Oregon Mortgage Rates - Great News For Real Estate Buyers
Mortgage News
Rates are about the same this week as last. They did, in fact, go down a bit during the first part of the week, but the ongoing fear of inflation keeps bumping rates back up. The biggest underlying factor keeping this fear alive is the anticipation that the Federal Reserve will change their strategy for rate cuts at their next meeting on April 30 th . It is believed that they will either make a smaller cut (.25% instead of the .50% we've last seen), or possibly make no cut at all. Bond investors are sure this would be a mistake, and inflation would increase dramatically.
The Federal Reserve seems to want to take a wait and see approach; allowing the Stimulus Package and the previous Fed cuts to actually take effect before cutting more. I think this is a sensible course of action, and the bond market will ultimately get over it. But that's just me.
I want to pass on some info about a problem that has occasionally bitten buyers, to the extent of making them financially unqualified to purchase a home. You may know someone in this situation.
The buyer has a son or daughter or who can't qualify (usually credit related) for the purchase of a shiny new SUV but can afford the payment. So, mom and dad purchase the vehicle on a lower interest loan than they could get if the child was on the loan. The child faithfully makes the payments directly to mom and dad, sometimes by check, sometimes in cash, and maybe sometimes by barter. Now the parents want to buy a new home. They figure the $650 auto loan payment won't hurt them because it's paid by the offspring. Their assumption is correct, but only if those payments can be documented for the last 12 continuous months. Usually, copies of cancelled checks, or statements showing auto withdrawals from the kid's bank account. So, in the above scenario, the folks are stuck with the liability in terms of qualifying for the home loan.
Always make sure that the payments on a liability, on your credit that are paid by someone else, can be fully documented. This includes that property that you and your 2 best friends went in on together, and you each pay one third.
Lack of documentation is also a problem for first time home buyers who have been making their rent payments in cash to a private individual landlord. They have no way of proving to a lender that they have an acceptable rental history. There may be “work arounds”, but avoiding the problem in the first place is far better.
The following rates are based on 30 day locks with no discount points, as of this morning. They are not come ons, they are the rates your buyers will most likely get from a reputable lender, regardless of what is advertised. Certainly there are other specialized programs available, depending on the qualifications of the buyer.
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30 year fixed conforming = |
6.000% |
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15 year = |
5.500% |
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3/1 ARM = |
6.000% |
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5/1 ARM = |
5.875% |
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Jumbo fixed = |
6.875% |
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Jumbo ARM = |
6.625% |
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FHA/VA 30 year fixed = |
6.000% |
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Prime rate is currently = |
5.250% |
Authored by Lorin Wamsley, CMPS - Senior Mortgage Consultant, Precision Funding
Phone: 541-681-8787
Dennis Pease - RE/MAX Integrity Real Estate Broker invites you to see more Florence Oregon Real Estate information and All the Area Real Estate Listings. If you are looking for a mortgage consultant, call Lorin at the number above and tell him Dennis sent you.
Date: 2008-04-25 20:58:06Views: 310
Comments
Dennis
Sam, you are 100% correct. I recently wrote an article detailing this, if you click my name in this comment it will direct you to this article. I think you will agree that it makes it crystal clear that what you just stated is true.
You know people never know where the bottom or the top of the real estate market is until it has already pasted. With today's low interest rates and many seller's willing to accept much less than asking price it just doesn't get much better. As evidenced I think by so many more buyers coming to my website and writing offers in the last 3 to 4 months.
Barry Cox
Nice post Dennis. I caught someone on the radio today predicting that we have pretty much hit the bottom regarding Mortgage interest rates. They seem to be hanging out at around 6% on a 30yr fixed. It will be interesting to watch the market over the next few months.
Sam Chapman, Austin REALTOR
Money is cheap everywhere and buyers need to get off the fence and buy. Buying now at today's rates and seeing a slight drop in home prices a year from now should be fine as interest rates will likely be higher. The monthly payment is likely to be about the same and it is a worthwhile tradeoff.