** This is a re-post of a previous article, but it is applicable now.

We live in interesting times. Over the last several years we have seen a series of refinance booms as rates dropped to what had previously been unthinkable rates. Each time rates dropped we were sure they couldn’t go any lower. But here we are again, and mortgage rates are the lowest they have been since they’ve been keeping track of mortgage rates. The reason for the drop in rates is due to fear of softness in the economy, and this isn’t good news. But when you , if you can save money by refinancing your mortgage this could help by lowering your monthly payment or cutting years off your loan and paying your house off early.

Why should you consider refinancing?

• You can lower your interest rate and payments.
• You can shorten your loan term and pay your mortgage off early.
• You can take cash out for home improvements, college expenses, investments, or whatever your needs may be.
• You can restructure your debts with a refinance to get rid of your high interest credit card balances and save hundreds of dollars per month.
• If you bought with a low down payment, you can often refinance to get rid of mortgage insurance or your higher rate second mortgage.

• You can get rid of an adjustable mortgage and lock in to a fixed rate.

These are just a few reasons you may want to take on a new mortgage. It is important, though, to make sure you know why you are refinancing and that it is really in your best interest. Refinancing isn’t the slam dunk easy transaction it was a few years ago. With home prices down this makes it harder for some homes to appraise out where they need to be, and mortgage guidelines are tighter than they were before, too.  But there are programs which make it easier to refinance even if you don’t have a lot of equity (or even no equity) in your home.

The FHA Streamline Refinance -This is available only if you already have an FHA mortgage. This is still the easiest and most inexpensive mortgage around, but it won’t help many of the people who need it most. The problem is that you may be able to lower your rate and your mortgage payment, but you will take on the new mortgage insurance rate, which is about twice as high as it used to be. But for those who fit in, it can lower your rate an payment you can refinance without a new appraisal and roll some of your costs into the new loan.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Home Affordable (Obama Refinance) – With these programs you can lower your mortgage rate even if your home value has gone down, and mortgage insurance will be based on what it was when you originally took on the loan (so if you didn’t have it then, you won’t have it now).

And of course, if you have been in your home for a while and have equity built up, you will have a lot of options to refinance in a way that best meets your long term needs. The big question then, is when does it make sense to refinance your mortgage? Refinancing can make a lot of sense if you are lowering your rate and payment without having to pay a lot up front. The more you have to pay to close the loan, the longer it will take for the lower mortgage payments to pay off the higher cost of getting the loan. This can still make sense if you are sure that you will be in the home for a long time, and you want to lock in the lowest rates. But too often the lowest rate isn’t the best value.

Mortgage pay Back – When does it make sense to refinance?

If you are thinking of refinancing your mortgage, you should always do a break even or pay back calculation. For this you need to know 3 things:

1. How much will you save by refinancing?
2. How much will it cost to refinance?
3. How long do you think you will stay in the home, and with this mortgage?

The first step is to determine how much you will save. For an example, if you now have a mortgage with a $200,000 balance and a 5.00% interest rate., your mortgage payment is about $1,073 per month. Now, if current rates are at 4.25% (this is only an example.  Call me if you want a personal quote) the new mortgage payment would be $984 per month. The lower rate means a savings of almost $91 each month. This is a great savings, especially when you look at it over the life of the loan, But does it make sense to refinance? Maybe. We still need to know more, though.

The next step is to find out how much it will cost to refinance. This is where it can get confusing. If you have spent any time on the Internet, you’ve seen lots of ads for mortgage companies claiming they offer the lowest rates. But low rates don’t mean a thing if you don’t look at the closing costs too. I’ve seen closing costs differ by as much as $6,000, so this is something that can make a huge difference. Closing costs include title fees, the cost of the appraisal and bank charges as well as points – which are upfront financing charges.

The difference in closing costs can make a big difference in whether the loan makes sense, or not. If you are paying $1,800 in total closing costs, it will take you about 19 months to payback the closing costs with the $91 savings from your new rate.  After that, every payment you make will be a true savings. But if that same loan cost $6,000 to close, then it would take over 5 years before you would get any benefit at all from refinancing. So the lowest rate isn’t always the best deal.

The last question, is how long you do you expect to be in your home and in the mortgage. If you plan to stay in the home for at least 10 years, then paying more to get a better rate might be the best strategy, especially if you think (like I do) that rates are about as low as they will ever go. But most people don’t stay in their home forever. If you aren’t sure how long you will stay in your home, you might be better served by getting a loan with lower closing costs. Even though the rate and payment may be a little higher, your savings will come much quicker.

No/Cost Illinois Mortgage Refinance

We can take this idea one step further. When rates are down, the biggest obstacle to homeowners lowering their payments and taking advantage of the low rates is the cost of refinancing. The more that the loan costs, the longer you will need to be in the new loan before refinancing makes sense. So if a loan costs a lot up-front, it takes a big improvement in the rates before it is worth doing. On the other hand, if there are no costs at all, a small reduction in the rates can save you a lot of money over time.

