Mortgage / Finance

Anybody that's hung around the ActiveRain “water cooler” for any length of time understands the value of the relationships built on the site. AR is so much more than a social networking site, however.


It's also the place to get up-to-the-minute information on topics that affect your clients. Ask yourself: what's the most confusing aspect of buying a home for the real estate consumer? The answer is most likely financing the purchase. Credit scores and how they affect the mortgage rate, types of loan products, points, fees – whew! -- there's a lot to know about mortgages.


To serve your clients effectively you need to know about this stuff and keep abreast of changes in the mortgage industry. Thankfully, ActiveRain is not only popular with real estate agents and brokers but with finance professionals as well.


Whether you're an agent trying to figure out what the Fed's latest move means to your clients or a mortgage pro who needs input on how to build relationships with real estate agents, ActiveRain is the place to tap into a wealth of knowledge.

Recent blogs on Mortgage / Finance
By Brian Madigan, LL.B., Broker
(RE/MAX West Realty Inc., Brokerage (Toronto))
Commercial Bond Yields CMB 5 Year - 3.48% CANHOU 12/15/27 [+0.05%]   ‌ 5 Year - 3.49%* EST. CANHOU 06/15/28 [+0.05%]     ‌ 10 Year - 3.45%CANHOU 09/15/32 [+0.06%]     ‌ 10 Year - 3.50%*EST. CANHOU 06/15/33 [+0.06%]   * denotes interpolated rate GoC 5 Year - 3.16% CAN 09/01/27 [+0.04%]   ‌ 10 Year - 2.93% CAN 06/01/32 [+0.05%]   ‌ 15 Year - 3.04%* Est. 12/01/36 [+0.04%]   ‌ 20 Year - 3.04%* Est. 12/01/41 [+0.03%] GOC Bonds are for reference purposes only Floating rate insured cost of funds 3.64% [-]                   Prime Rate 5.95% [-]    
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While investing in rental property can yield significant returns, novice landlords may not be aware that their buildings require specialized insurance. For many mortgage companies, this is also a requirement.Fortunately, landlords can choose from a variety of insurance policies designed to safeguard investment properties and the money they generate. Compare cheap landlord insurance quotes before making a decision. Landlord Insurance: Overview Landlords insurance is made to safeguard landlords from risks associated with renting out their properties. A tenant is a person or group who is living in a building under the terms of a lease. Your legal duties as a landlord will be set out in the lease, and proper insurance coverage is usually one of those duties.You can purchase additional cover...
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By Jason E. Gordon, Sr Loan Officer, CMA, CMPS, CDLP, CDRE, RCSD, CDPE
(AmeriFirst Financial Inc, San Diego, CA)
Understanding monthly mortgage payments is absolutely essential in order for Homebuyers (and Homeowners) to make informed decisions about their real estate financing endeavors.As part of the Mortgage Deep Dive video series, below is a video designed to help Homebuyers and Homeowners understand the nuances of a mortgage payment. What portion of the payment is impacted by the interest rate and/or the loan amount and/or the amortization term? Why don't Mortgage Lenders know the exact payment up front? What if the home is in a flood and/or fire zone? What if a home has Mello Roos assessments? If you are a Real Estate Agent assisting Homebuyers, please feel free to forward this video, along with the Mortgage Deep Dive link to help your Clients. We all win when the Consumer makes informed dec...
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By David Krichmar, DaveYourMortgageGuy.com
(www.DaveYourMortgageGuy.com - Legend Lending)
Conventional 30 year Mortgage: 6.375%Credit score:740LTV:75%Loan Amount: $300kAPR: 6.54%FHA 30 year: 6.5% Credit Score:740LTV:96.5%loan amount: $300kAPR: 7.04%Conventional 15 year: 5.75%Credit score:740LTV:75%Loan Amount: $300kAPR: 5.835%Rates are Subject to ChangeCall me today if you are thinking of refinancing or buying a home, for the best mortgage rate possible.
