My New Blog

So by now you all have heard that mortgage rates have dipped to new all time lows. As you can see it has been 29 days since I last blogged. A little because of the holidays, but lately because I have been busy taking calls from my family of clients and referrals on new clients.

Quickly, the reason rates have dipped is because the government started buying Mortgage backed securities (MBS), the first business day of this year. These are mortgages in short. They have been doing this to ease the liquidity problems of the banks. By purchasing the MBS off the banks hands , they assume it will free up the banks to lend more money and help businesses, and consumers.

Right now, if you have an FHA mortgage that you have been paying on time for the last 12 months (or if you bought or refinanced less then 12 months ago, on-time since you took out the new loan), then you are eligible for an FHA streamline refinance. This is a non-requalifying refinance offered by HUD and means no credit check, no income or employment verification , and no asset statements. So even if like one of my recent clients you are upside down on your home (but have an FHA or VA loan) you can do the streamline refinance to lower your rate! HOW? because we don't get your home appraised for the FHA or VA (version) of the streamline refinance. This is an awesome feature FHA and VA offer for their clients.

Why would you do the refinance? If you have 5.75% or higher I can show you how to save about $100,000 in interest in your loan. Even if you have had the loan for 5 years, it still makes sense to do it.

Another recent client of mine who is single had a bit of debt (You can't take out equity to pay off debt on a streamline refinance), as it is non-requalifiyng and there is no appraisal to reference. Anyway, we spent about 30-45 minutes over coffee to discuss her financial picture and how the refinance could propel her financially. Given a few variables of the refinance are a skipped payment and an escrow refund, I was able to show her how to become debt free (minus home) in 12 months.

I was digging around online for FHA rates and even on bankrate.com you only find 1 lender in Denver advertising for FHA loans. Although I don't know who they are or their FHA experience levels. That is because lenders have gone out of business left and right. Others frankly don't have extensive FHA experience.

Even with what I found online I can safely say we offer the lowest FHA rates in Denver. Being as I also run my branch I can assure you that you will get great service, care for your loan, honest advice, and low rates and competitive fees.

If you would like a few references let me know , I am sure many of my past clients would field a call to let you know how well we took care of them. Not too mention I actively monitor their loans to make sure that as I mentioned above, when I can save them $100,000 in interest I make the call and we go forward. But only when it benefits them. In this time that you are making potentially the last decision on your home to refinance at these rates, invest 30 minutes with me so I can educate you on many aspects and angles of the process and help you understand how to maximize your refinance for your overall financial picture.

It can definitely be overwhelming but let me guide you through the maze. Feel free to email with questions or call to apply.

Your mortgage guy~

Ray

 rwilliams@summit-mortgage.com,  303-779-0591 ext 101 and mention my blog, and don't forget to ask what the NO CLOSING COST OPTION really means.

I always am an advocate of news that is prevalent to us here in Colorado. So many of us here national news, but not local. Recession, real estate... you name it if you turn on the TV or pick up a paper it is all bad, but written by Washington Post or NY Times writers on the nation, not Colorado.

Here is an article put out by DBJ writer Renee McGaw~ Enjoy~

"Colorado is about two-thirds of the way through a recession that will end in late 2009, VectraBank Colorado’s chief economist said Wednesday at the bank’s annual economic forecast breakfast.

Most economists believe the national recession will end in the third or fourth quarter, economist Jeff Thredgold said. “I’m more of a fourth-quarter guy, myself.”

The U.S. recession, now in its 13th month, is the result of a “de-leveraging of a financial house of cards that was built up over the past 10 years,” Thredgold said. “We will get out of this. We will get through this.”

Vectra’s 16th annual Economic Forecast Breakfast was held at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts’ Donald R. Seawell ballroom.

Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said the state has been through worse.

“This is my fourth recession,” Clark said. “It’s like a bad marriage — it’s not very good, it’s self-destructive, but it’s pretty familiar and comfortable.”

Clark reminded the audience about Colorado’s downturn in the 1980s, the “flat spot” in the 1990s, and the dot-com bust of the early 2000s, when the state lost about 85,000 jobs in two years.

“The rest of the nation is doing much worse than we are,” Clark said. “If our unemployment rate was the same as it was in 1984, there would be 40,000 fewer people working today in metropolitan Denver than are. So this is a little bit about having the coolest seat in hell.”

Colorado has advantages now that it didn’t have in the past, including an economy that now ranks as among the top five most diversified in the country, Clark said. Prospect activity at the Metro Denver EDC was about the same at the end of 2008 as it was at the end of 2007, at about $455 million in capital investment, he said. Thirty companies have moved their corporate headquarters to Denver since 2003, he said.

Because Colorado’s economy is stronger than that of other states, “migration will come here,” Clark said. “People will move to places where they think they will have economic opportunity. Even with the Internet, they keep coming two years after you run out of jobs to give them.”

As a result, Colorado’s unemployment rate will rise in 2009, he said.

Patty Silverstein, president of Development Research Partners in Littleton and chief economist for the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., said the state can’t escape the national recession entirely.

“We are heading into negative territory in terms of employment growth,” Silverstein said.

Colorado’s job base will decline by 0.4 percent in 2009, she said. That would be the seventh year in its history that the state has lost more jobs than it created, and the third year since 2000.

Colorado’s job growth was a feeble 0.2 percent in the 12 months through November, the latest month for which data is available from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. December and full-year 2008 job data is due out on Jan. 27.

Silverstein forecast that Colorado’s unemployment rate would average 6.4 percent in 2009, up from the current 5.8 percent rate. Consumer prices will rise 2.2 percent in Colorado, while retail sales will be flat.

However, Colorado home prices will show a slight gain of 1 percent, and the median home price will rise to $228,000, in 2009, Silverstein said.

Total personal income will rise 2.7 percent in 2009, she said. During the first three quarters of 2008, Coloradans’ personal income growth has averaged just under 1.2 percent, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Colorado’s personal income growth was nevertheless the fourth fastest-growing in the nation in the third quarter."