Archive for the 'Mortgage News' Category
SSFG: Loans Offered for Condominiums in Litigation
Posted by Russ Schreier | Leave A Comment »
Published by Alex Manessis and Russ Schreier of Samuel Scott Financial Group
If you are looking to purchase a condominium, you probably already know all about the Homeowners Association (HOA), specifically the fees you will be paying and the rules that you will have to follow. What you might not realize is that HOA’s will occasionally find them in litigation. Litigation commonly involves disputes with the original construction company, an owner suing the association; someone gets hurt walking down the stairs, or any other of the numerous possible reasons.
What does this mean to a potential owner who has his or her heart set on buying in a specific condominium complex? Most home loans, including those for condominiums, are sold by the lender who made the loan to one of the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), specifically Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. The GSE’s package loans into various ‘pools’ and sell them to various investors. There are certain guidelines a condominium must follow for a GSE to approve the property including the HOA to not be in litigation.
The good news is that Samuel Scott Financial Group has a program available that will allow potential owners who are looking to buy a condominium with an HOA that is in the process of litigation. This program makes available up to $625,000 for potential borrowers, depending on the Loan to Value that is to be received (LTV). A minimum credit score of 620 to 660 is required if the condo is to be your primary residence and 660-700 minimum to qualify for financing on second or investment homes. This program also includes refinancing, so if you are currently an owner in a non approved condominium, you still have the opportunity to reduce your monthly payment due to the extremely low interest rates, despite litigation that your HOA may currently be involved in.
If you are interested in purchasing or refinancing a condominium, have more questions about the program offered, please contact a Mortgage Advisor at Samuel Scott Financial Group.
Related Posts: Financial news, Mortgage News
SSFG: May Economic Indicators- What to Watch For
Posted by Russ Schreier | Leave A Comment »
Published by Alex Manessis and Russ Schreier of Samuel Scott Financial Group
“April showers bring May flowers.” Next week May, hopefully bringing with it some economic sunshine after a down couple of weeks in the market. This past week the United Kingdom announced it was now in recession as
it had GDP decline in both 4Q 2011 and 1Q 2012. Spanish 10 year bonds hit the dangerous level of 6% yield briefly last week and Italy’s are similarly high at 5.84%. The European crisis, although alleviated somewhat is far from over, and we will need to continue to watch how this plays out.
Domestically, we learned that GDP from Q1 increased 2.2%, short of the 2.5% growth that was projected by many analysts. A large portion of this growth was from auto sales, whose operations have recovered from the
Japanese tsunami disaster last year, suggesting that sustainable growth was actually less than that 2.2% figure. This is backed by the 1.1% growth in GDP when the automobile industry was excluded from calculations.
Coming up this week are several announcements that will give us a broad measure of the overall strength of the nations economy.
Monday (April 30th) the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index will be released. The Chicago PMI measures how goods and services have been consumed in the prior month in the Chicago region (which has been a good indicator of national trends). A score above 50.0 indicates that the there has been a pickup in the purchasing of goods and services, so be on the lookout Monday for an announcement.
Two gauges of jobs and unemployment are also being announced this week. The smaller announcement comes on Thursday May 4th in the form of Initial Jobless claims, a count of newly unemployed workers who are
filing for jobless benefits. The second, Nonfarm Payrolls, is due Friday from the Department of Labor. Nonfarm Payrolls measures the net number of jobs either gained or lost during the previous month excluding farming related
employment. March’s data revealed an increase of +121,000 jobs, down 50% from the prior 3 months average of +246,000 jobs. This data will reveal the rate at jobs are being created and lost, so a strong showing would help bolster an economy whose growth has slowed over the past month.
Related Posts: Financial news, Home Loans, Industry Updates, Mortgage News, Real Estate News
SSFG: Economic Indicators for Late April
Posted by Russ Schreier | Leave A Comment »
Published by Alex Manessis and Russ Schreier of Samuel Scott Financial Group
Several economic indicators pertaining to both the overall
health of the housing market and that of our economy as a whole are slated to
be released next week. First are two different consumer confidence indexes,
which will measure how Americans are currently consuming goods and give insight
into their purchasing patterns and disposable income. The Consumer Confidence
Index (CCI) is to be released Tuesday and the University of Michigan’s Consumer
Sentiment Index follows on Friday.
Also being released Tuesday is data regarding new home
sales. This provides information about newly constructed homes including
inventory of newly constructed homes, the rate at which they are selling, and
the median home prices of the homes that have sold. This is important in all
aspects of the industry as increased sales not only mean more homeowners and
good news for lenders, but also for construction industry as it encourages more
production.
Europe as you probably know by now is impacting the world’s
economic strength. The Group of 20 nations has promised to contribute $400
billion dollars to help stem future problems in the European Financial Crisis.
Meanwhile, Spain remains in danger of having its 10 year bond go above 6%
yield, which is the ceiling for possible financial collapse (as we have seen in
Greece, Ireland, and Portugal). European concerns will continue to weigh on the
world economy for years to come so expect to hear more news on this topic, as
it has wide reaching effects, including on the American housing market.