With a no-cost refinance we use the yield spread premium (the money that the wholesale or end lenders pay us to bring them the loan) to pay for the closing costs. When I price loans I have several different options. Every day the lenders we deal with send us new price sheets. These sheets have matrices which allow us (the mortgage banker or broker) to price the loan in different ways. It is common in the Chicago area to price a loan to show no points or origination fees, but with the customer paying the normal costs at closing. If someone wants a lower rate, I can price it so that they pay more money up-front (points) and get a lower interest rate. We can also do it the other way, offering you a slightly higher interest rate (where the lender pays us a higher premium) and we can use part of this premium to cover all your closing costs.

Here is how it works. If you have a mortgage with a balance of $250,000 and an interest rate of 5.75%, your loan would have a monthly payment of $1,458 for principal and interest. If rates drop. and you are able to refinance at 4.50%, your new payment will be $1,267, for a savings of $191 per month.

In order to do the loan with no closing costs, we raise the rate a little to cover the costs. How much the rate increases depends on the size of the loan, but in most cases the loan will be just an 1/8 or 1/4 point higher. So with our example, if you could refinance at 4.50% with closing costs, the rate would be 4.625% with no closing costs. So the payment now goes up to  $1,285 per month, or $17 per month higher. The monthly savings are lower, but with no closing costs , you have no investment in the mortgage at all. This works especially well for people who don’t plan on being in their home or their mortgage forever.

No-cost refinances work best when the loan amount is higher. In many cases we can do a no-cost refinance for the same rate as other companies are doing full cost loans. Smaller loans, those under $150,000 are harder to do without any cost. The smaller the loan the higher the interest rate would need to be in order to cover all the closing costs. This won’t be the best route for everyone, but, depending on your situation, it could be a great option.

Things to watch out for

A true no/cost refinance means that you are not paying any fees or costs to get the loan. This is different than adding the fees and costs back into the loan. This means that your mortgage will be larger, and you will be paying the costs of refinance over the years you have the loan. There is no money coming out of your pocket at closing but you are still investing extra money. If you sold the home or decided to refinance again later, the money you paid will be gone. In some situations this could be the right way to go, but it is not a no-cost refinance. You need to know exactly what it is you are signing up for.

Peter Thompson                              630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Refinance

Did you miss out on refinancing last year when mortgage rates dropped to their lowest point in our life times? Last Fall, right before the Fed announced their last round of the Quantitative easing policy, mortgage rates dropped to as low as 4.00% (for the best qualified conventional loans). The consensus at the time was that the economy needed more juice to keep it growing, and that rates were likely to drop even lower still. If you had considered refinancing at the time and missed the boat back then, you know what happened next. The Fed started the Quantitative easing program which pumped more money into the economy. The financial markets switched on a dime and while the big fear before was that the economy was growing too slowly and unemployment was too high, the new fear was that with all this money washing through the system, inflation was about to be unleashed. Rates spiked higher and ran as high as the mid fives. The program that was supposed to drive mortgage rates lower and act as a boost to the housing market had the exact opposite effect. Most analysts were calling for rates to spike even higher, and some thought we would be in six percent range before the end of the year. But while there have been signs of inflation, especially with gas and food related items, the economy is still very fragile. The latest indicator for this was last week’s monthly jobs report, which came in much weaker than expected. Rates are dropping again and have now broken through a technical barrier, which implies that we may have room to go even further down. If you didn’t pull the trigger fast enough last time to get a lower rate, it looks like you will get a second chance.

Refinancing now isn’t as easy as it was in the past. Home values have slipped and not everyone has the equity they need to refinance, but there are programs available where you can still refinance even if you don’t have much equity. There are still programs available if your loan is held by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and the FHA streamline refinance is always a good option. There are a lot of homeowners who can still qualify and would benefit by refinancing their mortgages, who don’t realize it’s possible, or don’t think it is worth the effort.

Why should you consider refinancing?

• You can lower your interest rate and payments.
• You can shorten your loan term and pay your mortgage off early.
• If you have enough equity you can take cash out for home improvements, college expenses, investments, or whatever your needs may be.
• You can restructure your debts with a refinance to get rid of your high interest credit card balances and save hundreds of dollars per month.
• If you bought with a low down payment, you can often refinance to get rid of mortgage insurance or your higher rate second mortgage.

• You can get rid of an adjustable mortgage and lock in to a fixed rate.

These are just a few reasons you may want to take on a new mortgage. It is important, though, to make sure you know why you are refinancing and that it is really in your best interest. If you would like to compare options, see if it makes sense to refinance your mortgage or get a rate quote for your situation, give me a call.

