The rule of thumb for refinancing is: If the interest rate available is one percent or more lower than what you have now, then take a closer look. Run the numbers…do the math. It costs about $2,400 +/-  to refinance a mortgage if totaling all associated closing costs. See how long the payback would be from the savings each month between your monthly payment now and what it would be after the refinance. For example, if it takes 18 months to pay back the closing costs and you plan on staying in your current home at least five years or more, then it probably is worth pulling the trigger.

If you are considering a move to a new home, loan rates couldn’t be more cooperative. It’s a good time to sell your current home too. Don’t be fooled by media naysayers with reports that the sky is falling in the local residential market. Just the opposite is true. More than 3,500 homes have sold/closed in just the last two months in the 9-county central Indiana, greater metropolitan Indianapolis area and over 2,100 now with a sale pending. A mark imrovement over last year at this time.

Take a look at today’s rates… updated daily.   Current Mortgage Rates 

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Steady Rates
2. Lowering House Payments
3. Market Activity

Take a look at today’s rates… updated daily.     Current Mortgage Rates

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Mortgage Rate Changes
2. Current Mortgage Rates
3. PMI Details

Knowing what a mortgage payment would be for a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage without a calculator is something that comes in handy. Remembering what the payment amount would be for $1,000 is how I do it. That number times ten would of course then be the payment for $10,000…or times a hundred for $100,000. So it’s easy then to figure what any amount would be by moving the decimal point and simple addition. Every once in a while when there is a significant change in rates I’ll pull out my financial calculator to update it. Over the years, that number has fluctuated. A number of years ago I remember that amount being $9 per $1,000 when rates where 10.5%. It’s dropped in recent years to $7…then $6. I computed it recently and that number is now right at $5 per $1,000. That’s really an amazingly low figure. I never thought we would ever see rates this low, and even more so, consistently for such a long time. We’ll look back later and remember these times as being one of the best opportunities ever.

Take a look at today’s rates… updated daily.   Current Mortgage Rates

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Lenders Have No Money?
2. PMI Details
3. Lowering House Payments

I stay away from politics normally, but this is an needed exception. There is a Bill being considered in the US Congress now that everyone needs to be aware of who owns a home or who may buy one in the future. It proposes changes to regulations involved with Qualified Residential Mortgages, drastically changing the rules of who would be able to obtain a mortgage loan. Sellers and Buyers would both be impacted by this. It would be a lot tougher for Sellers to sell their property and so the value of their property would be affected as well. Essentially it requires that even the most credit worthy buyers have a minimum of 20% down payment in order to get a conventional loan to purchase a home. Buyers with excellent credit can now purchase homes with 10% or even 5% down payment now. Please read this White Paper for more details and what the impact would mean.

The intention was well meaning…strengthening lending laws so there won’t be another meltdown like the one a couple years ago due to the sub-prime mortgage debacle. But this just shows what can happen when non-experts don’t think things through in a practical way. The proposed regulatory provisions are too narrowly defined. If you thought the market has been tough the last few years, that would be nothing compared to what would happen if this were to pass. Owning a home would be out of reach for a huge number of  Americans. According to the National Association of Realtors research, 60% of recent home buyers made less than a 20% down payment, and it would take 14 years for a typical person to save up a 20% down payment to buy a median-priced home.

I’ve contacted my Senators and Congressman about this already. But if you feel inclined to weigh in with your respective congressmen on this issue, please call, email or write them. If you are from Indiana,  here are links to the contact information for Senators Coats and Lugar. For all other states Click Here and “Find Your Senator” in the box in the upper right. And for contact information for the Congressman representing your district, here is a link to the US House of Representative website. Just input your zip code in the box in the upper right.

I strongly believe that this Bill would wrongfully diminish home ownership and is counter-productive to strengthening our economy. Owning our own home gets us involved as citizens in making the country a better place to live, and is one of the cornerstone concepts, right along with freedom and liberty.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Summer Dream
2. Tax Incentive Flurry
3. The American Story

Looking back over the last couple of years, few of us thought interest rates would have remained as low as they have been for such a long time. It’s a reflection on the state of the national economy in general more than anything. Demand for real estate is localized, meaning market activity here has nothing to do what is happening in another community anywhere else in the country. But mortgage money availability and rates here are similar to any other area in the nation. Mortgage rates are affected by supply and demand just like any other commodity, and with the weaker economy and higher unemployment, the demand has been lower. The economy has strengthened over the last couple of years which is expected to continue, and especially into 2012. So what will happen to mortgage rates then? Logically they should go up if the economy and the market improves. But who really knows for sure what will happen down the road. We’ll see.

Take a look at today’s rates… updated daily.   Current Mortgage Rates

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Mortgage Rate Changes
2. Steady Rates
3. Details, Details. Getting a Mortgage Loan

The rate charged for borrowing mortgage money has been trending up slowly from the low point in late summer 2010 of about 4.25% to around 5.25% as of today (02-08-11) for a conventional 30 year fixed-rate mortgage. That equates to an increase of about a $6/month for every $10,000 borrowed. That’s not a huge amount but could be significant the larger the loan amount. We knew the historically low interest rates last year weren’t going to continue. The economy and the market are strengthening. The cost of money is based on supply and demand just like any other commodity. The good news is that interest rates are still 5.25% for heaven’s sake…still very low. Homes are still very affordable with these rates, and there’s still time to take advantage of general value pricing in the market now. It’s anyone’s guess where rates are headed in the coming weeks or months, but a number of signs indicate an improving economy, and with it the housing market. It will be interesting to look back later this year and see what happened.

