All the reports released today showed signs of an improving economy – GDP (gross domestic Product) showed an increase of 5.7% for the 4th quarter, a full point better than expectations., Chicago PMI and the consumer confidence index also came in stronger than expected. Improvement in the economy (Good News) means a possibility of inflation down the road, so this is usually cause for the mortgage bond market to sell off and for mortgage rates to rise. But today the opposite occurred. Mortgage rates took in all the good news and improved (marginally ) in spite of it. Go figure. The real reason mortgage rates are better is because first, we are still in the same range, and traders are picking their buy and sell points based on points in this range, which means we will head back the other way sometime next week. The second reason for the improvement is because stocks sold off again today. When money comes out of stocks, bonds, and mortgages improve. Whether this trend will continue, or not, we will know soon enough. In the mean time, rates are great, and if you are in a position to lock, you are going to get a great rate.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Unemployment claims came in slightly higher than expected this morning with initial  claims of 470,000 for the week. Durable Goods numbers were worse than expected, too. These reports both indicate that the economy is still bumping along and a recovery is still hidden behind some future bend. The State of The Union speech last night emphasized job creation, which everyone agrees is our nation’s biggest problem. The stock market approves. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s confirmation is up for a vote today, and though not all are in his camp, he is expected to get in for his second term. Add all this in and bonds are fluctuating, but mortgage rates are basically flat.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

The Fed has spoken, and rates are trending higher. At least for today. As always, the Fed parses their language, and in order to decipher their intent you need to read between the lines to see what they are thinking of the future, and how their actions will impact rates down the line. the take away from this announcement is that the economy is picking up and we are in far better shape then we were at this time last year. But any improvement will be moderate because of high unemployment, a weak housing market and tight credit. This means inflation is not on the horizon and the Fed is more concerned with maintaining conditions for a growing economy. The Fed will keep rates at or near zero, for an extended period of time. This language should be friendly toward mortgage rates, but they also reaffirmed that they were ending the mortgage bond repurchase program (as expected) at the end of March. The net result is that rates are a little worse this afternoon than they were this morning, but we are still in the same range we have been in for the last month. Mortgage rates are still near their lows, but that may not last.

Here is the complete text of their statement:

Release Date: January 27, 2010
For immediate release

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in December suggests that economic activity has continued to strengthen and that the deterioration in the labor market is abating. Household spending is expanding at a moderate rate but remains constrained by a weak labor market, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Business spending on equipment and software appears to be picking up, but investment in structures is still contracting and employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Firms have brought inventory stocks into better alignment with sales. While bank lending continues to contract, financial market conditions remain supportive of economic growth. Although the pace of economic recovery is likely to be moderate for a time, the Committee anticipates a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability.

With substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and with longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation is likely to be subdued for some time.

The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. To provide support to mortgage lending and housing markets and to improve overall conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve is in the process of purchasing $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities and about $175 billion of agency debt. In order to promote a smooth transition in markets, the Committee is gradually slowing the pace of these purchases, and it anticipates that these transactions will be executed by the end of the first quarter. The Committee will continue to evaluate its purchases of securities in light of the evolving economic outlook and conditions in financial markets.

In light of improved functioning of financial markets, the Federal Reserve will be closing the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility, the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, and the Term Securities Lending Facility on February 1, as previously announced. In addition, the temporary liquidity swap arrangements between the Federal Reserve and other central banks will expire on February 1. The Federal Reserve is in the process of winding down its Term Auction Facility: $50 billion in 28-day credit will be offered on February 8 and $25 billion in 28-day credit wil be offered at the final auction on March 8. The anticipated expiration dates for the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility remain set at June 30 for loans backed by new-issue commercial mortgage-backed securities and March 31 for loans backed by all other types of collateral. The Federal Reserve is prepared to modify these plans if necessary to support financial stability and economic growth.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Donald L. Kohn; Sandra Pianalto; Eric S. Rosengren; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against the policy action was Thomas M. Hoenig, who believed that economic and financial conditions had changed sufficiently that the expectation of exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period was no longer warranted.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

