by Irene Moustakas | Mar 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
It is not an unusual situation to want to buy a new home prior to selling your current; the biggest reason is that you save the hassle (and fees) of moving twice. Although the market is becoming a little more buyer-friendly, there still is enough demand (coupled with...
by Irene Moustakas | Feb 28, 2023 | Industry News
GREAT NEWS! FHA has announced that they are reducing their mortgage insurance premiums across the board by 30 basis points. Mortgage Insurance can often be a dealbreaker in securing an FHA loan, depending on down payment and credit score, but this will help immensely...
by Irene Moustakas | Jan 27, 2023 | Uncategorized
When you apply for a mortgage, whether to purchase or refinance, the three major credit bureaus have record of the inquiry into your credit and unfortunately will sell that information in the form of a lead to lenders and banks. This has been dubbed a “trigger...
by Irene Moustakas | Jan 19, 2023 | Uncategorized
Check out this 30 Year Fixed rate HELOAN (Home Equity Loan)! You can use it for any personal reason; however, the homeowners that have most recently taken advantage of it had accumulated high credit card debt, which the HELOAN paid off in full at a much lower rate...
by Irene Moustakas | Dec 20, 2022 | Featured, Loan Programs and Products
If you need to tap into your home equity and you have secured an interest rate in the 2% and 3% range of yesteryear, then it would be quite difficult to relinquish that amazing rate by doing a cash-out refinance on your 1st mortgage. Your alternative option to access...
by Irene Moustakas | Dec 8, 2022 | Uncategorized
There are two definitions in the mortgage industry for a buydown. One is most common and simply means the borrower pays points to buy the rate down for the life of the loan (a one-time upfront cost for a longer-term benefit). You can refer to my blog post here where I...
by Irene Moustakas | Nov 8, 2022 | Uncategorized
A Fixed Rate Mortgage is the most common type of loan: The rate and payment is fixed for the life of the loan, depending on the fixed term you choose, with no opportunity for adjustment. An ARM is fixed for a set period of years (typically 5, 7 or 10) and then...
by Irene Moustakas | Oct 4, 2022 | Uncategorized
Today is my 21st anniversary in the mortgage business! I’ve been through quite the ups and downs, from rates being 8.0% when I started, going through the credit crunch era/housing bubble burst of 2008, the wildly low 2%/3% rates of 2020 and 2021, and now the...
by Irene Moustakas | Aug 30, 2022 | Uncategorized
Have you lost out on a home because the seller chose an all-cash offer over yours? It can be quite frustrating, but one of my lenders is now offering a solution, called the “cash compete” loan. This will allow you to offer all cash on a property you would like to...
by Irene Moustakas | May 9, 2022 | Uncategorized
Well, unfortunately, they are currently a reality. For many people just entering the housing market and considering buying, it’s a little easier since this is where interest rates are now and that expectation has been set. For those that were preapproved a few months...