and the loan guidelines make it a no brainer for the borrower.” The VA loan programs requires no money down and enable borrowers with less than perfect credit get a second chance with their military home financing benefits. The VA mortgage loans have also been performing better on the secondary market as less VA loans have defaulted or been foreclosed upon. Talk to a loan officer today and see if you meet the VA loan eligibility requirements.
FHA Mortgage Refinance Solutions
Posted by: | CommentsMortgage interest rates have dropped to record lows for three weeks in a row. Unfortunately the benefits of low home loan rates are not able to be realized by a high percentage of homeowners because they do not meet the current mortgage refinance requirements. For the most part, today borrowers need higher credit scores and more home equity. For borrowers who have the credit but not enough equity, Mortgage Refinancing Buzz recommends considering a FHA refinance loan. Many borrowers are migrating from a conventional mortgage to an FHA mortgage, because the conventional guidelines restrict rate and term refinancing between 80 and 90%. FHA loans do have a small mortgage insurance payment in addition to the mortgage payment, but FHA mortgage rates are just as low as the conventional rates.
FHA Mortgage Rates Are Prime for Mortgage Refinancing
FHA loan programs remain more flexible than conforming home loans because the conventional guidelines have been tightened significantly more for borrowers seeking low rate mortgage refinancing solutions. FHA approves mortgage refinancing of up to 97.5% loan-to-value for qualified borrowers. With FHA refinancing, borrowers must always document their income, but these days’ conventional loan programs have eliminated stated income and no income refinancing programs any way.
30-Year Fixed Rate Home Loans and 5-year ARMs Fall to Record Low
Posted by: | CommentsInterest rates on fixed rate 30-year home loans for refinance or purchase officially hit record lows today! On Thursday, Freddie Mac released their report that also indicated the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage dropped to record lows this week acccording to the survey of conforming mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage reported averages of 4.69% for the week ending June 24th. This was lower than the low rates of 4.75% from the previous week and 5.42% a year ago. Fifteen-year fixed rate mortgage loans averaged 4.13%, down from 4.20% last week and 4.87% a year ago. The 10-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen to 3.75% and 3.875% on the no cost mortgage option.
VA home loans are still available at record low rates as well. If you already have a VA mortgage and want a lower rate talk to one of our VA lenders about qualifying for the VA streamline.
Freddie Mac Says Lowest Fixed 30 Year Mortgage Loans Since They Began Recording Rates in 1971
Conventional and FHA mortgage lenders reported averages of the 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.84% this week, down from 3.89% last week and 4.99% a year ago.
One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 3.77%, down from 3.82% last week and 4.93% a year ago. While not a record, this is the lowest the ARM has been since the week ending May 6, 2004, when it averaged 3.76%.
To lock into these home mortgage rates, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and both ARMs required payment of an average 0.7 point and the 15-year fixed rate mortgage required an average 0.6 point. A point is 1% of the home loan amount, charged as prepaid interest. According to Frank Nothaft of Freddie Mac “Mortgage rates for all but traditional 1-year ARMs hit all-time record lows this week in our survey while activity in the housing market slowed in May following the expiration of the home-buyer tax credit”. “Freddie Mac began collecting rates for 30-year fixed loans in April 1971, 15-year fixed home loans in September 1991 and 5-year ARMs in January 2005.”
First Time Home Buyer Loans
Posted by: | Comments2010 has been a good year for Americans to get a first time home buyer loan for several reasons. First the silver lining of the housing crisis is that new home buyers were suddenly in a position to purchase a home at a discounted price. For the most part, 1st time home loans have been more affordable in 2010 than it had been in the previous five years. The other good news for first time home buyer loans has been that home mortgage rates were at all time lows.
Several government home financing programs enabled borrowers to finance a home with hardly any money down. The FHA first time home buyer loans were available to borrowers who could come up with a 3.5% down-payment. The VA home loan requires no money down, but borrowers need a militray backgroud for VA loan eligibility. The other bright spot for new homebuyers was the $7,500 tax credit for first time home buyers. Most industy insiders anticipate that low rat home financing will continue in 2010, but many are forecasting higher interest rates and tighter home loan guidelines in 2011, so if you are considering buying a home there could not be a better time!
No Cost Mortgage Refinancing
Posted by: | CommentsIf you have good credit, home equity and your interest rate is above 5%, chances are that you will benefit from no cost refinancing. Qualifying for a no cost mortgage is not as easy as it was a few years ago. For conforming, FHA and VA home loans you will need to document your income if you plan on qualifying for no cost mortgage refinancing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac no longer allow no income mortgage refinancing so you will need to document your income if you want to qualify for a no cost mortgage. For most of the conventional mortgage products you will need over a 700 fico score if you want to be eligible for the no cost mortgage refinancing incentives.
FHA and VA have never allowed stated or no income mortgage options, so nothing has changed for income documentation requirements with government home mortgages. FHA guidelines changed recently, so you will need good credit scores (0ver 640) if you work with a lender like Nationwide who offer no cost refinance options with the FHA loan program.
