The Concern of Deflation
The Fed Minutes from the October meeting were released yesterday, and the hot topic was the concern over deflation. This news caused stocks to tumble and investors to pour their money into the security of Treasury Notes. Generally, the Fed has two jobs: the first is...Economic News Update
The big news of late has been the potential government bailout of the Detroit Three: General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. Because of poor sales, our domestic auto makers are running out of cash and can’t keep up with costs. The concern is that if the government...Retailers Filing for Bankruptcy: Use Your Gift Cards!
Beware of giving and receiving gift cards this holiday season. If you have a gift card or store credit with a retailer that has filed for bankruptcy, you can be pretty assured that you won’t ever see that money. You could try standing in line behind creditors in...Loan Limits Change
2009 Conforming loan limits remain the same: 1-Unit: $417,000 2-Unit: $533,850 3-Unit: $645,300 4-Unit: $801,950 2009 Conforming-Jumbo loan limits for 1-Unit homes are effective January 1, 2009. Counties with the highest limit of $625,500: Alameda, Contra Costa, Los...*THIS* is Why a Good Credit Score is so Important:
From one day to the next, hits and improvements on credit score brackets got much stricter. Hits for lower credit scores (anything below 740) are bracketed by increments of 20 points starting with a 620 FICO. Based on today’s interest rates (which are really good...Temporary Conforming Loan Limits are Expiring Sooner Than Expected
The temporary conforming loan limit of $729,750 in high-cost counties was set to expire at the end of the year, but banks are pulling back on that and requiring all loans at this loan amount range to close by December 1st – NO exceptions. With rates having dropped...Market Talk
The market has swung wildly since last week. Fed Day last Wednesday brought the expected .5% rate cut, bringing the Fed Funds Rate (the rate at which banks lend money to each other) to 1.0%. As consumers, this will affect and decrease Prime Rate. Rates saw great...What is an Impound Account?
An impound account, sometimes referred to as a “Reserve Account” is when your property taxes and homeowners insurance get collected monthly along with your mortgage payment. In California, you have a choice as to whether or not you want an impound account, although...Paying Points – Does it Make Sense?
I’ve been asked a few question about the use of paying points the past few weeks, so I’d like to comment on this a little bit. Whether or not you should pay a point to buy down the interest rate takes both math and speculation. On average, 1 point buys down the...Loan Calculator
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