The Federal Housing Finance Agency has extended the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program by 12 months. HARP’s new end date is June 30, 2011. Originally known as Making Home Affordable, HARP aims to help homeowners refinance their mortgage who may otherwise be ineligible because...

Mortgage markets improved last week in low-volume trading. Between Monday to Thursday, Wall Street focused on the upcoming jobs reports and mortgage markets gained while traders jockeyed for position. Mortgage rates drifted lower through Thursday afternoon. But, then, after a better-than-expected Non-Farm...

Mortgage markets finally reversed course last week, selling off with fury and causing prices to plummet. When bonds prices fall, rates rise. The action broke a multi-week winning streak, much to the disappointment of rate shoppers everywhere. Rate hikes came in stages. First, early in the week, mortgage...

Consider this a last call for FHA Streamline Refinances.  Starting next Tuesday, the popular rate-lowering program gets strict on borrowers. There’s 5 days left. Under the current streamline refi guidelines, FHA homeowners have minimal program eligibility requirements. FICO scores must be 620...

The new Good Faith Estimate makes its debut January 1, 2010. Expanded from 1page to 3, the legislators responsible for the new Good Faith Estimate want it to be simpler for homeowners and home buyers to understand than the former version. By most accounts, Congress will meet this goal. The new Good...

Beginning November 17, 2009, the FHA will make it harder to qualify for its popular Streamline Refinance program. Available exclusively to homeowners with existing FHA home loans, the streamline program is meant to help homeowners reduce mortgage payments as simply as possible. As such, the program carries...

This update contains the pertinent changes to FHA Streamline Refinance guides as outlined in Mortgage Letter 2009-32 and are effective on November 17th, 2009.. Here are the 11 things you need to know about these changes: 1. Current loan must have 6 months payment history. 2. Current loans with 6...

As a reminder, Fannie Mae is rolling out new lending guidelines Tuesday, September 1, 2009. Starting next week, being approved for a home loan could be much more difficult. The new rules mark the first major underwriting update since April of this year.  The changes are mostly geared at fraud prevention. Among...

Mortgage markets finished the week unchanged last week but don’t let that make you think the markets were flat.  It was a bumpy five days and rates were volatile.  Friday was the worst day of the week by far. An all-day deterioration, sparked by better-than-expected housing data, caused mortgage...

Not much to say except is it over yet? As my colleges would say “Stop Being Chicken Little” although this time I might be right? Over the last eight (8) days MBS have been getting there you know what handed to them.  This does not translate good for consumer Mortgage Rates. End of market pricing...