WoWho! VA Does Not Requre A Credit Score!

January 19, 2012 by 5 Comments

veteran home loansWell… I wouldn’t get TOO excited! According to the underwriters I’ve talked to lately  – even though the VA doesn’t require a Credit Score, clean credit for at least the last 12 months is required.

Here’s good news!  No matter what your score is – as long as you meet the minimum score requirements, you will get the best Home Loan Rate for Veteran’s!  A lower score will not change your mortgage interest rate with a VA loan!

If you’ve had a Bankruptcy – you can still get a VA Mortgage loan. You must be at least 1 year out of Chapter 13 and 2 years out of Chapter 7.  Most underwriters want you to have re-established credit and have those “pesky” 12 months of clean credit. [Read more...]

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Is It Time To Refinance?

September 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Many of the people we are talking with WANT to refinance – but they figure it’s probably not worth it. Generally those sentiments run from two different camps, either the homeowner is concerned that they have no equity in the home to refinance (and don’t want to pay closing costs out of pocket), or they just figure they have a pretty good rate now, and don’t see a big difference from 5.75 to “whatever the mortgage rates are down to now.”

So let’s talk about what you SHOULD consider with a refinance…

The most fundamental consideration in whether a homeowner should refinance an existing mortgage is the break-even point, which means how soon the cost of the refinance will be recaptured through lower monthly payments. In general, most homeowners are looking for a three year recapture period.  If you are not going to recouperate in that time period… it might not make sense. [Read more...]

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Does Obama Know Something We Don’t About the Economy?

September 3, 2010 by 1 Comment

I read a TON of Economic Newsletters, watch CNBC, and Congressional hearings… I’m an economic junkie who misses Louis Rukeyser!  I’m always looking to see if I can figure out which way rates are headed.

So when the President came on the news this week to announce that the war in Iraq was over, and the pundits started asking why it was only a 15 minute address – I was kinda’ let down, because I had also been expecting that he would take this chance to give folks a “Positive Message” when it comes to the markets.

Without that Presidential Guidance, I’m back to the Economic Numbers for insight.  And here’s what they are telling me:

  • “… the public is no longer investing in stocks, but rather in bonds.  So far this year through July, bond mutual funds have attracted $224.4bn in net inflows including reinvested dividends.  ” — Ed Yardeni, September 1, 2010.” Which means a Consumer Spending spree is not going to get the Economy going.
  • “The Fed terminated the purchases of $1.25 trillion in GSE mortgages and mortgage-related paper in March.  Simultaneously, the housing-purchases credit subsidy ceased in April.  Housing went into relapse, as most economists expected.  Simply put, subsidize something and you get more of it; remove the subsidy and you find that you have borrowed economic activity from the future, and now you get less of it.” Cumberland Advisors  Which means ANOTHER Tax Credit is not going to get the Economy going.
  • Case Shiller Numbers indicate that the Housing PRICEs actually went UP during the 2nd quarter.  “While some may see these price gains from the trough as a sign of bouncing along the bottom, most experts believe home prices nationally will fall again, but not necessarily immediately.”  Which means the Housing Market is not going to get the Economy going.
  • Private sector employment decreased by 10,000 from July to August on a seasonally adjusted basis…  and today’s non-farm payroll job’s numbers showed 54,000 jobs lost in August (many of those from the Census Jobs that are gone).  So there’s not a surge of Employment to get the Economy going.

So was it just that the President didn’t have any positive news… or does he know something we don’t know? One of my favorite charts is the Four Bad Bears.

Permission from D Short

As you look at this chart – this “Bear” looks just like the other three. Maybe we ARE heading into a little dip – but it’s not really that’s alarming!  When you stop just looking at the headlines, and you look at the long term trend… things are not sky rocketing up, but they don’t look that bad! We are going to have a slowly improving picture!

Mortgage Interest Rates typically get LOWER when there’s BAD NEWS in the Economy… and they go UP when there’s good news. Believe it or not – the last three days we’ve had higher rates!  The Dow is Happy!

That’s not good news if you are waiting to Refinance!  NOW is probably the time to do it!

If you are considering a Refinance, call Steve and Eleanor Thorne, 919-649-5058  We have the best rates available, we offer FHA Streamline Refinances, Conventional financing, USDA Home Loans and VA Mortgage Loans!

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Options for Refinancing Veteran Loans

May 18, 2010 by 1 Comment

 

 

VA Mortgage Loans have No Downpayment

Bad news in the Economy is GOOD news for mortgage rates – and if you have a VA mortgage loan, it might be time to consider a refinance!  Seriously, if you are over 5.5% – you should call or txt today (919-649-5058).

One of the best options for a Veteran is an Interest Rate Reduction Loan (gotta’ love the military acronyms IRRL)… also referred to as a Streamline. This refinance program is a government backed mortgage loan for active duty and prior service veterans who already have an existing VA loan.

Credit qualifying is not required. This means that even if you have bad credit, as long as you have not had more than 1 thirty day late mortgage payment in the last 12 months, you may still be eligible for a VA streamline refinance.

VA streamline refinancing lets you refinance your existing VA home loan with no out of pocket expenses. All closing cost and pre-paids can be rolled into the loan amount.

No appraisal is required! You can skip up to 2 payments, and get existing escrow account refunded back to you!

