Refinance
Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about refinancing a mortgage.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 »
Mortgage Rates Not as Low as They Could Be
A new Fed study and associated workshop revealed that mortgage lenders continue to offer inflated mortgage rates to consumers, despite ongoing efforts to reduce such borrowing costs. Over the past several years, the Fed has pledged to purchase billions in ... Read More »
Watch the Holiday Spending If You Plan to Refinance
Well, believe it or not, the holidays are upon us again. It seems like just yesterday I was cursing the fact that I didn’t have an air conditioner, and now I wish I had a better heater. Go figure. To ... Read More »
HARP Refinancing Takes Off Thanks to New Guidelines
As a result of recent enhancements, and perhaps ultra-low mortgage rates, the Home Affordable Refinance Program has actually made a meaningful impact. Last month, there were a total of 98,885 HARP refinances recorded by the FHFA, which accounted for nearly ... Read More »
Pros and Cons of Refinancing Your Mortgage Right Now
Since April 1, 2009, roughly 16.2 million American homeowners have refinanced their mortgages, according to the latest Housing Scorecard released by HUD. But as you may or may not know, there are still millions of homeowners who have not, for ... Read More »
Homeowners Are Betting on a Housing Recovery
The other day, I got to thinking about the state of the housing market, as I often do. The last time I discussed it, my focus was on the free-for-all taking place in some “hot” markets across the country. In ... Read More »
New Refinancing Program for Loans Not Owned by Fannie or Freddie
Yet another mass refinancing program has been proposed, this time by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. His program, “The 4% Mortgage: Rebuilding American Homeownership” (RAH), is geared toward underwater borrowers who have kept up with their mortgage payments, but haven’t been ... Read More »
