What To Do When Your Bank Won�t Finance More Than 4 Properties (Even Though Fannie Mae Allows It)

The 5-to-10 Properties Financed program is proving to be a bust. Despite Fannie Mae's explicit endorsement of investor loans -- mortgage lenders are keeping the investor-friendly program off their books. Well, most of them anyway.



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

Why The March 2009 Case-Shiller Home Price Index Is Good News For Housing

According to the March 2009 Case-Shiller Index report, home prices are down by nearly 19 percent nationwide. Or, at least, that's the story the press is running with. It makes for good headlines, but the data can be misleading to the average homebuyer in Cincinnati or Chicago or elsewhere. Home...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

The Untimely Timing Of The Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey

To a consumer, one of the most difficult facets of shopping for a mortgage is figuring out just what mortgage rates are doing at any given time. Despite countless websites and blogs devoted to the topic of mortgage, the most important part of a person's research -- the darn price -- can't be found...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

Mortgage Rate-Locking Strategies Ahead Of This Week�s Federal Reserve Meeting

So that brings us to today's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Looking at the chart at top, markets are 99.3% certain that the Federal Reserve won't raise the Fed Funds Rate from its current range of "near-zero". Investors have come to this conclusion because the Fed has repeatedly said it...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

The Mortgage Reports : A Planned Blogging Vacation

I'm on blogging leave for the rest of the week. For mortgage questions on your purchase or refinance, email me anytime. My contact information is at right. In the meanwhile, keep yourself entertained with Strongbad.



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

Why Mortgage Rates May Plunge One Last Time Before Low Rates Are Gone For Good

The Federal Reserve's Agency MBS Program introduces massive amounts of demand for mortgage-backed bonds over a short period of time, creating a buy-side imbalance that leads bond prices higher and bond yields lower. It's possible the Fed could expand the program, bringing mortgage rates down to the...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

What Mortgage Rates Will Do Over The Next 30 Days (June 11, 2009 Edition)

Putting two-and-two together, I'm telling you for the last time: If mortgage rates get too close to 7 percent, the Federal Reserve will likely to accelerate the pace of its bond buys and may increase its commitment to the markets, too. At least temporarily, this would drive mortgage rates down in...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

What Mortgage Rates Will Do Over The Next 30 Days (May 14, 2009 Edition)

Are mortgage rates going up? Are mortgage rates going down? I am a regular participant in the Bankrate.com Mortgage Rate Trend survey and this week's survey may have your answers.
The Bankrate.com survey is for conforming mortgages. It does not apply to FHA mortgages, VA mortgages, jumbo mortgages,...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

Minimum Credit Score For Getting a Home Mortgage?

Not too long ago, getting a mortgage for a home was easy. Bad credit, good credit, all it seemed like you needed to do was sign away and show a little income and you could be a homeowner. This is exactly the reason we are having a housing market meltdown in the USA right now. The willingness of the lenders to give a loan to people who would not be able to pay has opened up a flood gate of problems just a few years later. So a common question people have these days is what is the minimum credit score or requirement to get a home mortgage today?
Generally, if your credit score is below 650 you will have a harder time getting approved for a mortgage with decent terms or conditions. That does not mean that if you try to improve your credit score, which I recommend, before applying for a mortgage it will not help. Improve your score and your rates go down and approval rating goes up. Even a little bit of saving in terms of percentage means a lot of savings in the long run. Pay off any debts in full that you can afford to entirely pay off. A lot of people actually can pay off an entire debt on a credit card but choose not to. They choose to keep cash in their pocket and pay minimum payments.
This is not a smart financial decision to make and bad for your credit. Making minimum payments is OK but shows no effort to pay more. If you can not pay off an entire credit card, at least make sure you are not maxed out on any. Pay down credit cards to within at least 25% of their maximum limit. This shows you will not over extend your credit and can be responsible as a borrower. The bottom line of it all is the exact credit number and mortgage approval can vary but generally a credit score of 650 or higher will make things a lot easier for you. Although it is not impossible to get a mortgage with a credit score lower than 650, it will just take a little more patience and research.

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[Source: Loan Mortgages]

Trends In Mortgage Rates : How Mortgage Rates Behave In The Summer Months

Mortgage rates are rising in this summer but don't look so shocked -- rates seem to rise every summer. As recorded by Freddie Mac, since 2006, 30-year fixed-rate conforming mortgage rate have made a habit of rising in May, June, July and August before settling down through football season. This...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

Mortgage Rate Shopping Strategies For When Mortgage Rates Are Volatile

You likely know this already but mortgage rates have soared since Memorial Day. Soared. Strangely, it's the most improbable turn of events that everybody and their mother saw coming. The root of the rise rests in inflation. As in, the fear of. And this run on rates had been predicted as far...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

80 Percent Of The Country�s Foreclosures Are In 20 Percent Of The States (April 2009)

The Pareto Principle is one of the more interesting theories of statistics and inequality. Often called the 80/20 Rule, it states that 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes. According to RealtyTrac.com's April 2009 data, the theory carries over in real estate, too. 11...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

How We Know That Existing Homes Sales Will Boom Through Summer 2009

In April, the number of MLS-listed homes that went under contract rose by an astounding 7 percent. It's the biggest one month jump in Pending Home Sales since October 2001, not coincidentally, the second-to-last month of the Early 2000s Recession.



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

Answering The Question That Everyone�s Asking : �What Should I Do About Rising Mortgage Rates?�

Mortgage rates have risen sharply since the last week of May, putting a large dent into the Cincinnati homebuyer's monthly budget. Furthermore, the moves have been steep enough that mainstream media sees fit to cover the story. In this 3-minute interview with First Business, Dan Green answer some...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

The 3 States That Accounted For More Than Half Of The Nation�s Foreclosure Activity in May 2009

According to data from its May 2009 foreclosure trends report, foreclosure-tracker RealtyTrac showed that more than 50 percent of the country's foreclosure last month were concentrated across just 3 states: California, Florida, Nevada. On a population basis, these 3 states represent 19 percent of...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

How Fast Are Mortgage Rates Changing? Every 3 Hours, 37 Minutes.

After two straight months during which mortgage lenders were apt to let morning rate sheets stand, volatility is returning to mortgage rates. Over the last 60 days, on average, lenders have released mid-day, interest rate updates on 3 days of the 5-day workweek. It's making the process of shopping...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

Federal Reserve Member Bank Survey Results : Is It Easier, Or Harder, To Get A Prime Mortgage Versus Last Quarter?

Each quarter, in a survey of its member banks, the Federal Reserve asks senior loan officers whether their respective prime residential mortgage guidelines have tightened over the 3 months prior. May's survey showed that half of all banks had tightened.



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]

Mortgage Rates Added 1/2 Percent In A Day For The Second Time In A Week

After a two-month period of relative calm, Memorial Day 2009 ushered in a new era of mortgage rate volatility. Over the last 5 days of trading, mortgage lenders have issued 19 separate rate sheets, or nearly four per day. Every 2 hours, in other words, mortgage rates are changing and when they...



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[Source: The Mortgage Reports]