In case you haven’t heard, President Trump officially suspended the reduction in the annual FHA premium previously announced by FHA. With the stroke of a pen, Mr. Trump made one of his first official presidential acts to officially suspend the rate cut indefinitely. This action has caused quite a stir in the housing and mortgage communities. Some say it is…
Are You a Five Star Complaint?
In case you weren’t aware (and you should be), the CFPB is at it again. This time they propose to institute a system to allow consumers to rate the service they received from lenders when handling their complaints. (Complaints) Once the complaint is closed, the consumer could rate the lender with a score of 1 to 5 (1 being the…
The Rate Game. Here We Go Again.
With the election and the economy supposedly improving, the Fed raised rates in December. That was expected. With that raise also came an increase in mortgage rates. That was also expected. However, now that things have settled down a little, mortgage rates have once again come down a little. According to Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed rate dropped to 4.12%,…
A New Twist on the One Stop Shop
With the CFPB cracking down on Marketing Services Agreements (MSAs) many lenders exited such agreements with Realtors and Builders. These are Agreements that were intended to increase business to the lender and provide some additional income to the Realtor and Builder. For some, it was nice while it lasted. For others, they were glad to see the MSAs go away.…
Rates & Credit Availability Are Up
The MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) increased for the fourth consecutive month in December. The MCIA is a barometer on the availability of mortgage credit using certain guidelines from institutional mortgage purchasers. With a base of 100, the higher the index value the more available the credit. A lower value indicates a tightening of mortgage credit standards. The MCAI…
The Winds of Change. Millennial Home Buyers
Local boy makes good. According to Jerry Schiano, CEO of Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania’s, New Penn Financial, the weather may change a little when the Millennials start buying homes. The change? As he puts it, a humongous hurricane of air sweeping across the country caused by the simultaneous exhaling of tens of thousands of business people dependent upon the sale of…