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By Joe Jackson, Clintonville and Central Ohio Real Estate Expert
(Keller Williams Capital Partners Realty)
This is an excellent post with great information. Thanks for sharing it.Have a super fantastic week!Joe Jackson, Realtor-KWCP If you want to know what to expect from foreclosures, you must break down the current mortgage pipeline and observe forming trends. But you have to do more.   The study must evaluate home prices, the inventory of homes for sale, mortgage interest rates, and the economy (specifically the unemployment rate). Mortgage Pipeline Update < Please remember to "like" the post and the video on YouTube too! Thank you.   🏡  Link to all homes for sale in Tallahassee 📺 Subscribe To The Joe Manausa Real Estate Channel and Get More Housing Market Reports, Listings, and Real Estate Marketing Tips, and answers to your frequently asked questions. 📘 Get the DIGITAL MARKETING BOOK wr...
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By Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL, Tallahassee Real Estate
(Joe Manausa Real Estate)
If you want to know what to expect from foreclosures, you must break down the current mortgage pipeline and observe forming trends. But you have to do more. The study must evaluate home prices, the inventory of homes for sale, mortgage interest rates, and the economy (specifically the unemployment rate).Mortgage Pipeline Update< Please remember to "like" the post and the video on YouTube too! Thank you. 🏡  Link to all homes for sale in Tallahassee📺 Subscribe To The Joe Manausa Real Estate Channel and Get More Housing Market Reports, Listings, and Real Estate Marketing Tips, and answers to your frequently asked questions.📘 Get the DIGITAL MARKETING BOOK written by an active Realtor, for all Realtors!
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By Jason E. Gordon, Sr Loan Officer, CMA, CMPS, CDLP, CDRE, RCSD, CDPE
(AmeriFirst Financial Inc, San Diego, CA)
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac have recently announced their new Conforming and High Balance Conforming Loan Limits for 2023.  If you are a Realtor, Financial Planner and/or Attorney, do you know how to articulate this great news to your Clients?  Here are a few talking points: In most counties across the country, there are 3 categories of loan types (based on the LOAN AMOUNT) Conforming High Balance Conforming  Non-Conforming (Jumbo) The loan amounts have increased on each category as follows: Conforming was $647,200, increasing to $726,200 in 2023 High Balance Conforming limits vary significantly depending on county (see below for a few examples) Non-Conforming (Jumbo) limits vary depending on county as well (as shown below) Examples of New High Balance Conforming Loan Limits by County San ...
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By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages)
Hot Off The Press!!!It’s official!  The conforming loan limit for 2023 will be $726,200, which is $79,000 higher than 2022. The ceiling for one-unit properties in high-cost areas will be $1,089,300 in 2023.   This marks the first time the government will officially be in the market for mortgages above $1 million!!! 
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By John Meussner, #MortgageMadeEasy Fair Oaks, CA 484-680-4852
(Mortgages in AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, MD, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI)
Conventional loan limits for 2023 were announced today by FHFA, and while the numbers weren't too surprising, one number that stands out is that the high cost area threshold for conventional loans has exceeded $1 million.   This is important because in many high priced markets, down payment is a major hurdle to potential home buyers - think about it.  On a $400,000 home, a 5% down payment is $20k.  That same home in a high priced market like the bay area could easily be $1.2 million, and that same 5% down payment is $60,000.   Prior to these loan limit increases, many borrowers were left with just jumbo options, many of which require a much larger (usually 15% for competitive rates) down payment.  A borrower that previously had to come up with 15% down on their $1.2M home ($180,000!) ca...
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By Matt Brady, One of San Diego's Best Lenders
(Watermark Capital)
We are coming off of a short week and heading into a packed one. Let’s first discuss the calendar.We hear from a few Fed members, get a variety of economic data, the Fed’s Beige Book is released, and finish the week with the unemployment rate on Friday.Monday St Louis Fed President Bullard interviewed by MarketWatch NY Fed President Williams speaks at the Economic Club of NY Tuesday US Home Price Index Consumer Confidence Index Wednesday ADP Employment Report Real GDP (revision) Job Openings/Quits Pending Home Sales Fed Governor Bowman Speaks Fed Governor Cooks Speaks Fed Chair Powell Speaks Fed’s Beige Book Thursday Initial & Continuing Jobless Claims PCE Price Index Disposable Income Consumer Spending Construction Spending ISM Manufacturing Index Fed Vice Chair Barr Speaks Friday Non...