We continue to offer no point mortgage loans with most of our refinance programs. With no point refinancing, a borrower will have no origination fees, but the 3rd-party lending fees like title, escrow and appraisal will be the borrower’s responsibility. In most cases we can offer home refinancing with no closing costs out of pocket. With mortgage refinance rates so low and no cost refinancing incentives, we strongly recommend taking advantage of our discounted loan refinance.
Mortgage Loan Applications Surge
Posted by: | CommentsAccording to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the demand for mortgage loans increased to a seven-month high last week as consumers rushed to get federal homebuyer tax credits that ended April 30th. Home loan applications jumped 13% in the week ended April 30th to the highest level since early October, overshadowing a 2.1% drop in home refinancing demand. Total mortgage loan applications rose by a seasonally adjusted 4 %, the trade group reported. It was the third straight weekly increase in purchase applications, rising almost 24% in the month. MBA said the share of mortgage refinancing fell to 51.9% of all applications, the lowest since early July 2009.
The thirty-year mortgage rates dropped 0.06 percentage point to 5.02 %, the lowest rate since mid-March. Eligible borrowers seeking to take advantage of federal tax credits of $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for existing homeowners were required to sign contracts by last Friday and to close on their mortgage loans by June 30th. The big question now is whether the U.S. housing market has enough traction to continue recovering without government help.
In addition to the tax credit, the Federal Reserve bought more than $1.4 trillion mortgage-backed securities intended to keep home loan rates down to revive the housing market. That program ended on March 31. “All the data that we’ve seen recently point to the fact that consumers are in a better place today than they were six months ago, and because of that they will likely be more active in the housing market,” Schenk said. The difficult labor market, however, will keep the housing recovery slow, he added.
Housing demand will likely falter after the recent influx of home sales ahead of the tax credit expiration, but then mount a slow upturn, many industry experts expect. New home sales rose almost 27% in March, and sales of existing home increased by 6.8%. According to UBS economists, “The pending home sales index, based on initial contracts, will likely be boosted again in April, with some payback thereafter. “However, we believe the combination of low prices, still relatively low mortgage refinance rates and the nascent recovery in employment will support home sales later in the year.”
The latest unemployment figures will be reported on Friday. April’s rate is seen holding at 9.7% for a fourth straight month, based on a Reuters poll, after touching a more than 26-year peak over 10% last year. Homeowners have increasingly turned to the government for home financing with programs like FHA home loans. These FHA loan programs including low down-payment home loan products from FHA. The MBA said that more than one-half of all purchase applications last week were for government mortgage loans, the highest share in two decades.
Prime credit borrowers are really taking advantage of their leverage in this market as no cost mortgage refinancing has become very popular with people who have ficos that exceed the 720 range. It is important that you do the math on these no cost loans, because the interest rate is typically higher so you need to make sure it makes sense financially to payt a higher rate in an effort to eliminate closing costs.
VA Streamline Refinance the Cure for No Equity Refinancing
Posted by: | CommentsWith 100% refinance and no money down loan options, the VA mortgage loan has become one of the most sought after home loans in the United States. If you are active in the military or a veteran, you may qualify for the best home mortgage loans online.
VA Streamline Offers 100% Refinancing… While the traditional loan programs and the FHA guidelines have tightened, the VA loan programs continue to offer aggressive 100% home financing with no money down loan options for purchase and refinance.
No Home Equity? VA borrowers who have no equity can still take advantage of low VA mortgage rates with the VA streamline program. The VA streamline refinance is a rate and term refinance program that is only available for VA borrowers who do not want cash out but are looking for better interest rates or a fixed rate amortization. In most cases the VA streamline loan does not require an appraisal, so consumers that lost the equity in their home can still qualify to refinance into a low rate mortgage.
Second Mortgage Refinancing
Posted by: | CommentsJust a few years ago second mortgage loans were relatively easy to qualify for and many homeowners utilized them for debt consolidation and to receive cash out. Borrowers with good credit could qualify for a low rate second mortgage or an interest only home equity line of credit with no equity required. Some borrowers actually qualified for a 125% second mortgage that enabled consumers to borrow more than their homes were worth. Homeowners liked these 125 home equity loans for consolidating debt and financing home improvements. Borrowers also used second mortgages as purchase money in an effort to avoid private mortgage insurance when buying a home.
Today second mortgages are hard to find. First mortgage refinancing is back in style again. Very few traditional lenders are offering home equity loans or credit lines because of the credit crunch and the high default rate of second mortgage liens over the last four years. It is unfortunate because thousands of borrowers are looking for second mortgage refinancing, because they got stuck with an adjustable rate HELOC. Refinancing these 2nd mortgages into a fixed interest rate makes sense financially. If you have a little bit of equity we recommend refinancing your 1st and 2nd mortgage together with a FHA mortgage. The government loans enable borrowers to get cash out with refinance loans at 85 to 95% loan to value.
MGIC Adjusting to Compete with FHA Loans
Posted by: | CommentsFixed rate refinancing remains in high demand for homeowners who have an adjustable rate mortgage, but have not been able to qualify to refinance because their home is worth less than the their mortgage balance. Reuters reported last week that MGIC Investment Corp who is the largest home mortgage insurer in the United States, reduced its premium rates in an effort to recapture market share lost to FHA loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. FHA mortgage rates have remained competitive with conventional interest rates since 2007.