Mortgage Rate Update – For a look at current mortgage interest rates, see Today’s Rates.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Current Mortgage Rates
2. Lowering House Payments
3. Steady Rates

The interest rates being offered for mortgage loans is amazingly low right now. I suppose it’s possible but I really don’t see how it could get any lower than this. When I last looked today, the 30 year fixed rate conventional rate was 4.375%, and 15 year was 3.875%. Because of these rates, a number of people are thinking of refinancing to lower their house payments and/or get some equity out of their home to use for other things they need. Lenders will let you borrow up to 80% of the value of the home on a refinance.

The rule of thumb is if your mortgage loan rate is 1% or more higher than what is being offered, then it probably would be worth looking at it. The higher the amount of the loan amount, the more difference a drop of 1% in interest makes. There are costs involved to refinance though. Typically closing costs will run about $2,000 to $2,400. It’s easy to run the numbers and see how much per month the new, lower payment would save you. Then divide that into the cost of refinancing. That gives you the number of months that it would take to pay those costs. After that you are money ahead every month. That’s one good way to analyse it to see if it’s worth doing.

For those people that are in a position to be considering buying a home, it’s hard to imagine a better time. Lots of homes to choose from, good values, and the lowest interest rates. Affordibility now is probably the best I’ve ever seen.

Mortgage Rate Update – For a look at current mortgage interest rates, see Today’s Rates.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Mortgage Rate Changes
2. Steady Rates
3. Current Mortgage Rates

So two days late, the sale did finally close although the lender was inept all the way to the end, with the Title Company who closed the sale having to correct the lenders document mistakes while we all sat there at the closing table. The closing should have taken one hour max…and instead it was two and a half hours. But the final closing finally did close. Another sad part of this story was that I noticed the Buyers interest rate was over 8% on their note, and they were playing discount points too. Bad service and bad terms too, what a great combination.

All I can say is choose your lender wisely. The rates that I am seeing now from lenders I use are around 3.75% to 4.25% depending on if it’s a 15 or 30 year note. And their processing and service is perfect too.

Mortgage Rate Update – For a look at current mortgage interest rates, see Today’s Rates.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Steady Rates
2. Final Closing…Time to Relax
3. PMI Details

It’s been interesting lately. I’m in the process now of showing homes to people who are trying to beat the April 30th deadline…and getting phone calls from others I know who are thinking about jumping in. One thing they almost all ask me is if I think the government is going to extend the deadline past April 30th? I honestly don’t think they will extend it…or even need to for that matter. The economy, as far as the housing market goes, is definitely heating up. I encourage anyone with questions to contact me. I’ll be happy to answer any inquiries about the tax incentive program or the market now.

The incentives would be nice to have I guess as long as you were going to buy a home anyway. But it’s never worth buying anything that you wouldn’t buy without them. And a deal isn’t really a deal if it means purchasing something at a time that wasn’t perfect, especially something as important as one’s home.

Mortgage Rate Update – For a look at current mortgage interest rates, see Today’s Rates.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Home Buyer’s Tax Credit
2. Horizontal Living

PMI, or Private Mortgage Insurance, is a fact of life these days if a buyer wants or needs a mortgage to purchase a home that is greater than 80% of the purchase price. PMI insures the lender for the amount over 80% in case there is a default. Without this coverage, lenders would be hesitant to give a mortgage to anyone with a lower equity position. PMI simply reduces the lender’s risk.

A PMI pemium is based on the loan amount. Typically, on a median priced home, it adds about $50 to $100 per month to the house payment. That’s not a huge amount of money, and often well worth it in order to be able to purchase a home. PMI premiums however can add up to a lot of money over time. It’s good to know then that while PMI might be unavoidable for some, at least it’s something that doesn’t have to remain forever. Usually in about 5 years, the home has increased in value and the mortgage balance has been paid down enough that the combination of the two results in the mortgage balance being below 80% of the home’s value. Also, there may have been improvements or updates completed that have added value to the home further increasing the value. If this is the case, the homeowner can ask the lender to remove PMI. Due to laws passed in 1998, if the mortgage was obtained after then, the lender must remove PMI automatically. If someone feels they meet this criteria they can petition the lender to remove PMI without waiting for automatic removal. The lender typically will then order an appraisal. If the appraisal supports that the mortgage balance is below 80% then PMI will be removed.

There is a way possibly to avoid PMI altogether. Some lenders may offer a piggyback loan, like an 80-10-10. This is an 80% first mortgage loan plus an additional second mortgage for 10%, with the borrower investing 10% down payment, thus avoiding PMI. Some may even offer an 80-15-5 which would require only a 5% down payment. But sometimes the interest rate is higher for the second loan and/or it’s spread over a shorter amortization resulting in a total payment that’s actually higher than a single loan with PMI. You just have to do the math. There are income tax questions too that weigh in slightly. PMI is sometimes deductible and other times not, and everyone’s financial situation is different, so if someone really wants to fine-tune the answer on the differences or benefits of using a loan with PMI it’s best if they consult their tax professional or trusted financial advisor.

Mortgage Rate Update – For a look at current mortgage interest rates, see Today’s Rates.

If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in:

1. Details, Details. Getting a Mortgage Loan
2. Steady Rates
3. Final Closing…Finally