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Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Refinance           Chicago FHA Mortgages

All the markets waited with breathless anticipation over the last month to see what the Fed had up its sleeve to spark the economy back to life. At their last meeting in October, they telegraphed their intention to start another round of quantitative easing, or pumping new money into the system by buying treasury bonds as a way to lower interest rates and force some movement in the economy. Over the last month, analysts dissected each Fed members every speech or statement for any hint of what the details would look like. Over the last week the consensus formed that the Fed would step in with about $500 billion in purchases. The markets, both bonds and stocks, have swung wildly trying to anticipate the announcement and square up their positions ahead of time. Well, the big day finally arrived and, as expected the Fed announced the new quantitative easing program with $600 billion in purchases spread out through the second quarter of next year, along with $250 billion in repurchases with proceeds from payments coming in, for a total of $850 billion. And the reaction? The market panicked and sold off.

By the end of the day the mortgage bond market (which controls mortgage rates) had recovered and the day ended pretty much where it started. So the questions are, why did the market sell off and what happens now? Part of the initial market reaction had to be a knee jerk reaction, buy on the rumor and sell on the fact. But some of the reaction was a result of the details of the program. Most of the purchases were in the short end of the bond spectrum, 10 years and less rather than the 30 year bonds. But most of this was clustered around the 10 year mark, which most effects mortgage rates, so on reflection, this should be about right. Some of the reaction could also be disappointment because though the number was higher than expected, some traders were still expecting a shock and awe number (like the first go around last year). Some analysts are already predicting that this isn’t the whole enchilada, but the first step and that the number will be raised over time.

So back to the real question, how will this affect mortgage rates? The Fed’s goal is to force rates lower. The Fed wants to extend the refinance boom so that lower payments put more money into home owners pockets, which they can spend to stimulate the economy. Even more so, the Fed wants to get the housing market back on track, and the best tool to doing that is with lower rates. If the Fed is betting heavily on this outcome, I do expect rates will slip lower. But last year, after the Fed came out with their first round of easing, rates dropped right away, but then rates popped significantly higher as the investment community worried about how the extra money in the economy would start a new era of inflation. The higher rates stayed in place for several months before dropping back into the range. The key here is that the economy and the markets are so complex, that there is no assurance of exactly what will happen, even though we know what the intention is. Mortgage rates are near all time lows now, and they are likely to go lower, but no one knows when the party will end. If you are thinking about refinancing, or in the market to buy a home, my advice is to get your paperwork together and start moving. Let me know if you want a quote or if I can help in any way.

Here is the Fed statement in full:

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in September confirms that the pace of recovery in output and employment continues to be slow. Household spending is increasing gradually, but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Business spending on equipment and software is rising, though less rapidly than earlier in the year, while investment in nonresidential structures continues to be weak. Employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Housing starts continue to be depressed. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable, but measures of underlying inflation have trended lower in recent quarters.

Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. Currently, the unemployment rate is elevated, and measures of underlying inflation are somewhat low, relative to levels that the Committee judges to be consistent, over the longer run, with its dual mandate. Although the Committee anticipates a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability, progress toward its objectives has been disappointingly slow.

To promote a stronger pace of economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to expand its holdings of securities. The Committee will maintain its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its securities holdings. In addition, the Committee intends to purchase a further $600 billion of longer-term Treasury securities by the end of the second quarter of 2011, a pace of about $75 billion per month. The Committee will regularly review the pace of its securities purchases and the overall size of the asset-purchase program in light of incoming information and will adjust the program as needed to best foster maximum employment and price stability.

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 for the federal funds rate for an extended period.

The Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and will employ its policy tools as necessary to support the economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Sandra Pianalto; Sarah Bloom Raskin; Eric S. Rosengren; Daniel K. Tarullo; Kevin M. Warsh; and Janet L. Yellen.

Voting against the policy was Thomas M. Hoenig. Mr. Hoenig believed the risks of additional securities purchases outweighed the benefits. Mr. Hoenig also was concerned that this continued high level of monetary accommodation increased the risks of future financial imbalances and, over time, would cause an increase in long-term inflation expectations that could destabilize the economy.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company            Chicago FHA Mortgages

If you are buying a home or refinancing your mortgage in Cook County, expect to pay some extra cash at closing to set up your tax escrows. Real estate tax bills come out twice a year. The first installment (which pays for the first 6 months of the previous year) was due in March and the second installment (for the second half of last year) was supposed to come out in September. But in Cook County these dates are suggestions, not real deadlines. I can’t remember the Cook County tax bills ever coming out when they were supposed to, and this year it looks like they will be out later than usual. Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas says that she expects tax bills will be mailed out the week of November 22nd – almost Thanksgiving. The reason the bills are extra late this year may be political. Even though home prices are down, tax increases are expected (the increase is shown on the 2nd installment). If the tax bills came out before the election on November 2nd, this would be a big issue. Holding it back may make political sense, but it means that anyone transacting a mortgage and escrowing their taxes will have to cough up extra money at closing. Lenders all count on the tax bills coming out at the proper time, so when they aren’t the title companies build in a big reserve to insure they have collected enough, even if the tax bills are much higher than before. This is called TI, or Title Indemnity.

