(Knoxville, TN) Unless you’ve been on a deserted island over the past month, you know the financial markets are experiencing mortgage chaos. Historically, Knoxville fares quite well during turbulent times in the housing industry. However, tightening in the credit markets has resulted in lenders offering fewer loan programs. Mortgage professionals are advising current home owners…
DetailsInterest rates have increased over the past 6 months and this is catching many potential homebuyers by surprise. As interest rates increase, purchasing power decreases. Why are rates increasing? Well, if you’ve been following the mortgage industry you know that several large lenders have filed for bankruptcy. Most lenders take out large lines of credit…
DetailsAll of the problems we’ve seen in subprime mortgages over the past 9 months are finally starting to show-up in the overall economy. Bear Stearns recently reported that two of their hedge funds are essentially worthless due to bad bets on subprime loans. Ben Bernanke said today during his congressional briefing that economic growth will…
DetailsWe’re now seeing interest rates hit their 11-month high. Where will they go from here? Anybody’s guess. It’s a tough housing environment with all of the Sub-Prime mess, high level of home inventory and now rising interest rates. Check out the article published on Yahoo Finance today.
New home construction numbers were released today by the Commerce Department. February housing starts improved over the steep decline in January. However, just like we’ve seen over the past few months, there were mixed signals. Building permits which are an indicator of builder confidence declined. Permits have now declined 12 out of the past 13…
DetailsWow! The past two weeks in the mortgage industry have been wild. Sub-prime lenders are scared to death. Several more companies have gone out of business. All of the others are quickly tightening their guidelines. Stock prices have plummeted and employees are scrambling. I honestly believe most people saw this coming. We certainly did. What’s…
DetailsAs expected, many subprime lenders have filed bankruptcy or closed operations during the first 45 days of 2007. Most of these lenders are having to buy back loans from the investors who purchased the loans. The main reason for the buybacks are first payment defaults. In my opinion, we will continue to see a shakeout…
DetailsIt’s amazing how fast interest rates are increasing. Less than two months ago, rates were one-quarter to one-half point (percentage point) lower than they are today. The yield on the ten year treasury note has increased from around 4.5% to 4.9%. I would guess the main reason for the increase is the uncertainty surrounding inflation.…
DetailsAs I ‘ve discussed in a recent posting, I believe this will be a great year for first time homebuyers. With so many houses on the market I think buyers can find great deals. Here are a couple of tips: 1) Talk with a loan officer from a local mortgage company or bank and get…
DetailsI read a statistic the other day that nearly 75% of consumers research products and services online before making a purchase. That started me thinking about researching mortgages online. It’s a great way to ‘shop smart’ but I recommend you keep a couple things in mind as you go cyber sleuthing for a loan. 1.…
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