Category: Mortgage

In May 2023, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rolled out a new upfront fee structure for mortgages. Some critics have claimed President Joe Biden is helping people with bad credit at the expense of people with good credit. Some call it the Biden Rule — a green light for risky borrowers, and a sign that…

For every 15 people banks approve for mortgage loans, one applicant gets turned away. That one person is likely to be a member of a minority group. And the barrier could be a credit score. But at least some good news is on the horizon: a credit scoring system designed to recognize the real-life financial…

The red-hot real estate market might have cooled somewhat. But with housing in relatively short supply, affordability is hard to come by. The major hurdles for buyers right now? Down payments, mortgage payments, and interest. There are no simple hacks to work around these hurdles. But there are a few indicators worth watching closely.

Are you thinking of buying a home that could use some energy upgrades? Maybe the HVAC, water heater, or windows are old and inefficient. A “green mortgage” — known to lenders as an energy-efficient mortgage, or EEM, — allows buyers to finance energy upgrades through a mortgage that allows a little extra borrowing to cover…

Let’s start with the good news. This month, the government cut the amount of private mortgage insurance needed by people with FHA-backed home loans. This will benefit hundreds of thousands of people. Most will be modest-income mortgage applicants, primarily first-time home buyers. Here’s the scoop on this — plus a few other things relevant to…

The chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, calls the shots for U.S. monetary policies. And yes, we could say the recent change in the real estate market has a lot to do with the Fed. Chair Powell, concerned about a sudden rise in inflation, announced a series of interest rate hikes in 2022.…

A mortgage loan is an ordinary part of financing today’s home purchase. It transfers a lien — a legal claim on a piece of real estate — to the lender, to secure the home loan. This lien is there to ensure the repayment of the loan. It’s an age-old concept. As explained by H. W. Chaplin…

Homes are pricey. Mortgage rates are up. Borrowers are concerned, and mortgage companies have good reasons to work hard for new customers’ business. So, isn’t it time borrowers researched our mortgages before signing up? Yet so few of us do. Zillow® says this could be costing homeowners hundreds of dollars each month. Let’s unpack this.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the well-known conventional home mortgage companies. They’re classified as government-sponsored enterprises — GSEs. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are creatures of Congress. Both are investors in the mortgage market. Both are in the business of offering guarantees to banks and brokers nationwide. And both, as they exist today,…

What Should I Do Now? When the mortgage company rep says your credit check went well and your loan application is pre-approved, it’s a great day. You can go out into the world knowing just how much house you can buy. You can make offers a seller will take seriously. As hopeful buyers are sometimes…

Consider the Risk Even though mortgage interest rates are still (historically speaking) quite low, they’re headed back up. On April 14, 2022, Freddie Mac rang the alarm on its Mortgage Rates page: This week, mortgage rates averaged five percent for the first time in over a decade. As Americans contend with historically high inflation, the…

Black homeowners have long faced extra obstacles when buying their homes. And in the turbulence of 2020, barriers to Black homeownership rose yet again. When the mortgage lenders tightened their approval criteria, it turns out that more minority applicants were turned away. What’s more, Black applicants who receive loans are still paying more in interest…