Nc Mortgage Rates | NC FHA Expert

Mortgage Rates for NC 6-25-2010

“There was a 7-year Treasury Note auction yesterday that was a little bit stronger than expected. Despite that encouraging news, Mortgage backed securities fell…” So, what the heck does that mean?? Looking at this chart of the 10 Year Treasury Bond (which is really our Government Bonds that people and Institutions purchase… you can see that we are at or near as low as we were a couple of weeks ago. Mortgages trade on the Bond Market – and are called MBS (Mortgage Backed Securites). Currently – 30 year mortgages follow the 10 yr TBill “pattern.” When the TBills go up… rates go up – when they go down GENERALLY rates will go down.

When the Mortgage Backed Securities are “off” or “down” – you’d think rates would be DOWN… but NO! That’s trader talk for rates are moving HIGHER! Are you confused yet?

The News and Observer (our local paper) ran a huge story today that rates are at their lowest point and you should refinance… well, they are “almost” at their lowest point. We actually were lower for a couple of days at the end of May… but it’s still a good time to consider a refinance if your rate is adjustable, or you’re at 6% or higher.

So which direction are mortgage loan rates in North Carolina headed? Data today started off with the GDP report. Real GDP was reported at 2.7%, just below expectations of 3.0% and the GDP Price Index was reported at 1.1%, just above the 1.0% expected. Overall, a fairly benign report.

Consumer Sentiment was released as well this morning and was reported at 76.0, slightly above expectations of 75.5 and up from the 75.5 in the last report. Some Economist believe that this rise in Consumer Sentiment means that the high levels of Jobless Claims may be a result of some “special factor” (like the Gulf Oil) and not due to actual deterioration in the labor market. That kind of thinking aims at a continued economic recovery and a better jobs picture than has been presented with its respective data.

What does this mean for North Carolina Mortgage Rates? Mortgage rates have been trading in a “range.” Although the day to day movement is very volatile… the long-term outlook is not perfect for even lower mortgage rates, so you really need to watch the 10 year TBill (look at the chart – every time we hit this low mark we pop back up!). We hit a mark below 4.5% for just about 48 hours. If that’s the mortgage interest rate you are looking for – call us, and get on our Rate Watch List. We’ll call you when (if) we hit “your” rate!

Steve and Eleanor Thorne, Mortgage Banker in Cary , 919-649-5058 North Carolina Mortgage Lenders.

FHA Appraisal NC Changes Effective1/1/2010

FHA Announced this week that it will make some “proceedural” changes to the appraisal process at the beginning of the year. They hope that the changes will, in some cases,

“help to expedite loan closing when a borrower decides to transfer their application to another lender during the transaction process. The changes also ensure that lenders are not obtaining second appraisals solely for the purpose of getting a higher value or eliminating required repairs.”

When a borrower (who is in process) moves their FHA loan from one lender to another, the original lender is required to move the FHA Case number to the new lender. At that time, most lenders will require a NEW appraisal. FHA wants to discourage this, and says you can only order a 2nd appraisal under limited circumstances.

These circumstances include:

The DE Underwriter for the second lender found material defects with the original appraisal.
The original appraiser is on the second lender’s exclusionary list.
The first lender failed to provide a copy of the appraisal in a timely
manner, which causes potential harm to the borrower for events outside of the borrower’s control. These events include rate lock expiration, purchase contract deadlines and foreclosure proceedings.
In all cases the lender must document the loan file regarding the reason for the second appraisal and both copies of the appraisal reports must be retained in the case binder.

In addition to THESE changes – FHA also announced that they will be changing procedures for ordering FHA appraisals, which move them firmly closer to the HVCC ruling that Fannie and Freddie adopted earlier this year.

FHA will prohibit appraisals ordered by mortgage brokers or borrowers, in addition to the current restriction of real estate agents’ involvement in the appraisal order process. Does this mean that a Broker can not order an appraisal? No. It simply means that they can not SPEAK to the appraiser, and it will be ordered on a rotation basis, OR ASSIGNED by the LENDER. This process has worked POORLY for the consumer (IMHO) and I’m sad that FHA took this position. But – these are the rules, and we will work with them!

If you are looking for a FHA Mortgage in Cary, considering a purchase in Raleigh, or refinance in Johnston County, call Steve and Eleanor Thorne! We know all of the mortgage program details, and we have the LOWEST Mortgage Rates in NC!!