How do Lenders Determine Your Interest Rate?
By: Liz Freeman
February 25th, 2009
Unless lenders all decide to work for free, loan originators have to be paid for their work. What makes pricing different from one lender to another?
1. How efficient the lender is — office space, Internet presence, marketing, in-office or centralized operations, and data processing capability can affect the lender’s profit margin.
2. Temporary market conditions — more...
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StumbleUponWhere Has all the Jumbo Financing Gone?
By: Liz Freeman
February 23rd, 2009
The stimulus bill has left a lot of homeowners out in the cold–those more than 5% underwater on their loans, and those whose mortgage fall outside the Fannie / Freddie “conforming” mortgage limits.
While loans exceeding that limit used to have a healthy market of buyers (like hedge funds and other institutional investors), that market more...
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Short ARMs: A better Choice
By: Liz Freeman
February 17th, 2009
There are some universal truths we count on in mortgage discussions. Annual percentage rate, or APR, is generally described as being “higher” than the stated interest rate. Because loans cost money to originate and the ARM calculation incorporates the fees into the rate. And adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, are always depicted as carrying a more...
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Using a Gift for Your Down Payment?
By: Liz Freeman
February 11th, 2009
Some of you lucky folks have people wanting to give you money to help you out with your down payment. But how does the lender feel about that? It depends.
First, gifts can’t be from just anyone. Sellers, real estate agents, or anyone else who benefits from the sale can’t “give” you down payment money. Most more...
