Your Trusted Guide for Mortgages & Real Estate
I. Rates Never Move In a Straight Line! (Why This Is So Important!) Rates have trended steadily upward since 2022 – and they are now back to levels we have not seen since 2023 (briefly) or the...
Woohoo! Rates fell today from 7.5% yesterday to 7.49% today! Refi boom? Probably not… but at least rates didn't go up today. A. Higher Asset Values + More Flexible Lending = More Ways to...
I. In Monday’s blog, I mentioned that sellers could offer a first-year rate of 4.49% with a 3-2-1 seller-paid buydown. This is what shocked me. I have blogged about temporary buydowns at...
Today’s average interest rate is 7.5%. In September of 2023, rates were higher – and by October, the average rate was over 8%. So, we have a full 1/2% to go before we even get back to 2023 rates....
Over the last few weeks, we have had at least a half dozen borrowers come to us for the first time after they were in contract to buy a home – and armed with another lender’s...
I. DSCR Loans Do Not Need to Cash Flow Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) loans that qualify buyers using only rental income (no other income documents needed) do not need to show positive cash...
Beef prices have soared since 2020. Ground beef is up from just over $4 per pound to almost $7 per pound on average. At the high end, ribeye steaks have risen from as low as $9 to as much as $40 per...
Rates fell today on news of possible diplomatic talks between the U.S. and Iran and news that oil shipment volume has been higher than analysts thought.
I. Radiologists: The Best AI & Economic Lesson Ever? In 2016, Geoffrey Hinton (The “Godfather of AI”) predicted that radiologists would be obsolete in five years. BUT – now there's a...
Mortgage rates went down yesterday, then they went up, and now they are down again – implying that “Operation Rate Hike” worked as hoped (for now).
If a mortgage banker had a time machine, would he: 1. Tell Franz Ferdinand to duck and prevent WWI? 2. Tell the Russians that that Lenin guy is not nearly as nice as he pretends to be? 3....
We can lend against the half-finished home, as long as the appraiser gives no or minimal value to the unfinished portion (just calling it “storage”), and only gives value to the finished portion...
For a few months now, I've been saying that if the Fed raises the Fed Funds Rate, mortgage rates will fall.
Today was the worst-case scenario for interest rates. But – at least there are some very interesting takeaways. 1. Iran’s Most Powerful Remaining Weapon Is Working. Iran’s military...
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