Fixed mortgage rates fell for the eighth straight week in the widely watched Freddie Mac survey of what lenders are offering to well-qualified borrowers.

Philadelphia Mortgage Rates week of June 13th:

30 Year Fixed:   4.75% with 0 pts. (45 day lock)

30 Year Fixed Jumbo:  5.00% blended rate (call for details)

15 Year Fixed:   3.875 % with 0 pts. (45 day lock)

FHA 30 Year Fixed:  4.75 % with 0 pts. (45 day lock) 

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Fannie Mae, the nationwide mortgage company, opened Philadelphia Mortgage Help Center 2 days ago to provide free education and counseling to Philadelphia residents with foreclosure issues. The Center was developed in partnership with Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley, local community and elected officials, and area mortgage servicers.

The center is located at 399 Franklin Mills Circle in the Northeast and is the latest of nine to open across the country. The services are available only for homeowners with a mortgage owned by Fannie Mae and require an appointment, which can be made by calling 866-442-8570.

Services available at the Center include one-on-one consultations with experienced housing counselors to review mortgage loans and financing options, explain the range of options available, and help borrowers apply for loan workouts and other alternatives to foreclosure. Services are available in both English and Spanish.

“Philadelphia’s nationally recognized Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Program has already saved more than 3,000 homeowners from foreclosure,” says Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “We welcome Fannie Mae to our region and are pleased to have another partner in the fight to keep Philadelphia families in their homes.”

Determine if Fannie Mae owns your loan
or you can call 800-7FANNIE

With the Philadelphia spring housing market upon us I thought it would be a good time to review the guidelines for getting a mortgage on a flipped property. Essentially a flip is when an investor buys a property and then sells it at a profit within a short time frame. Flips tend to make lenders cautious because these types of transactions historically have had higher rates of default – more fraud involved, inflated property values, etc.  These transactions can be difficult to close but if you know the rules it gets easier.
Conventional mortgage flip rules are relatively straightforward – a resale on a property when the seller is owner of record 90 days or less the loan is a decline. A resale of a property when the seller is owner of record 90-180 days is acceptable with 2 full appraisals and will typically be very closely reviewed, especially if the loan requires mortgage insurance.

FHA loans also have a prohibition on buying properties that were bought by the seller in the past 90 days. But there is a waiver in effect through December 31st 2011 that will allow flips to close. There are some conditions – the transaction has to be arms length (meaning not between friends or family) and if the seller is making more than 20 percent of their original purchase price, there are more complicated conditions that need to be met. Read the entire notice: Temporary Exemption from Compliance with FHA’s Regulation of Property Flipping (pdf)

While FHA has waived the rule for one year not all lenders will also waive their flip rules which are often applied to all mortgages. One more reason to use an experienced Realtor who knows the ins-and-outs and who has a good working relationship experienced mortgage brokers. It could mean the difference between buying the home you want or being denied a mortgage.

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Today’s Mortgage Rates:

30 Year Fixed:   4.875% with 0 pts. (45 day lock)

30 Year Fixed: (KW Stimulus):  4.50% with 0 pts. (45 day lock)
(Seller must participate in KW Stimulus Plan…call for details!!)

30 Year Fixed Jumbo: 5.25% blended rate (call for details)

15 Year Fixed:   4.25 % with 0 pts. (45 day lock)

FHA 30 Year Fixed: 5.00 % with 0 pts. (45 day lock) 

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The FHA is becoming more and more important as a source of financing for Americans looking to purchase or refinance a home. The FHA insures mortgages against default and funds this insurance by charging borrowers a variety of mortgage insurance fees.

New rules that went into effect this month adjust the two types of mortgage insurance paid by consumers for loans insured by the FHA.

**The annual insurance premium (MMI) is paid monthly by the borrower.  It is now 0.85% to 0.9% of the loan balance, depending on the down payment or equity owned.  The previous amount was 0.5% to 0.55%.

**The one-time upfront insurance premium (MIP) that borrowers must pay has been changed to 1% of the loan balance from 2.25%.

The upfront premium is paid in a lump sum at closing or added to the loan balance, unlike the monthly premium, which is paid over the life of the loan in addition to the interest and principal.

Good News, Bad News: Under the new rules borrowers will save money at closing. But those monthly mortgage payments will be a little higher.

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

Philadelphia housing remains at near-record affordability levels, and prospective home buyers stand to benefit from the lowest mortgage rates in decades, as well as advantageous home prices. Housing is approximately 60% more affordable now than during the height of the market.
Mortgage rates once again set new record lows in early October to 4.19% and remained below 4.3% throughout the month. These historically low rates contributed to real savings for buyers. Furthermore, the longer the buyer owns the home, the greater the savings they will realize. As economic activity gains momentum, rates will rise to keep inflation at an acceptable level.
BTW the historical 30 year average for a 30 year fixed mortgage is 8.9%

John Paulson, a multimillionaire hedge fund manager, declared recently in Forbes that today’s record-low interest rates made this the best time to buy homes in fifty years. “If you don’t own a home, buy one,” Paulson said. “If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”   Paulson it should be noted was among the few to accurately predict the subprime collapse.

Buyers who choose to wait until prices come down more are gambling that interest rates will hold steady or drop. The truth is even a 10 percent drop in home prices is nullified by a 1 percent increase in interest rates. The figure below illustrates how this works for a $250,000 home purchase and the relative likelihood of each scenario.

