30-Year Mortgages Below 4% for 1st Time Since Election According to Edina Mortgage’s Steve Mohabir, long-term interest rates for well-qualified Buyers are once again below 4%. So much for the fear of skyrocketing rates derailing the housing market any time soon (the bond market has also rallied as interest rates have dropped — repeat, dropped — the...Read More
All in a Day (and Night’s) Work Ok, so there are plenty of times I wouldn’t have taken the call. Or, would have unplugged my phone, and not known about it until the next morning. But, since I’d left the other agent a voicemail regarding my client’s question around dinner time, I felt it was...Read More
Post-Election Aftermath: Stock Market Boom, Bond Market Bust Overshadowed by all the political fallout the last week is the election’s effect on interest rates: up, quickly. According to Edina Mortgage’s Steve Mohabir, subsequent to the election, interest rates for a 30-year mortgage for well-qualified borrowers jumped a huge (“Yuge??“) 50 basis points, from 3.5% to over...Read More
Thanks, Keith!** From my Realtor’s perspective, credit consumers — specifically, home Buyers looking for a mortgage — place FAR too much emphasis on fees, and WAY too little on service, and the very real financial value of same. Call it, “missing the forest for the trees.” So, on average, to originate a $200k mortgage, a top...Read More
The Opposite of Buying Down Rates Wait a second! Isn’t borrowers’ goal to pay the lowest interest rate they can on their mortgage? Yes, but — especially for first-time home Buyers — there’s the added consideration of closing costs. On a $200,000 home, a typical amount would be 3%, or $6,000. Conserving Cash A popular...Read More
Housing Comp’s vs. Lender Comp’s To Realtors, a Comp (“Comparable Sold Property”) is a nearby, recently sold home similar in size, style, and condition to the “subject home” (the home being valued). What’s a “Comp” to a lender? The borrower’s annual income for any given year. Excluding a Harmful Comp Just like the key to...Read More
