Following a column published late last week by Fox News’ Bob Massi, the network also produced a video segment featuring reverse mortgages this week.
In his look into reverse mortgages, “How to Have a Reverse Mortgage Success Story,” Massi interviews two couples who have successfully used reverse mortgages to improve their retirement situations. In one case, a married couple is using the reverse mortgage as a way to delay drawing down on stock market investments, and in the other case, the borrowers have used the reverse mortgage for medical expenses, among other items.
Massi also interviews reverse mortgage professional Josh Shein of Home Point Financial; a lender that acquired Maverick Funding in a deal announced late last year.
The reverse mortgage is “one of the most misunderstood items in real estate,” Massi says in the segment, which covers specific misunderstandings such as the idea that the bank takes the home from the borrowers.
“When it comes down to it, it’s just a loan,” Shein says. “… the balance of that loan grows over time.”
Massi also covers recent reverse mortgage changes, including willingness and capacity requirements that apply through the financial assessment that is now part of the origination process.
source: http://reversemortgagedaily.com/2015/08/25/fox-news-delves-into-reverse-mortgage-successes-changes/
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
Fixed Mortgage Rates Dip, Could Fall Further
Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged lower this week, with the key 30-year loan rate remaining under 4 percent. The 10/1 Adjustable Rate Mortgages are available starting at 3.71% with an April of 3.585%.
Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.93 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending August 20, 2015, down from last week when it averaged 3.94 percent.
15 year fixed rate mortgages start at 3.500% at the bank carrying an April of 3.811% today. 30 year jumbo loan interest rates at the bank are listed at 4.625% and April of 4.777%.
[How borrowers can help make the mortgage application process go smoother].
QuoteAttributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac.
The one-year ARM average was unchanged at 2.62 percent with an average 0.3 point.
The typical price on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 2.94% from 2.93%; the charge remained at zero. The 3 year ARM interest rates have been published at 2.250% today with an April of 3.261%.
Mortgage rates barely moved from last week, with rates once again coming in below 4%, the latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey found. For 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 2.76 percent.
“Overall inflation grew an underwhelming 0.2 percent year-over-year in July, but core inflation remains steady at 1.8 percent keeping chances alive for a potential rate hike in September”.
The speed on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages eased this week to three.15% from three.17%. One-unit housing starts in July 2015 jumped to 782,000 units, up 12.8 percent from June and up 19 percent from a year ago. “Overall housing markets remain on track for the best year since 2007″.
read more: http://www.tjcnewspaper.com/fixed-mortgage-rates-dip-could-fall-further-16378/
Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.93 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending August 20, 2015, down from last week when it averaged 3.94 percent.
15 year fixed rate mortgages start at 3.500% at the bank carrying an April of 3.811% today. 30 year jumbo loan interest rates at the bank are listed at 4.625% and April of 4.777%.
[How borrowers can help make the mortgage application process go smoother].
QuoteAttributed to Sean Becketti, chief economist, Freddie Mac.
The one-year ARM average was unchanged at 2.62 percent with an average 0.3 point.
The typical price on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 2.94% from 2.93%; the charge remained at zero. The 3 year ARM interest rates have been published at 2.250% today with an April of 3.261%.
Mortgage rates barely moved from last week, with rates once again coming in below 4%, the latest Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey found. For 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 2.76 percent.
“Overall inflation grew an underwhelming 0.2 percent year-over-year in July, but core inflation remains steady at 1.8 percent keeping chances alive for a potential rate hike in September”.
The speed on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages eased this week to three.15% from three.17%. One-unit housing starts in July 2015 jumped to 782,000 units, up 12.8 percent from June and up 19 percent from a year ago. “Overall housing markets remain on track for the best year since 2007″.
read more: http://www.tjcnewspaper.com/fixed-mortgage-rates-dip-could-fall-further-16378/
Monday, August 17, 2015
Tech takes paperwork out of home mortgages
Doug Johnson serves as the chief financial officer of two hospitals in the Wisconsin-Minnesota border area but doesn’t consider himself to be especially tech-savvy.
