| Holmes Senior Center attempts refinance | | Posted Tuesday, February 06, 2007 1:01:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | MILLERSBURG -- The Holmes County Senior Center board of directors is in the process of refinancing the debt on its building at 170 Parkview Drive. "Several months ago, the Holmes County Council on Aging began the application process to secure a low-interest loan from the USDA Rural Development to finance the new West Fork Community and Senior Center and to make the necessary addition to allow the lower level to be used commercially," according to an unsigned, four-paragraph press release dropped off Thursday at the newspaper. "Paperwork is being completed that will allow the center to secure a loan that will pay off the existing mortgage to Mr. (Darb) Snyder, install the elevator, additional restroom, and fireproof ceiling in the lower level. This loan reduces the rate of interest from 6 (percent) to 4.125 (percent)," the release states.... | |
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| | | If You Have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage, Refinance Now | | Posted Monday, January 29, 2007 3:06:15 PM by Blog57 Team | | (ARA) - With gas prices in a state of constant flux, and warnings that energy costs will be on the rise this winter, the last thing you want to happen is for your mortgage to start fluctuating too. But if you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), it will soon happen.Interest rates are on the rise, and the millions of homeowners who took advantage of rock bottom interest rates in 2003 and 2004 by either refinancing or buying a new home with an ARM loan -- one that starts at a low introductory rate during a three-to-five-year "freeze" period -- are in for a shock. Interest rates on at least half of the $2 trillion in ARM loans obtained since 2003 could soon increase more than 2 percent.Say you took out a loan for $200,000 at 4 percent on January 1, 2003. As of January 1, 2007, you'll owe $185,027.12 in the principal, and when your interest rate jumps from 4 to 6 percent, your payments will go from $954.83 to $1172.47 - a $217.64 increase.... | |
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| | | MORTGAGE LOAN FRAUD | | Posted Friday, January 05, 2007 1:08:13 PM by Blog57 Team | | In recent months federal and state law enforcement and regulatory agencies have been inundated with reports of mortgage loan fraud. This comes on the heels of a downturn in the real estate market, lowered earnings expectations from publicly traded home builders and complaints about realtors, mortgage brokers, appraisers, escrow officers, and title insurance agents. Civil suits between private parties engaged in real estate transactions has risen by 25% in the third quarter of 2006 while notices of default, foreclosures and bankruptcies are expected to reach all time highs across the nation in 2007. Although various organizations, both governmental and private have devoted considerable effort to the prevention, investigation and prosecution of mortgage loan fraud, there has emerged a massive amount of evidence that securitized mortgages collateralized by state income-stated asset loans contain the highest incidence of fraud of any other loan product with several major financial institutions at severe financial risk of having many of these loans become non performing as rates adjust upward during the next 12 months.... | |
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| | | Cash-out refinance can make sense | | Posted Thursday, November 23, 2006 1:02:23 PM by Blog57 Team | | I am thinking of refinancing my home. I owe $64,000 and the home is worth about $265,000. My current interest rate is 6.625 percent. I wanted to get cash out and also pay off my car loans. I plan to borrow $140,000 at 5.84 percent. Do you think this is a good idea? Thank you, -- Mike Mortgages .... | |
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| | | Column: How Are Loan Rates Determined? | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 11:06:20 PM by Blog57 Team | | Q: I hear all the time about the Federal Reserve raising or lowering interest rates. How does that affect the rates I pay for my credit card or the rates I see for car loans? A: In interest rates, almost everything is relative. With a few exceptions, most rates consumers pay are pegged to other rates, from the Fed's benchmark target rate for overnight loans from one bank to another to the prime lending rate that banks charge their best customers. The duration of the loan plays a big role. Much of the shorter-term interest you pay is pegged to the most discussed interest rate in the country, the Federal Reserve's federal funds rate, which is the target interest rate for overnight loans from one highly creditworthy bank to another. The target rate is set during the Fed Open Market Committee's eight regularly scheduled meetings a year; it is called a "target" because actual rates paid are set by the market.... | |
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| | | Shelter yourself from rising rates, falling values | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 11:30:23 AM by Blog57 Team | | In the next couple of years, a combination of rising mortgage interest rates and falling home values could sink thousands of homeowners. Being over your head means owing more than the house is worth. It's an especially risky situation for people with interest-only mortgages and pay-option adjustable-rate mortgages because they don't build equity unless they choose to. Some might be able to refinance or get through hard times by living frugally. Others will have to sell their houses, possibly at a loss. Still others will lose their houses to foreclosure. If you have an interest-only or pay-option ARM, assess your situation and, if you conclude that you are in jeopardy, act quickly. "I don't think burying your head in the sand is a viable option," says Neil Garfinkel, an attorney with Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson in New York City.... | |
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| | | Broward feels stress over high rate of foreclosures | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 3:25:47 AM by Blog57 Team | | Broward County had the second-highest mortgage foreclosure rate among the nation's top 100 metropolitan areas during the third quarter, according to a report released Friday. Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac said Broward had 8,431 foreclosures in the July-to-September quarter, or one for every 88 households. That's more than four times the national average. Only metropolitan Detroit was worse. Miami-Dade County had the fourth-highest foreclosure rate, with 9,380 in the quarter, or one for every 91 households. Palm Beach County was ranked 13th, with 3,643 foreclosures, or one for every 153 households. The results aren't surprising in a region where escalating home values from 2000 to 2005 forced buyers to overextend themselves.... | |
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| | | ECONOMIC REPORT: Mortgage Applications Jump In Latest Week | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 11:21:10 AM by Blog57 Team | | WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- The volume of mortgage applications at major U.S. banks rose sharply last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Overall, mortgage applications rose a seasonally adjusted 8.8% on a week-to- week basis, with refinance applications up 11% and purchase applications up 7.1% . The MBA data cover the week ended Nov. 3. Mortgage applications are down 5% in the past year, reflecting weak conditions in the housing market. The share of applications that were for loan refinancing rose to 46.3% from 45% a week earlier. Refinancing activity had recovered in past two months as mortgage rates dropped by more than half a percentage point. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan was unchanged at 6.24% in the latest week, up from a low of 6.18% seen four weeks ago.... | |
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| | | Lowest Interest Rate Mortgage Refinance Loans – 3 Ways To Get A ... | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 1:32:21 PM by Blog57 Team | | The lower your interest rate on your refinance mortgage, the more money you will save. But not all refinance loans are created equal. To get the lowest interest rates, follow these three tips when applying for you refinancing. 1. Refinance Your Entire Mortgage Refinancing your entire mortgage will help you to qualify for the lowest rates. Having split mortgages or a home equity line of credit elevates your risk level and rates. However, if you have a really good rate on one mortgage, then you may not want to combine those mortgages. Take the time to request quotes for both loan situations. Within minutes, you can get an answer from lenders and know which is your best option. .... | |
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| | | Be wary of gimmicky strategies for paying off your mortgage | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 7:10:59 PM by Blog57 Team | | When my wife, Georgina, and I paid off our $100,000 mortgage early 19 years ago, we saved $97,468.70 in interest. We did it on our own and at no cost, simply by enclosing a second check with what we could afford with our regular mortgage payment each month. Along with this check, we sent instructions to use the extra money to pay down the mortgage principal. This is basic math. The less principal you owe on a loan, the less interest you are charged as part of each regular payment. As a result, more of each payment goes to further reduce the principal balance. If your goal is to pay off your mortgage early (we are not saying it should be for everyone), you can do as we did without having to fall for gimmicky strategies that overstate your savings or hide your cost.... | |
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