VLB | Interest Rate

VLB | Interest Rate

Mortgage Loan with a 500 Credit Score? It's Possible!

According to a number of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage originators, Wells Fargo will now allow an FHA borrower to get a mortgage with a credit score of less than 600.

In exchange for a larger down payment and a lower overall debt load (lower Debt-To-Income ratios), Wells Fargo Home Mortgage currently allows borrowers to take out an FHA loan on a purchase transaction with a minimum credit score as low as 500.

Here are the details as I understand them:

The credit policy change was posted to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage originators on January 14, 2011 and takes effect for purchase transactions using an FHA loan on or after January 15. The new policy will allow minimum loan scores and loan to value ratios as follows:

• A score of < 500 = not allowed
• 500 to 579 = 10% minimum down payment (90% Max LTV) PLUS "additional requirements"
• 580 to 599 = 5% minimum down payment (95% Max LTV) PLUS "additional requirements"
• 600+ = 3.5% minimum down payment

The "additional requirements" for all borrowers with FICO scores < 600 are:

1. Lower Debt to Income Ratios. These could be as low as 31% for housing debt and 36% for TOTAL debt.
2. 2 full months of "reserves" are required (cash in their bank account AFTER paying down payment and closing costs). The reserves are calculated on the total housing payment, in other words Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance (PITI)
3. Seller contributions may not exceed 3% of the purchase price
4. Gift funds are not allowed to count toward the down payment requirement (for any borrower with a score less than 600)
5. Down payment Assistance Programs are not allowed to count toward the down payment requirement (for any borrower with a score less than 600)

The borrower must also be able to document that they accumulated the required down payment funds and that they did not come from a gift or from a DAP. They must prove they had the ability to accumulate the funds and documentation proving how they came to accumulate the funds needs to be included in the loan file.

A few final details:

• This is for purchase transactions only.
• This is only CURRENTLY available ONLY from a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage RETAIL lender.
• Pricing adjustments will still be made to the rate. In other words, the lower the credit score, the higher the interest rate will be. You will not be offered the best rate with a low credit score.

Call me for more details !

 

 

Posted via email from TexasHomesDuo's Exit Realty NW San Antonio posterous

Mortgage delinquencies lowest in 2 years

Mortgage delinquencies lowest in 2 years

MBA economist: U.S. has 'turned the corner' in foreclosure crisis

By Inman News
Inman News™

February 18, 2011

The percentage of mortgage holders who were behind on their payments dropped to the lowest level in two years during the fourth quarter of 2010, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report today.

At 8.22 percent, the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate was down from 9.13 percent during the third quarter and 9.47 percent from a year ago.

The percentage of mortgages in foreclosure climbed from 4.39 percent during the third quarter to 4.63 percent during the last three months of the year, matching an all-time high.

Fewer loans are entering the foreclosure pipeline: the percentage of loans only one payment past due -- 3.25 percent -- was at the lowest level since 2007, and the foreclosure start rate fell from 1.34 percent during the third quarter to 1.27 percent.

The percentage of loans three payments or more past due was down from an all-time high of 5.02 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2010 to 3.63 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010 -- a drop of almost 28 percent over the course of the year. All but two states saw a drop in the 90-plus-day delinquency rate, and the increases in those states were "negligible."

"While delinquency and foreclosure rates are still well above historical norms, we have clearly turned the corner" in the foreclosure crisis, MBA Chief Economist Jay Brinkmann said in a statement.

While unemployment remains high, the economy added more than 1.2 million private-sector jobs during 2010 and first-time unemployment claims fell during the second half of the year, Brinkmann said. Absent a significant economic reversal, he said, "the delinquency picture should continue to improve during 2011."

The MBA National Delinquency survey covers 43.6 million loans -- about 88 percent of all outstanding first-lien mortgages. If the survey's results are extrapolated, about 4.1 million homeowners were 30, 60 or 90 days or more behind on their mortgage payments during the fourth quarter, and another 2.3 million were in the foreclosure process.

 

 

Posted via email from TexasHomesDuo's Exit Realty NW San Antonio posterous

Yellowstone Jan 2011

2011 Housing Forecast

Download now or preview on posterous

The State of the Texas Housing Market - Dr. James P. Gaines.pdf (2977 KB)

Please Check out the Housing Market Report by Dr. James P. Gaines from Texas A & M Real Estate Center.

Texas is still doing well and is becoming the place to live.

 

 

 

Posted via email from TexasHomesDuo's Exit Realty NW San Antonio posterous

Bankrate: Mortgage Rates Jump Again

 

RISMEDIA, January 3, 2011—Mortgage rates climbed higher last week, with the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rising to 5.02 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.44 discount and origination points.

To see mortgage rates in your area, go to http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/.

The average 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 4.39 percent and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate rose to 5.64 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages also went up, with the average 5-year ARM rising to 4 percent and the average 7-year ARM reaching 4.43 percent.

The last time mortgage rates were above 6 percent was Nov. 2008. At that time, the average rate was 6.33 percent, meaning a $200,000 loan would have carried a monthly payment of $1,241.86. With the average rate now 5.02 percent, the monthly payment for the same size loan would be $1,076.09, a savings of $166 per month for a homeowner refinancing now.

Survey Results
30-year fixed: 5.02% -- up from 4.96% last week (avg. points: 0.44)
15-year fixed: 4.39% -- up from 4.29% last week (avg. points: 0.4)
5/1 ARM: 4.00% -- up from 3.92% last week (avg. points: 0.45)

Bankrate's national weekly mortgage survey is conducted each Wednesday from data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets.

 

 

Posted via email from TexasHomesDuo's Exit Realty NW San Antonio posterous

RealtorsR Say Mortgage Interest Deduction Vital to Home Ownership, Economy

Washington, December 01, 2010

The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Ron Phipps.

“As the leading advocate for housing and home ownership issues, NAR firmly believes that the mortgage interest deduction (MID) is vital to the stability of the American housing market and economy.

“The MID must not be targeted for change. NAR is actively engaged on behalf of the nation’s 75 million home owners and 1.1 million Realtors® to ensure that the current deduction is not modified as was recommended in the Deficit Reduction Commission report released today.

“The tax deductibility of interest paid on mortgages is a powerful incentive for home ownership and has been one of the simplest provisions in the federal tax code for more than 80 years. In a new survey commissioned by NAR and conducted online in October 2010 by Harris Interactive of nearly 3,000 homeowners and renters, nearly three-fourths of homeowners and two-thirds of renters said the mortgage interest deduction was extremely or very important to them.

“Recent progress has been made in bringing stability to the housing market and any changes to the MID now or in the future could critically erode home prices and the value of homes by as much as 15 percent, according to our research. This would negatively impact home ownership for millions of Americans, including those who own their homes outright and have no mortgage.

“Any further downward pressure on home prices will hamper the economic recovery, raise foreclosures and hurt banks’ abilities to lend and likely tip the economy into another recession resulting in further job losses for the country. It will effectively close the door on the American dream.

“NAR will remain vigilant in opposing any plan that modifies or excludes the deductibility of mortgage interest.”

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section.

Please make a quick call to your House of Representative & Senator's office today to ask him or her to defend the MID from any cuts or reduction as outlined in the Deficit Commission Report released last week.

 

 

 

 

Posted via email from TexasHomesDuo's Exit Realty NW San Antonio posterous