Nevertheless, he was able to complete the entire mortgage-application process for an Arizona vacation home that he and his wife wanted to buy, entirely online. That included shopping for interest rates and terms, inputting personal information and uploading the required supporting documents, including copies of income-tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements and more.
“It went without a hitch,” said Johnson, 47, who admits he was initially concerned about online security. “If you have access to the Internet and a cheap scanner, that’s all you need.”
Johnson did the mortgage-application process through Guaranteed Rate, a national residential mortgage lender based in Chicago. The company’s software guides applicants through the loan-shopping exercise and lets them input personal data, see their credit scores, upload key documents through a private and secure system and receive online approval. Applicants going through the company’s all-digital route currently can qualify for a $250 credit on closing costs.
Guaranteed Rate claims it has the first all-digital mortgage, but many competitors also are going in the same direction, letting customers apply for mortgages, process much of the paperwork and do related tasks day or night, using a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone.
No longer such a slog
Applying for a mortgage and supplying supporting documents — traditionally one of the most time-consuming, paperwork-intensive and frustrating financial exercises around — increasingly is being automated. That means applicants will find the process easier, faster and, possibly, less expensive than before.
Americans already have embraced online interactions for other financial products and services. They pay bills online, check credit card transactions, buy and sell stocks, adjust 401(k) balances and pull up their credit reports. The vast majority of taxpayers file their tax returns online.
Five years from now, digital applications and document submission for home loans might be just as prevalent, though it isn’t quite there yet.
“It’s not as widespread as you might think,” said Rick Hill, vice president of industry technology for the Mortgage Bankers Association. Many people still prefer to meet face to face with a loan officer, especially first-time home buyers.
read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/08/14/digital-breakthroughs-improve-home-mortgage-process/31182619/
Nevertheless, he was able to complete the entire mortgage-application process for an Arizona vacation home that he and his wife wanted to buy, entirely online. That included shopping for interest rates and terms, inputting personal information and uploading the required supporting documents, including copies of income-tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements and more.
“It went without a hitch,” said Johnson, 47, who admits he was initially concerned about online security. “If you have access to the Internet and a cheap scanner, that’s all you need.”
Johnson did the mortgage-application process through Guaranteed Rate, a national residential mortgage lender based in Chicago. The company’s software guides applicants through the loan-shopping exercise and lets them input personal data, see their credit scores, upload key documents through a private and secure system and receive online approval. Applicants going through the company’s all-digital route currently can qualify for a $250 credit on closing costs.
Guaranteed Rate claims it has the first all-digital mortgage, but many competitors also are going in the same direction, letting customers apply for mortgages, process much of the paperwork and do related tasks day or night, using a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone.
No longer such a slog
Applying for a mortgage and supplying supporting documents — traditionally one of the most time-consuming, paperwork-intensive and frustrating financial exercises around — increasingly is being automated. That means applicants will find the process easier, faster and, possibly, less expensive than before.
Americans already have embraced online interactions for other financial products and services. They pay bills online, check credit card transactions, buy and sell stocks, adjust 401(k) balances and pull up their credit reports. The vast majority of taxpayers file their tax returns online.
Five years from now, digital applications and document submission for home loans might be just as prevalent, though it isn’t quite there yet.
“It’s not as widespread as you might think,” said Rick Hill, vice president of industry technology for the Mortgage Bankers Association. Many people still prefer to meet face to face with a loan officer, especially first-time home buyers.
read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/08/14/digital-breakthroughs-improve-home-mortgage-process/31182619/
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Why Risky Borrowers Still Aren’t Getting Mortgages
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Obama administration over the past year have tried mightily to expand mortgage access for riskier borrowers.
