mortgage loan

It’s 2009 : Mortgage Loan Limits Fall As Scheduled In "High-Cost" American Cities

January 2, 2009

As part of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 , Congress authorized a conforming loan limit increase in “high-cost” areas around the country. Versus the national conforming loan limit of $417,000, for example, a Manhattan home buyer could secure a 2008 mortgage for $725,000 and still be within “conforming” guidelines. Effective January 1, however, those limits rolled back.

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Why It May Be Prudent To Lock Your Mortgage Rate Before 2:15 P.M. ET Today

August 5, 2008

The Federal Open Market Committee meets today and is widely expected to hold the Federal Funds Rate at 2.000 percent. This does not mean that mortgage rates will stay flat, too, however. The Fed Funds Rate is a different type of interest rate from the ones charged to American homeowners for their mortgages. The Fed […]

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A Simple Explanation Of “Credit Crunch”

April 8, 2008

News sources like to use the term “credit crunch” in describing the U.S. economy, but they rarely define what a credit crunch is and what it means for Americans. A credit crunch is when the amount of available loans suddenly decreases over a very short period of time. Usually, it follows a period of lending which, […]

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Mortgage Rate Relief Plan: Who Qualifies For Help?

December 7, 2007

Thursday, the White House revealed its HOPE NOW program, aiming to help sub-prime borrowers freeze their initial “teaser” rates for a period of five years. The program is receiving a lot of ink in the newspaper dailies but sometimes it’s unclear exactly what the program offers, and to whom. Let’s look at the details and […]

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The Cost Of Living Includes The Cost Of Gas And Food (And May Get More Expensive Through The Winter)

November 16, 2007

October’s Consumer Price Index was released Thursday and showed a 3.5 percent increase in the cost of living since October 2006. The report also showed a core inflation rate of 2.2 percent. The “core CPI” is a smaller part of the overall CPI. The math is the same, but it specifically excludes cost changes in […]

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It’s Not Your Imagination : Getting A Home Loan Is More Challenging For Everyone

November 7, 2007

If it feels like mortgage approvals are harder to come by than in years past, that’s because it is. And we’re not just talking about sub-prime mortgages (for which the market has nearly vanished in just 12 months). According to a story on Marketwatch, mortgage guidelines are more challenging for everyone to meet — gold-star […]

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How To Protect Yourself From Becoming A “Trigger Lead”

June 26, 2007

From the CBS News Video Web site, an interesting story for anyone who’s recently applied for credit. Credit repositories now sell the contact information of people applying for new mortgage loans to other mortgage lenders that want to compete for the business. Called “trigger leads”, an unsuspecting mortgage applicant can have his credit checked by a […]

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