Related Posts: Financial news, Industry Updates, Mortgage News
SSFG: Weighing Your Options – Renting vs. Buying
Posted by Russ Schreier | Leave A Comment »
Published by Alex Manessis and Russ Schreier of Samuel Scott Financial Group
You have probably heard before that purchasing a home will be the largest financial decision that you are likely to make in your entire life. Most American’s are not in a position to purchase a home when they first move out of the parent’s homes and enter the workforce, and therefore choose to rent a home, apartment, or condominium. But after some amount of time spent building up your savings, getting a promotion at work, starting a family, etc, you may start to consider purchasing a home. The decision is not as simple as you may think, as you should not just weigh monthly rent payment against the mortgage payment to determine the correct course of actions. There are many factors, including additional costs, the ability to provide a down payment, taxes, and a change in lifestyle.
Buying a home is not just a place to live but it is also an investment. As you pay off your mortgage each month you build equity in your home, which down the line generates a return if or when you decide to sell your home. Being a homeowner also results in tax deductions that would be unavailable otherwise. Also, assuming you receive a fixed rate mortgage your payments will remain the same throughout the life of the loan. Rent on the other hand continues to increase over time. A recent study showed that in 2011 rent rates in San Diego County increased by 4.3%! If rent increased on average 3% a year over a thirty year period the rent in the Year 30 would be almost two and a half times higher than the rent in Year 1. Although rent will save money in the short term, but over the life of a loan purchasing a home is actually less expensive from a monthly payment perspective.
But of course your home is more than just a financial investment; it also provides a sense of security and stability. Homeownership is a very long term investment, with a minimum commitment several years. If you are raising a family, it provides stability and security. It is after all “The American Dream” is to have a good paying job, healthy happy family, and to own a home. You also find a greater sense of independence because you are free to make changes to your home as you see fit and do not need to answer to a landlord or property manager.
There are a few negatives as well to owning a home. If you are unable to produce a down payment and do not want to pay additional fees for a mortgage guarantee (from FHA or a private entity),or you do not want to pay property taxes, insurance fees, and maintenance costs you may want to continue to rent and save in the meantime. Renting a home or apartment allows you to be much more flexible, especially when you are young and still not completely settled down. Once you purchase a home you are probably committing to one location and likely one job/field for a significant period of time. Renting on the other hand you can pick up and move as soon as your lease agreement is up with little hassle (except maybe finding a friend to help you move your furniture).
Of course making these decisions on your own is never easy. Sometimes people are financially ready, but are not personally ready to take a step as big as purchasing a home and sometimes the reverse is true. However, if you are interested in purchasing a home you should at least explore your options to see if now is in fact a good time to buy for you or your family. If you have questions about whether renting or buying is right for you please contact a Mortgage Advisor at
Samuel Scott Financial Group and fill out a prequalification form on our website.
Related Posts: Buyers, Financial news, Industry Updates, Mortgage News
Mortgage Rates Drop – AGAIN
Posted by Rich Johnson | Leave A Comment »
The announcements are everywhere that mortgage rates are still going down. If this isn’t a sign from the universe that it may time to consider buying or refinancing your current home, then what is?
After a brief surge north of 4 percent last month, mortgage rates have settled down, near their lowest levels of all-time.
According to Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, for applicants willing to pay 0.7 discount points plus a complete set of closing costs, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate fell to 3.88 percent this week.
0.7 discount points adds $700 to your mortgage closing costs for each $100,000 borrowed.
Mortgage rates are down this week on “safe haven” buying. The move is triggered by Wall Street’s concern that Spain and Italy will have trouble servicing their respective sovereign debt. In response, investors are selling risk-heavy assets and using the proceeds to purchase U.S. government-backed bonds.
This creates demand for mortgage bonds which, in turn, pressures mortgage rates lower.
The storyline is similar to what transpired in Greece last year, and, at least for now, it gives home buyers reason to cheer. So long as economic uncertainty remains, mortgage rates may stay low.
Of course, like all things in real estate, though, mortgage rates are local. Rates offered by banks varied by region.
Freddie Mac’s survey of 125 banks showed the following regional breakdown :
- Northeast Region : 3.88% with 0.8 discount points
- West Region : 3.85% with 0.8 discount points
- Southeast Region : 3.91% with 0.8 discount points
- North Central Region : 3.89% with 0.6 discount points
- Southwest Region : 3.90% with 0.8 discount points
The best mortgage “deals” are currently available to North Central Region residents. The most expensive loans are for those in the Southeast.
Relative to history, though, all mortgage rates look inexpensive. Conforming 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates have never been as low as they are today. It’s a bonus for home buyers because cheap mortgage rate yield cheap mortgage payments. Home affordability remains near all-time highs.
If you’re unsure of whether now is a good time to buy or refinance, the answer is yes. Talk to your loan officer to review your mortgage options.
Related Posts: Area Information, Area Statistics, Buyers, Coastal Living, Condos & Townhomes, Financial news, Home Loans, Housing Analysis, Industry Updates, Interest Rates, Investment Properties, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates, Real Living Lifestyles