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By Brian Madigan, LL.B., Broker
(RE/MAX West Realty Inc., Brokerage (Toronto))
Commercial Bond Yields CMB 5 Year - 3.52% CANHOU 12/15/27 [+0.04%]   ‌ 5 Year - 3.53%* EST. CANHOU 06/15/28 [+0.04%]     ‌ 10 Year - 3.50%CANHOU 09/15/32 [+0.06%]     ‌ 10 Year - 3.55%*EST. CANHOU 06/15/33 [-0.06%]   * denotes interpolated rate GoC 5 Year - 3.22% CAN 09/01/27 [+0.05%]   ‌ 10 Year - 2.98% CAN 06/01/32 [+0.05%]   ‌ 15 Year - 3.09%* Est. 12/01/36 [+0.05%]   ‌ 20 Year - 3.09%* Est. 12/01/41 [+0.05%] GOC Bonds are for reference purposes only Floating rate insured cost of funds 3.64% [-]                   Prime Rate 5.95% [-]    
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By David Krichmar, DaveYourMortgageGuy.com
(www.DaveYourMortgageGuy.com - Legend Lending)
Conventional 30 year Mortgage: 6.25%Credit score:740LTV:75%Loan Amount: $300kAPR: 6.415%FHA 30 year: 6.5% Credit Score:740LTV:96.5%loan amount: $300kAPR: 7.04%Conventional 15 year: 5.875%Credit score:740LTV:75%Loan Amount: $300kAPR: 5.96%Rates are Subject to ChangeCall me today if you are thinking of refinancing or buying a home, for the best mortgage rate possible.  
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By Khash Saghafi NMLS, Mortgage Loan Officer, Cleveland OH NMLS 1114762
(Liberty Home Mortgage Corporation)
Many people who are buying a home need their parents, grandparents or family members to co-sign to help them buy a home.How is the co-signor affected if the main borrower goes late on the mortgage payment?Watch my video below to find out the answer.Also, subscribe to my YouTube page to see my other videos and feel free to share and comment!!I am a loan officer who lends in 45 states and I handle the loan from start-to-finish. My cell phone is 1-216-780-1103 and I can be reached at anytime for questions, Pre-Approvals or anything else needed.
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By Jason E. Gordon, Sr Loan Officer, CMA, CMPS, CDLP, CDRE, RCSD, CDPE
(AmeriFirst Financial Inc, San Diego, CA)
A true "win-win" strategy for both Homebuyers and Home Sellers? You can't scroll social media nowadays without coming across videos and/or posts discussing 2/1 or 3/2/1 mortgage rate buydowns, but do you know how they actually work? If you are a Real Estate Agent and do not fully understand how Seller Mortgage Rate Buydown Strategies work, you are falling short of presenting your Buyer and/or Seller with critical negotiation strategies.If you are a Homebuyer discouraged by recently increasing mortgage rates, the below video will explain why buying now might be a viable strategy to acquire the home, while market forecasts may suggest the ability to lock in lower interest rates within 1-2 years of buying.Do you know the difference between a temporary mortgage rate buydown versus a permane...
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By Matt Brady, One of San Diego's Best Lenders
(Watermark Capital)
Last week was yet another volatile week. The market has been salivating at any news in order to place their bets. We saw intraday volatility spike. PPI reports came in better than expected but then Fed members were more hawkish in their stances. Markets are trying to digest all this contradictory news which results in volatility (notably in the bond markets which affect our mortgage rates). If the tides have turned with inflation, and future CPI and PPI do come in better than expected, expect the Fed to jawbone hawkishly to prevent the markets from getting ahead of themselves. Remember, they attribute inflation to the “Wealth Effect” – stocks up > people feel wealthy > consumer spending goes up > prices inflate to meet increased demand.Fed Chairman Powell has stated many times how he w...
