I’m always on the lookout for information that will help you stay informed, empowered, and grow your business.
Myth Buster of the week:
Some banks will tell you this, and it is a common misconception.
You do NOT need 2 years of employment to get a mortgage.
If your client has been in school, a technical training program, or job layoff re-training program, and they have a new job in their field of study, they can qualify for a home loan. All they need is the employment letter or first pay-stub.
If your client has had a gap in employment, they can still qualify up to 6 months with a simple explanation. If they were laid-off for more than 6 months or graduated a while ago, they must be on the job for at least 6 months. So the 2 year thing is for the banks to protect themselves not the hard and fast rule.
Economic news:
Wow what a week! The Fed announced that they would ease their buying of bonds called QE3 by a little over 10% . Since this is a small cut back, the market reacted slightly.
As I said before, it was inevitable that The Fed would start to ease back on QE3, but the mild market reaction is a good sign.
The filings for unemployment were up, home sales were lower for the first time in 29 months, which caused the market to react more strongly; causing rates to go down a little on Friday.
Money and emotions are forever intertwined. Bad news means low rates, good news means higher rates.
Special Announcement:
Did you receive my announcement that I am looking to add a few more Realtors to my referral network?
I will be having a luncheon to explain a new program that I’m launching in 2014, and the marketing systems we have in place here at my office on Friday January 3rd at 12 PM.
If you did not get the invitation and criteria, please let my assistant Linda know at linda@stratisfinancial.com.
FHA announcement:
Don’t forget that the FHA loan limit for a single unit (house or condo) for high cost area, that’s our area, will be going down from $729,750 to $625,500.
So have your clients who are buying and refinancing to call me today!
If we order their case number before January 1, so December 27th to be safe, then you get the higher loan amount. Don’t lose a sale by letting time run out.
Your Friday Rate Sheet
**conforming means loans under $417,000. Conventional means Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
If you have a client who is close to having an offer accepted and is nervous about rates, don’t worry because interest rates can be locked in over the weekend.
Remember we also have the float down: if rates improve more than .25% after lock-in the client gets the lower rate.
All rates are quoted at a 45 day lock in and assume a 720 credit score with 20% down except for FHA.
1 point is 1% of the loan.
Programs quoted as having 1 point also have the option of 0 points and the option of the 0 cost loan.
Jumbo loans are loans that have a loan amount of $625,501 and above on conventional programs.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me at athena@athenapaquette.com. or call 310-218-6855.
Athena Paquette