Jumbo Loans

Hurdles shrink for jumbo loan shoppers
You'll pay more for a big home nowadays, but a big mortgage should be less of a reach.  For the first time in over 20 years, rates on jumbo mortgages are at or below rates on conventional mortgages.  Jumbo rates usually run one-quarter to one-half of a percentage point higher, but lenders eager for wealthier customers are making deals.  And last year, Wells Fargo and Bank of America cut minimum down payments to 15% from 20%; some competitors did too.
Read article - CNN Money

      

this weeks market info 1/19/14

Wednesday, January 29, 2014  W. P. Carey: Phoenix Housing Market Explained The Phoenix housing market has seen its share of extremes, but today the market is regaining balance.  The supply of homes available for sale is going up and prices of those homes are stabilizing and in some cases, coming down, said Mike Orr, director of the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business.  Current homes prices have reached what he termed normal: what prices would have been had they increased gradually over time with the Consumer Price Index. Read article - W. P. Carey   Mortgage Loan Rates Dip as Home Sales Stabilize The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a decrease of 0.2% in the group's seasonally adjusted composite index, following a rise of 4.7% for the previous week.  The average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage decreased from 4.57% to 4.52%. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 4.57% to 4.47%. Read article - 247wallst.com

new this week 1/21/14

New federal rule gives home buyers better access to appraisals
A new federal rule could give millions of home buyers insights they've never had before about a crucial element of their mortgage application: the appraisal including the electronic cross-checks and reviews now used by lenders to determine the amount of the loan they'll approve.  Lenders will be required to inform mortgage applicants that they can receive a free copy of whatever appraisals, reviews, computer valuations and other data are used in the transaction.
Read article - LA Times 

January's calendar of events

Enjoy!

Here is Decembers events.  Enjoy and Merry Christmas

foreclosure news

Arizona foreclosure inventory down 58% from a year ago
Foreclosure activity in Phoenix is plunging to some of the lowest levels in the nation.  Arizona's foreclosure inventory took a 58% year-over-year nosedive to a rate of 1.3% in April, according to CoreLogic.  Arizona also hovered well below the national foreclosure rate (the percentage of all outstanding mortgages that are in some stage of foreclosure) of 2.65% for the month - down almost 25% from a year ago.
Read article - Phoenix Business Journal
     

Buying a House? Don't Make These Mistakes
First-time homebuyers can get easily side-tracked by fixable "problems," like an unappealing paint color, and they often overlook hidden costs of home ownership like maintenance expenses.  There are four mistakes that newbies tend to make:
1) Being turned off by problems that are easily fixed.
2) Overlooking hidden costs.
3) Failing to budget for DIY projects.
4) Misunderstanding new homeowners insurance coverage.
Read article - Yahoo! Finance

Memorial Day When did it start?

THANK YOU ALL WHO HAVE SERVED!

The last Monday in May is the day when the United States celebrates Memorial Day. This holiday was originally called Decoration Day due to the practice of decorating graves of soldiers. It is a day of remembrance for those who have died serving America.
President Lyndon Johnson officially declared Waterloo, New York, the birthplace of Memorial Day in May 1966. However, the origins of the day are not quite so clear. On May 5, 1868 General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially declared Memorial Day. It was first observed later that month on May 30th when the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers were decorated at Arlington National Cemetery.The reason why President Johnson declared Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day was because it was the first state to officially recognize the holiday in 1873. The Southern states that seceded to start the Civil War refused to acknowledge the holiday until after World War I. That was because until that point the holiday honored only those who fought and died in the Civil War. In 1971 Congress put into law that the holiday would be celebrated on the last Monday in May. This was done in order to ensure a three-day weekend holiday. While it was a tradition in the past for many cities to hold Memorial Day parades, today the number of those parades are dwindling. It is important to remember that on Memorial Day, we honor those who died serving our country and protecting our freedoms