**A 1% increase in mortgage rates is ten times more likely to happen than a 10% drop in home prices.

**A 1% rate increase more than offsets a 10% reduction in home prices.

**When interest rates fall by 1%, the total interest paid is almost three times more than the interest savings from a 10% drop in home prices.

**The probability of both happening at the same time is ridiculously small, and homeowners would still pay 15 % more in interest over the life of the loan.

For those who can afford to buy, trade up, or invest, our current market presents a lifetime opportunity.

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

Nearly two-thirds of borrowers say they would do things differently the next time they shop for a home loan:

** 58 percent want to compare loan terms on an “apples-to- apples” basis
** 56 percent want fees to be standardized and easier to understand
** 52 percent want it to be easier to shop around for rates
** 50 percent want to get more than one quote without sharing personal information
** 19 percent want to learn more about the mortgage process

The last few years should have driven home the lesson that understanding one’s home loan is critically important, but mortgages continue to be something that most people don’t want to spend time thinking about.

Technorati: philadelphia mortgages, due diligence, home buying, compare philly mortgages

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

 This is the perfect loan for the Philadelphia home buyer who wants to buy a fixer-upper and turn it into their dream home.  

The FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation Loan allows a homeowner to buy a home, in any condition, and finance the repairs / improvements to the property. These loans can be done with either a purchase of a new home or a refinance of the borrower’s existing home.

There are two types of FHA 203(k) loans:

Streamline 203(k) -  Repairs and improvements that do not exceed $35,000.

Full 203 (k) -  Anything exceeding $35,000 in repairs and improvements.

Certain repairs, regardless of their dollar value must be done under a full 203 (k) – for instance any structural repairs/remodeling.

The minimum amount of the loan is $5,000 and there is no maximum amount.

What repairs/remodeling items are allowed?

Most improvements are eligible provided they add value and are permanently affixed to the foundation.

Improvements to detached structures and luxury items are not allowed.

On a Streamline 203(k) – major remodeling and room additions are not eligible.

What is the maximum I can borrow?

On a purchase transaction, the amount is 96.5% of the loan-to-value.

On a refinance transaction, the amount is 97.5% of the loan-to-value.

In no circumstance, can the loan amount be greater than the maximum allowable FHA mortgage amount for the geographic area.

How is loan-to-value determined?

The loan-to-value is based on the lesser of:

The sales price or “as os” appraised value plus borrower paid repairs OR

110% of the “as completed” appraised value.

On a full 203(k), you can even finance up to 6 months of mortgage payments while the home is being renovated as long as the home is determined to be uninhabitable.

Rates are generally about .25% higher, these loans take longer to close and of course there is more paperwork involved. Not all lenders are able to do these loans. In fact many loan officers will not do these loans as they are quite specialized and involve more time and attention.

Think this loan might be for you? Give us a call and we will be glad to get you started.

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

While there is growing and well-warranted concern that continuing to keep rates low will lead to inflation down the road…and remember, inflation is the arch enemy of bonds and home loan rates…it does appear that inflation is subdued at present. Last week’s reports showed that the Producer Price Index (PPI), which gauges inflation at the wholesale level, was reported well below expectations and at the largest monthly decline since July 2009. Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation at the consumer level, came in just below expectations for February.

Todays Mortgage Rates:

30 Yr Fixed – 4.75% (1 point) / 4.95% (0 points)

15 Yr Fixed – 4.25% (0 points) /

5 yr ARM – 3.5% (.5 point) / 3.75% (0 points)

7 yr ARM – 3.75% (.5 point) / 4% (0 points)

FHA 30 Yr Fixed – 4.75% (.25 point) / 4.875% (0 points)

FHA 5Yr ARM – 3.625% (1 point) / 4% (0 points)

Investment – 5.125% (.5 point) / 5.25% (0 points) 25% down payment required

*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

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

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Brought to you by our favorite mortgage broker:

Carina Marchese
Center City Mortgage
267.238.5785

email Carina for today’s rate

And whether you find those words deeply wise or simply puzzling…The Fed has told us repeatedly that their massive purchasing program of Mortgage Backed Securities is just about over – and this translates to home loan rates rising in the near future. As you can see in the chart below, the amounts of Mortgage Backed Securities the Fed is purchasing are slowly dwindling, as the program is set to wrap up by March 31st, and are clearly trying to ration out the remaining portion. Last week, the Fed purchased $11 Billion in Mortgage Backed Securities, which leaves them with $66 Billion to spend out of their original $1.25 Trillion allotment. So about 95% of the total has already been spent and has purchased about 3 out of every 4 home loans during the past year. When such a large buyer leaves the market, it is very likely that prices will worsen.

This is very important because as the Fed has less money to last through the remaining months of the program, their ability to keep home loan rates low via their purchasing power will wane. And those who can take advantage of currently low home loan rates do not wait, as the clock on these historically low rates is ticking.

Todays Mortgage Rates:

30 Yr Fixed – 4.75% (1 point) / 5% (0 points)

15 Yr Fixed – 4.25% (1 point) / 4.375% (0 points)

5 yr ARM – 3.625% (1 point) / 3.875% (0 points)

7 yr ARM – 3.875% (1 point) / 4.25% (0 points)

FHA 30 Yr Fixed – 4.75% (1 point) / 4.875% (0 points)

FHA 5Yr ARM – 3.875% (1 point) / 4.125% (0 points)

Investment – 5.3755% (0 point) / 5.5% (0 points) 25% down payment required

*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

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

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