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Per President Obama’s press conference today 3/6/12, it looks like he’ll be cutting in half the mortgage insurance on FHA streamline refinances.  We await additional information but this is great news thus far!

Annual Percentage Rate, or APR, is the most commonly misunderstood term in borrowing. The use of APR was required as of the Truth In Lending Act, the purpose being to help prospective borrowers understand the cost difference between rate offers. APR, unlike the interest rate, offers a look at the true cost of financing by combining both…

1. What the market is doing.  The market for interest rates moves on a minutely basis and most interest rates rise and fall with the sale of mortgage-backed securities.  The market is open 8-5 on business days.  Because rates constantly change, it’s possible to lock interest rates after you have a signed purchase contract on…

First off, what is a refinance?  A refinance (refi) is where you take out a new loan, with new terms, and use that money to pay off your old loan.  You are “re-financing” your home. You would refinance for the following two reasons: To save money. This is a rate and term refinance, and the…

To protect against losses on low-down-payment loans, lenders require mortgage insurance for any loan-to-value higher than 80%.  This is applicable for all conforming conventional Fannie/Freddie loans.  In case of default, a mortgage insurer would pay a claim to the holder of the mortgage.  Because of the cost of foreclosure, a mortgage insurance claim helps reduce the…