By Robert Fishel, on June 9th, 2010 
Bank of America has agreed to pay $108 million to about 200,000 homeowners who paid improper and inflated charges to the defunct subprime mortgage lender that became the poster child of the housing apocalypse, Countrywide Financial. The Federal Trade Commission said two mortgage-servicing units of Countrywide, which BofA acquired in 2008, “deceived homeowners who were behind on their mortgage payments into paying inflated fees — fees that could add up to hundreds or even thousands of dollars.”
With continuing worries about about Europe’s debt crisis and the stock market, “flight to quality” should keep dollar denominated assets in favor and keep rates at these low levels…once the market determines an end to the current crisis of confidence, one would expect to see rates on the rise.
St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rates – Jun 9, 2010 *
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.75% no points
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.25% no points
- 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.75% no points
- FHA/VA 30-year fixed rate mortgage 4.875%
- Jumbo 5/1 ARM 4.125% no points
- Jumbo 15 year fixed rate mortgage 4.625%
For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact me by phone at my direct line, (314) 372-4319, email at rfishel@paramountmortgage.com or you can visit our company website at http://www.paramountmortgage.com.
*Note- The above rates are based upon a typical sale price of $187,500 with a 20% percent down payment leaving a loan amount of $150,000 to a borrower with a 720 credit score for a loan with no discount points charged. Rates and terms will vary depending upon loan amount, home value, credit and income of borrower.
This information is provided by this author and this site for informative purposes only and is not warranted or guarteed in any way.
By Robert Fishel, on June 2nd, 2010
After the problems we have seen over the past couple of years in the real estate, mortgage and banking industries it is not surprising we have seen massive legislative changes brought about which make it more challenging for a home-buyer to obtain a mortgage. Some of the changes borrowers will see when they attempt to obtain a mortgage to buy a home or refinance their existing mortgage include:
- Documentation – Did you like that “no-doc” loan you did last time around? Forget it! This time around you may be asked to provide, in addition to items that have been standard for years such as paycheck stubs and bank statements, additional documents to prove residency, income, financial soundness or even identity. Your employer will be impacted somewhat as well as in the past frequently a lender could get by with just a phone call to your employer to verify your employment and income. Today however, many more verifications have to be in writing and the lender must also do a much more in-depth inquiry about your employment including asking your employer questions about your job stability and detailed income information.
- “Fresh” Documentation – If it takes longer than 30 days to close your loan then your Lender will likely ask you to provide updated bank statements on a monthly basis, as well as update other documentation as necessary so that all documentation is up to date and current at the time of closing. The lender will also contact your employer a few days before closing to make sure your employment situation and compensation have not changed since the verification was complete.
- Whoa, Slow Down – Don’t wait until the last minute to apply for financing as the new legislation is slowing the process. For example, it is now mandatory that no less than eight days must lapse between the time of your loan application and the closing of the loan. Normally, this is not a problem as most loans take considerably longer, but it could be an issue if you are in a time crunch and waited too long to start the process. In addition, even minor changes to the terms of your home purchase and/or loan could delay closings by at least three days due to requirements of the lender to update disclosures and give you a mandatory period of time to review them prior to closing.
- Tax Returns Don’t Lie – In the past lenders typically did not request a copy of your tax return unless you were self employed or had “other” income outside of employment that was necessary to count to qualify for the loan. Today, for most loans, lenders are required not only to obtain a copy of your tax return for the past two years, but to get them directly from the IRS. If your income and expenses on your tax return don’t match up with the information you provided on your loan application this will either delay your loan closing or get you a denial.
- Appraisal Issues – New regulations prevent your loan officer from speaking with appraisers directly in order to assure that there is no influence put on the appraiser with respect to his or her opinion of value of the home. This has caused many lenders to turn to using national appraisal management companies (AMC’s) which sometimes hire non-local appraisers which may affect the accuracy of the appraisal.
- The silver lining – Sure, there are new regulations and it is more challenging, but interest rates are at near historic lows, so the extra effort you have to put forth will be handsomely rewarded for years to come!
If you are looking to buy a home or take advantage of the great rates and refinance you existing mortgage, you should not let the new rules scare you off. Instead I would just suggest you be careful and prudent about selecting your lender, selecting one that has the experience, knowledge and resources to get you through the process as painlessly as possible…. I happen to know one such lender…Me :)
St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rates – May 26, 2010 *
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.85% no points
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.25% no points
- 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.75% no points
- FHA/VA 30-year fixed rate mortgage 5.75%
- Jumbo 5/1 ARM 4.125% no points
- Jumbo 15 year fixed rate mortgage 4.625%
For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact me by phone at my direct line, (314) 372-4319, email at rfishel@paramountmortgage.com or you can visit our company website at http://www.paramountmortgage.com.