With TI, the title company holds back an amount over and above the previous tax bill to allow for tax increases, and guarantees the lender that they have collected enough to fully fund the new escrow account. Most title companies will collect one and a half times the current tax bill and they will charge a fee ($150-$200, usually) to hold onto the taxes and pay them once the bill comes out. Once the bills are out, any money left over will be returned to the borrower. So this isn’t an increased cost (except for the fee) but it is a real hit to cash flow, and for borrowers who are short on cash anyway, it is a real hardship.

Last year the Cook County tax bill came out in October. Delaying it for an extra month means a lot more cash needed at closing. If you are refinancing your mortgage and have an escrow set up now, this means you will have to fund the new account, and will then get paid back from your current lender after closing (this is usually done within 30 days). If you are buying a new home it isn’t quite as bad because you will get a credit for the unpaid taxes from the seller, and you will normally get more back in the credit than you need to set up the new escrows. Either way, it means more cash at closing than any other time of the year. I’ve worked with homeowners who needed to get gifts to come up with the extra cash. Again, this is a cash flow problem, not an extra cost, and you will get money back from the current lender (if it is a refinance) and the title company once the bill is out. Closings will be a little easier and more affordable once the bills do come out.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Calculated Risk, one of my favorite financial blogs, found some interesting information released by the census bureau in the American Housing Survey. I found some surprising and interesting information in the report. Among the findings released are:

So why are there so many home owners who might benefit from a refinance who stayed with their original mortgage? I can think of a few reasons:

1. They don’t know that they can lower their payment – this is a possible reason, but only if they are hermits who don’t have access to the internet, radio or mail. We are all subjected to constant advertising, and over the last 10 years mortgage advertising was impossible to avoid.

2. They don’t think it is worth it to refinance – this is much more possible. I still hear people say that you need to lower your rate by 2 full points before it makes sense to refinance.  At one time you needed to pay up to 3 points (each point is worth 1% of the loan balance) in order to refinance. Now, we can usually do no cost refinances with larger loans ($200,000 or up, usually), and even with smaller loans the cost to refinance is reasonably low. The real key is again the pay back period, how long it takes for the savings from refinancing pays back the cost of refinancing, and then comparing this to how long they plan to stay in the home.

3. They don’t think they can be approved – I know there are people who realize that rates are lower and they could get a better rate than what they currently pay, but they doubt if they could qualify. In many cases they are right. It is tougher to qualify now than it was a few years ago. But if they have the same mortgage they had back in 1999, and they qualified then, there is a good chance they could qualify now. I have conversations all the time with people who are in excellent shape who think they are in far worse shape than they are.

Another reason may be that for most people, getting a new mortgage is just not on their radar screen. They know what their payment is now, and if it isn’t painful enough that they need to do something about it, it is easy enough to put it off and not do anything. So there are a lot of home owners who could still benefit from the refinance but haven’t. And chances are, they won’t.

Peter Thompson                              630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Refinance

The Cash/Out refinance has been a long time favorite of home owners who wanted to consolidate debt or take out home equity for other purposes. Being able to take equity out of your home has always been a big benefit of owning real estate, though it grew to an absurd degree during the bubble years. It’s not so easy to take cash out now. For one thing the standards have been raised and lenders now require more equity retained in the home. But the bigger issue is that with home values down, many home owners have lost equity, and many are upside down owing, more on their mortgages than their home is worth. This has led to the newest major trend in lending, the Cash/In Refinance.

A cash/in refinance means you are coming to the closing table with extra money to pay down the mortgage so you can take advantage of the low refinance rates available now. This is obviously not an option for everyone. You can’t add in cash if you don’t have it. But for those home owners who do have cash available, it can make sense for a variety of reasons. Part of this is a change in attitude and a change in expectations. The old idea was that the value of real estate would always go up, and many owners bought for the short term. Now, staying put is a more realistic option for many, and if you plan on being in your home longer term, it makes more sense to get the best mortgage rates available, even if you have to invest more to do so.

Here are some reasons it might make sense to pay down your mortgage in order to qualify for a new loan:

This could be the best investment return available – If you have money in a checking or savings account, you are earning almost no interest. If you have money in stocks, the risk is high and many analysts expect the market to remain flat over the next several years. By adding cash to your home and getting a guaranteed return with a lower mortgage rate, this could be the best and safest investment opportunity available.

Get rid of your PMI – If you put less than 20% as a down payment on your home, you are require to carry private mortgage insurance or PMI. PMI doesn’t help you directly, but without it you wouldn’t be able to buy unless you had the larger down payment. If you are now in a position to pay down your loan and get it to the required 20% equity, you not only lower your interest rate, but drop the mortgage insurance. For example, if you originally put down 5% on a $200,000 loan, you are paying about $130 each month in PMI. If you can save a half a point in interest and get rid of this payment, that would be a great use of your money.

Get below Jumbo pricing – Jumbo mortgages are loans that are over the maximum lending limits for conventional financing, which is $417,000 for a single family home here in the Chicago area. There is a big difference in pricing between conventional and Jumbo pricing, currently about .75% on a 30 year fixed rate. If your loan is close to the conventional limit, or if you just got a big bonus or an inheritance from a rich uncle, this refinance could save you a lot of money. Another option is to combine this with a second mortgage or home equity loan. If the first mortgage is at 80% of the home’s value, you can get the best pricing, even if the combined loan to value (both mortgages compared to the value of your home) is higher. 