But despite those efforts, there’s little evidence so far of borrowers with weaker credit making a strong return.
On Tuesday and Thursday, Freddie and Fannie released their quarterly earnings reports. Both companies said that the credit scores of loans that they back are actually higher year-to-date than they were last year. Freddie, for example, says that this year through June the weighted average credit score of loans it purchased from lenders was 751–on a scale of 300 to 850–up from 744 in 2014.
To be sure, mortgage rates dropped early this year, causing a boom in refinance activity. Borrowers who are refinancing tend to have higher credit scores and more home equity than people buying homes, which obscures the picture.
The percentage of mortgage borrowers backed by Fannie and Freddie with low credit scores or a low down payment has also risen since mid-2013, even though it has dropped recently with a change in the companies’ business mix.
Still, with such an abundance of anecdotes from lenders who say they’re making it easier to get a mortgage, you would expect there to be a more significant change.
So what’s going on?
Some lenders are still afraid of getting sued or of taking another hit to their reputations.
On Thursday, Fannie Mae CEO Timothy J. Mayopoulos said that Fannie and the FHFA have made great strides toward working with lenders to ease their concerns about being hit with penalties by Fannie years after they’ve made a loan.
Problem is, Fannie isn’t the only entity that lenders have to answer to. In the past few years, lenders have been under scrutiny from the Justice Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and dozens of state attorneys general and lawmakers for alleged mistakes and abuses before, during and after the financial crisis. Some lenders think the scrutiny is overzealous and have pulled back from making certain loans as a result.
“When I meet with lenders, it’s very clear that there’s great concern about the legal and regulatory enforcement from any number of players at the federal and state level. It’s not something that we at Fannie Mae control,” Mr. Mayopoulos said. He said that the actions have had a “substantial effect on the mindsets of lenders, at least as they express it to me.”
Many borrowers with mortgage-eligible but poor credit don’t know they could qualify.
Even though some lenders have said that they’re expanding mortgage access, some borrowers have had it beaten into their heads over the last few years that it’s hard to get a mortgage. Those perceptions are hard to change, even if the reality has.
read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/08/10/why-risky-borrowers-still-arent-getting-mortgages/
But despite those efforts, there’s little evidence so far of borrowers with weaker credit making a strong return.
On Tuesday and Thursday, Freddie and Fannie released their quarterly earnings reports. Both companies said that the credit scores of loans that they back are actually higher year-to-date than they were last year. Freddie, for example, says that this year through June the weighted average credit score of loans it purchased from lenders was 751–on a scale of 300 to 850–up from 744 in 2014.
To be sure, mortgage rates dropped early this year, causing a boom in refinance activity. Borrowers who are refinancing tend to have higher credit scores and more home equity than people buying homes, which obscures the picture.
The percentage of mortgage borrowers backed by Fannie and Freddie with low credit scores or a low down payment has also risen since mid-2013, even though it has dropped recently with a change in the companies’ business mix.
Still, with such an abundance of anecdotes from lenders who say they’re making it easier to get a mortgage, you would expect there to be a more significant change.
So what’s going on?
Some lenders are still afraid of getting sued or of taking another hit to their reputations.
On Thursday, Fannie Mae CEO Timothy J. Mayopoulos said that Fannie and the FHFA have made great strides toward working with lenders to ease their concerns about being hit with penalties by Fannie years after they’ve made a loan.
Problem is, Fannie isn’t the only entity that lenders have to answer to. In the past few years, lenders have been under scrutiny from the Justice Department, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and dozens of state attorneys general and lawmakers for alleged mistakes and abuses before, during and after the financial crisis. Some lenders think the scrutiny is overzealous and have pulled back from making certain loans as a result.
“When I meet with lenders, it’s very clear that there’s great concern about the legal and regulatory enforcement from any number of players at the federal and state level. It’s not something that we at Fannie Mae control,” Mr. Mayopoulos said. He said that the actions have had a “substantial effect on the mindsets of lenders, at least as they express it to me.”
