Loan Application Alert : Conforming, Interest Only Mortgages Guidelines Change Next Week

If you plan to finance your Indianapolis home with a conforming interest only mortgage, get your loan application submitted no later than this Friday, June 18. 

Starting next week, Fannie Mae is clamping down on the popular loan product.

An "interest only" mortgage is exactly what its name implies -- a ...

FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums Approved To Triple In Cost

Starting sometime later this year, the monthly cost to carry an FHA-insured mortgage is expected to rise.

In a near-unanimous vote, the House of Representatives gave the FHA power to raise the monthly mortgage insurance premiums it charges to its borrowers.

Currently, monthly mortgage insurance premiums are 0.55% of ...

Conforming Loan Costs Are Rising, Says Freddie Mac

Mortgage rates may be dropping, but mortgage costs are not.

According to Freddie Mac, the average required discount points on a conforming mortgage rate are higher by 0.1 percent since early-May.

A "discount point" is prepaid mortgage interest; an up-front fee paid by a borrower in exchange for a ...

Fannie Mae's Loan Quality Initiative : Repulling Your Credit Just Before Closing

A new loan quality initiative from Fannie Mae is making it harder for  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 phase ...

The Right Way To Take A Cash Gift For Downpayment

As lenders tighten mortgage guidelines for Indianapolis 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 of home buyers accepting cash ...

Mortgage Approvals Are Getting More And More Scarce

The economy's improving but lending standards are not. Nationally, banks are making mortgage approvals harder to come by.

Underwriting guidelines are tightening.

The data comes from the Federal Reserve's quarterly survey to its member banks.  The Fed asks senior bank loan officers around the country to report on ...

Separating FHA Fact From Fiction : Mortgage Insurance Premiums

The mortgage lending landscape changes a lot.  Rates and guidelines are in constant flux, and it creates preparedness challenges for buyers in Indianapolis that aren't paying in cash.

The loan you get today won't always be the loan you get tomorrow.

Because of how frequently bank rules are ...

7 Ways To Protect Your Credit Score For Better Mortgage Rates

As mortgage lenders tighten approval standards in Indianapolis and nationwide, the importance of a good credit score is rising.  Credit scores not only make the difference between a mortgage approval and mortgage turn-down, but they also play a large role in determining your actual mortgage note rate.

In the 3-minute ...

First Time Home Buyers Down Payment Assistance

INDIANA HOUSING DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

If you are a first time homebuyer in Indianapolis, you should know your financing options. The Indiana Housing Program for first time homebuyers who are creditworthy, but may not have the initial upfront costs for downpayment and closing costs is a great option.

I ...

A Simple Explanation Of The Federal Reserve Statement (January 27, 2010 Edition)

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.

In its press release, the FOMC noted that the U.S. economy “has continued to strengthen”, that the jobs markets is getting better, and that financial markets are supportive ...