Avoid pricing hits – There are loan level price adjustments or price hits added on for all sorts of situations. There are big add-ons to the rate for having lower credit scores as well as the type of property (condos with less than 25% equity get a big price hit). These price hits can go away when you have a larger equity position. This doesn’t make sense for everyone, but it is a consideration and worth looking into.

With the housing market stagnant, it may be a while before we see values increase. If you are in a position to lower your rate and your payment, a cash-in refinance might be a good option.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago FHA Mortgage Company

With mortgage rates at all time lows, it makes a lot of sense to fix in your rate and refinance at what may turn out to be the lowest real rates ever. Getting a fixed rate mortgage makes a whole lot of sense for any one who is pretty sure that they will be in their home for a long time. But even now, even with fixed rates as low as they are, fixed rate mortgages aren’t the right choice for everyone. Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) are priced even lower, and though you are taking on some extra risk, they are the best choice for many. The question is, when does it make sense to go with an adjustable rate mortgage. ARMs are structured in different ways, but the most popular, and safest ARMs are the longer term adjustables which are fixed for a period of time before adjusting. Most ARMs amortize, or pay down, over 30 years, just like the most popular fixed rates. The difference is that the rate is only fixed in for a specific period of time, and then it floats, up or down based on what is happening in the market. The time that the rate is fixed in can be as short as one year, or as long as 10 years. The rates are usually lowest for the shortest periods because you are taking on more risk that the loan will be higher if mortgage rates increase. When you are looking at ARMs, you want to get the lowest total cost for the time you plan on being in the home (or the mortgage). Taking a 1 year or even a 3 year ARM rarely makes sense in a market like this. But a longer term may be a great deal. The 7-1 ARM (fixed for the first 7 years then adjusts once a year after that) is over 1/2 a point less than a comparable 30 year fixed rate mortgage. If you don’t plan to stay with your mortgage forever, this could save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

Questions to ask to see if an Adjustable Rate Mortgage is the right choice for you:

How long do you think you will be in the home?  A lot of this has to do with where you are in life, and what you expect to happen in the future. Are you a single income now, but expect to have a spouse working down the road? Do you expect to out grow this home as your family grows? Do you expect to be transferred or are going to need to move out of the area at some point? Or maybe you are at the other end of the spectrum and have kids who are finishing up with school and are thinking about downsizing in the future. The key is that if you have a good understanding of your future needs, and you really don’t expect to be in the home past a certain point, an ARM may be the right choice.

Is your income steady, declining, or likely to go higher? Are you a single income now, but expect to have a spouse working down the road? Are you in a job where you know that your income will be higher as time goes by? If you feel confident that your income will rise, an adjustable could be a good way to go. On the other hand, if your income is likely to be topped out and you don’t expect raises of more than the cost of living in the future, you are better served by going with a fixed rate where you will know the payment is going to stay affordable, even if you are there longer than expected and interest rates jump.

Do you have extra money coming in that you can use to pay down the mortgage? I’ve worked with borrowers who get get bonus as a substantial amount of their compensation. If you are getting a smaller monthly payment, but a big check once or twice a year, it may be easier to keep the monthly payment small and then pay extra toward the mortgage when you get these big checks. ARMs fit in well here (Interest only mortgages are sometimes appropriate, too). Everyone’s circumstances are different. The best approach is to match your needs to the loan that is most appropriate for you.

What is your risk tolerance? Will you be able to sleep at night if rates do move higher? With mortgage rates at all time lows, we know that rates have to go up, the only question is when, and how much. If your circumstances change, and it looks like you will need to stay in the mortgage longer than you planned, is this going to add to your stress? There are safety features built in, but if you are still in the loan when the payment adjusts, it could be a big jump. You will have saved a lot of money up to that point, but unless you used the savings as part of an investment plan, you need to be ready for the higher payment. Consider your risk level and temperament before choosing an ARM. There are a lot of people who would benefit financially from and adjustable rate loan, who still are better off taking on a fixed rate loan.

The other thing to keep in mind when deciding which loan is right for you, is that the future doesn’t always turn out like we expect. There are a lot of homeowners now who are stuck in homes too small for their needs because they can’t afford to sell and buy a new home with the market conditions now. For most home buyers who took on ARMS years ago, their adjusted rates have fallen as the ARMs came due. That probably won’t happen in the future, but if you match up your real needs and an accurate estimate of what your situation will be over the years you plan to be in the home, an Adjustable Rate Mortgage can save you a lot.

