Mortgage : Home Loans : Refinance : Home Equity Loans

By Martin Lukac

Mortgage application volume was down 6.7% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly application survey index.

The index hit the lowest level since November 2003 at 529.6 for the week ended June 23. The number of mortgage applications is down 31% when compared to last year at this time.

The purchase index declined 6.2%, while the refinance index was down 7.5%. Refinance applications are down 47% in the past year.

Interest rates were up sharply. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.86%, up from 6.73 a week prior. The average rate for a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.49%, an increase from 6.37%. One-year adjustable rate mortgage rates also increased to 6.36% from last week’s 6.22%.

The decline in mortgages and increase in interest rates coincides with the Federal Reserve Board meeting this week. The Fed is expected to increase the benchmark rate to 5.25%.

The MBA’s purchase index is expected to decline by another 20%, according to economists. The decline in purchase applications has been much steeper than the drop in U.S. home sales. New-home sales are down by 6% for the year, while existing home sales are down 7%.

Refinancings made up 35.3% of total applications, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 29.1% of applications.

The spread between the rate on a one-year adjustable-rate mortgage and a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is only 50 basis points — the narrowest spread in the past five years. When the spread is narrow, a buyer cannot reduce his or her monthly payment significantly by choosing an adjustable-rate mortgage.

Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate and mortgage rates. We specialize in d! aily upd ates, mortgage news, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!

===========================================
For additional Mortgage Refinancing information
and resources visit Mortgage Refinancing.
(http://www.refinance-refinance.net)
===========================================

By Morgan James

There are two types of mortgage insurance that you should know about. There is mortgage insurance that protects the lender (the bank), and there is mortgage insurance that protects the borrower (the homebuyer).

In Canada, mortgage insurance that protects the bank is offered by the CMHC, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The CMHC allows buyers to purchase a home without having saved up a down-payment worth 25% of the cost of the house. If you are planning on purchasing a house, but do not have the 25% down payment, your lender will arrange everything with the CMHC. You won

===========================================
For additional Mortgage Refinancing information
and resources visit Mortgage Refinancing.
(http://www.refinance-refinance.net)
===========================================

By Kristy Annely

The idea of refinancing your second mortgage is undoubtedly attractive

===========================================
For additional Mortgage Refinancing information
and resources visit Mortgage Refinancing.
(http://www.refinance-refinance.net)
===========================================

By Shaun Anderson

Many people still prefer the personal touch when remortgaging.

Every day many people experience problems balancing income and managing expenses to meet their needs on a month to month basis. A lot of these expensive outgoings are caused by unsecured loans and debts to credit card companies. Refinancing via a remortgage is often a very viable option. In many cases customers can save significant money refinancing their mortgage, enabling them to clear more expensive unsecured loans and credit cards. But who gives you the best deal - your high street lender, or the ethical and experienced high street broker?

There is plenty of scope for people with unsecured debt to consider the alternative option of remortgaging. Sometimes its not the high street lenders that can tailor a remortgage to suit your circumstances, particularly if you have impaired credit. In a competitive market place the difference between high street lenders deals, and those offered by brokers have substantially narrowed - meaning a good deal for customers, even those attempting to repair adverse credit ratings due to CCJs (County Court Judgements), Defaults, IVAs or mortgage arrears.

Remortgaging can save you money

In many cases debt consolidation is the main reason when remortgaging. Remortgages provide the opportunity to improve upon borrowers’ overall deals and settle outstanding debts. Many customers want to consolidate all their existing debt into one repayment, to clear expensive unsecured loans & credit cards, and to restore balance between monthly outgoings and income. Many people also choose to refinance their mortgage for that bespoke home improvement - a new kitchen and bathroom, a new patio, a conservatory, perhaps. There is no doubt, a genuine fresh start also appeals to customers, with piece of mind knowing all debts are finally being taken care of, in one manageable package.

However, when shopping around for the best deal, you can soon get the impression from the high street le!
nder tha
t you are not their preferred type of customer. They might tell you that you can’t get the best deal (you know, the one in the window or in the advert) because of irregular mortgage repayments or arrears, ccjs or defaults. It’s usually at this point customers are more than surprised to find out that making a few irregular payments to your mortgage provider in the past means that now your credit rating is adversely affected.

Sometimes you can get the impression from the high street lenders that you are alone in your circumstances. This is simply not the case. Unsecured debt stands at over

===========================================
For additional Mortgage Refinancing information
and resources visit Mortgage Refinancing.
(http://www.refinance-refinance.net)
===========================================

By Louie Latour

If you are a considering using an interest-only mortgage to finance your home, it is important to understand the risk involved with these mortgages. Interest-only mortgages are dangerous because they allow you to qualify for more mortgage than you can actually afford when the interest only period ends. Here is what you need to know about interest-only mortgages to avoid losing your home.

There are advantages to financing your home with an interest-only mortgage, at least initially. Interest-only mortgages give you a low monthly mortgage payment and the largest mortgage interest tax deduction. The thing many homeowners with interest only mortgages neglect to realize is that interest-only mortgages are not interest-only forever; at the end of the interest-only period the mortgage lender will add the principle back into your payment and adjust the interest rate. When this happens the monthly payment amount will go up significantly.

Interest-Only Basics

Interest-only mortgages are interest-only for a period of time specified in the loan contract, usually five years. At the end of the interest-only period the mortgage reverts to an adjustable rate mortgage amortized with a term five years less than a typical mortgage. What does this mean for your payment amount? The monthly payment will be higher because you now have five years less to pay back the same amount of loan. Adding insult to injury the mortgage lender will adjust the interest rate to whatever financial index your loan is tied to and add their premium markup at regular intervals.

Interest-only mortgages were intended as a short-term fix to a financial need; many homeowners abuse these mortgages because the don

===========================================
For additional Mortgage Refinancing information
and resources visit Mortgage Refinancing.
(http://www.refinance-refinance.net)
===========================================