On Oct. 17, lawmakers finally passed an amendment to increase the debt ceiling and reopen the government, which had been closed since Oct. 1. Reports were telling us that if the U.S. had defaulted, we would have seen mortgage rates spike. Since the lawmakers came together and raised the debt ceiling, one would think that everything is fine and that we should be carrying on just like we did before, but that’s not the case. The government shutdown came at a time when the Fed was still very worried about the economy’s weak state. This costly game of chicken between …

On Sept. 18, the Federal Reserve ended their two-day meeting and shocked the financial markets by deciding not to begin tapering their asset purchases. The Federal Reserve has been buying mortgage and treasury bonds off and on since 2009 as part of a strategy known as Quantitative Easing (QE), which was designed to push rates down and spur the economy. In the most recent QE move, which took place in September 2012, called QEIII, the Fed announced that it was going to be buying a total of $85 billion in bonds per month ($40 billion in mortgage bonds, $45 billion …

With rates rising since early May of this year, homeowners should take a long hard look before committing to an adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM, as we like to call them in the mortgage business. An ARM can be a great tool that can save you money, but it can also be a dangerous product that can put you in financial distress. ARMs come is various sizes, and usually a 3/1, 5/1, 7/1 or 10/1 ARM are the most common. What this means is the mortgage is spread over 30 years (like a 30-year fixed rate), but the rate is …

On April 30, bond fund king Bill Gross of Pimco Co. said he believed that the bull run in bonds had come to an end along with the low interest rates that have propelled it. Judging by how high rates have come up since those comments you would think that the market was listening to his every word. During the last two weeks of May and into the first week of June, mortgage rates moved up from 3.375 percent on a 30 year fixed to 4.25 percent. That is a pretty dramatic increase in such a short period of time. …

Today’s mortgage interest rate environment is without question the lowest it has been in decades. So why would anyone want to take an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) instead of a fixed rate? First off, let’s talk about how adjustable rate mortgages work. Most ARMs are spread over 30 years, just like a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (a mortage where the interest rate never changes, by the way). The most common ARMs are the 3/1, 5/1, and 7/1 Treasury or Libor ARM. What this means is that the rate will stay fixed for 3, 5 or 7 years respectively and then will …

Your credit is by far the most important ingredient of a mortgage. You receive three credit scores (Trans Union, Experian and Equifax) when you apply for a mortgage. If you do not receive at least a 640 on two of the three scores, you cannot apply for an FHA mortgage. A conventional mortgage usually requires an average credit score of 700, and 740 is the minimum required to get the best rate for a conventional loan. There has been a lot of negative noise lately about credit repair companies, both nationally and locally, and with good reason. Complaints abound about …

The Federal Housing Authority is raising its mortgage insurance premiums again! Once dedicated to helping families buy homes without the traditional down payment of 20 percent, the FHA has more than doubled its monthly fees, effectively pricing many potential homebuyers out of the market. Lenders typically only want to give loans for 80 percent of the value of the property. The FHA allows borrowers to put down as little as 3.5 percent, with the FHA agreeing to cover the difference should the borrower default. In exchange for this protection, the borrow purchases mortgage insurance that spreads the risk of default …

At the time of this writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was right around 14,000, which is just under the all-time high that was hit in October 2007. Gas prices have come up 42 cents in the past month and we are also dealing with higher payroll taxes which are taking more money out of our disposable income. The “sequester” which will amount to $85 billion in automatic spending cuts by the government, are set to go into effect on March 1. The hype is if this is not amended, we could see negative growth and thousands of jobs loss …

One of the new rules that have emerged from the Dodd-Frank financial regulation overhaul applies to “jumbo mortgages” that have a loan amount higher than $417,000. Still and the works, and set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014, these “Qualified Mortgages” are being put together Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, which will then be responsible for enforcing them. Qualified Mortgages wont have a minimum down payment or credit score, but rather will hinge upon a borrower’s ability to repay the monthly mortgage. The proposed rules maintain that a jumbo mortgage cannot be more than 43 percent of a borrower’s …

It was at the December meeting that the Federal Reserve finally came out and set a target for how long it will keep interest low, and how long it will continue to buy mortgage bonds. The Fed said it will continue to buy bonds until the unemployment rate hits 6.5 percent, as long as the inflation rate does not go above 2.5 percent. (The Fed top for inflation was previously 2 percent.) The Fed went on to say it will keep short-term rates low until 2015, extending the deadline for an additional year. Buying mortgage bond in the open market …