When we had the last big mortgage meltdown, the feds said mortgage lenders can no longer lend on just a credit score and use income without verification of that income. These were known as stated income loans. All mortgage loans that fall under conventional, FHA and VA mortgages must now have income verified, either with
As consumers know, the feds are determined to raise interest rates beginning in March 2022 and have announced at least three more increases during 2022, in an effort to slow inflation. Mortgage rates are not directly tied to the feds raising interest rates and home loan rates look like they’ll settle somewhere in the low
Even mortgage brokers get refinance offers touting low mortgage interest rates from mortgage companies! Recently, Ben Lucero, the owner of Indigo Mortgage, received a mortgage refinance flyer in the mail, touting a 1.75% interest rate for a cash-out refinance. So he turned the flyer over and read this in the fine print: “a 10 year
Do you know the difference between an Interest rate and an APR and why it’s important to know what an APR represents when you’re buying a home? The difference between APR and interest rate is this: the APR (annual percentage rate) is not an interest rate but rather is a marker that illustrates the total cost of
How do you refinance out of a real estate contract or a lease to own contract? First, let’s distinguish between a real estate contract or REC and a lease to own contract. On a REC, the borrower actually goes on the title to the property along with the seller; that title is recorded with the
Frequently, we hear potential borrowers who say they are shopping their mortgage around and would like a second offer. That’s great, that’s what we’ve advised since Indigo Mortgage opened in 2003. Most commonly, when they tell us they’d like to see our interest rate and fees on their home loan, the other lender is a
Here’s some great news for New Mexico homebuyers! Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), the private corporations chartered by Congress to provide stability and affordability to the mortgage market, have raised the maximum loan limit from $548,000 to $625,000. This increase means that a borrower can
It’s early October in New Mexico, and we’re seeing more than hot air balloons rising. We are seeing mortgage rates rise from the historical low rates of the last year. Unfortunately, we are also seeing many online lenders still offering those low rates from several weeks ago. These mortgage lenders are not being truthful in
When we meet with potential home buyers, we always discuss not only what their down payment will be, but what their share of the closing costs will be. Often, these home buyers have already met with another lender yet the other lender didn’t say anything about closing costs that the buyer would pay. These buyers
It’s now mid-August 2021 and we’ve seen two recent changes in mortgage loans. Recently Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did away with their added fee for refinances. The fee was issued on all loans during the early months in 2021 but they just dropped it. What this means for borrowers is that rates are even