*Note- The above rates are based upon a typical sale price of $187,500 with a 20% percent down payment leaving a loan amount of $150,000 to a borrower with a 720 credit score for a loan with no discount points charged. Rates and terms will vary depending upon loan amount, home value, credit and income of borrower.
This information is provided by this author and this site for informative purposes only and is not warranted or guarteed in any way.
By Robert Fishel, on May 26th, 2010
The National Flood Insurance Program, known as the NFIP, lapsed March 28 this year and left many pending home sales in limbo.
Congress and President Barack Obama temporarily reinstated the program 18 days later on April 16 as part of a bill that also extended unemployment benefits and Medicare reimbursement for doctors. However, the temporary extension of the NFIP legislation will expire again on May 31.
The stage has now been set for another lapse in funding for the program just weeks before the mandatory June 30 closing deadline for buyers attempting to satisfy the requirements of the federal $8,000 first-time and $6,500 repeat homebuyer tax credits. The recent 18-day lapse in the NFIP is the third since December, with each one growing in duration. The December interruption lasted nine hours, the February pause lasted two days.
Without another legislative extension of the NFIP by the end of the month, some home buyers may not be able to close on their properties.
The National Association of Realtors estimates a one-day lapse adversely affects 1,400 closings nationwide.
St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rates – May 26, 2010 *
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.75% no points
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.250% no points
- 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.500% no points
- FHA/VA 30-year fixed rate mortgage 4.8750%
- Jumbo 5/1 ARM 4.000% no points
- Jumbo 15 year fixed rate mortgage 4.625%
For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact me by phone at my direct line, (314) 372-4319, email at rfishel@paramountmortgage.com or you can visit our company website at http://www.paramountmortgage.com.
*Note- The above rates are based upon a typical sale price of $187,500 with a 20% percent down payment leaving a loan amount of $150,000 to a borrower with a 720 credit score for a loan with no discount points charged. Rates and terms will vary depending upon loan amount, home value, credit and income of borrower.
This information is provided by this author and this site for informative purposes only and is not warranted or guarteed in any way.
By Robert Fishel, on May 19th, 2010 It’s all about Europe debt crisis…
Trading action in the mortgage markets have been and continue to be influenced by the ongoing concern over Europe’s debt crisis. This uncertainty has overshadowed a growing amount of data flow from our own economy that is signaling or own recovery. This uncertainty continues to drive capital into dollar denominated assets.
The FHA To Reduce Allowable Seller Concessions this Summer/ Is the Housing Market Recovering for Real…
The percentage sellers can take from the sales price of a home to fund closing costs is being cut from 6% to 3%. According to an announcement in January, the current level of 6% exposes the FHA to excess risk by creating incentives for appraisers to increase the value of these homes. The change will take place in “early summer,” according to the FHA, but a spokesperson said no specific date has been set.
St. Louis Mortgage Interest Rates – May 19, 2010 *
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.875% no points
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgage 4.250% no points
- 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage 3.500% no points
- FHA/VA 30-year fixed rate mortgage 5.750%
- Jumbo 5/1 ARM 4.125% no points
- Jumbo 15 year fixed rate mortgage 4.625%
For more information or if you have questions on mortgage rates in St. Louis you may contact me by phone at my direct line, (314) 372-4319, email at rfishel@paramountmortgage.com or you can visit our company website at http://www.paramountmortgage.com.
*Note- The above rates are based upon a typical sale price of $187,500 with a 20% percent down payment leaving a loan amount of $150,000 to a borrower with a 720 credit score for a loan with no discount points charged. Rates and terms will vary depending upon loan amount, home value, credit and income of borrower.
This information is provided by this author and this site for informative purposes only and is not warranted or guarteed in any way.
By Dennis Norman, on March 22nd, 2010
 Dennis Norman The Federal Reserve announced it will stop purchasing mortgage-backed securities by the end of March.
In November, 2008, the Federal Reserve announced, in an effort to help the housing market, it would purchase mortgage-backed securities. Then, in March, 2009, the Fed increased the total amount of money they would invest in such securities to $1.25 trillion and estimated that they would complete those purchases by the end of first quarter 2010.
The Fed’s action I think certainly added some liquidity and confidence to the ailing housing market and now, that the time has come for them to pull out of the market, the question is what effect it will have on interest rates is uncertain. Some industry analysts are cautioning that after the Fed pullout the private investor sector will want a higher return thereby forcing mortgage interest rates upward.
Last week the Federal Reserve announced that they will complete the purchases of mortgage-backed securities by the end of this month, thereby taking the Fed out of the market. In their announcement they said “economic activity has continued to strengthen and that the labor market is stabilizing” but cautioned that the pace of economic recovery “is likely to be moderate for a time.”
