The risky mortgage is making a comeback. More than a decade after home loans triggered the worst financial crisis in a generation, the strict lending requirements put in place during its aftermath are starting to erode. Home buyers with low credit scores or high debt levels as well as those lacking traditional employment are finding it easier to get credit. The loans have been rebranded. Largely Continue Reading

Announces long-awaited changes to eligibility requirements that include individual unit approval The Federal Housing Administration has finally issued a long-awaited update to its condominium rules, announcing Wednesday that it will now allow individual unit approval and is taking other steps to loosen requirements that make these properties eligible for FHA financing. Under Continue Reading

You may benefit even if you can’t reduce your mortgage rate by a full percentage point. Mortgage rates have dropped to levels not seen since 2016, and homeowners are rushing to refinance. You can benefit even if you don’t cut your rate by a full percentage point—a rule of thumb you can safely ignore. The question is whether you will stay in your home long enough to recoup the closing costs with Continue Reading

Mortgage rates dipped slightly to a nearly three-year low because of concern about a potential global economic slowdown and some weak home sale news. According to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, the 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 3.75 percent with an average 0.5 point. (Points are fees paid to a lender equal to 1 percent of the loan amount and are in addition to the interest Continue Reading

Mortgage rates have been on a roller coaster for the past year, but now they're sitting at the bottom of the track, giving a major boost to the number of borrowers who can benefit from a refinance. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hit a three-year low of 3.73% last week, according to Freddie Mac. That means 8.2 million borrowers could refinance and lower their monthly payments by at Continue Reading

KEY POINTS •Mortgage rates have been falling steadily since late April, and that may be reigniting home price appreciation. •The median price of a home sold in May rose 3.6% from a year earlier, according to Redfin. That is the largest gain in seven months. •Home price gains had been shrinking since last summer, when rates rose sharply. Mortgage rates have been falling steadily since the Continue Reading

KEY POINTS •The majority of consumers now think it is much harder to qualify for a home loan than it actually is. •Consumers either didn’t know or overestimated the minimum credit score needed to qualify for a loan. •Consumers also overestimated the required down payment on a mortgage. After the subprime mortgage crisis and the collapse of the U.S. housing market in 2008, lending standards Continue Reading