A new loan quality initiative from Fannie Mae is making it harder for Tacoma home buyers and refinancing homeowners everywhere to close on a mortgage. Beginning June 1, 2010, with all new applications, Fannie Mae wants lenders to verify that borrowers have not taken on new debt during the underwriting...

A new loan quality initiative from Fannie Mae is making it harder for Seattle home buyers and refinancing homeowners everywhere to close on a mortgage. Beginning June 1, 2010, with all new applications, Fannie Mae wants lenders to verify that borrowers have not taken on new debt during the underwriting...

Home values rose in March, according to the Federal Home Finance Agency’s most recent Home Price Index. Values were reported higher by 0.3 percent, on average, from February. We use the phrase “on average” because the Home Price Index is broad-reaching, national housing statistic....

After starting the day in the red, mortgage rates rebounded Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve released its April 27-28, 2010 meeting minutes. It’s good news for home buyers and would-be refinancers.  Mortgage rates continue to troll along multi-year lows. “Fed Minutes”...

Single-family Housing Starts rose by 55,000 last month, suggesting ample housing stock from which can choose this summer. The report is a slightly larger read than what economists had expected. Furthermore, for the first time since June 2009, Housing Starts appears to have broken away from its half-million...

As lenders tighten mortgage guidelines for home buyers, minimum downpayment requirements are increasing.  Several years ago, you could finance a home with nothing down. Today, most conventional mortgages require at least 10 percent. Anecdotally, guideline changes have led to an increase in the number...

A mortgage approval is never final until it’s funded. A host of things can “go wrong” while your home loan is underway. Some are in your control, many more are not.  And just being aware of some potential pitfalls could help save your loan down the road, and your peace of mind today. MSN...

The national foreclosure rate is finally falling. According to foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac.com, the number of foreclosure notices dropped 2 percent between April 2009 and April 2010. 2 percent may not seem like much, but it’s the first time in the history of the RealtyTrac report that...

For the first time this year, Fannie Mae announced significant updates to its mortgage underwriting guidelines. The changes include newer, harsher ARM qualification standards, the elimination of a once-popular loan product, and tighter rules for interest only mortgages. Fannie Mae made its official...