Tips To Close Your Home Loan Faster, With Fewer Hassles

Close faster on your mortgageWith mortgage rates at all-time lows, purchase and refinance activity is climbing. And with guidelines tight, and pipelines full, you will want to be properly prepared up front to mitigate some of the horror stories you have probably been hearing about.

Home sales are at their highest levels since May 2010 as home buyers take advantage of favorable economic conditions. Home prices are low, household income is rising, and rents are up in many U.S. cities.

Low rates have stoked mortgage refinance applications throughout Sacramento, too. Continue reading

Lock Your Mortgage Rate : New Loan Fees Expected Within Days

Payroll tax fees for new loansStarting soon, nearly all home buyers and refinancing households throughout California and nationwide will pay higher mortgage loan fees. Congress has made it law.

As a Lender in Natomas, California, I am prepping my clients for higher fees. 13 months ago, as part of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Congress enacted a one-year cut to FICA payroll taxes. Continue reading

What Mortgage Rates Are Doing This Week : January 9, 2012

Retail Sales 2009-2011Mortgage markets improved last week, pushing mortgage rates in Northern California lower for the second straight week. Conforming fixed and adjustable-rate mortgage cut new, all-time lows, and FHA mortgage rates did the same.

In a holiday-shortened trading week, stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data and ongoing weakness within Europe drove investors into the U.S. mortgage-backed bond market. When demand for bonds is high, mortgage rates improve.

The Refi appetite continues. Continue reading

Housing And Mortgage : The Experts Make Their 2012 Predictions

What's next for housing in 2012As the new year begins, there are no shortage of stories telling us what to expect in 2012. Housing finished 2011 with momentum and mortgage rates closed at the lowest rates of all time.

Some expect those trends to continue through the first quarter and beyond. Others expect a rapid reversal.

Who’s right and who’s wrong? Continue reading

What Mortgage Rates Are Doing This Week : January 3, 2012

Jobs report due FridayMortgage rates improved last week during a holiday-shortened trading week. The mortgage bond markets closed Monday for Christmas, and closed early Friday afternoon. Trading volume was light all week-long, which contributed to a year-end rally.

Mortgage bonds made their largest one-week gain in two months as conforming mortgage rates in California fell to new lows nationwide. Continue reading