gulf shores condo loans

Mortgage Rate Locks Are For Real

by steverussell on December 17, 2008 · 4 comments

in Gulf Coast Mortgages

I think many borrowers are under the impression that a “rate lock” is just a verbal agreement that the loan officer and customer make and after saying it out loud and clicking your heels twice, the rate is locked.

In reality, there is a process involved with locking a rate that involves pulling credit, running the application for an approval, registering a loan number, and then running the file through a “pricing engine” to get and secure the actual rate lock based on market conditions.

Today, I had a customer that had been non-committal for the last couple of days shopping for the best rate.

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Gulf Coast Mortgages

December 16, 2008 Uncategorized

Steve Russell Pensacola Mortgage Banker Primary Residential Mortgage Serving the Alabama Gulf Coast and Florida Panhandle Mortgage Market including Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, and Fort Morgan, AL as well as Pensacola, FL and the Florida Panhandle.   Steve Russell is a graduate of Vincennes University with a degree in Business Finance. After growing up in [...]

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Mortgage market interest rates are currently near or at all-time lows

December 15, 2008 Gulf Coast Mortgages

While the mortgage market continues to generate a lot of chatter in both the media and in Washington, interest rates are currently near or at all-time lows. If you or anyone you know are looking to take advantage of these low rates, let me explain why now is the time to act.

Lately there has been talk about the 4.5% 30-year fixed rate mortgage. Will it become a reality though? Right now, no one really knows. Homeowners who could benefit from a lower interest rate need to know that even if 4.5% becomes a reality from Washington’s actions, it would only be available to home buyers, not homeowners seeking to better their rate. If you need to refinance, you will be left out.

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The Chinese have a proverb: “May you live in interesting times.” And we are living through interesting times indeed.

December 15, 2008 Gulf Coast Mortgages

Whatever the political posturing regarding the rescue plan, a plan needed to be passed. Credit markets are frozen and banks are going bust every day. This is not totally because of “toxic” mortgages. This has a lot to do with FASB 157, also known as “mark to market”.

Each day, lenders must mark their assets to the marketplace. It’s like you having to appraise your home everyday and, if your neighbor was under duress because she got very ill, divorced, lost her job and was forced to sell her home quickly, she may have sold it super cheap. Now, does that mean your house is worth that super cheap price, too? Clearly not. Why? Because you are not under duress. You have the time to sell your home and get a more normal price, which more accurately reflects true market conditions. But “mark to market” does not allow for this, which creates a vicious cycle.

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