Getting approved for a mortgage is about to harder.

For the second time in less than 3 months, Fannie Mae announced changes to its mortgage guidelines.

In its official announcement, Fannie Mae details the updates, meant to reduce the mortgage firm’s overall risk.

The first major change is with respect to credit scoring.  All Fannie Mae loans — whether underwritten electronically or manually — require a 620 credit score minimum.  There are very few exceptions.

A second change relates to loans with private mortgage insurance.  Homeowners whose loan-to-value exceeds 80 percent now have a choice:

1. Accept higher mortgage insurance premiums month-after-month
2. Accept a one-time fee paid at closing to compensate for higher risk

Both options pass higher costs to consumers.

Then, a third change relates to maximum debt-to-income ratio.  As announced in a separate document, Fannie Mae will no longer approve expense ratios exceeding 45 percent except with very strong assets and credit to back it up.  In no case can expense ratios exceed 50 percent.

There are other changes, too, including the elimination of seldom-used mortgage products and new risk-based pricing on “expanded level” approvals.

Fannie Mae implements its updates during the weekend of December 12.

Therefore, if you’re going to need (or want) a new mortgage later this year, consider moving up your timeframe to October or November.  Once the guidelines change, getting approved for a mortgage is going to be tougher.

Chris is Florida’s #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, and is the resident “Money Guy” on Realty Resolve.

Chris can be found at
Orlando FHA Loans,
Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com,
or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210

The mortgage market resumed its winning streak last week after a 1-week hiatus.  Markets rallied into the weekend and mortgage rates eased lower overall.

It’s the third week out of four that rates improved and, ironically, rates may have dropped last week because traders were watching the wrong metrics.

With respect to housing, analysts found August’s Existing Home Sales and New Homes Sales reports disappointing.

Both posted weaker-than-expected sales volume, sparking a stock market sell-off that led bond markets higher.

It was the wrong reaction.

Versus home supply, the number of monthly sales isn’t nearly as important to the national housing recovery and the supply of homes fell in August.  If Wall Street had been paying better attention, mortgage rates may have risen instead.

The supply of homes for resale fell 11 months, and of new homes by 0.3 months.

This week will be heavy with data so don’t expect rates to stay low for long.

Early in the week we’ll get the Case-Shiller Index, a few consumer confidence surveys, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures report.  Late in the week, it’s the September jobs report.

With mortgage rates are trolling near their lowest levels of the quarter, it may be prudent to lock something in to avoid the risk of rates rising.

Chris is Florida’s #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, and is the resident “Money Guy” on Realty Resolve.

Chris can be found at
Orlando FHA Loans,
Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com,
or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210

I think the video pretty much speaks for itself.  Is your business using social media?  This could be the most important 4:22 seconds of your day today!

As reported by the National Association of REALTORS©, the number of Existing Home Sales dipped last month, ending the metric’s 5-month winning streak.

Newspaper headlines today are overwhelmingly negative on housing. You’d almost believe this year’s housing recovery had ended.

That’s hardly the case.

See, the other side of the Existing Home Sales story is that — while the number of units sold did fall by 3 percent — the months of existing supply fell by nearly a year.

To home buyers and home sellers, this is huge.  Home prices are based on supply and demand and with supplies plummeting, it means that home prices are poised to rise.

Indeed, dwindling inventory isn’t “news” to today’s buyers.  Multiple offer situations have been common since the start of the summer and, should supplies fall further, they may soon be the home-buying rule rather than the exception.

Since peaking in November 2008, existing home supplies are down 23%.

Chris is Florida’s #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, and is the resident “Money Guy” on Realty Resolve.

Chris can be found at
Orlando FHA Loans,
Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com,
or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.

It also reiterated plans to support the mortgage market to the tune of $1.5 trillion.

In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. economy is “picking up following its severe downturn” and that financial markets have “improved further”.

It’s the second consecutive post-FOMC statement in which the Fed appears somewhat optimistic — a signal that the recession will end soon, or has already ended.

That said, the economy still has some soft spots and the Fed made a point to single them out.  Each poses a distinct threat to economic recovery.

1. Ongoing job losses
2. Sluggish income growth
3. Tight credit conditions

Also in its statement, the Fed confirmed its plan to hold the Fed Funds Rate near zero percent “for an extended period” and to honor its $1.25 trillion commitment to the mortgage bond market.

However, the FOMC changed its timeframe on the mortgage-backed bond buys, extending its deadline to March 2010.  This move should help the Fed keep mortgage rates from rising too high as the economic expansion takes hold.

Market reaction to the Fed’s press release is positive.  After an early day sell-off that drove rates higher by about a quarter-percent, most of the pressure is easing.  Pricing is worse on the day overall, but well off its lows.

The FOMC’s next scheduled meeting is November 3-4, 2009.

Chris is Florida’s #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, and is the resident “Money Guy” on Realty Resolve.

Chris can be found at
Orlando FHA Loans,
Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com,
or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210

As reported by the government, home prices are rising nationwide, up 0.3 percent in July.

Furthermore, versus November 2008, the Home Price Index has clawed back to unchanged.

The housing market appears to be holding its own.

However, we have to be careful about putting our full faith in the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s data.  It’s somewhat flawed.

1. The Home Price Index is a national statistic and all real estate is local
2. The Home Price Index’s methodology specifically excludes key housing demographics

As an obvious example, HPI only accounts for homes with Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed mortgage. Lately, the percentage of homes meeting that description is shrinking.

As FHA financing rises in popularity, Fannie and Freddie back far fewer loans than in the past.  Furthermore, the HPI sample set also excludes newly-built homes and multi-unit properties.

Because of these exclusions, some analysts call the HPI incomplete.  The same could be said of all home price metrics, however – including the venerable Case-Shiller Index.

