Mortgage News Resource
There are a lot of mortgage news resources out there but one of the most interesting and opinioned that I can find is Daily Mortgage Rates News by Subprime Blogger. Although I don’t always agree with everything he has to say, he definitely brings opinion and fire to the conversation. Make sure to head over there and check him out as he is a very good friend of mine. There are some other great aspects to his website but that is one of my favorites. There are also some really good mortgage rate predictions at that site as well.
Refinancing in 2009
There is a great article at Subprime Blogger about mortgage rate trends, check it out here:
Mortgage Rate Trends – Refinance Rates Continue to Head Lower?
There are also some great links in the article to resources that will help you get a lower refinance rate.
Subprime Still Killing Fannie Mae?
Yesterday we learned that Fannie Mae still needs another $19 even after the government has been assisting them for over a year. I know that the subprime mortgage crisis was bad, but is it going to continue to last for many years into the future? I guess we better make sure to read every relevant mortgage blog out there to get our information.
Mortgage Rates Decline Below 4.8% with the Help of the Obama Mortgage Plan
When President Obama released his mortgage plan in March, one of the intentions was to lower mortgage rates to assist those who wanted to save money by refinance. Little did President Obama know that Ben Bernanke would sink over $1 trillion into mortgage backed securities. Oh wait… Now that the Federal Reserve has printed as much money as the press will allow, mortgage rates have fallen well below 5%. With rates at historic lows, one must admit that the Obama Mortgage Plan has been somewhat of a success.
We still do not know how many refinances are actually being completed, but we know the amount of applications continues to rise. In the next few months we will find out if these applications are actually completing the process or are they getting held up due to the decline in home prices. Ultimately, the goal of hte Obama Mortgage Plan is to find a floor in home prices and that has yet to happen. By pushing mortgage rates well under 5% there is a very good chance that many first time home buyers will make the leap.
President Obama can only hope that this will be the case as unemployment continues to take its toll on the overall economy. Many financial pundits predict that the housing market and increasing home prices will lead us out of this recession. If that is the case, now might be one of the best times in history to refinance your current mortgage or take the leap and buy your first home.
Daily Mortgage Rates News – Bernanke Sees Recovery in the Housing Market
No Closing Cost Refinance with a Low Mortgage Rate?
One of the main reasons that home owners do not refinance is the closing costs that are involved. I am sure we all know someone who has shrugged off the idea of refinancing because they feel that closing costs are going to outweigh the money they will save. In some cases this is true. If you are not going to save at least one percentage point on your mortgage, it is likely that closing costs will outweigh savings; especially in the short term.
If home owners were proposed a no closing cost refinance that would change the minds of many about going through the refinance process. While it is not common, there are no closing cost refinance lenders out there. Sometimes lenders offer no closing costs but the cost are actually rolled into the mortgage balance. In essence, you will be saving absolutely no money if this is the case; it is just a ploy to get more customers in the door.
True no closing cost refinance lenders do not offer the lowest possible rate. The rates they offer are slightly higher than the current rates. With today’s low mortgage rates of 4.8% it might be worth it to incur a higher rate to save on closing costs. Saving every penny in today’s economy might be the difference in being a financial success or a debt ridden failure. A no closing cost refinance is one way you could save quite a bit of money.
Refinance Rates Falling with Mortgage Rates
Refinance Appraisal – Will this Step Hurt My Chance to Refinance?
Highest Paid CEOs – #15 James T. Hackett, Anadarko Petroleum
James T. Hackett, the CEO of Anadarko Peteroleum, comes in at #15 on the highest paid American CEO’s List. His compensation package is as follows:
Base Salary: $1,510,385
Bonus: $3,416,491
Perks: $571,276
Stock: $9,572,026
Options: $ 7,121,658
In 2008, Anadarko Petroleum (APC) stock lost 41.3% in the market; during the same time frame, Mr. Hackett saw a 17% decline in his salary. James T. Hackett received a BS from the University of Illinois in 1975 and an MBA from Harvard in 1979. Anadarko’s mission from their website is as follows:
Anadarko’s mission is to deliver a competitive and sustainable rate of return to shareholders by developing, acquiring and exploring for oil and gas resources vital to the world’s health and welfare.
I am a firm believer that the commodities bull market has yet to see it’s strongest run so Mr. Hackett is likely to continue to make a large sum of money over the next few years.
Cash Analysis – How Much Cash Do You Really Need?
In the current economy, many people are wondering just how much cash they will need to survive without any income. When doing a cash analysis, Americans are often told that they need three months worth of pay for emergency purposes. Well, in the current economy, I would argue that you need much more than that due to the extreme amount of layoffs.
I do not want to sound pessimistic, but it is better to be safe than sorry in this economic environment. If you only have three months worth of salary saved and are without a job for six months, you are going to go into debt; possibly deep in debt. If you managed your money wisely before the unfortunate events, you could be back in the workplace before you start digging yourself in debt.
The best way to do a cash analysis is to determine what it takes for you to live each month. You need to be completely honest with yourself when you come up with this number. If you fudge the numbers to be lower than reality, your cash analysis will not be correct. One of the easiest ways to do this is just to use the previous month. If there were no unusual expenses, it should be rather accurate to what you will need to live for a month. I would take that number and multiply it by six and write that number somewhere that you will see it every day.
Each day, your goal should be to get that amount of money at your cash disposal. When you have reached that amount, you will be financially stable enough to start investing money or putting it directly into your savings. If you can save six months worth of “survival” income you will be ahead of most of Americans today.
Mortgage Rate Trends – Housing Inventory Data Remains Historically High
Mortgage Rate Forecast – Mortgage Rates Trending Down in 2009
Stock Market Prediction – May 5th – Stock Market Turns Positive for 2009
Monday, May 4th, saw the overall stock market (S&P 500) turn positive for the year. The market surged when housing and construction data was released this morning. It was a pleasant surprise to see growth in both areas and the data was well above economic predictions. Overall, we saw the overall market up over 3.3%. Since the March 9th bottom, the overall market is up over 34%. An increase this large in two short months makes us wonder if the current trend is getting overbought.
The current level of S&P 500 912 seems to be the next level of resistence. Support continues to be at 848 so there is quite a bit of downside if we start to see some selling. The current uptrend looks very strong and seems to be headed for approximately 1100 on the S&P 500. Obviously there will be many dips along they way, but we are definitely in a cyclical bull within a secular bear market.
As I have said in the past, some of the strongest bull markets happen during a secular bear. If you have capital to invest, now might be the time to put it in the overall stock market.
Refinance Rates Falling with Mortgage Rates
Obama Stimulus Check will be on Your Paycheck through Tax Cuts
May Mortgage Rate Predictions – Mortgage Rates Stay Below 5%
There has been a surge in mortgage rate prediction searches on Google and for good reason. With mortgage rates going down what seems like each and every week, many home owners are seeking advice on the direction of rates. The best place to get mortgage rate predictions is here:
Mortgage Rate Predictions for May – Have We Seen a Short Term Bottom?
Subprime Blogger makes mortgage rate predictions each Monday and does a post on Thursday to reflect his accuracy. He has been spot on for the past three months so if you are interested in getting a mortgage, he is the person to look to for advice.