Refinance
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about refinancing a mortgage.Slowing Mortgage Market Could Lead to Looser Lending
The forecast for the 2013 residential mortgage market wasn’t all that optimistic. Back in December, the Mortgage Bankers Association said it expected refinance volume to slip to $785 billion from $1.2 trillion in 2012, while purchase money mortgage activity was ... Read More »
How Long Do You Plan to Keep Your Mortgage?
The mortgage landscape has changed a ton over the past several years. Mortgage lending guidelines have firmed tremendously since the crisis took hold, and mortgage rates have fallen to all-time lows. Meanwhile, home prices seem to have bottomed, and decent ... Read More »
How Does HARP 2.5 Sound?
For the past couple years now, there has been a big push for a so-called HARP 3.0, which would essentially open the door to private-label refinances under the popular Making Home Affordable program. Since inception, only Fannie and Freddie mortgages ... Read More »
HARP Refinance Program Extended Until 2015
As many had predicted, the popular Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) was extended today until December 31, 2015. The program was set to expire at the end of the year, but apparently the FHFA isn’t satisfied with the more than ... Read More »
Does a Refinance Require an Appraisal?
Mortgage Q&A: “Does a refinance require an appraisal?” A reader recently asked if they needed an appraisal in order to refinance their existing loan. As with anything in the mortgage realm, it depends. Mainly, it depends on the type of ... Read More »
Obama Urges Passage of New Refinance Bill
If you happened to catch last night’s State of the Union speech, you may have noticed (between the incessant clapping) President Obama’s mention of a bill that would give American homeowners the chance to save $3,000 annually by refinancing their ... Read More »
Mortgage Origination Volume Up 34 Percent in 2012
What a difference a year makes. As I reported back in September, 2011 was the worst year in mortgage lending since 1995. Just 365 days later, we experienced the best year since 2007, according to data from Lender Processing Services, ... Read More »
HARP May Be Expanded and Extended to Promote Mortgage Refinancing
There’s been a lot of buzz about the Home Affordable Refinance Program lately. While it has picked up steam in recent months, thanks to the removal of the LTV barrier, it’s still not reaching millions of underwater homeowners in need ... Read More »
Making the Argument for an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage
It’s no secret that fixed-rate mortgages have dominated the mortgage market in recent years, mainly because they’re just so darn cheap. They’ve been breaking records left and right thanks to the bleak economic outlook and the Fed’s continued buying of ... Read More »
New Petition Urges Mortgage Re-HARPing
Well, file this one under “was bound to happen,” or, “was only a matter of time.” A clever guy by the name of Marcus J. from Clementon, New Jersey has created an online petition to eliminate the securitization cut-off date ... Read More »