The law of unintended consequences kicks in again this week, and this means a big change for the condo market here in Chicago and around the country. The FHA spot loan expires as of February 2^nd, so this is the last week that spot loans will be accepted. HUD (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) which administers FHA, is now switching entirely to a new condominium approval process. While this looked like great news when it was first announced several months back, the reality is that this is turning into a major headache for lenders, and condo buyers. For now, there will be fewer condo properties that are eligible for FHA financing, making it harder for buyers without a large down payment to get the best financing.

Over the last few years, as conventional guidelines and extra mortgage insurance regulations made condo financing tougher, the FHA spot loan became one of the best routes to get condo financing. FHA requires that condos be approved and meet their guidelines. Back in the old days, developers would petition for condo project approval when they were still building or rehabbing the project. Over the years though, FHA became close to irrelevant. The approval process was paper work intensive and a pain to go through, the FHA max mortgage didn’t keep up with the increase in home prices, and especially as the market boomed, private lenders came in with all sorts of alternatives for low and no down payment condo buyers. So over the last 15 years (excluding last year) few new condominiums here in the Chicago area have been added to the list. The FHA spot loan process filled this void. The FHA spot loan was a way to approve one condominium unit, not the entire building. This was part of the purchase process, and while we were going through the work of approving the borrower, we would approve the condo unit at the same time. This was a great program and it helped a lot of buyers buy with all the benefits of an FHA mortgage. But there were some big problems with the spot loan.

• The FHA spot loan didn’t apply to smaller buildings, so those buying condos from converted 2,3 and 4 units couldn’t use the program.
• The FHA spot loan didn’t accept condos which had a “first right of refusal” language in their Decs and Bylaws. The reasoning behind this was that this cause could be used to discriminate, but the reality was that most of the older properties had this clause.

From HUD’s point of view, the spot loan was a problem because they didn’t have control, and loans were closed and funded on properties that didn’t meet the guidelines. So they came up with a new condo approval process which was designed to fix these problems. The new condo approval process allows properties that have the right of first refusal clause, and it can be used with projects as small as 2 units. Under the new process, you could approve a new condo in two ways. First, you could go directly to HUD (HRAP) and file all the paper work directly with them, which a lot of smart developers have been doing over the past year. The second way was what appeared to be most promising. FHA Direct Endorsement lenders (I work for one) would have the authority to approve the projects on their own (DELRAP). This could work like a spot loan in that when the borrower bought a new condo, as part of the approval process, we would scrutinize the building and approve the project at the same time. Once a direct endorsement lender approved a project it would be added to the FHA approved list and then any other lender who made FHA mortgages was able to also provide FHA financing for the entire project. But here is where the law of unintended consequences kicks in.

Under the new FHA condo approval process, HUD needed more documentation, and more express warranties from the direct endorsement lender approving the project. If the lender got something wrong – and some of the documentation needed is hard to insure accuracy – this means the lender is on the hook with HUD for any loans made in the project. This means a lot of risk for a small reward. The deadline for this was extended twice while HUD tried to iron out the kinks and get the lenders on board, and they allowed the spot loan to continue as a way to keep financing open. But now the spot loan is about to become history, and the new improved process isn’t ready to take its place.

