The Mortgage Report

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Mortgage and Lending - NMLS License #113781
I'm here to educate homebuyers and/or sellers on topics related to mortgage lending and share fun and educational facts about the real estate market. My company, FirstTrust Home Loans, offers highly competitive rates through our direct to consumer lending channel (no middleman) known as “Direct Rate.” We do this with transparency, service, speed, and a human touch. To meet these requirements, we offer an engaging, concierge user experience. Our Direct Rate system provides an intuitive borrower portal that offers simple, transparent interaction, the ability to easily, safely, and securely upload and store documents with real-time status updates and the ability to engage with experienced lending professionals at any point in the process. We have been in business since 2003. Choosing a mortgage lender is a major decision, and at FirstTrust Texas, we take our jobs as lending professionals very seriously. Please consider us for an opportunity to earn your business. Hope you find my blog educational.
RECENT BLOG POSTS
In a week in which mortgage markets struggled to find direction, mortgage rates edged higher overall.  The weekly increase was the first since mid-November and it may signal higher rates as we head into 2009. The week's most talked-about story hit the wires Friday.  According to the government, ...
12/10/2008
Earlier this year and under pressure from the government, mortgage lenders made more than 200,000 loan modifications to delinquent homeowners. The modifications came in one of three forms, or a combination: Interest rate reduction Loan term extension Principal forgiveness But despite the modific...
12/10/2008
For most Americans, mortgage interest paid on a home loan is tax-deductible in the year in which it was paid.  With advance planning, therefore, homeowners can increase their 2008 tax deductions and limit their tax liability on April 15. The key is to make the January 2009 mortgage payment befor...
12/10/2008
Business television and newspapers have made deflation a hot topic this week and, since Monday, Google has tracked 13,000 mentions of it. Deflation is a recurring cycle in which the prices of goods and services fall. Isolated to one industry or sector, falling prices is the natural result of com...
12/04/2008
For the 78th consecutive day, gas prices fell nationwide yesterday.  At $1.81 per gallon, the average price at the pump is less than half what it was at its peak in July. And although gas prices vary by locale, the cost of a fill-up is worthy of national news. The main reason why national gas pr...
12/04/2008
More than a handful would-be home buyers stayed on the sidelines this year, waiting for Election Day to pass.  The prevailing thought was that once the new President-Elect was identified, credit markets will systemically unfreeze and housing markets will return to normal. If history is a guide, ...
11/04/2008
As household budgets get pinched and credit markets tighten, a growing number of Americans are making "hardship withdrawals" from their 401(k) plans.  One major fund group cites a 15 percent increase in activity from this time last year for various reasons including staving off foreclosure and m...
11/04/2008
When the government nationalized mortgage lending in September, housing analysts predicted lower mortgage rates. For a brief two-week stint, they were right -- post-takeover, the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage fell below 6.000 percent nationally for the first time in 7 months. Since then, however, ...
11/04/2008
In an effort to limit risky borrower behavior, Fannie Mae announced a new round of mortgage guideline changes. Unlike its previous 20-plus updates that raised income requirements and minimum credit scores (among other changes), Fannie's latest guideline tweaks focus on the value of its underlyin...
10/30/2008
The Federal Open Market Committee voted to cut the Fed Funds Rate by one-half percent today.  The benchmark rate now stands at 1.000 percent. In its press release, the Fed wasted no time addressing the key issue at-hand, stating that economic activity has "slowed markedly", pointing to three mai...
10/30/2008
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Kevin Whatley

Professional Mortgage Lender
local_phone(817) 930-2575
smartphone(469) 993-9395
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