Many borrowers with mortgage-eligible but poor credit don’t know they could qualify.
Even though some lenders have said that they’re expanding mortgage access, some borrowers have had it beaten into their heads over the last few years that it’s hard to get a mortgage. Those perceptions are hard to change, even if the reality has.
read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/08/10/why-risky-borrowers-still-arent-getting-mortgages/
Friday, August 7, 2015
Mortgage rates fall again amid economic uncertainty
Eight weeks ago, it appeared that the days of 30-year fixed rate mortgages at less than 4 percent were a thing of the past. But recent economic uncertainty has sent those rates tumbling, which is good news for those looking to purchase a home or refinance a loan.
According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average hovered below 4 percent for the second week in a row, falling to 3.91 percent with an average 0.6 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) It was 3.98 percent a week ago and 4.14 percent a year ago.
The 15-year fixed-rate average slipped to 3.13 percent with an average 0.6 point. It was 3.17 percent a week ago and 3.27 percent a year ago.
Hybrid adjustable rate mortgages were mixed. The five-year ARM average held steady at 2.95 percent with an average 0.4 point, same as it was a week ago. It was 3.27 percent a year ago.
The one-year ARM average rose to 2.54 percent with an average 0.3 point. It was 2.52 percent a week ago.
“All eyes are on the upcoming July employment report, as the Fed has made it clear developments in the labor market will affect the timing of any potential rate hike,” Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac chief economist, said in a statement.
“But early signals indicate Friday’s employment report will not look so good. The employment cost index rose 0.2 percent in the second quarter, the lowest quarterly increase in its 33-year history and ADP’s Private Employment Report missed expectations for private jobs in July. Uncertainty about the economy helped drive down Treasury yields early in the week, and thus mortgage rates fell 7 basis points to 3.91 percent, the lowest level since June 4th.”
read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/wp/2015/08/06/mortgage-rates-fall-again-amid-economic-uncertainty/
According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average hovered below 4 percent for the second week in a row, falling to 3.91 percent with an average 0.6 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount.) It was 3.98 percent a week ago and 4.14 percent a year ago.
The 15-year fixed-rate average slipped to 3.13 percent with an average 0.6 point. It was 3.17 percent a week ago and 3.27 percent a year ago.
Hybrid adjustable rate mortgages were mixed. The five-year ARM average held steady at 2.95 percent with an average 0.4 point, same as it was a week ago. It was 3.27 percent a year ago.
The one-year ARM average rose to 2.54 percent with an average 0.3 point. It was 2.52 percent a week ago.
“All eyes are on the upcoming July employment report, as the Fed has made it clear developments in the labor market will affect the timing of any potential rate hike,” Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac chief economist, said in a statement.
“But early signals indicate Friday’s employment report will not look so good. The employment cost index rose 0.2 percent in the second quarter, the lowest quarterly increase in its 33-year history and ADP’s Private Employment Report missed expectations for private jobs in July. Uncertainty about the economy helped drive down Treasury yields early in the week, and thus mortgage rates fell 7 basis points to 3.91 percent, the lowest level since June 4th.”
read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/where-we-live/wp/2015/08/06/mortgage-rates-fall-again-amid-economic-uncertainty/
Monday, August 3, 2015
Black Knight: Borrowers carry highest level of non-mortgage debt in a decade
Black Knight Financial Services analyzed U.S. mortgage holders’ levels of non-mortgage-related debt and found those levels are at their highest in over 10 years.
As Black Knight Data & Analytics Senior Vice President Ben Graboske explained, non-mortgage debt among U.S. mortgage holders bears close watching due to its potential impact on both the lending and housing industries.
“Mortgage lenders know exactly how much debt borrowers are carrying at the point of origination, but often lose sight from that point forward,” said Graboske. “Non-mortgage debt is another key piece of the home affordability puzzle — the more total debt borrowers are carrying and the higher monthly non-mortgage payments they have, the less money they have to put toward a new home purchase, or potentially even their current mortgage obligations.
