Earlier this week the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) announced “Blueprint for Access” which outlines the additional steps that FHA is taking to expand access to credit for under served borrowers. Today HUD published a notice in the Federal Register for comment. The notice is Federal Housing Administration (FHA): Homeowners Armed with Knowledge (HAWK) […]
Ohio USDA Mortgage – Property Eligibility Delayed
On January 9, 2014, USDA Single Family Housing issued a memo, formally delaying the expected changes for USDA property eligibility. What does this mean to Ohio residents? Simply put, more people will remain eligible for Ohio USDA purchase mortgages for a little longer. What is a USDA Purchase Mortgage? You can read the full description […]
Ohio Jumbo Mortgage Loans
A jumbo mortgage is a home loan that exceeds the conforming loan limit, the maximum loan amount that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will accept. In Ohio, any mortgage that exceeds $417,000 is considered a Jumbo Mortgage. The mortgage meltdown scared many lenders away from offering Jumbo Mortgages, but now that the economy is recovering […]
Ohio Home Affordable Refinance (HARP) Program in 2014
Over the last year home prices in Ohio have begun to rebound, as you can see on the following chart from Zillow. Ohio Zillow Home Value Index Ohio real estate info How does that affect Ohio HARP 2.0 mortgages? The main goal of the Home Affordbale Refinance Program was to aid Ohio homeowners that are underwater […]
Fannie Mae Fee Increase Delayed!
First good news of 2014. Last month I published an article about Fannie Mae’s new Loan Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs) and the impact they would have on Mortgage Rates in Ohio. Good News Ohio! On Monday Mel Watt was sworn in as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie Mae and […]
Whats New for Ohio Mortgages in 2014?
2014 is already a few days old, so let’s go over some of the changes that are already on tap for the mortgage industry this year. Qualified Mortgages (QM) rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) go into effect this Friday, January 10, 2014. Basically this rule will put a borrowers loan into one […]
Ohio Homeowners, Why Now Might Be Your Last Chance for a Low Rate
Rates are on the rise. There is no simpler way to put it. So if you have been on the fence, waiting for rates to dip back down into the 3’s, you may be waiting for quite a while, if not forever. Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, Frank Nothaft stated in November “..we look for fixed-rate mortgage […]
Ohio Mortgage Market News for the week ending December 20, 2013
as provided by Fed Announces Taper Heading into Wednesday’s highly anticipated Fed meeting, investors were divided about what the Fed statement would reveal. The Fed announced that it will begin to scale back its bond purchase program. The stock market rallied after the news, but mortgage rates rose modestly and ended the week a […]
Ohio Interest Rates Set to Rise, Thanks Fannie Mae!
Fannie Mae has just announced new Loan Level Price Adjustments (LLPAs) that go into effect for loans purchased on or before March 31, 2014. A mortgage must close, before it can be “purchased” on the secondary market. My best guess is that lenders will begin to carry out these new LLPAs for loan submitted after […]
FHA Guideline Update – Collection and Disputed Accounts
Last Thursday FHA announced revised guidelines for Collection Accounts and Disputed Accounts. The new guidelines may make it difficult for some Ohio FHA homebuyers and homeowners that are looking to get an FHA mortgage. The main impact will be on debt-to-income ratio. Ohio mortgage seekers that have a higher than ideal debt to income ratio […]
