Home Equity Lines of Credit are and excellent way to access the equity in your home with very flexible terms, giving you control over how much it will cost you over time. In almost all cases an equity line is written as a second loan on a property, meaning that there is a first mortgage...
Is the 50 Year Mortgage Back?
The current administration has floated the idea of a 50-year mortgage to make home buying more affordable. Is this a good idea? Let’s take a look. Benefits of a 50-Year Mortgage The aim of allowing a 50-year repayment period is to lower the monthly payment. This would have two benefits: the lower payment would mean...
Why Mortgage Rates Might Rise Even If the Fed Lowers the Overnight Rate
In the world of finance, few things are as closely watched—and as widely misunderstood—as the actions of the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s decisions on interest rates have broad ripple effects across the economy, influencing everything from credit card rates to the cost of financing a home. Because of misleading advertising, many consumers expect mortgage rates...
The Fed Wants Lower Mortgage Rates
The Fed wants lower interest rates. What? You heard just the opposite? No, you just think you heard the opposite. They raised the discount rate, which immediately brought mortgage rates down across the board. I’m using shock value, of course, but it’s true: The Fed wants lower mortgage rates, or at least the economic conditions...
Mortgage Rates Are Falling
Mortgage rates are falling because the Fed raised interest rates. That makes more sense than you think. Yes, I know that when the Fed announces yet another raise in interest rates next week, you’ll see ads screaming “The Fed is raising interest rates! Apply now before rates go up!” The point of those ads isn’t...
Inflation is Finally Cooling – Maybe
Inflation—you can’t live with it, you can’t live without it. Well, most of us would prefer to live without it, but zero inflation only exists when the economy stagnates and drives unemployment up and wages down. But inflation is on our minds this year because we’ve become accustomed to not having to live with it....
Mortgage Interest Rates Today – Have We Turned a Corner?
Well, the wild ride continues. As I’ve written before, the three most important factors in interest rates are inflation, inflation and inflation. How is this impacting mortgage interest rates today? Closer Look: Inflation and Mortgage Rates What We Know About the Relationship (loanguide.com) Inflation, Inflation, Inflation After running under 2% annually for years, inflation took...
Fed Rate Hike – What Does It Mean?
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank (The Fed for short) met today (3/16/2022) to discuss monetary policy. At the end of the meeting, they announced a Fed rate hike. The Fed has a dual mission – to keep the economy growing, and to keep inflation low. These two goals conflict with each...
Interest Rate Update
5/17/2022 | No surprise, interest rates are up. What is surprising is that they have gone up faster and farther than I’ve seen before in my time in the industry. (That’s, umm, well, a long time.) How high have they gone up, and will it last? The three most important factors in interest rates are...
Fed Raised Interest Rates – Or Did They?
You will hear lots of chatter that the Fed raised interest rates in mid-December. But is that true? On December 15th the Governors of the Federal Reserve (The “Fed”) announced that they were beginning to worry that inflation might be taking hold in the U.S. after all. In order to reduce the possibility of inflation...