Peter Thompson 630-479-6424       

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Mortgage rates have dropped to all time lows. What used to be looked at as super low interest rates (in the mid or even low 5s), are now considered high. You may be able to lower your payment by a lot, often with no closing costs. For homeowners that are able to take advantage of the lower rates, this can mean big savings over time. With home prices lower and tougher qualifying requirements, refinancing is tougher than it used to be. But there are still a number of mortgage programs which make it easier to refinance now. One of the easiest and most beneficial loans available is the FHA Streamline Refinance.

FHA Streamline Refinance Loans

The FHA Streamline Refinance loan program is only available if you already have an FHA mortgage on on your home (Refinancing into a new FHA loan can make sense for a lot of other reasons, including adding improvements to your home and being able to use cash out to consolidate debts, but for these you need to do a fully documented mortgage). The advantage of this loan is that you can take on the new lower rates with out having to go through the full qualifying process, you usually don’t need an appraisal (which is a major headache with refinances today) and we can often structure this so you aren’t paying any closing costs (we pay the closing costs with a slightly higher rate). You will need to have some cash at closing to set up the new escrow accounts (to pay for your property taxes and home owners insurance) but you will get whatever money is in your escrow account with your current lender back after closing, so it will end up as a wash. If you have enough equity in the home, you may be able to add the escrows into the loan amount and come to closing with no cash at all, but we would need a new appraisal for this to work.

Here are some of the basic requirements of an FHA streamlined refinance:

• The loan must be FHA insured and you have to have made at least 6 payments on the Loan. If the loan is less than a year old, you can’t have any 30 day or more late payments. If the loan is older you need to be up to date on the payments with no more than one late payment in the last 12 months.
• The refinance has to be for your benefit. We need to lower the payment by at least 5%.
• We need to verify that you have enough cash to close the loan (this means enough money in a bank account to pay for the new escrow account and any other cash you may need).
• We need to show that you are employed and have income coming in. We don’t need to do a full underwriting of your income.
• You may be able to change the loan program (if you have an adjustable rate loan you may be able to go to a fixed rate, and visa versa) but we need to make sure that there is a real benefit attached. If you want to shorten your loan term we may need to do a full qualification.
• You can add a spouse or some one else to title without having to go through the full approval process. If you want to delete a borrower we will need more documentation.

Here is the documentation I will usually need for an FHA Streamline Refinance:

• I will need several items from your closing package, including a copy of our HUD1 closing statement, the Note and it makes it easier if I have a copy of your application.
• A current paystub showing you are employed.
• A bank statement showing you have enough cash to close.
• Proof of your Social Security number – this can either be a copy of your social security card or your W2 from last year.
• A copy of your mortgage statement.
• The name and phone number of your insurance agent.

If you have an FHA loan now, this could be a great way to save money. Give me a call and in a short conversation I can let you know how this will work for you, and put together a written estimate.

Peter Thompson                              630-479-6424

Chicago FHA Mortgage Rates          First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Company

Free Mortgage Pre-approval

We live in interesting times. Over the last several years we have seen a series of refinance booms as rates dropped to what had previously been unthinkable rates. Each time rates dropped we were sure they couldn’t go any lower. But here we are again, and mortgage rates are the lowest they have been since they’ve been keeping track of mortgage rates. The reason for the drop in rates is due to fear of softness in the economy, and this isn’t good news. But when you , if you can save money by refinancing your mortgage this could help by lowering your monthly payment or cutting years off your loan and paying your house off early.

Why should you consider refinancing?

• You can lower your interest rate and payments.
• You can shorten your loan term and pay your mortgage off early.
• You can take cash out for home improvements, college expenses, investments, or whatever your needs may be.
• You can restructure your debts with a refinance to get rid of your high interest credit card balances and save hundreds of dollars per month.
• If you bought with a low down payment, you can often refinance to get rid of mortgage insurance or your higher rate second mortgage.

• You can get rid of an adjustable mortgage and lock in to a fixed rate.

These are just a few reasons you may want to take on a new mortgage. It is important, though, to make sure you know why you are refinancing and that it is really in your best interest. Refinancing isn’t the slam dunk easy transaction it was a few years ago. With home prices down this makes it harder for some homes to appraise out where they need to be, and mortgage guidelines are tighter than they were before, too.  But there are programs which make it easier to refinance even if you don’t have a lot of equity (or even no equity) in your home.

The FHA Streamline Refinance -This is available only if you already have an FHA mortgage. This is still the easiest and most inexpensive mortgage around. If you can lower your rate an payment you can refinance without a new appraisal and roll some of your costs into the new loan.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Home Affordable (Obama Refinance) – With these programs you can lower your mortgage rate even if your home value has gone down, and mortgage insurance will be based on what it was when you originally took on the loan (so if you didn’t have it then, you won’t have it now).

And of course, if you have been in your home for a while and have equity built up, you will have a lot of options to refinance in a way that best meets your long term needs. The big question then, is when does it make sense to refinance your mortgage? Refinancing can make a lot of sense if you are lowering your rate and payment without having to pay a lot up front. The more you have to pay to close the loan, the longer it will take for the lower mortgage payments to pay off the higher cost of getting the loan. This can still make sense if you are sure that you will be in the home for a long time, and you want to lock in the lowest rates. But too often the lowest rate isn’t the best value.

