Mortgage Blog

According to Freddie Mac interim Chief Executive John A. Koskinen as told to reporters this last Friday in Washington DC.  He is advising people to buy with the interest rates being so low.  And with the housing prices being historically low there is an additional incentive to not forgo planned home purchases. 

And a BIG additional incentive is the First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit.  Recently revised in February 2009 the tax credit has new improved features such as the qualified tax credit has been increased to $8000.  Keep in mind the definition of a First Time Home Buyer is someone who has not owned a primary residence in the last 3 years!

What about refinancing?  There are a lot of current homeowners that can take advantage of the low rates to lower their monthly mortgage payment and save money! 

Whether thinking about buying a new home or refinancing it pays off to consult with a mortgage professional to see how you can really benefit from these tremendous opportunities.

Don't delay, act now to take advantage this market!

When Secretary Paulson announced his new plan that would utilize the Treasury buying MBS (Mortgage Backed Securities) with the purpose of creating a targeted purchase mortgage rate of 4.5%!  There are some key elements of this proposed plan that could assist home sales and also potentially depress home sales.

Channel 7/ABC News called me and asked for an interview.  See the link below for the full text.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/video/18208992/?taf=den

In summary, waiting on purchasing or refinancing based on a "bailout plan" that may or may not materialize or attain its objectives may not be the most prudence course of action.  As always I suggest to borrowers to gather information, have a mortgage professional preform a review of the pertinent facts and look at several financing recommendations. 

Make an informed decision and get an Annual Mortgage Review or purchase Pre-Qualification!

The Fed announces it will purchase direct obligations of housing-related government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)--Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks--and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.

As volitile as the financial markets are this latest annoucement has created a flurry of purchasing of these mortgage-backed securites.  Thus raising the price of the bonds and lowering mortgage interest rates.

What this means to the homeowner consumer is a great opportunity to either refinance or purchase.  Now is the time to get a Annual Mortgage Review to see if this current rate environment can benefit you.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.

All my lenders still are lending and with the latest economic news rates dropped today (10/20/2008)! 

Big news in the financial markets is that PIMCO has increased it's MBS (Mortgage Backed Securities) inventory to its highest level since 2000.  This morning's credit market data is showing tight credit markets are beginning to ease as confidence is slowly being restored in the global financial system.

The good news continues with Colorado (Greater Denver) real estate inventory slowly decreasing, average home prices are lower than last year providing buyers opportunities and Colorado showing more improvement in national home price index. 

Whether you are thinking about refinancing or purchasing now is a great time to get an Annual Mortgage Review.  This will allow you to get an objective assessment of your current situation and how it relates to the market.

Don't forget the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit as provided in the recent passage of HR 3221.  The definition of First Time Homebuyer is anyone who has not owned a primary residence in the last 3 years.  So friends, family and coworkers who for whatever reason fall into this definition should be aware of this great opportunity.  Email me and I will send you a summary of the particulars of this tax credit.

In summary, yes these are volatile financial times but not without opportunities!

This new law called the "Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008" is broad sweeping and contains a lot of parts aimed at the real estate industry.  One really exciting provision is the "Homebuyer Tax Credit"!  This provides a $7500 tax credit that would be available for any qualified purchase between April 9, 2008 and June 30, 2009. I could fill up a page or two with all the details so call me to get the specifics. 

I look at the current real estate market in 3 ways; one the Colorado inventory of homes and prices are offering great purchasing opportunities, two the lending market place is still offering a good variety of programs at competitive rates, and lastly the new Tax Credit does provide a compelling reason to act now instead of waiting.

If anyone wants to read the 700+ pages of HR 3221 I would be happy to forward a pdf :).

Per the Rocky Mountain News as of yesterday.."Denver-area housing is bucking the national trend, showing a price decline of only 4.6 percent in May from May 2007"!!!  This is per the S&P/Case-Shiller Price Index released Tueday.

Other major metro areas around the nation are reporting a 15.8% decline (20 areas tracked).

April to May of this year the Denver home prices rose 1 percent.  This really is a positive trend and I will continue to keep you posted.  These numbers are really important to home buyers who still expect a great value, homeowners waiting to refinance but their home values have been less than their mortgage and investors that have been waiting for the "bottom of the market".  As always these statistics report trends and don't predict the future.

Certainly email me, blog me or call me if you want to discuss further.

So often I talk with people who have an vague idea of what their credit score is but really don't know for sure.  Alot of times internet accessed credit scores are generated from scoring software that mortgage professional do not use.  They can be misleading at best. 

The real point I want to make is that a regular review of your credit score and supporting credit information is really critical in managing your credit score and discovering credit fraud/theft. 

Almost every credit report that I pull for clients have some sort of error.  I am a avid supporter of the Annual Mortgage Review.  This is a great opportunity to;

1. Discover and correct errors
2. Know your actual credit score
3. Verify that you are in the best loan program and rate that supports your financial goals
4. Protect yourself against credit theft

If you want a copy of my booklet on Credit Scoring, just email or call me and I would be happy to provide you this great reference source.

After talking to a Denver Appraiser I wanted to share his observations of the current market.  He is seeing pockets hit the hardest in depreciated home values starting to stabilize.  Two neighborhoods that are worth mentioning as showing signs of stabilization are; South Commerce City and Mission Viego.

The current absorbtion rate is more in favor of a balanced market.  The post election real estate market could be an exciting marketplace in terms of increases in home values. 

Would like to hear from you as to what is happening to values in your neighborhood?  If you are planning on selling or buying in the next year let's talk in more detail.

As reported in the Rocky Mountain News "foreclosures cited for a 7 year low in vacancy rate".

This continues to add fuel to the investor marketplace for single family homes.  The lending community still has an appetite for NOO (Non-owner Occupied) properties depending on the qualifications of the borrower.  Because there are enough variables it is worth a call to me to get a more accurate evaluation.

Quick round up on some stats; Inventory of Unsold Homes in Denver last year - 29,110, this year 26,333.  As we see the inventory work it's way down there will be modest gains in home prices!