Condo buyers can still buy anything that is currently on the FHA approved condo list, but what are the options if they want to buy in a building that hasn’t been approved? And how about developers (or those who want to sell a condo, including the seller and the Realtor) what options do they have for getting their project approved? Being able to finance with FHA is a a real competitive advantage in this market. And properties with FHA financing are selling quicker and this appears to make them more valuable. There are also a lot of newer properties that don’t meet conventional guidelines because they haven’t sold and closed on enough units, but would be eligible for FHA financing.  Tune back in, and I’ll have more on these situations shortly.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424 First time home buyer loans

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   Chicago Mortgage Company

President Obama is about to announce that the Government is going on a diet, of sorts. The new plan  will freeze non-security related Government spending (with some exceptions) and is supposed to mean a savings of $250 billion in savings over the next 10  years. There has been so much fear in the financial markets based on the increased Federal debt, so this is probably a good political move. But saving with one hand while spending with the other is likely to continue for some time. The mortgage rates market has benefitted over the last year as the Fed aggressively bought mortgage backed securities. They have now spent 92% of the amount allotted for purchase, and the program is near the end. In normal markets (remember those?) mortgage rates would shoot higher as we near the expected close date. That hasn’t happened yet, and part of the reason may be that some traders are expecting that someone is going to come in and pick up the slack so mortgage rates don’t spike higher. High (relative) mortgage rates could put a hit on the housing market, which so there will be a real push to keep rates in an affordable range. The Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets tomorrow, and there is likely to be some volatility as we wait to see what they have to say on this, and how it will affect mortgage rates. Anticipation! For now, rates are great.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

As we end the week, mortgage bonds end slightly off for the day (hitting technical resistance levels), but much improved on the week. Heading into the weekend we are seeing the best mortgage rates of the last month. So the $64,000 question is, will this last? Will mortgage rates continue to improve, or is this just a nice positive bump in the midst of an upward move? All the smart money is saying that mortgage rates will rise this year, probably soon. The big mover is the fact that the FED will be ending their mortgage backed securities purchase program ($1.25 Trillion worth) at the end of the first quarter. But some people are saying they will find a way to back door the buying (maybe through Government entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and continue to keep rates low. If this is going to happen, we should be getting some kind of sign soon. In the mean time the rate movement is really a function of the weakness in the stock market. Today was the 3rd down day in a row. Stocks have surged in the last year and a pullback in prices isn’t unreasonable. But the trend is still holding so far, so we could see stocks regain their Mojo on Monday, and if that happens mortgage rates are likely to move higher, again. If you are in a position to lock, this could be a good time to do so.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Stocks are down and mortgage rates improving. Money flows from one area to another, based on where it is likely to earn the highest return. Today the stock market is off, so money flows into the relative safety of bonds. Mortgage bonds are benefitting, so the trend in mortgage interest rates is improving. The improvement in mortgage bonds doesn’t immediately translate into lower rates, but again, the trend is favorable.  Part of the reason that stocks are taking a hit today is because President Obama has announced that they will start a new regulatory push against the big banks. Regulatory reform has been on the back burner all year, and with the bankers taking big bonuses after taking on massive bailouts to keep them afloat after they wrecked the economy, this is sure to be a popular position on Main Street. But there is a big difference between talking tough and acting tough. We will see what happens and how long before anything changes. If this gets pushed further into the future, stocks will recover, but for now the trend is going in the right direction for Chicago mortgage rates.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Stocks were off and mortgages are trending in the right direction again. FHA announced some big changes today which will help prop up their reserve fund, but will make it costlier to buy. One more reason why first time home buyers should buy now, rather than waiting until later in the year. Stocks recovered as the day went on. We’ll see tomorrow if this was just a blip, or if declining stocks is a trend. If stocks keep falling mortgage rates could drop lower. Either way, there is no question that these are great rates today.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

FHA is making changes to insure their long term survival and increase their reserve fund, and these changes mean it will be more expensive for home buyers. FHA has  been talking about these changes over the last several months, but now it is official. The biggest change is an increase in the Up-Front mortgage insurance FHA charges on every loan. FHA doesn’t make loans, they act as a mortgage insurance fund insuring lenders against loan losses through the mortgage insurance charged on each loan. FHA handles this in two ways, a small (compared to conventional mortgages) monthly charge, and a large chuck up front, which is usually financed into the loan. The up-front MIP (mortgage insurance premium) is currently 1.75%, but with this announcement it will soon increase to 2.25%.

