freddie mac

Mortgage Rates Fell But You May Have A Higher Rate To Pay

March 13, 2008

When mortgages began to sour last Fall, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instituted “loan-level pricing adjustments”. The concept is basic: For mortgage applicants with less-than-ideal credit profiles, mortgage pricing is adjusted to compensate for the added risks. It’s still a conforming loan, but with adjustments. Effective March 6, though, Fannie and Freddie’s definition of “high-risk” […]

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What The New Conforming Loan Limits May Mean To You

February 14, 2008

The $168 billion economic stimulus plan signed Wednesday includes a temporary increase to conforming loan limits in some parts of the country. Currently, many homeowners whose loans exceed $417,000 are paying higher interest rates because their loans are not securitized the way that smaller loans are. The loan limit increase is intended to make housing more […]

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Mortgage Rates Are Going Up — But Not For The Reason You’d Expect

December 13, 2007

Conforming mortgages are getting more expensive — but not because of mortgage rates. To protect against further weakness in the housing sector, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are instituting “delivery fees” on all conforming mortgages, effective March 2008. Fannie Mae’s Adverse Market Delivery Charge and Freddie Mac’s Market Condition Delivery Fee will add a one-time, quarter-percent […]

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Your Credit Score Doesn’t Cost You Today, But In Three Months It Could Cost You Plenty

December 6, 2007

Credit scores are the best predictor of how a homeowner will pay on a mortgage, so it’s no surprise that credit scores will play a bigger role in mortgage financing in 2008. Actually “that date” is more clearly defined.  It’s March 1, 2008. For loans closing on or after March 1, 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie […]

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Who Are Fannie And Freddie And How Do They Help Homeowners?

November 21, 2007

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae are quasi-government agencies in that they are publicly-owned, but overseen by the government. The purpose of Fannie and Freddie is to make sure that money is available to homeowners that want home loans. Neither lends to consumers directly, though; you’ll have to talk to your loan officer for that.  Instead, […]

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Mortgage Rates Fall For ARMs Faster Than For Fixed Rate Mortgages

November 8, 2007

After running neck-and-neck for several months, interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages are finally diverging. Despite pricing worse than its fixed-rate counterpart throughout much of August and September, ARMs are now close to 0.375 percent lower for conforming products sold through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This equates to roughly $25 per month per $100,000 […]

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An Appetite For Jumbo Loans Returns

September 5, 2007

Yesterday was a rather drab day in mortgage circles — not much happened and mortgage rates idled.  The bigger story was how liquidity appears to be slowly returning to some areas of the beaten-down mortgage market. Specifically, liquidity is returning to prime, fixed-rate, full documentation jumbo loans and pricing appears to be improving (slightly). The […]

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The Week In Review (August 6, 2007) : What To Watch For

August 6, 2007

In a week in which several high-profile mortgage lenders closed their doors, not all news was bad. Mortgages rates for home loans bought by the quasi-government groups Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac actually dropped a bit. If you only watched the news, or market commentary on CNBC, though, you likely have the wrong idea about […]

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What If You Got To The Closing Table And The Money Never Showed Up?

August 3, 2007

Several high-profile mortgage lenders, including American Home Mortgage, closed their doors this week and stopped funding loans.  Others dramatically limited their list of “eligible” borrowers. Many buyers and sellers across the country have been stranded at the closing table without funds this week, only adding to the confusion. Because the story is not getting much […]

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