by LLT | Jan 23, 2017 | LLT, News
An hour after Donald Trump assumed the presidency Friday, his administration indefinitely suspended a pending rate cut for mortgage insurance required for FHA-backed loans, which are popular with first-time home buyers and those with poor credit.
The move by the Department of Housing and Urban Development — one of the first acts of Trump’s administration — reversed a policy announced in the waning days of the Obama presidency that would have trimmed insurance premiums for typical borrowers by hundreds of dollars a year.
Some Republicans expressed concern that the rate cut could cost taxpayers if the loans started to go sour and the Federal Housing Administration was unable to cover the losses. The agency needed a $1.7-billion bailout from the U.S. Treasury in 2013 after it expanded its role last decade after the collapse of the subprime mortgage market.
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by LLT | Jan 20, 2017 | LLT, News
Mortgage rates receded for the third week in a row as financial markets reacted to a handful of economic news.
The consumer price index grew 2.1 percent, the quickest rate in five years, signaling that inflation is creeping up. The Federal Reserve released its “beige book,” a collection of anecdotal information on the economy, which indicated the economy was growing at a modest rate. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday she expects interest rates to rise “a few times per year” through 2019.
Long-term bonds went on a wild ride this week as yields plummeted on Tuesday before bouncing back Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, one of the more reliable indicators of where mortgage rates are headed, fell to 2.33 percent, its lowest level since late November. The next day, it rebounded to 2.42 percent, its biggest one-day gain since Dec. 9.
With the financial markets likely to remain uncertain for the near future, mortgage rates are expected to be just as unpredictable.
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by LLT | Jan 19, 2017 | LLT, News
One of the ways that businesses have fought back against greater financial regulation since the financial crisis has been to claim that the new oversight threatens the bedrock principle of separation of powers.
These arguments have earned some sympathy from the federal judiciary. Courts in Denver and Washington have recently declared some aspects of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act to be unconstitutional on separation of powers grounds.
But these declarations have been almost entirely empty of content. The courts have fallen over themselves to assure everyone that the unconstitutional agency powers should continue to be exercised almost exactly as before.
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by LLT | Jan 18, 2017 | LLT, News
It’s a tale that has been told over and over — Millennials just aren’t buying homes and instead are sticking to renting.
The absence of Millennial homebuyers is a big story for the economy, because housing sales and construction are big drivers of jobs. But it’s also an equally big story for the personal finances of Millennials, who are missing out on the real estate wealth that bolstered the balance sheets of previous generations.
“The most impactful contributor to consumer wealth since the great financial crisis has been growth in home equity,” said Brad Friedlander, managing partner at Angel Oak Capital Advisors. “Similarly, there has been a growing wealth gap between homeowners and renters, largely due to home equity.”
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by LLT | Jan 17, 2017 | LLT, News
In an era of bloated closing times, some lenders are looking to quicken the pace it takes to get a buyer to the settlement table. Some lenders are retooling operations and aiming to close a loan within 21 days.
For example, national retail lender CrossCountry Mortgage Inc. in Brecksville, Ohio, is committing its staff to aim to close a purchase loan from application to funding within 21 days.
“When you look at contracts, they are typically written for 30 days,” says Chief Operating Officer Jodi Hall. “Many of them have gone out to 45 and 60 day contracts because of the long turn times that have occurred within the industry. If you can deliver well ahead of a 30 day contract it’s very attractive to our REALTOR® partners and customers. That is the best practice.”
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by LLT | Jan 16, 2017 | LLT, News
Thinking about buying a home in the near future? You’ll need a solid savings fund to accomplish this goal. In addition to covering such expenses as closing costs, escrow, and initial payments on taxes and insurance, cash is necessary for a down payment on a mortgage.
Planning to have 20% of a home’s purchase price to use as your down payment is a smart move. It not only makes you a more attractive borrower to a lender, but it also makes you a more reliable buyer. The more money you put down, the less likely your financing (and your home purchase!) will fall through.
A 20% down payment is a great savings goal, but it’s also a lot of cash. Let’s say you want to buy a home that costs $250,000. You’ll need $50,000 in cash to put down. That’s no small number. But you can make it happen in the near future. Here’s how you can work to build a down payment in one year, three years, or five years.
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An hour after Donald Trump assumed the presidency Friday, his administration indefinitely suspended a pending rate cut for mortgage insurance required for FHA-backed loans, which are popular with first-time home buyers and those with poor credit.
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