The way this works, if a first time home buyer or other buyer buys a home at $100,000 with a minimum 3.5% down payment, they will have a mortgage of $96,500 plus the new Up -Front MIP (2.25%) of $2,171, so the actual mortgage will be based on the adjusted price of $98,671. If the interest rate on the mortgage is 5.25%, the mortgage payment would be about $545 per month, $21 more than the payment with the current premium . This change is due to go into effect this Spring.

The other major change is a reduction in the FHA allowed seller concession from 6% of the purchase price down to 3%. This brings FHA in line with conventional guidelines,. The seller concession is usually used to pay for the buyer’s closing costs, and allows buyers to buy a home with out having a lot of extra costs beyond their minimum down payment. This change won’t have much of an impact on most home buyers. Even in higher cost areas like Chicago (which has a high buyer paid transfer tax) 3% is enough to pay for most costs the buyer will take on. The people who this will affect the most, are those who are buying lower priced homes. If a first time home buyer is buying a $250,000 home with a 3% seller concession this is $7,500. If they are buying a $50,000 condo it is only $1,500, which when you figure in bank costs, title charges, attorneys fees transfer tax and the like, this won’t be nearly enough to cover the costs. So buyers of lower priced units will need to save more before they can buy. This change is not likely to happen until Summer.

Other changes include an increase in the minimum credit score required for FHA to 580, but almost all the lenders have already increased their FICO requirements to 620, so this should have little or no effect. FHA also announced that they will enhance monitoring to increase enforcement on FHA lenders to make sure they are adhering to all the rules and guidelines.

FHA still offers a 3.5% down payment and it still offers terms which are better for most first time home buyers, or anyone else who is buying with a lower down payment. These are all common sense guidelines, and though it will make financing a little more expensive, the health of the program for the long term makes this a good trade-off. But if you are a first time home buyer in the market to buy, this gives you one more reason (along with the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit and record low mortgage rates) to buy now, instead of putting it off until later.

,Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

There isn’t a lot of economic data coming out today, so the mortgage bond market is treading water, off a little, but not enough to make a difference. Home builder sentiment came in low, but it has been down about dirt level for well over a year, so that isn’t making a big impact. The consensus is that rates are going to go up at some point, but we just don’t know when that will be. If you are in a position to lock into a rate (you have a contract and know when you are supposed to close), this is probably a good time to lock. We could get better in the short term, but the risk is heavier than the reward.

Here are the current Chicago Illinois Home mortgage rates for an A+ (740 Fico or above), full doc single family home purchase or rate/term refinance on a 45 day rate lock, with 0 points, and no origination fee. Mortgage rates in other states may be slightly different, give me a call and I will give you an accurate quote for your particular situation. The conventional and FHA rates are based on the highest conforming loan amounts, which give the best pricing. Again, there are many factors which affect mortgage rates and your ability to be approved for a loan. These rates may not fit your situation and this is just a sample of the programs that are out there. If you would like a quote for your personal situation, or to get pre-approved for a mortgage, give me a call or contact me (Illinois mortgage company) and I’ll take the time to find the rate and program that is best for you:

Conventional loans up to $417,000

For Jumbo loans over $417,000

(Another option is to break your Jumbo loan into 2 parts – conventional to the limit of $417,000 and a HELOC or fixed second mortgage for the rest. The blended rate is usually much better than a single loan would be.)

FHA LOANS – 3.5% down payment – FHA Maximum varies by County

FHA APR reflects 3.5% down payment and the effect of mortgage insurance on the loan. Call for information on no-cost FHA streamlined Refinances

FHA 203K Rehab Loans

Call for Quote

VA Veterans Administration 0 Down Loans

Call for information on no-cost VA Streamlined Refinances

These are just a few of the mortgage programs and mortgage rates available. Which option is best for you depends on your own specific goals and needs. If you have any questions or want to go over your situation in depth, let me know how I can help.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company