Tag Archive for: refinance

How Likely Are You to Get an Appraisal Waiver? Hint: Not Very :)

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Why We Refused Refinances In 2020 This is a quick aside but a reminder that we stopped accepting refinance applications in 2020. It cost us millions in lost revenue but […]Read More

How Monkeys Close Loans in 10 Days; Purchases? Not So Much…

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30-MINUTE LOANS Closing a conforming (Fannie/Freddie) refinance for a W2’d employee with good credit can take less than 30 minutes of effort on the part of a lender. This is […]Read More

DANGER! Home Equity Lines & Inflation

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A borrower reached out to me for a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) recently, and I referred her to a local bank that we work with that offers the […]Read More

Record Equity + Certain Inflation + Uncertain Economy = Cash-Out Now (4 Reasons Why)

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TOTAL HOME EQUITY SURGES TO INSANE RECORD Prior to the 2008 meltdown, total home equity (the value of all homes minus all mortgage debt) in the U.S. peaked in 2005 […]Read More

What Is A Cash-Out Refinance In Texas?

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Homeowners in Texas continue to see an increase in home value and are now finding themselves with more equity in their homes. Many Texas homeowners are eligible to utilize a cash-out refinance to convert some of their equity into cash, but what exactly is s cash-out refinance?Read More

6 Reasons Why Refis Are SO MUCH EASIER Than Purchases

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We often see borrowers who are reluctant to refinance into a lower rate – even when the new loan will be “no cost” and save them hundreds of dollars every […]Read More

BEST NEWS EVER! Fannie And Freddie Eliminate “Adverse Market Fee;” Reduce Rates By 1/4%!

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I can think of many examples of things that would constitute “the best news ever.” Hearing “snow day/school canceled” announced on the radio when I was a kid on Western […]Read More

Mortgage Applications Down 30%; What Does It Mean For Borrowers? Refi Boom Coming?

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2020 = BEST YEAR EVER FOR MORTGAGE INDUSTRY The mortgage industry had its best year ever last year (over $4 trillion of funded loans), as rates fell to all-time lows […]Read More

Student Loan Cash-Out Refinances

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Millennials are one of the largest demographics and have taken the housing market by storm. Millennials accounted for 38 percent of home purchases in 2020 and more than half of […]Read More

Fed Speaks – Rates Up; Paying Off Student Loans With Mortgage; Interest-Only Loans

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Fed Chair Powell spoke yesterday and sent the bond market into a tizzy, as investors sold off their bonds and pushed rates sharply higher. What crazy thing did Powell have […]Read More

Your Home Just Appreciated 25% – Now What?

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Home values in the U.S. increased an average of almost 12% over the last 12 months, according to Zillow. But, in some markets – like Austin, TX – we saw […]Read More

There Is A Huge Glut of Wood, So Why’s Lumber So Expensive?

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There are three reasons why: (1) Many sawmills shut down after the 2008 housing crisis because demand fell to zero; (2) many shut down last spring because of COVID and have yet to fully revive; and (3) the cost to build new mills is prohibitively expensive in this day and age because of their complexity; sawmills are all about technology and software now. So, they need a lot more highly trained and really smart “Scrawnies” as opposed to “Brawnies.”Read More

What Credit Score Is Needed To Refinance A House?

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Credit scores play a significant role in determining what mortgage rate you qualify for when refinancing. There is no "one interest rate" that lenders quote each day because of the many factors that affect individual rates. Credit scores can drastically change the rate that lenders are able to quote borrowers for refinances.Read More

Why Refi Into A Higher Rate? Debt Consolidation!

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We recently had a borrower who had over $110,000 of consumer debt (credit cards and personal loans). The borrower had a very low fixed-rate mortgage too that we could not match b/c rates have gone up and b/c the borrower’s credit score had dropped so much b/c of the consumer debt.Read More