By this time next month we will get an idea of what effect the Fed’s action will have on interest rates. I think it is safe to say we are going to see an increase in mortgage interest rates although I would predict that the increase will be slight, at least initially. The interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been hovering around 5 percent for a while now, sometimes bouncing above or below that mark. My guess is we will see this rate hover more in the 5.25 – 5.50 percent range soon.
By Dennis Norman, on October 14th, 2009 Dennis Norman The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending October 9, 2009. The report showed an increase of 1.8 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week as interest rates inched back above 5 percent for the first time in four weeks.
Refi’s continue to dominate the mortgage application activity with 67.4 percent of all mortgage loan applications being refinances. Continue reading “Mortgage rates increase; loan applications decrease“
By Dennis Norman, on October 7th, 2009 Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending October 2, 2009. The report showed an increase of 16.4 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week before fueled by interest rates remaing below 5 percent.
Unfortunately interest rates seem to be doing more for existing homeowners and the mortgage industry than investors and the real estate market at refi’s for the week made up 66.3 percent of the mortgage loan application activity. Over the past four weeks shows homeowners refinancing existing loans is up 6.7 percent while borrowers financing the purchase of a home is only up a scant 0.2 percent. Continue reading “Mortgage interest rates on 30 year loan stay below 5 percent for third consecutive week“
By Dennis Norman, on September 23rd, 2009 Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending September 18, 2009. The report showed an increase of 12.8 percent in mortgage loan applications from the week before fueled by interest rates dropping below 5 percent for the first time since mid-May.
The bulk of the activity (63.8 percent of all applications) were homeowners refinancing their existing mortgages. Over the past four weeks shows homeowners refinancing existing loans is up 6.8 percent while borrowers financing the purchase of a home is only up 0.7 percent.
Interest rates and fees for the week: Continue reading “Interest rates drop below 5 percent for 30 year fixed rate loan; applications increase“
By Dennis Norman, on September 18th, 2009  Dennis Norman According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey the interest rate on home mortgages dropped for the third-consecutive week and remains at a three-month low in the US.
St. Louis is included in Freddie Mac’s Southwest Region in which the survey shows the interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for the week ending September 17, 2009, averaged 5.05 percent with 0.6 percent in fees and points.
 The interest rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.54 percent with 0.5 percent in fees this week. The interest rate on a five-year ARM averaged 4.47 percent with 0.5 percent in fees this week and the rate on a one-year ARM averaged 4.88 percent with 0.3 percent in fees. Continue reading “Interest rates drop for 3rd consecutive week; remain at 3-month low“
By Dennis Norman, on September 9th, 2009 Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending September 4, 2009. The report showed an increase of 17.0 percent in borrowers applying for home mortgages to buy a home from the week before. This marks the largest gain in the index since early April, putting the index at the highest level since the first week of January.
There was a massive increase of over 22 percent from the week before for borrowers refinancing their existing home mortgage making . This the biggest jump in the increase since mid-March. Continue reading “Mortgage rates drop; Borrowers refinancing jumps over 22 percent for the week“
By Dennis Norman, on August 27th, 2009 Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending August 21, 2009. The report showed an increase in borrowers applying for home mortgages of about 1 percent from the week before for borrowers buying homes and an increase of almost 13 percent from the week before for borrowers refinancing their existing home mortgage.
Interest rates inched up a little last week according to the survey.
The average interest rate for 30 year fixed rate mortgages increased to 5.24 percent from 5.15 percent with loan fees increasing to 1.07 percent from 0.98 percent on loans for 80 percent of the value of the home.
The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 4.58 percent from 4.52 percent with loan fees increasing to 1.18 percent from 0.93 percent on loans for 80 percent of the value of the home.
The average interest rate for one-year ARMS increased to 6.74 percent from 6.66 percent, with loan fees increasing to 0.17 percent from 0.07 percent on loans for 80 percent of the value of the home.
By Dennis Norman, on August 20th, 2009 Dennis Norman According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey the interest rate on home mortgages dropped to a new three-month low. The survey shows the interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage averaging 5.12 percent with 0.7 percent in fees and points this week, down from 5.29 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30 year interest rate averaged 6.47 percent.
The interest rate on a 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.56 percent with 0.7 percent in fees this week, down from 4.68 percent last week. Last year at this time the 15 year interest rate averaged 6.00 percent. Continue reading “Interest Rates drop to lowest level in three months“
By Dennis Norman, on August 6th, 2009 Dennis Norman According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates decreased slightly for the week ending August 6, 2009 from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.22% with 0.6% in fees and points, down from 5.25% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30 year rate averaged 6.52%.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages decreased slightly as well, down to 4.63% from 4.69% the week before, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.73% and 1 year ARM’s as well as 4.78%. This time last year these arms were 6.05% and 5.22% respectively.