“What we’ve found is that mortgage holders today are carrying more non-mortgage debt than at any point in the past 10 years, with an average of $25,000 per borrower. That’s $1,400 more on average than one year ago, and nearly $2,600 more than in 2011,” he said. “The primary driver of this increase is a rise in auto-related debt, which accounted for 81% of the overall non-mortgage debt increase over the past four years. We also noticed a clear correlation between non-mortgage debt and borrowers inquiring about a new mortgage, with those who have recent mortgage inquiries on their credit reports carrying nearly 40% more debt than borrowers who do not.”
Black Knight found that the student loan debt of U.S. mortgage holders is at all-time high: 15% of mortgage holders are carrying student loan debt, with average balances of nearly $35,000. The average student loan debt for all mortgages has more than doubled since 2006, and the share of mortgage holders carrying that debt has increased by 44% over that 9-year span.
While the GSEs hold more than half of all mortgages with accompanying student loan debt, the situation is much more pronounced among FHA borrowers. Roughly one quarter of all active FHA loans carry student loan debt, as compared to just 13 percent of GSE loans.
In fact, FHA’s market share of post-crisis mortgages with student loan debt is nearly twice that of those without, suggesting that borrowers with student loan debt may be willing to trade higher payments in the form of mortgage insurance premiums for reduced down payments.
Leveraging data from the Black Knight Home Price Index, Black Knight also looked at the current state of negative equity among U.S. mortgage holders and found continuing improvement there.
“Over the first five month
read more: http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34655-black-knight-borrowers-carry-highest-level-of-non-mortgage-debt-in-a-decade
As Black Knight Data & Analytics Senior Vice President Ben Graboske explained, non-mortgage debt among U.S. mortgage holders bears close watching due to its potential impact on both the lending and housing industries.
“Mortgage lenders know exactly how much debt borrowers are carrying at the point of origination, but often lose sight from that point forward,” said Graboske. “Non-mortgage debt is another key piece of the home affordability puzzle — the more total debt borrowers are carrying and the higher monthly non-mortgage payments they have, the less money they have to put toward a new home purchase, or potentially even their current mortgage obligations.
“What we’ve found is that mortgage holders today are carrying more non-mortgage debt than at any point in the past 10 years, with an average of $25,000 per borrower. That’s $1,400 more on average than one year ago, and nearly $2,600 more than in 2011,” he said. “The primary driver of this increase is a rise in auto-related debt, which accounted for 81% of the overall non-mortgage debt increase over the past four years. We also noticed a clear correlation between non-mortgage debt and borrowers inquiring about a new mortgage, with those who have recent mortgage inquiries on their credit reports carrying nearly 40% more debt than borrowers who do not.”
Black Knight found that the student loan debt of U.S. mortgage holders is at all-time high: 15% of mortgage holders are carrying student loan debt, with average balances of nearly $35,000. The average student loan debt for all mortgages has more than doubled since 2006, and the share of mortgage holders carrying that debt has increased by 44% over that 9-year span.
While the GSEs hold more than half of all mortgages with accompanying student loan debt, the situation is much more pronounced among FHA borrowers. Roughly one quarter of all active FHA loans carry student loan debt, as compared to just 13 percent of GSE loans.
In fact, FHA’s market share of post-crisis mortgages with student loan debt is nearly twice that of those without, suggesting that borrowers with student loan debt may be willing to trade higher payments in the form of mortgage insurance premiums for reduced down payments.
Leveraging data from the Black Knight Home Price Index, Black Knight also looked at the current state of negative equity among U.S. mortgage holders and found continuing improvement there.
“Over the first five month
read more: http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34655-black-knight-borrowers-carry-highest-level-of-non-mortgage-debt-in-a-decade
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)