Good Credit Equals Lower Mortgage Rates

In the 1960s, Fair Isaac Corporation started working on a system lenders could use to evaluate the likelihood of receiving repayment on loans. Prior to that, it was really a matter of trusting an individual to be a “man of his word,” so to speak. Fair Isaac sought to take human error out of the...

By The Time You Read About Low Mortgage Rates, It Was Already Too Late To Get Them

Image via Wikipedia Thursday morning April 2, homeowners in different parts of the country awoke to find similar-sounding newspaper headlines: Rates on 30-year mortgages sink to 4.78%, a new low (LA Times) Mortgage rates at record low for 2nd week (Miami Herald) Mortgages hit another record low (San...

How To Speed Up Mortgage Underwriting

With mortgage rates are hovering near all-time lows, lots of Americans are taking advantage of refinance and home buying opportunities. The downside of today’s unexpectedly-low rates, though, is that mortgage lenders are ill-equipped for the rush of new business. As a result, the process of...

10 Things That Appraisers Must Do For All FHA Appraisals Done After April 1, 2009

If the following appraisal guidelines look foreign to you, that’s okay, because this update is intended for Appraisers and Underwriters. 1. The Market Conditions Addendum (Fannie Form 1004MC/Freddie Form 71). 2. At least 2 comparable sales within 90 days of appraisal date. 3. A minimum of 2 active...

What Is A FICO Score

The basis of most mortgage lending is credit scoring.  In general, the higher a person’s credit score, the lower his offered mortgage interest rate. Despite the many credit scoring models in use today, however, just 3 are relevant to American homeowners: The Equifax BEACON® score The Experian Fair...

« Older Entries Next Entries »