Rain City Guide

How lucky am I?  It’s a beautiful sunny 85 degrees in Seattle and mortgage rates, for the most part, are pretty much the same as what I posted last week (as of 1:00 today).   That makes for a real easy post! 
Well…almost.  As I price out mortgage rates with the various resources we have, there is [...]

I don’t normally cross-post between 4realz.net and Rain City Guide, but tomorrow I’m having a conversation with the Chief Economist of the National Association of REALTORS that I think will interest many people in the Rain City Guide community.   We’re going to be talking about the effect that the recent news associated with the FDIC [...]

The rumors floated on Friday regarding Fannie and Freddie turned out to be true.  This first bailout proposal, released a few hours ago, has three parts.  I say “first” because there is no way that this is going to be enough to save what’s headed our way nor will this be the only time the government will [...]

Today’s guidelines are changing so quickly that it really keeps you on your toes as a Mortgage Professional so I was not surprised to receive this email from a Real Estate Agent:
Just had a client tell me she can’t get a VA loan with less than a 720 score.  Huh?  These clients were ready to [...]

UPDATE: This information has changed and is no longer valid. Please visit this post for updated information.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac released significant changes that will take place on March 1, 2008 impacting how conforming mortgages are priced.   Fannie and Freddie state these amended guidelines are due to the rising delinquencies seen during [...]

I couldn’t wait until Friday to share some good news with you:  30 year fixed Jumbo rates are available at 6.500% (APR 6.653%).  :)  This is priced at 1 origination/discount point for a 30 day lock and is a significant improvement over last week’s quoted rates.  
Earlier this week, Congressman Barney Frank submitted a bill requesting [...]

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are tightening up their underwriting guidelines making it tougher to qualify for conventional mortgages (loan amounts $417,000 or less for single family dwellings).    
Some of the most significant change is how borrowers are qualified when using a mortgage with an interest only feature.

Fixed Rate Mortgages (ex. 30 year fixed [...]