The low mortgages rates have been available to consumers with high credit scores. Higher interest rates will be offered to borrowers with lower credit scores under the new pricing system. According to mortgage advisor, Sandy Sarconi, “MGIC may be too late reacting to FHA because they have taken 30% of the market-share.”
Presently, FHA loan guidelines do not consider credit scores when pricing its insurance for FHA mortgage loans. The new prices will be effective May 1, the company said. In January, MGIC reported its tenth straight quarterly loss because of increasing delinquencies. More and more homeowners are failing to make their mortgage loan payment on time. The company did make a statement that they anticipate home loan delinquencies to reduce towards the end of 2010.
FHA Mortgage Refinancing with No Equity
Posted by: | CommentsFHA offers loan programs for borrowers who need a FHA refinance loan but have no equity available because of the sluggish housing market. The FHA streamline refinance is great for the homeowner that has a wants a rate and term refinance. No cash out or debt consolidation is available with FHA streamline loans and certain restrictions do apply. To qualify for a FHA streamline, you must currently have a FHA mortgage that you are current on with no late payments in the last year. In late 2009, HUD made some changes to the FHA guidelines and a good payment history on your existing FHA loan is essential.
Let’s face it millions of homeowners owe more than their home is worth. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offer the Home Affordable Refinance Program and the DU Refinance Plus program that FHA allows you to refinance your mortgage without an appraisal (so the fact that your house’s value has dropped like a piano from the roof is irrelevant) if you meet certain guidelines.
The FHA streamline refinance has been surging in popularity with FHA lenders because it meets the needs of so many homeowners that are blessed with an FHA loan. FHA mortgage rates are as low as they have ever been and FHA loan companies have become much more efficient processing government refinance loans.
FHA Streamline Refinance Requirements
1. You have to have made at least six payments on your current FHA loan.
2. If you have had your FHA loan for less than 12 months, all the loan payments must have been made in a timely manner. If you have had the FHA mortgage for more than 12 months, you can have been late only once in the last year and must have paid on time the last 3 months.
3. Your new FHA loan payment must be at least 5% lower than your old payment, or you must be replacing an ARM with a fixed loan (the new FHA rate can’t be more than 2% higher) or hybrid loan (the new loan payment can’t be more than 20% higher), or reducing the term of your FHA loan, or reducing your interest rate by at least 2% (if replacing a fixed home loan with an ARM).
4. The property being refinanced must be your primary residence.
5. Closing costs for FHA streamline loans must be paid upfront (with the exception of mortgage insurance premium (MIP), which can be financed in the new loan.
Mortgage Refinancing Benefits
Posted by: | CommentsMortgage refinancing can offer significant opportunities for homeowners to save money and get access to cash. Through home refinancing, it may be possible to reduce your monthly home loan payments and provide the ability for you to own your home outright quicker. Consider the peace of mind you obtain by refinancing an adjustable rate mortgage into a mortgage featuring a fixed interest rate. Many homeowners have benefitted from the debt consolidation option that is available with most cash out refinance loans. We recommend consolidating variable rate credit debt into a fixed rate home equity loan or mortgage.
- Record low rates starting at 4.625% fixed
- FHA refinance programs offer additional flexibility
- Choose from 30 and 40 Year fixed rate terms
FHA Premium Rising for Bad Credit Mortgage Loans
Posted by: | CommentsFHA loan programs may see changes in 2010. The HUD is seeking White House approval to increase the upfront mortgage insurance premium charged by the Federal Housing Administration to borrowers. FHA officials announced more changes, including tighter underwriting standards for refinance mortgages and new home loans. If approved by the White House, FHA mortgage loans will see an increase to 1.75% upfront mortgage premium paid by borrowers who do not have enough equity to mitigate the risk of a loan default.
Which Mortgage Refinance Loan is the Best for You?
Posted by: | CommentsThere are many important determining factors in choosing the best refinance loan for you and your family. The first question you need to ask yourself is which refinance programs do you qualify for. The second question to consider…What is the purpose for refinancing the home loan? What are the various options for refinance loan programs?
| • | Rate and Term Refinancing for Lower Payments |
| • | Cash Out Refinancing for Debt Consolidation |
| • | Save Money by Refinancing Home Equity Credit Lines |
| • | FHA 203k Loans to Finance Cash for Home Remodeling |
| • | 30-Year Fixed Rate Home Loans |
| • | 100% VA Mortgage Refinance |
| • | FHA Streamline Loans for FHA Borrowers |
| • | Combine 1st & 2nd Mortgage Loans for 1 Lower Payment |
Our mortgage refinance team offers a free consultation that usually reveals the best solution based your financial needs, goals and lending qualifications. Our experienced loan professionals can help you understand the details and differences between conventional and FHA mortgage loans. If you are considering a cash out or FHA streamline refinance, we will help you review the FHA requirements for mortgage refinancing.