What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week of September 23, 2013

Last week’s economic news was dominated by the Federal Reserve’s decision not to taper its $85 billion in monthly securities purchases. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke noted in a scheduled statement after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting that economic conditions were not yet adequately improved to withstand any decrease in the federal quantitative easing program. The Fed also reaffirmed that the target federal funds rate would remain at 0.00 to 0.25 percent until the national unemployment rate reached 6.50 percent and inflation reaches 2.00 percent. The national unemployment rate was 7.30 percent and the Fed projects that inflation will remain under 2.00 percent through 2015. In both the FOMC statement and his press conference, Chairman Bernanke repeatedly emphasized that the Fed would take no action to reduce QE until the economy strengthens. No automatic reduction of QE purchases would take place without full consideration of the nation’s economy. The QE program is intended

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What To Know About Mortgage Insurance

If you are on the verge of buying real estate, you’ve probably heard the term Private Mortgage Insurance. Mortgage professionals talk about it a great deal, but you may be asking, “What is it exactly? And why should I care?” Private Mortgage Insurance Defined PMI is required by lenders if the down payment of a purchase is less than 20 percent of the home’s value. It protects the lender if the borrower defaults on the loan. It also makes the lender more apt to loan, even if the down payment is as low as 3%, because in the long run, the lender’s investment is protected. You Pay For It Unlike other types of insurance which you pay to protect your interest in an asset, you pay Private Mortgage Insurance to the mortgage company to protect its interest in your new real estate. (Note that PMI is not usually tax deductible. Check with a tax professional for details.) Make It Go Away: PMI Can Be Terminated Once You’ve Paid Down Your Loan Once you pay down your mortgage to the point

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How to Deal With A Disaster in Your Home

Weather patterns across the United States seem to be getting more and more erratic. From tornadoes and earthquakes to flash floods and wild fires, there are many natural disasters that can quickly consume your home without warning. Because you never know when disaster might strike, it’s best to be prepared. Disaster insurance is the only precaution you can put in place to ensure compensation for your belongings and get your life back to normal as soon as possible. Below are the tips to take before misfortune strikes. Create An Inventory Most insurance agencies prefer if you include photographs of every room, including the insides of closets and cabinets. Shooting a video is even better. Then you can include audio of how much things cost or if they’re one of a kind. It’s also a good idea to create a spreadsheet with a list of major items and their value by room. Be sure to email these to yourself, so that you can access them anywhere. Double-Check Your Coverage Once you’ve inve

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Consider Interviewing Architects Before Building A New Home

Making the decision to build a home might be one of the biggest you make in your life. You’ve found the perfect plot of land and have a vision of what type of home you want, but you need someone to bring your dream to life. That means it’s time to start interviewing architects. Hiring an architect isn’t as simple as just calling up a few and seeing who might have the time. You’ll want to ensure you choose a professional that understands your design aesthetic, communicates well, can design on budget and has an upstanding reputation. Below are a few key questions to ask when deciding whom to hire. Do You Have A Specific Design Style? When interviewing architects, be sure to ask each one if they have a specific aesthetic and if you can see a portfolio of his or her work. While most are adaptable, they usually all have design themes that recur in their projects. Whether you want a minimalist structure or LEED certified construction, you’ll want to know they have the experience.

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Read This Before Signing Your Reverse Mortgage

There are many reasons people take out reverse mortgages. However, this option is usually considered by cash-strapped seniors who own their homes and are looking to ease the burden of their golden years. The beauty of reverse mortgages is that you’ll receive money as long as you are current on property taxes and homeowners insurance. While this seems like an appealing opportunity, it’s a decision that should not be made lightly. Not only is the reverse mortgage complicated in itself, but homeowners make all sorts of mistakes when they’re too quick to sign the dotted line. So if you’re considering one, be wary of the common pitfalls below. Buying Into A Scam With reverse mortgages becoming a more common option for those over 62, mischievous opportunists are searching for ways to solicit seniors in need of help. Scammers will take advantage by charging high fees, funneling off parts of payments, creating fake loans or committing identity theft. Ensure you use a lender approved b

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What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week

Last week didn’t feature any housing-related news other than Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of mortgage interest rates. Reports on consumer credit, job openings and weekly jobless claims suggest that without some relief in the jobs market, Americans may be taking a “wait-and-see” stance toward buying homes. Consumer Credit Rose By $10.40 Billion In July The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that revolving credit fell by an annual rate of 2.60 percent as compared to an annual decrease of 5.20 percent in June. Non-revolving consumer credit such as vehicle and education loans rose at an annual rate of 7.40 percent. Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey indicated that mortgage rates were unchanged for both 30-year and 15-year fixed rate mortgage loans. The average rate for a 30-year FRM was 4.57 percent with discount points of 0.80 percent; this was higher than last week’s 0.70 percent. Average rates for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage were unchanged at 3.57 percent with 0.70

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How To Create The Perfect Garage Workshop

Most men, and even handy women, dream of a perfectly organized work space where their tools are orderly and they can tackle that list of home DIY projects. However, renovations can get put on hold because there’s not a designated place to work. Tools are usually scattered throughout closets and the kitchen table serves as a workbench. You can create a space for all of your improvement projects by turning a section of your garage into a construction-friendly, wonderfully organized haven for your tools and home makeover endeavors. Below are easy steps to building the perfect garage workshop. Make Sure You Have Adequate Space Ideally, you’d still like to be able to get your cars in their designated space, so look for a vacant area at the back of the garage or along one side. If you’re garage isn’t quite large enough, then you might want to consider adding on to it or building an outdoor shed. Create A Work Surface For your work surface, you could repurpose old kitchen cabinets wi

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