The Streamline program is just for Interest Rate Reduction- meaning this is NOT for the Veteran who is wanting to take cash out of the property.  The Cash Out Refinance Program for Veteran mortgage loans have these fetures:

  • The cash-out proceeds can be used for any purpose.
  • A VA home loan refinance under the cash-out program differs from the VA streamline refinance in that an appraisal is required and you must qualify for the loan.
  • Also, unless you are exempt, VA  charges a 3% funding fee for this program, however, the fee can be rolled into the loan amount.

If you are considering a VA refinance, please call Steve and Eleanor Thorne, Mortgage Banker in Cary 919-649-5058.  We know how to make this program work for you!

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2% Mortgage Rate on Refinance?

March 4, 2009 by Leave a Comment

The Obama Administration outlined today their efforts to help borrowers who need to refinance – and for various reasons can not.

If you’ve made your payments on time, here’s the current plan being floated… REMEMBER! This must be approved by Congress!

A Home Affordable Refinance Program to Provide Access to Low-Cost Refinancing for Responsible Homeowners Suffering From Falling Home Prices:

“Provide the Opportunity for Up to 4 to 5 Million Responsible Homeowners to Refinance: Mortgage rates are currently at historically low levels, providing homeowners with the opportunity to reduce their monthly payments by refinancing. But under current rules, most families who owe more than 80% of the value of their homes have a difficult time securing refinancing. (For example, if a borrower’s home was worth $200,000, he or she would have limited refinancing options if he or she owed more than $160,000.) Yet millions of responsible homeowners who put money down and made their mortgage payments on time have – through no fault of their own – seen the value of their homes drop low enough to make them unable to take advantage of these lower rates. As a result, the Obama Administration’s program will provide the opportunity for up to 4 to 5 million responsible homeowners who took out loans owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs) to refinance through the two institutions over time. Reducing Monthly Payments: For many families, a low-cost refinancing could reduce mortgage payments by thousands of dollars per year. For example, consider a family that took a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $207,000 with an interest rate of 6.50% on a house worth $260,000 at the time. Today, that family has $200,000 remaining on their mortgage, but the value of that home has fallen 15% to $221,000 – making them ineligible for today’s low interest rates that generally require the borrower to have 20% home equity. Under this refinancing plan, that family could refinance to a rate near 5.16% – reducing their annual payments by over $2,300. “Okay – here are some details!  The 5.16% rate mentioned above is the APR (they left that out).  There are also COSTS involved in refinancing which means that if your current rate is 6.5%, and the Obama Administration helps push mortgage rates to the mid to low 4% range – this might make sense.

The other BIG thing to notice is that they are talking about people who’s mortgage is currently owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. There’s a REALLY good chance your mortgage is owned by Wells Fargo, or BB&T or JP Chase Morgan and they don’t have to fall under these guidelines!
But it still doesn’t get us to that 2% mortgage rate on a refinance! THAT rate is only mentioned for folks who are about to lose their house… and that’s a TON more complicated!
For those details, click here.
If you want to find out more about qualifying to refinance in NC, please contact Steve and Eleanor Thorne, Corporate Investors Mortgage Group, 919-649-5058.


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Time To Refinance Your VA Loan??

March 31, 2008 by 14 Comments

va mortgage loansThe Veteran’s Administration Provides you with Four Different Refinance Solutions

    Actually this headline is incorrect.  The VA does not “make” mortgage loans.  They set guidelines and approve lenders to originate VA loans – but the VA does not actually MAKE the VA HOME LOANS.
  • VA Streamline Refinance: Mortgage Lenders also refer to these as Interest Rate Reduction Loan (IRRL).  For refinancing this is possibly the veterans greatest mortgage tool. Qualified veterans can quickly refinance to a lower rate, switch from and adjustable rate to a fixed rate loan, or from a fixed rate to an adjustable rate loan.

A veteran does not have to re-qualify for a VA streamline and in most cases an appraisal in not required. Most importantly, there are rarely any out of pocket costs for the veteran.  So… you’re just lowering your monthly payment!  How cool is that?

  • VA Cash Out Refinance: For the veteran with equity in their home, a VA cash out may allow you to put some of that money to work as needed. You may be able to use these equity funds to to make costly home improvements, pay college tuition, or enjoy a cruise around the world. It is your choice.  Fortunately, in North Carolina most properties are continuing to appreciate and build equity.
  • VA Debt Consolidation: Credit card debt, car loans, and home equity lines of credit can all carry high interest rates and make it difficult to manage your monthly payments. Veterans can consolidate these expensive obligations and combine them into one low fixed rate loan with a VA debt consolidation refinance.
  • Conventional Loan To A VA Loan: Veterans who do not currently have a VA Mortgage loan, but meet the VA eligibility requirements, can refinance with a VA Mortgage loan. If this is the case, then you should be able to refinance your current conventional home loan into a VA loan and take advantage of the many options that the VA home loan offers.  With many of the Conventional guidelines changing and requiring “cream of the crop” credit - many Veterans are finding this to be a Great Option!

We have years of experience helping Veterans Refinance their homes!  For more information about VA Mortgage LOANS, contact Steve and Eleanor Thorne Mortgage Banker in Cary , 919-649-5058

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