Mortgage pay Back – When does it make sense to refinance?

If you are thinking of refinancing your mortgage, you should always do a break even or pay back calculation. For this you need to know 3 things:

1. How much will you save by refinancing?
2. How much will it cost to refinance?
3. How long do you think you will stay in the home, and with this mortgage?

The first step is to determine how much you will save. For an example, if you now have a mortgage with a $200,000 balance and a 5.50% interest rate., your mortgage payment is about $1,135 per month. Now, if current rates are at 4.75% (this is only an example.  Call me if you want a personal quote) the new mortgage payment would be $1,043 per month. The lower rate means a savings of almost $92 each month. This is a great savings, especially when you look at it over the life of the loan, But does it make sense to refinance? Maybe. We still need to know more, though.

The next step is to find out how much it will cost to refinance. This is where it can get confusing. If you have spent any time on the Internet, you’ve seen lots of ads for mortgage companies claiming they offer the lowest rates. But low rates don’t mean a thing if you don’t look at the closing costs too. I’ve seen closing costs differ by as much as $6,000, so this is something that can make a huge difference. Closing costs include title fees, the cost of the appraisal and bank charges as well as points – which are upfront financing charges.

The difference in closing costs can make a big difference in whether the loan makes sense, or not. If you are paying $1,500 in total closing costs, it will take you a little over a year to payback the closing costs with the $92 savings from your new rate.  After that, every payment you make will be a true savings. But if that same loan cost $6,000 to close, then it would take over 5 years before you would get any benefit at all from refinancing. So the lowest rate isn’t always the best deal.

The last question, is how long you do you expect to be in your home and in the mortgage. If you plan to stay in the home for at least 10 years, then paying more to get a better rate might be the best strategy, especially if you think (like I do) that rates are about as low as they will ever go. But most people don’t stay in their home forever. If you aren’t sure how long you will stay in your home, you might be better served by getting a loan with lower closing costs. Even though the rate and payment may be a little higher, your savings will come much quicker.

No/Cost Illinois Mortgage Refinance

We can take this idea one step further. When rates are down, the biggest obstacle to homeowners lowering their payments and taking advantage of the low rates is the cost of refinancing. The more that the loan costs, the longer you will need to be in the new loan before refinancing makes sense. So if a loan costs a lot up-front, it takes a big improvement in the rates before it is worth doing. On the other hand, if there are no costs at all, a small reduction in the rates can save you a lot of money over time.

With a no-cost refinance we use the yield spread premium (the money that the wholesale or end lenders pay us to bring them the loan) to pay for the closing costs. When I price loans I have several different options. Every day the lenders we deal with send us new price sheets. These sheets have matrices which allow us (the mortgage banker or broker) to price the loan in different ways. It is common in the Chicago area to price a loan to show no points or origination fees, but with the customer paying the normal costs at closing. If someone wants a lower rate, I can price it so that they pay more money up-front (points) and get a lower interest rate. We can also do it the other way, offering you a slightly higher interest rate (where the lender pays us a higher premium) and we can use part of this premium to cover all your closing costs.

Here is how it works. If you have a mortgage with a balance of $250,000 and an interest rate of 5.75%, your loan would have a monthly payment of $1,458 for principal and interest. If rates drop. and you are able to refinance at 4.50%, your new payment will be $1,267, for a savings of $191 per month.

In order to do the loan with no closing costs, we raise the rate a little to cover the costs. How much the rate increases depends on the size of the loan, but in most cases the loan will be just an 1/8 or 1/4 point higher. So with our example, if you could refinance at 4.50% with closing costs, the rate would be 4.625% with no closing costs. So the payment now goes up to  $1,285 per month, or $17 per month higher. The monthly savings are lower, but with no closing costs , you have no investment in the mortgage at all. This works especially well for people who don’t plan on being in their home or their mortgage forever.

No-cost refinances work best when the loan amount is higher. In many cases we can do a no-cost refinance for the same rate as other companies are doing full cost loans. Smaller loans, those under $150,000 are harder to do without any cost. The smaller the loan the higher the interest rate would need to be in order to cover all the closing costs. This won’t be the best route for everyone, but, depending on your situation, it could be a great option.

Things to watch out for

A true no/cost refinance means that you are not paying any fees or costs to get the loan. This is different than adding the fees and costs back into the loan. This means that your mortgage will be larger, and you will be paying the costs of refinance over the years you have the loan. There is no money coming out of your pocket at closing but you are still investing extra money. If you sold the home or decided to refinance again later, the money you paid will be gone. In some situations this could be the right way to go, but it is not a no-cost refinance. You need to know exactly what it is you are signing up for.

Peter Thompson                              630-479-6424

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans

Chicago Mortgage Refinance

How Much Does It cost to Refinance, and How Long is the Pay Back?

