Articles Tagged With: Fixed Rate Mortgage

September 1, 2020

One-Time Close Construction Loan Mortgage Payments: What You Need To Know

When do mortgage payments begin on a construction loan? If you are building on your own lot with a VA One-Time Close loan or an FHA OTC construction loan, you’ll want to know what you are liable for and when–and you’ll also want to know how delaying your mortgage payments until the home is complete will affect your monthly payments down the road. VA and FHA mortgage loan options include the ability to build a home on your own land using a VA One-Time Close construction loan or the FHA equivalent. One-Time Close loans allow you to build a house on your own land or purchase land in conjunction with building a home. There is a single application and approval process–these loans are potentially more streamlined and easier to manage | more...

August 4, 2020

FHA Mortgage Rates Creep Lower In First Week Of August 2020

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage loan interest rates have been moving lower in 2020–so low that even seasoned market watchers are surprised by how low the rates have gone. When mortgage loan interest rates fell below the three percent zone for both conventional and government-backed mortgages like FHA loans, it was a significant moment. The 52-week average (low) for a 30-year fixed-rate jumbo loan fell as low as 3.25%, but the same 52-week average for a “normal” conventional loan (not a jumbo) was 2.86% at its lowest point in that date range. Fairly impressive, until you compare the same 52-week low to the FHA 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, with a current 52-week low of 2.30%, thanks to the numbers falling from 2.37% last week to 2.30% this week. Pretty amazing rates, and opening the month | more...

Build on your own lot. Construction loan basics

June 15, 2020

First-Time Home Buyers: Build Your New Home With A One-Time Close Construction Loan

By Bruce Reichstein

Buying a home can be challenging for some first-time borrowers. Many newcomers to the mortgage market don’t know all their options open and in that situation it is easy to make choices that are less than fully-informed. One-Time Close construction loans are open to any financially qualified applicant and that includes FHA borrowers who have never purchased a home before but have good FICO scores and repayment history that has no late or missed payments in the last 12 months or better. One-Time Close loans are offered as FHA, VA, and even USDA mortgages. The FHA version is NOT need-based and features no income caps, unlike the USDA version. VA construction loans are intended only for qualifying military members, veterans, and certain surviving spouses of military members. For the average | more...

June 12, 2020

Conventional Loan Interest Rates Make History, FHA Loan Rates Still Incredibly Low

By Joe Wallace

Low mortgage rates have stolen the headlines on some finance blogs; as a result, 2020 has seen high volumes of refinance loan applications. The low rates also has many renters potentially finding themselves in a more affordable position to become homeowners. But another development has taken things in an even more historic direction; in June 2020 conventional loan rates made big headlines by plunging below the three percent threshold. The sub-three percent range has been familiar territory for FHA mortgage loans and VA mortgages. The same day conventional rates fell below three percent, the best-execution FHA mortgage loan interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was reported at 2.50%. The rates offered to any borrower will depend on the type of loan, the loan term, and other variables. Borrowers | more...

May 8, 2020

FHA Loans, Interest Rate Cuts, And Your Mortgage

By Bruce Reichstein

Home loan interest rates have been on a wild ride. The Fed cut interest rates in March of 2020–two times in response to coronavirus economic issues. But the Fed rate cut did not mean mortgage loan interest rates were directly cut. Home loan rates move up and down based on market forces, investor behavior, etc. The Fed’s rate cut actions are not a specific trim to home loan rates, but the effects of that rate cut did include influencing how investors did business in the wake of those cuts. It’s easy to assume the Fed has some kind of direct control over home loan rates, but what is the reality? How do home loan rates work and what do you need to know moving forward with your loan application? On | more...

March 24, 2020

Mortgage Rate Trends: The Three Percent Range

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage loan rates have been on a wild ride since the advent of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak; for a time FHA mortgage loan rates dipped below the three percent threshold. How wild has the ride been? FHA mortgage rates hit a 52-week range of rates between the lowest at 2.75% at the low point during the outbreak and just over 4% at its highest moment in the 52-week range. What does that mean going forward? For the average consumer, not much. It is pure speculation to say we may or may not see rates dip below the three percent range but borrowers should likely assume that those rock-bottom rates are gone and proceed without the temptation to float rather than lock in a mortgage rate commitment with the lender in | more...

March 13, 2020

Repair Your Credit Before Your Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

Interested in applying for an FHA mortgage or a refinance loan? It’s not as easy as finding a lender and applying; you will need plenty of time to save for the expenses of the loan including the down payment and closing costs. But you also need more time in another way; taking a preliminary step as early as possible in your loan process can make the difference between loan approval and rejection. What is that preliminary step? Reviewing your credit report for errors and identity theft evidence. It’s also about working on raising your FICO scores based on the results of your credit report review. All Americans are entitled to a free copy of their credit report once per year, so there is no cost to obtain one. You can | more...

December 18, 2019

FHA Home Loan Appraisals: What You Should Know

By Joe Wallace

Borrowers have plenty of questions about the FHA appraisal process. After all, if the appraisal doesn’t go well, it could mean the borrower has to decide whether to walk away and find something else or deal with the issues uncovered by the appraisal. What is the real issue with FHA appraisals that confuses many borrowers? The fact that there are multiple standards that must be met and not just the ones that are set by the FHA and HUD. House hunters write us frequently to ask if a certain appraisal issue will affect their home loan. And the simple answer is that there is no easy answer to appraisal questions because of one huge variable. And that variable is what state and local building code requirements say in addition to | more...

August 22, 2019

FHA Home Loans And Interest Rates: What You Should Know About Low Rates

By Bruce Reichstein

At the time of this writing, what you should know about FHA Home loan interest rates includes the idea that interest rates at the moment are low for FHA mortgages, that the rates are subject to change, and that your credit report will play an important part in the rate you are offered. What do you need to know about FHA home loan interest rates in today’s housing market? FHA Loan Interest Rates Are Currently Very Low Some market watchers are quoting rates as low as 3.25%, and while that mortgage rate assumes a very well-qualified borrower, it is an indication of how low rates have gone in 2019. What’s good for the economy is often bad for mortgage loan interest rates, and the reverse can also be true. With | more...

July 31, 2019

FHA Home Loan Down Payment Rules: Cash To Close Sources

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA home loan down payment rules include requirements for the sourcing of funds used to make that down payment and/or provide cash to close the deal. Down payment funds and sources of cash to close must be properly documented by the lender to insure the cash does not come from unacceptable sources such as non-collateralized loans (payday loans, credit card cash advances, etc.) or in the form of “gift funds” that are not really gifts but have an expectation of repayment. When discussing the permitted sourcing of FHA home loan down payments or cash to close, many borrowers want to know if certain kinds of sources are acceptable to the lender. That can include proceeds from the trade-in of a manufactured home, the proceeds from the sale of real estate, | more...