Did you miss out on locking into the lowest rates?

Mortgage rates are still ridiculously low thanks to our governments continued support.  Mortgage rates have been trending higher since late last year and may have some who have been "sitting on the fence" to lock in a 30 year Fixed rate in the low 3's.  If you missed out on locking into these low rates, a 10 Year ARM may be worth considering. 

A 10 year adjustable rate mortgage is Fixed for 10 years and then at 120 months, the interest rate will adjust based on the current 12 mo. LIBOR plus a margin.  The rate will adjust again on the anniversary of the first adjustment date for the remainder of the term of the mortgage.  If you're not planning on selling or refinancing your home before the 10 year fixed period is over, your risk is the uncertainty of where LIBOR will be 10 years from now.  Call me with any questions and I would be happy to compare the two scenarios for you. 

The good news coming from the FED is that they will leave rates unchanged and plan to continue to manipulate mortgage rates until unemployment improves.  They will continue purchasing additional agency mortgage backed securities at a pace of $40 Billion per month and longer term Treasure securities at a pace of $45 Billion per month.  Take together, these actions should maintain downward pressure on longer-term interest rate, support mortgage markets, and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative. 

With this news, we'll hopefully see rates become lower in the coming weeks.  I'll keep everyone posted and please don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or want me to run a quick mortgage analysis. 

HARP 3.0 Update

HARP 3.0 has been revised and the bill is being presented to Congress. The bill would change guidelines for ALL Lenders to have access to the exclusive guidelines given to the homeowner's current loan provider/servicer, which will present a level playing field for consumers and/or lenders.


HARP is specific to each agency (Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac ) while there is one set of guidelines for ALL Lenders and another set of guidelines for the homeowner's current servicer. If you decide to refinance under the HARP Program with your current lender/servicer, the guidelines are much easier for you. If the homeowner decides to use any other lender to refinance under the program, the guidelines are much more strict.

The HARP 3.0 proposal would improve several issues such as Underwriting Overlays, Pricing, Non-Servicer refinancing guidelines, etc.....if passed, this will give the homeowner the ability to shop around to multiple lenders so they can guarantee they're getting the best possible rate available to them along with being able to refinance w/ any lender under one set of guidelines. In a nutshell, if passed, this will be very good for homeowners.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I will continue to keep updating this blog when it comes to HARP guidelines and any changes that may occur.