With the economy doing better we have notices that the interest rates are slowly on the rise. As of January 31 2018 here are the rates you can expect when you buy a home. These interest rates can change daily.

30 Year Fixed: 4.375-4.5%
FHA/VA 4.0 - 4.25%
15 Year Fixed 3.625 - 3.75%
5 Year Arms 3.0 - 3.5% Depending on the lending

     With that being said now is a good time to buy before the interest rates go any higher. I have a chart to help explain what happens when the interest rates go up.

            If you are interested in learning more or want to know what programs are out there that can help just give me a call or shoot me an email. I have lenders on my team that can help answer any questions you may have. To understand more about what has been going on with mortgages you can go to http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/consumer_rates/832564.aspx ...

Recently I have had people ask me "What if I find a home, but it needs repairs?". There is a loan program out there that allows you to add money to your loan for repairs or additions. For example, you found a home and you want to update the kitchen, or maybe you want to add an extra bedroom to the home. The house is selling for $200,000. This would be a good opportunity to get a 203K Loan. Your loan would be for $200,000 + the cost of the estimated repairs. Once your home goes under contract the next step would be to get a contractor out to the home ASAP and to give you an estimate of how much it would cost to do what you want to do. Let's say the cost will be $30,000. The next step is to have the appraiser look at the house and appraise the home as if the updates were complete. The total amount of the loan would be $230,000. 
                 If you would like more information please let me know. I have lenders that can still get ...

          The stock market posted modest losses during the holiday-shortened trading week while bond yields moved slightly lower. The 10-year treasury yield moved lower to 2.4054% after touching 2.50% in the prior week and ended 2017 nearly unchanged from the 2.45% mark where it ended in 2016.
          There was a smattering of mostly positive economic news released during week. Initial Jobless Claims were unchanged from the previous week at 245,000 and remained near historically low levels. Although the Consumer Confidence Index for December was lower than expected at 122.1, it followed November’s 17-year high reading of 128.6. Meanwhile, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for December had its best reading (67.6) since March 2011 while its New Orders Index reached a three-and-a-half year high and the Production Index hit a 34-year high.
Pending Home Sales for November were better than forecast, rising 0.2% to push the
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              I get a lot of new buyers asking if they should be pre-approved for a loan first before starting to look for a home. You do not need to be pre-approved for a loan to start your search, but it is highly recommended. 
              When you get pre-approved for a loan it helps us know what price range your search needs to be in. If you have been pre-approved for a loan for $300,000 we do not need to look at homes in the $400,000 range. It also helps the lender know what loan programs you qualify for. This can determine the down payment you will need and any assistance programs you may qualify for. Getting pre-approved for a loan also lets us know how well your credit score is. Sometimes there are things on a credit report that the buyer did not know was on there, or they need to do a little work on their credit before they can be pre-approved for a loan. Finally when you find the prefect home we don; ...

Weekly Review
               The stock market advanced to new highs in anticipation both houses of Congress would reach an agreement on a tax cut bill. It appeared on Friday the reconciliation process had run its course as House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady stated the conference committee had completed its negotiations. It now appears the Republican controlled congress has enough support to pass their tax reform bill with a final vote taking place sometime this coming week.
               Bond yields were largely unchanged for the week although 10-year Treasury yields slipped a little lower on softer than expected inflation numbers from the release of November’s Consumer Price Index (CPI). The November CPI came in at 0.4% as forecast but the Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was reported to have increased just 0.1% versus a consensus forecast of a 0.2% increase. Elsewe ...