Refinancing Is More Affordable Since The Removal Of A Government Fee During the pandemic Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instituted a fee on mortgage refinancing. The Adverse Market Refinance Fee applied to loans over $125,000, and was a .50% fee charged to mortgage lenders for each refinance loan they originated. Lenders passed the cost down…

Rising Home Prices Have Buyers Considering Taking Out Jumbo Loans Home prices have jumped by nearly 25% across the nation, and the housing supply is limited. This is resulting in bidding wars becoming a common part of the home buying process. Buyers are feeling pressure to push their budgets to the max in order to…

Bill To Give 0% Down Home Loan to COVID Essential Workers is Pushed Forward By Florida Republicans The HELPER Act is a proposed bill that would give 0% down home loans to firefighters, paramedics, nurses, and other essential COVID workers. Republican Representative John Rutherford brought the bill to the House of Representatives earlier this year.…

Fannie Mae Offers Relief To Homeowners Facing Financial Difficulties Due To Natural Disaster As hurricanes and wildfires ravish the nation, homeowners who hold government backed mortgages are being offered assistance. In addition to mortgage payment forbearance programs and funds to help pay missed payments, the program also offers several other types of disaster assistance. Fannie…

The Federal Reserve Is In The Spotlight All eyes are on the Federal Reserve as they make important policy decisions and face the re-appointment of the chair and vice chair. The mortgage industry is most concerned with when bond buying will be tapered, which is expected to begin this fall. However, previous projections about inflation…

Artificial Intelligence Is Being Blamed For Racial Discrimination In Mortgage Lending A recently published study shows that black mortgage applicants are 8o% more likely to be rejected for mortgage financing than their comparable white peers. Mortgage lenders continue to claim that they are fair and balanced in their lending decisions. One of their primary defenses…

Lending Requirements Remain Tight In Hot Housing Market The hardest part of buying a home at the moment is finding one that is available and that you can afford. However, getting the mortgage is harder than usual as well. Lenders are maintaining very tight financial requirements for borrowers, and entry level mortgages for affordable starter…

Most Homeowners Are Missing Out On Refinancing Opportunities Almost half of US homeowners say that they have not considered refinancing their home this year. This is largely due to a lack of understanding of how the mortgage markets work. 40% of homeowners do not know the interest rate that they are currently paying on…

Cash Investors Competing With New Home Buyers Affordable starter homes are getting harder and harder to find. This is the sector of the market that has the least available inventory and is also seeing the lowest rates of new construction. But even if a new home buyer can find a starter home to bid on,…

New Study Confirms Racial Bias In Mortgage Approval Algorithms A new analysis of data from over 2 million mortgage applications confirm that racial bias is baked in to the approval algorithms. While all minorities are affected, the bias most heavily impacts the black community. According to the study, black people were 80% more likely to…