Therefore, what should be of interest to today’s buyers and sellers is that all of “popular” home valuation models seem to be telling the same story – home prices have stopped falling and look like they’re beginning to rebound.

For a region-by-region breakdown of the Home Price Index, visit the FHFA website.

Chris is Florida’s #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, and is the resident “Money Guy” on Realty Resolve.

Chris can be found at
Orlando FHA Loans,
Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com,
or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210

The Federal Open Market Committee starts a 2-day meeting today in Washington.

The scheduled get-together ends at 2:15 PM ET Wednesday after which the FOMC will issue a press release to the markets.

Consider locking your mortgage in advance of the press release.

The FOMC meets 8 times annually and its adjournments are among the biggest market-movers of the year.

The Fed’s post-meeting press release is a direct look into the mind of the Federal Reserve and Wall Street is looking for clues anywhere it can find them.

After its August 2009 meeting, the FOMC said in its press release:

1. Financial markets have improved, relative
2. Household spending remains constrained
3. Although weak, the economy is “leveling off”

Since then, however, credit risks have lessened on Wall Street, consumer spending have shown signs of life and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession is “very likely over”.

This is why tomorrow’s FOMC press release is so important.  Markets don’t expect the Fed to raise or lower the Fed Funds Rate, but they do expect the Fed to shed light on its next series of moves.

If the Fed alludes to inflation and stronger growth ahead, mortgage rates should rise. By contrast, reference to slower growth ahead should help keep rates steady.

The FOMC is expected to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent — the lowest it’s been in history.  However, it’s what the Fed says Wednesday that will matter more than what the its does.

If you’re floating a mortgage rate or wondering if the time is right to lock, the safe approach is to lock prior to 2:15 PM ET Wednesday.

Chris is Florida’s #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, and is the resident “Money Guy” on Realty Resolve.

Chris can be found at
Orlando FHA Loans,
Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com,
or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210

This was soo heart warming and funny at the same time I just HAD to share it. 

Thanks Mom for sending this to me.

After improving in the two prior weeks, mortgage markets finished last week unchanged overall.

Mortgage rates were down early in the week but managed to give up all of their gains late-Friday afternoon.  It’s the same volatility variety we’ve seen in most weeks this year.

Markets moved on to both positive- and negative-type news last week.  On the positive side:

• Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession is “very likely over“
• Retail Sales were much stronger than expected
• Warren Buffett confirmed to CNBC that he was back in the market

On the negative side, Housing Starts idled and corporate earnings fell flat.

This week, the market moves on.

Investors will watch several key releases including Existing Home Sales on Thursday, and Consumer Sentiment and New Homes Sales on Friday.  The most important event of the week by far, however, is the scheduled, 2-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.

The FOMC is the policy-setting group of the Federal Reserve and each time it meets, markets have a tendency to get volatile.

Markets expect the FOMC to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its current “target range” of 0.000-0.250 percent but that doesn’t mean mortgage rates will remain unchanged as well.  Depending on the verbiage of the FOMC’s post-meeting press release, mortgage rates could rise or fall by a lot.

The FOMC adjourns from its 2-day meeting Wednesday at 2:15 PM.

(Image courtesy: Wikipedia, licensed under Creative Commons)

Chris is Florida’s #1 FHA Mortgage Broker and a syndicated mortgage blogger. He is regular contributor to the three leading industry blog-fronts including The Mortgage Chili Blog, My FHA Mortgage Blog, Top of Mind Networks, and is the resident “Money Guy” on Realty Resolve.

Chris can be found at
Orlando FHA Loans,
Chris[at]OrlandoMortgagePro[dot]com,
or by calling 407.377.0500 x 210

Surmise

Mary and I began searching for a play place for Brianna about 3-4 weeks ago.  My Little Gym was the first place we went, mainly because of its convenient location.  Just like you wouldn’t buy the first home you see when looking for Lake Mary real estate, we were not ready to sign on the dotted line after our trial visit.  Several weeks later, and several other places later, we found ourselves back at the My LIttle Gym… not because of the convenient location, but because of the people - staff and families alike. [Translation - even the participating familes seemed friendlier.]

People

Lori was our first impression of the gym-for-kids-so-you dont-have-buy-all-the-stuff-yourself and, I gotta say… it set the bar really high.  In fact all the other places we visited were measured against our impression of Lori’s knowledge, experience and training that shines through and reflects My Little Gym’s philosophy.  Not only does she know how to handle young children, but masterfully navigate the trecherous waters of new parents as well.

Facilities

The facilities are super clean and well taken care of… something I have become more attentive to as a husband and now a father.  [Love ya hun! =0)]  Parents are allowed in the play area [at least at Brianna's age] and are asked to remove their shoes.  Those cool little bottles of cold, slimy hand-sanitizer … you know what I am talking about… they are available as well!  You can never have too much of that, am I right?

Cost

The cost was reasonable… and believe me, I am not all-to-quick to part with fundage.  Understanding that I am in the world or Orlando Mortgages, you clearly see that money is a bit more tight than a few years ago.  Whipping out my handy-dandy mortgage calculator [okay... any calculator will do], I discovered that it worked out to be about $10 per session - par for the course with this type of stuff.  My understanding is that you typically get one session per week - but right now you get two!  Woo Hoo!  For just the one session, the decision would have been a bit harder, but the 2 session per week deal made it a no-brainer.

Classes

The Little Gym class schedules work quite well for us.  Being that I am mostly unavailable during the weekdays, weekends were most important to me.  For Brianna’s age group [10-19 months] there is an early Saturday class that suited us just perfectly.

We look forward to growing with our little-pumpkin as we attend My Little Gym in Lake Mary.  If you haven’t checked it out or signed up for the FREE introductory class, I highly recommend it.