Today’s post is written by Michael Green, Senior Commercial Loan Originator with Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC. Mike writes monthly on the commercial mortgage market. Check back each month to check his commentary. The Federal Reserve’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) regularly checks with banks to better understand their lending landscape. The short take for CRE from the most recent survey is that even tighter underwriting standards can be expected in the future. And while easing interest rates are eventually expected to support relatively low demand from borrowers, that is unlikely to happen now until late...
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INTEREST RATES AND VALUES
Each month we send out the Interest Rates and Values email to keep you up-to-date with what is happening in the residential real estate market. We review and analyze mortgage rates and median sales price charts and data to keep you apprised of the trends in the marketplace. Here is the video we sent out this month. If you would like to receive these emails and videos, message me and I’ll add you to the list. We feel the more you know, the better you will be able to make a decision on purchasing and financing real estate. We stay...
February 25, 2024February 25, 2024
HOME EQUITY LOANS AND LINES OF CREDIT
You may have a lot of equity in your home and would like to leverage it to make repairs or take cash out for other purposes. But, you have a low rate mortgage and do not want to refinance your home at higher rates. Well, you can keep that low rate mortgage and take the cash out with a second mortgage, i.e. a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit. Home equity loans are fixed rate loans. You have to take the entire amount of the loan at closing. Payments are to principal and interest. Home equity...
February 15, 2024February 15, 2024
RENOVATION AND CONSTRUCTION LOANS
Are you looking to purchase a property, but it needs a bit of work? Or, are you looking to build a home, ground-up construction? Or, do you have an existing home and want to add a room? We can help you find financing for these scenarios. Renovation and construction loans have 2 approvals. One is the credit and income approval, which is required on all loans. The second is the approval of the construction project. Renovation and construction loans allow you to roll the costs to build into the loan. You will need to have the building plans, specs, and...
February 7, 2024February 7, 2024
IF WE CAN’T HIT THE TARGET, MAYBE WE SHOULD CHANGE THE TARGET
Today’s blog is written by Michael Green, Commercial Loan Originator for Counsel Mortgage Group, LLC It’s well-entrenched in market participants’ minds by now that the Federal Reserve’s target rate for inflation is 2%. While that goal is admirable, we are still in a period of “sticky” pricing pressure, making the central bank’s target seemingly difficult to achieve. The most recent CPI report for December included components that showed some sectors of the economy are still facing persistently higher costs. History shows that once entrenched in an economy, inflation tends to be “sticky” indeed. Sector rotation among goods and services, imports...
February 3, 2024February 3, 2024
INTEREST RATES
You may be wondering why your interest rate is different from your friend’s, even though you both locked the rate at the same time. There are many factors that go into determining the interest rate. First is your credit score. The higher the score, the better the rate. Here is a blog we wrote on how credit card balances can affect your score: https://counselmortgagegroup.com/credit-score-tips-credit-cards/ If you are looking for some more tips on getting your credit score up, give us a call, we can help. Amount of down payment is another factor lenders use to determine the interest rate. The...
February 1, 2024February 1, 2024
I THINK I’LL WAIT FOR RATES TO GO LOWER
Here’s a blast from the past! Check out this video from the early ‘80s where buyers were hesitant to purchase a home because the interest rates were at 18%, and they wanted to wait until they came down. Lenders were offering a variety of creative financing options to help them, such as buydowns and contributions towards closing costs by the sellers and builders. The more things change, the more they stay the same. One thing is for certain, if they purchased in 1980 and held onto the home, they made some $$$.
January 27, 2024January 27, 2024
BRIDGE LOANS
A bridge loan is where you use the equity in your current home to help you finance the purchase of a new home. In other words, you leverage the equity in your current home and use it as a bridge to get you into the new home. We have done many of these loans over the years. Here are a couple ways to finance this. One way is to get a home equity line of credit on your current home and use that cash to make a down payment, or pay cash for the new home. Another way is a...
January 18, 2024January 18, 2024
MORTGAGES AND DIVORCE
If you are considering a divorce, you may want to purchase or sell real estate prior to filing for the divorce. If the divorce is filed, lenders may not approve the loan until after the divorce is finalized and the divorce decree is entered by the Court, or a legal separation agreement is signed by the parties and entered with the Court. The reason for this is contingent liabilities, i.e. debts to be attributed to you as a result of the divorce which would affect your ability to qualify for a loan. Even after the divorce is final, and the...
January 11, 2024January 11, 2024
INVESTMENT PROPERTY – HOW MUCH TO PUT DOWN?
Are you thinking about buying an investment property in 2024? You hear interest rates may be coming down, and property values have leveled. You may be concerned that if rates go lower, more buyers would enter the market thereby driving prices up and making it harder to purchase a property. So, now may be a good time to buy. How much down payment is needed to purchase an investment property? Conforming loans require a minimum of 15% down payment. But, the discount fees to get a loan at this down payment level are pretty high. It may make more sense...
January 4, 2024January 4, 2024