Missouri is included in the southwest region on Freddie Mac’s survey and rates in our region were pretty consistent with the national averages reported above for fixed rate loans, however 5/1 arms in our region averaged only 4.64% compared with 4.73% nationally, and 1/1 arms in our region were 5.05%, quite a bit above the national average of 4.78%.
“Better-than-expected economic reports helped to keep mortgage rates low this week,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “The economy slowed by an annual rate of 1 percent in the second quarter, which was more positive than market forecasts.”
By Dennis Norman, on July 31st, 2009 Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman
Today we pick up where we left off yesterday with my E-View TM with respected mortgage banker, H. John Frank, President of Paramount Mortgage Co. here in St. Louis.
If you missed part one, two, or three, there are links to both at the end of this post. And now, the final part of the E-View TM:
Q-This is a good time probably to address the Internet. There appear to be hundreds of lenders on the Internet for the consumer to choose from in addition to their local lenders.
Do you think there is cause for concern for a borrower in dealing with an Internet based company that does not have a physical location in their market? Or should they treat that type of company the same as a local company when checking them out to consider as their lender?
 H. John Frank, Jr., President, Paramount Mortgage Co. A-When you deal with a local lender or someone you have previously dealt with, you can always go into their office and discuss the problems or hopefully a local representative will be at the closing to go over the numbers with you and correct any mistakes or changes that have occurred. Continue reading “Mortgage information and advice from a St. Louis Mortgage Banker – Final post of the series“
By Dennis Norman, on July 29th, 2009
H. John Frank, Jr., President, Paramount Mortgage Co. By: Dennis Norman
Yesterday I did the first post of my E-View TM with respected mortgage banker, H. John Frank, President of Paramount Mortgage Co. located here in St. Louis.
Today we continue with part two of the E-View TM:
Q-How many states require mortgage brokers/bankers to be licensed? Does licensing protect the consumer in your opinion? If so, how? If not, why not?
A-I don’t know how many states require licenses, but later this year (I believe around the 1st of August) most, if not all, states will adopt a National Licensing Law which will require all companies and Loan Officers to be registered and licensed. Continuing education will be required as well as surety bonds, criminal background checks, fingerprints, etc. will be mandatory. I’m not sure if this protects the consumers, but it surely will cut out’ many of the brokers. The government will begin tracking Loan Officer’s, as well as appraisers, to make sure ‘bad’ loan officers can’t just jump from state to state making bad loans to innocent, uneducated homeowners. Continue reading “Mortgage information and advice from a St. Louis Mortgage Banker – Part 2 of a series“
By Dennis Norman, on July 28th, 2009 Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman
It seems home mortgages are in the news daily lately: record-low interest rates, record-high foreclosure rates, the sub-prime mortgage mess, lack of jumbo loans and so on. It’s confusing at best and causing much concern for many people wishing to buy a home or refinance their existing home mortgage.
 H. John Frank, Jr., President Paramount Mortgage Co. To find out just what is going on in the home mortgage world today I turned to someone I have known for over 20 years that is a highly respected St. Louis mortgage banker, H. John Frank. John agreed to do an E-View TM to discuss what is going on with mortgages today and to share information to help educate consumers that may be seeking a mortgage.
John was a great source of information and I have a lot to share so I plan to share his E-View TM in a series of posts over the next few days.
Here’s the beginning of my E-View TM with H. John Frank, the President of Paramount Mortgage Co. based in St. Louis, MO: Continue reading “Mortgage information and advice from a St. Louis Mortgage Banker – Part 1 of a series“
By Dennis Norman, on July 24th, 2009 Dennis Norman According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates increased slightly this week from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.20% with 0.7% in fees and points, up from 5.14% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30 year rate averaged 6.63%.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages increased slightly as well, up to 4.68% from 4.63% the week before, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.74% and 1 year ARM’s as well as 4.76%. This time last year these arms were 6.18% and 5.49% respectively.
By Dennis Norman, on July 18th, 2009 Dennis Norman By: Dennis Norman
Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates dropped this past week, making it the third week in a row rates came down.
The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.14% with 0.7% in fees and points, down from 5.20% the week before. This is the lowest rate reported in Freddie Mac’s survey for a 30 year fixed rate loan since May. Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages dropped very slightly as well, down to 4.63% from 4.69% the week before, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.83% and 1 year ARM’s dropped from 4.82% to 4.78%.
“Average fixed-rate mortgage rates were lower than last week and were down 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent from the levels of early June.,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “For a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the rate reduction over the past five weeks translates into a monthly payment saving of $56 on a $200,000 loan.
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