Total Mortgage Services Opens New Ridgefield, CT Office

By on May 17, 2013

Grand_Open

Last night’s ribbon cutting ceremony: from left to right: Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi, Total Mortgage President John Walsh, Total Mortgage executive Bill Schettler, Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce Chairman Nancy O’Donnell, and Lou-Ann Daprato.

As part of its ongoing expansion efforts, Total Mortgage Services officially opened its new branch office in Ridgefield, Connecticut last night.  The office is located at 23 Catoonah Street.

Total Mortgage Services has been expanding exponentially over the past three years, and has been on the Inc 5000 list for the fasting-growing privately held companies in the United States for three consecutive years.

Total Mortgage believes that the satellite office will be able to better serve the Fairfield County area.

Lou-Ann Daprato is heading up the Ridgefield branch.  Lou-Ann has over twenty five years experience in the mortgage industry, and can be reached at 203-244-2227.

Current Mortgage Rates for Friday, May 17, 2013

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mortgage ratesMortgage rates improved significantly yesterday when mortgage bonds rallied following a raft of poor economic data.  This morning we’re giving back some of the ground that we made up yesterday after the highest Consumer Sentiment reading in nearly six years.  I would be surprised if all of yesterday’s gains end up being erased, but MBS have been real volatile of late, making it exceptionally difficult to guess what will happen in the short term.

Want to save on your monthly mortgage payment? Click here for today’s rates or call us today at 866-896-5826.

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FHA to Change Annual MIP Cancellation Policy on June 3

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fhaIt’s impossible to mention mortgages and the Federal government in the same sentence without provoking emotions. So when the FHA announced major changes to it’s MIP cancellation policy, reaction was not muted.

In a recent column by real estate journalist Ken Harney, one comment was clear: “That stinks,” said Steve Stamets, a mortgage officer with Apex Home Loans in Rockville, Md. “It’s just a money grab” that will cause creditworthy borrowers to avoid FHA loans and seek out low-down-payment alternatives through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, using private mortgage insurance.

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FHA 203k Loans Help Make Home Renovations Possible

By on May 16, 2013

repair escrowWhile home values are on the rise in many parts of the country, people hoping to purchase homes that need work or those homeowners looking to do some renovations on their existing home are still fairly limited in their financing options to pay for renovations.

Fortunately, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) offers a program called Section 203(k). Section 203(k) is an FHA program designed for borrowers who would like to rehabilitate or repair a single-family property. The Section 203(k) program is not new, however, it is not as recognizable as other forms of financing homeowners across the county have utilized in the past to renovate their homes. The more conventional method of making repairs to a home came in the form of cash-out refinancing. These loans became far less prevalent given the decline in home equity when the housing bubble burst.

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Mortgage Rates for Thursday, May 16, 2013

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mortgage ratesMortgage backed securities continued to be volatile yesterday.  An early rally was erased in the afternoon, and mortgage rates were essentially flat on the day.  This morning MBS are trading higher following a raft of disappointing economic data. Over the past two weeks or so, we’ve seen a lot of morning rallies wiped out in the afternoon.  If the rally persists, we’ll likely see better mortgage pricing today.

Want to save on your monthly mortgage payment? Click here for today’s rates or call us today at 866-896-5826.

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New Challenges Face Home Buyers This Summer

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mortgage ratesSpring has sprung and home buyers are at the starting gate. But this race to buy might be different than in past years. 

A fairly new player on the scene are institutional investors; many ready to pay with cash. The primary strategy is to turn property into rental homes. “There are many markets across the country where it makes sense to do that. The average rent will allow you to cash flow single family homes and that’s what these investors are looking at,” explained said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. “You have many displaced families who still want to live in a single family home but are not qualified to buy yet. Interest rates are low and they’re getting out of the bond market and are looking for places to invest their money. Some of the best markets are showing a 10% return by renting out the property. And that’s just for the rental. The value of the property is going up as well.”

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Underwater? Refinance With HARP and Save

By on May 15, 2013

mortgage ratesWould you like to refinance but are underwater on your mortgage?  We may be able to help you out with the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).  HARP is a government program that was designed to let people with negative equity take advantage of today’s historically low mortgage rates.

Many homes declined in value greatly after the housing bubble burst, leaving many home owners owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth (this is known as being underwater, upside down, or having negative equity).  In the past, most lenders would not underwrite a new mortgage if a borrower was underwater, which kept people from refinancing.

Thankfully for millions of underwater homeowners, this is no longer the case.  At Total Mortgage we are now able to refinance eligible borrowers with underwater homes through HARP with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios up to 150%*.

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Mortgage Rates for Wednesday, May 15, 2013

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mortgage ratesSometimes you’re wrong, and other times you’re really wrong.  Yesterday was one of those times.  Mortgage backed securities were in the green through about midday, and then things came to a screeching halt and by the afternoon, MBS were way into the red, and mortgage rates had worsened considerably.  The reason for the sell-off?  There wasn’t much in the way of economic data yesterday, and as best I can tell, momentum caused mortgages to fall through key support levels, and then the bottom fell out.  This morning MBS are rallying again, but I’m loath to say that this will continue, given what has happened the last few days.

Want to save on your monthly mortgage payment? Click here for today’s rates or call us today at 866-896-5826.

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Current Mortgage Rates for Tuesday, May 14, 2013

By on May 14, 2013

mortgage ratesYesterday mortgage backed securities sold off in the morning, but came back later in the afternoon almost to unchanged (mostly, anyway – Ginnie securities didn’t fare as well as Fannie and Freddie).   The sell-off seemed to be prompted in part by a positive Retail Sales report and partially by overnight foreign trading.  Early this morning MBS are improved, but I’m not sure that the rally will be sustained enough to warrant an improvement in rates.

Want to save on your monthly mortgage payment? Click here for today’s rates or call us today at 866-896-5826.

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Current Mortgage Rates for Monday, May, 13, 2013

By on May 13, 2013

up arrowMortgage backed securities got smacked around last week, leading to a sharp increase in mortgage rates.  The sell-off continues again this morning, much to my chagrin (fundamentally, I see little reason for the increase, and totally misread the markets last week – I’m still not ready to back off my call that rates will remain relatively flat through the end of the year, but at some point soon I may have to adjust expectations).

Want to save on your monthly mortgage payment? Click here for today’s rates or call us today at 866-896-5826.

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