Eugene Loan Guy

Archive for January, 2009

Interest rates continue to move up and down. The purchase of mortgage backed securities (MBS) has given stability to the mortgage market until today when we saw an across the board drop in prices in both stocks and bonds. The 10 year Treasury was especially hard hit, but MBS sales took a significant hit on today’s market too. Intraday repricing was the norm. Afternoon interest rates were nearly 1/2 percent higher than morning rates. Overall, another interesting day on the mortgage market. Read More

According to the news reports that I am reading, the “Stimulus Bill,” both House and Senate versions have a provision for the $7,500 first time home buyer tax credit to actually be a credit rather than a 15 year interest free loan. Since both versions of the bill have this in it, it is nearly a fait d’ complete that it will happen.

It will be interesting to see how this bill progresses and what changes come about because of it. It is my opinion that making this an actual credit is an excellent way to spur purchases by first time home buyers.

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The latest news from the housing market continues to be mixed but with some definite upbeat news. Yesterday, the government announced that existing home sales were higher than expected and higher than the month previously. Today the consumer confidence came in lower than was expected and lower than the month before. It is the consumer confidence that shows that people are willing to start making purchases, not just homes, but appliances, cars and other than staple items. The Fed continues to purchase mortgage backed securities and mortgage rates are dropping below 5% again for a 30 year fixed. Additionally, according to the Mortgage Market Guide, “Harris Private Bank in Chicago Jack Albin says ‘worst is over in housing market’ and that home prices on a national basis are at ‘fair value’ when gauged against the Consumer Price Index.” Read More

Yesterday I talked about what the credit requirements are for a 100% USDA Rural Guaranteed Mortgage Loan. Today, I am going to go over the income requirements for this loan product. Since the USDA is one of the very few 100% programs in existence, it helps to know if you can qualify for the program based on the several factors involved. You might want to read my previous post on the 3Cs of mortgage lending, I think it is a help for someone just starting the process. However, since making too much money has never been a problem in the past, this is one loan program where making too much money is a problem. Read More

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USDA Rural Guaranteed mortgage loans are available to anyone that qualifies based on credit, income and the location of the property. I have already discussed where the property needs to be located, outside the urban growth boundary of Eugene/Springfield for Lane County and the income limits can be found here. So, let’s talk about credit. Basically, the USDA has no credit score requirement, however, it is really tough (read this as nearly impossible) to get a loan approved with a lower than 580 credit score. USDA loans are not approved by computer models like nearly every other loan is today. Read More