aggregated from: Seattle Bubble

Yesterday a reader asked:I was wondering if you could write a post sometime on the relationship between interest rates and home prices (or direct me to a previous post if you ve already done this). My husband is feeling pressured to buy a home within...

aggregated from: Seattle's Rain City Real Estate Guide

Okay, I admit&I ve been groaning, sniveling and bitching along with many other mortgage originators about HUD s 2010 Good Faith Estimate. The document has it s faults and was created pretty much because of the faults of loan originators who used ...

aggregated from: Seattle Bubble

Oops, something went wrong with today's weekly Twitter roundup post that was preventing comments. It should be fixed now. #via the PSBJ: Downtown's strange new real estate map (buildings currently under construction in downtown Seattle) http://is.gd/...

topics: cascade, downtown, everett, housing, lynnwood

aggregated from: Seattle Bubble

J.D. Roth over at Get Rich Slowly put up a post Wednesday about renting vs. buying, sort of a follow-up to my 2007 post over there. In it, he said that he couldn t find any info on current price-to-rent ratios around the country, so I thought I woul...

topics: mortgage, neighborhoods

aggregated from: Seattle's Rain City Real Estate Guide

Technically this is still a rumor in my book because I have not heard this directly from the bank in question&you can watch this video from Think Big Work Small where they state they have learned that Bank of America has all ready started doing this ...

aggregated from: Seattle's Rain City Real Estate Guide

Lenders and the condo market are still in a world of gray. No market can stabilize if the rules keep shifting faster than we can keep up with them. This frustrates both buyers and sellers, as some of these changes come into play while someone is in e...

topics: condo, condos, mortgage

aggregated from: Seattle's Rain City Real Estate Guide

Conforming Mortgage Rates (loan amounts up to $417,000 for 1-unit properties). The conforming rate quote below is based on owner occupied with a mid-low credit score of 740 or higher, full doc purchase with a sales price of $500,000 and a loan amou...

topics: condo, housing, mortgage, mortgage-rates, real-estate

aggregated from: Seattle's Rain City Real Estate Guide

Yesterday at The Mortgage Porter, I wrote about changes that HUD had confirmed via a press release for FHA insured loans. Seasoned mortgage professionals know that the HUD lady hasn t sang until a Mortgagee Letter is issued and this morning, H...

aggregated from: Seattle Condo Review

It seems like everyday we are hearing new updates from the lending industry. The FHA has just announced the following changes: 1.) Increase in the up-front mortgage insurance premium, paid by borrowers, from 1.75% to 2.25%. 2.) Allowable seller conce...

aggregated from: Seattle Condo Blog

The Federal Housing Administration announced rather sweeping changing to its popular FHA backed mortgage program. This changes are being implemented to manage and reduce risk and to continue providing affordable financing options.The proposed change...

topics: condo, housing, mortgage