With mortgage rates down near their all time lows again, refinancing is getting hotter (purchases, too). Low mortgage rates give you a chance to lock in the low rate for the long term, lower your payment and take some pressure off your budget. The rates now are the lowest I’ve ever seen and I expect when we look back at this a few years from now, they will seem like the bargain of a lifetime. But while rates are low, if you have compared rates you see in the newspaper or on-line, you might think rates are better than they really are. You might also see that some lenders are showing much lower rates than others, when the reality is that we all get our funds from the same sources, and the true rate shouldn’t vary from one lender to the next by more than an 1/8 or 1/4 of a percent.  So what gives? Why are some lenders able to show such low, low rates? Are they really able to do something that other mortgage lenders aren’t able to do?

The truth is, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Most consumers focus on the rate when comparing offers for their mortgage refinance, and mortgage marketers take advantage of this fact by advertising the lowest rates they can. But whether the lowest rate is the best deal for you is more complicated. The other thing you need to be aware of is how much the loan will cost you, and the lowest rates have the highest fees. We (mortgage bankers, brokers and banks) have a whole variety of rate and fee combinations we can offer every day. Each wholesale mortgage lender provides a matrix of price options every day. To get the lowest rate you will have to pay points (1% of the loan amount for each point, which is interest paid up front). I’ve seen Good Faith Estimates which show over 4 points (4% of the loan amount) charged to get a  below market rate. On the other hand, you can go in the other direction. The lender pays us (mortgage bankers, brokers and banks) extra money (called yield spread premium) for bringing in loans at higher rates. We can use this extra premium to pay off all your closing costs and give you a no cost refinance. Most borrowers elect to go with loans that have no points, or one point. The lenders don’t care how you do it, because they will get their money either now or in the future, and it works out the same to them based on their pricing models. For you, the consumer, it can make a big difference. So the big question is, what is the best way to refinance, paying extra money up front to get the lowest rate? Or does it make more sense to pay less money in fees upfront, but get a slightly higher rate?

 For a quick check to see if refinancing makes sense for you, and what the best way to refinance is, you need to consider 3 things:

How much will you save by refinancing?
How much will it cost to refinance?
How long do you expect to stay in the mortgage?

To find out the best option for you, you need to figure out your payback or break-even point. Let me work through the math to show you how this works (the rates and numbers here are all for illustration, not based on market rates now).

The first step is to determine, how much you will save?

For an example, let’s assume that you now have a mortgage with a $300,000 balance and a 5.50%% interest rate. This would give you a payment of $1,703 per month on a 30 year fixed rate loan. With improved rates, lest’s say you can now get the same  mortgage for 4.75% with a payment of $1,565 per month. This is a savings of $138 per month. That is a great rate and substantial savings. Does it make sense to refinance? Maybe, but we still need to know more.

The second step is, how much it will cost to refinance?

If you have spent any looking, you’ve found lots of ads for mortgage companies claiming they offer the lowest rates. But low rates don’t mean a thing if you don’t look at the closing costs too. Closing costs include title fees and the amount the bank charges to process the loan, which includes fees for credit reports, appraisals, processing and underwriting charges as well as Points (up-front interest). The cost can make a big difference for you. In the Chicago area it costs about $1,600 to close a refinance if you don’t pay any points or origination fees (another word for a point).  To see how the closing cost can make the difference, divide your monthly savings into the cost of refinancing ($1,600 divided by $138).  So in our example, it will take you less than a years worth of mortgage savings to pay off the up-front costs. Every month after that will be a true savings. If you are paying 2 points on the same loan ($6,000) plus the normal closing costs, ($7,600) the same loan will take almost 5 years before you would have any benefits from refinancing. The rate should be lower if the costs are higher, but you need to run the numbers on each to see which is the better deal. But there is still one more step.So the lowest rate isn’t always the best deal.

The third step is to estimate, how long do you expect to be in the mortgage?

With interest rates as low as they are, it may make sense to pay extra to lock in the long term savings. But if there is any chance that you may move, the savings may be wasted. In the above example, even if the rate is much better, if it takes 5 years to pay off the closing costs and you sell your home in 6 years, you wasted a lot of money on a refinance. On the other hand, if you stay in your home a full 30 years, you have made a lot of extra savings by paying more up-front to get the lowest rate. The thing to remember is that one size doesn’t fit all, and you need to go with the program that best fits your needs. Most mortgages last 7 years or less (before the homes are either sold or refinanced) so paying higher costs is not always the best deal. 

The idea that the lowest rate is the best deal can be a big problem. When you are comparing interest rate options, make sure that you compare apples to apples and not comparing a quote with points to one without. Pick the option that works for your needs, and don’t over pay to get a low rate if it costs you more in the long run. And make sure you get it in writing. Every lender should be able to give you a written Good Faith Estimate showing how much it will cost to close your loan, and how long your rate will be locked in for (make sure they are able to process your loan during their lock period). This is shaping up to be a great time to refinance, but you need to understand your options. If you would like a quote for a refinance that works best for your situation, give me a call.

Illinois Mortgage Rates                   First time home buyer loans               

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