The Philly Pretzel

photo courtesy of: icann has cheezeburger

Sorry to be a little late with this update, but I’ve been trying for several days to figure out the real scoop on exactly what happened. For the first time that I can ever remember, FHA actually published a mortgagee letter on their website and then just removed it.

Usually the process of revoking a Mortgagee Letter would involve issuing another Mortgagee Letter with updated rules. Looks like someone at HUD may have gotten ahead of themselves!

For the time being, there is no monetization of the $8000 tax credit. Even if they should re-instate it, it will be months before lenders would be able to get geared up to do it.

Sorry for the unnecessary excitement.

Rates as of today were:

30 Yr Fixed – 5% (0 points)/ 4.75% (1 point)
15 Yr Fixed – 4.625% (0 points)/ 4.25% (1 point)
FHA – 4.875% (0 points)
Investment – 5.75% ( 0 points)/ 5.25% (1 point)- 25% down payment required)

*35 day lock Rates are based on 80% loan to value unless noted and 720+ credit score (with the exception of FHA)
*Income and Asset verification required and must meet DTI guidelines *This is not a commitment to lend and other conditions may apply

APPLY FOR A MORTGAGE ONLINE

Brought to you by our favorite mortgage broker:

Carina Marchese
Center City Mortgage
267.238.5785

email Carina for today’s rate

Technorati: philly mortgage, mortgage market, carina marchese, center city mortgage company

The FHA asks for a lot of information on your FHA loan application. You will need to provide the FHA with a wide range of details including:

1. All addresses where you have lived in the previous two years.

2. Your employer’s name and addresses for the last two years, plus the amount of your Gross Monthly Salary.

3. W2’s for the past two years.

4. Income tax forms submitted for the last two years.

Gather all of this before you begin your FHA application so you will have everything handy to complete your FHA loan forms at one time.

Potentially Related Posts:
7 Facts About FHA Mortgages
What’s a Perfect Loan for a Philly 1st-Time Home Buyer

FIND YOUR 1st HOME IN PHILLY AND GET YOUR TAX CREDIT

Technorati: Philly home buyers, 1st time home buyers, Philly mortgages, FHA mortgages

posted by janice SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!

FHA may be the best financing option of 2009.

 
Why is the FHA program so good?

1st, you can get a fixed-rate loan at a decent rate. This is very important because unprecedented government spending and balance-of-payments deficits could cause inflation and the devaluation of the dollar — bad news for those with adjustable-rate loans. If inflation becomes an issue loan rates and monthly payments will soar for ARM borrowers.

2nd, there is no prepayment penalty or other funny business.

3rd, HUD, to its credit, tries to help FHA borrowers who run into hard times.

4th, the application process is very clear: You have to provide paperwork and verifications, the way loans should always be underwritten.

5th, you can buy with 3.5 percent down.

Tomorrow: Applying for a FHA Loan

Potentially Related Posts: 7 Facts About FHA Mortgages

FIND YOUR 1st HOME IN PHILLY AND GET YOUR TAX CREDIT  

Technorati: Philly home buyers, 1st time home buyers, Philly mortgages, FHA mortgages

posted by janice       SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!

Will they go up or down or remain unchanged?

According to Bankrate probably up. Bankrate.com is the Web’s leading aggregator of financial rate information and every week they survey and publish a weekly Rate Trend Index.

50% predict mortgage rates will increase

25% predict mortgage rates will decrease

25% predict mortgage rates will remain unchanged

The Bankrate.com survey is for conforming mortgages it does not apply to FHA mortgages, VA mortgages, or jumbo mortgages.

This is probably the best time to buy a home in the last 20 years so if you are in a position to take advantage of the temporary dip in rates now is the time. Also it is impossible to time to the market so don’t even try; if you want to time the bottom of this market you may have already lost. Interest rates remain very attractive and should be taken advantage of today when possible. What the Fed announcement did last week is extend the time period that rates will remain low. Please do not allow the talking heads on TV to convince you that this means rates will go down even further. Market conditions and capacity issues will more than likely prevent this.

So it seems likely that rates will increase if past performance is any indication. If we look back at the past few years, right around this time, inflation pressures start building for one reason or another and we have had summer mortgage rate increases. We can’t be sure when inflation will finally take hold this year, but it will. And if it’s sooner than later, you’ll be glad you locked in your mortgage rate at today’s still-low levels.

FIND YOUR PHILLY HOME and TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GREAT RATES 

Technorati: philadelphia mortgage rates, mortgage rates, inflation, home buyers

posted by janice       SEARCH the Philadelphia MLS. No Registration Required!