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By Brian Madigan, LL.B., Broker
(RE/MAX West Realty Inc., Brokerage (Toronto))
Commercial Bond Yields CMB 5 Year - 3.65%* CANHOU 12/15/27 [+0.03%]   ‌ 5 Year - 3.66% EST. CANHOU 06/15/28 [+0.03%]     ‌ 10 Year - 3.62%CANHOU 09/15/32 [+0.01%]     ‌ 10 Year - 3.67%EST. CANHOU 06/15/33 [+0.01%]   * denotes interpolated rate GoC 5 Year - 3.34% CAN 09/01/27 [+0.03%]   ‌ 10 Year - 3.10% CAN 06/01/32 [-0.01%]   ‌ 15 Year - 3.27%* Est. 12/01/36 [-]   ‌ 20 Year - 3.29%* Est. 12/01/41 [+0.01%] GOC Bonds are for reference purposes only Floating rate insured cost of funds 3.64% [-]                   Prime Rate 5.95% [-]    
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By John Meussner, #MortgageMadeEasy Fair Oaks, CA 484-680-4852
(Mortgages in AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, MD, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI)
Why am I posting today about mortgage applications when data on them is and has been released weekly for as long as I can remember?  Because this week signifies the first time application data has been released in a week where we saw a significant drop in interest rates.  Mortgage rates haven't seen any substantial drop since 2021 when inflation began to grip the market place, but last week's low inflation reading caused mortgage rates to dip more than half a percent in a single day.And what happened next?Refinance applications continued to fall.  This makes sense, because there's a massive amount of home owners with rates starting with a '2' or '3' and they're not ready to trade in their rate for a '6 something'.  And anyone who got a mortgage in the past few months probably doesn't ha...
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By David Krichmar, DaveYourMortgageGuy.com
(www.DaveYourMortgageGuy.com - Legend Lending)
Conventional 30 year Mortgage: 6.25%Credit score:740LTV:75%Loan Amount: $300kAPR: 6.415%FHA 30 year: 6.5% Credit Score:740LTV:96.5%loan amount: $300kAPR: 7.04%Conventional 15 year: 5.875%Credit score:740LTV:75%Loan Amount: $300kAPR: 5.96%Rates are Subject to ChangeCall me today if you are thinking of refinancing or buying a home, for the best mortgage rate possible. 
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By Seesan Ed, The Best Mobile Notary & Apostille Agent In DE
(206 715 1642)
Many financial planners are now recommending seniors to utilize their home equity that sits idle. The reverse mortgage loan helps for increasing seniors’ cash flow, delaying taking out social security funds, avoiding paying capital gains on homes, and enjoying their life. People’s interest in reverse mortgage loans continues to increase as more seniors are using it and it is more widely known. That knowledge has helped them to put their home equity to work to help them live better as well as retire with peace of mind. The minimum requirement to be eligible to make use of the equity of seniors’ homes is their age. You have to be 62 or older. Ten thousand people a day turn 62. When you are sixty and above you are most probably on fixed income, and you are not working any more. And when th...
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By RealtyPilot.com & OfferRunway.com, Broker, Software Architect Automating Real Estate
(Realty Pilot)
Last week I wrote a blog regarding the case of seller carry in a down market. This blog is about the creative terms that many agents miss. When you think of a seller carry, most will think that it relates to a seller that owns their property outright. That is not always the case and the option to have a seller carry with a mortgage in place is also a possible scenario. This is referred to as a wrap. A wrap can be risky for a seller in case the lender decides to call the loan based off of the Acceleration Clause or Due on Sell clause. This is extremely rare and normally occurs if the seller falls behind on their payments, is caught using the property for an illegal use, the lender is merging or bought out, lender is filing for bankruptcy or other situations that causes a lender to call a...
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