OVERVIEW: (Scroll down to view latest mortgage rates and trend charts, Courtesy of Bankrate.com)
On the average over 65% of US households live in their own homes. According to Fannie Mea, home ownership is one of the solid foundations of financial security (read News Update - Fannie Mea Home Ownership Inititive). For most middle-income families buying a home would be the single largest investment of their lifetime.
Recent statistics show that equity (home value minus outstanding loan), from home-ownership is the largest source of wealth for low to middle-income homeowners. Therefore to help foster home-ownership by low-income families, in December 2003, President George W. Bush signed a bill that would grant up to $10,000 each to low-income home-buyers either to be used as down-payment or closing cost. Read more about the American Dream Down Payment Act of 2003. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10 POINT CONSIDERATION:
Prior to choosing a lender, here are some basic questions for every homebuyer that could help you navigate through the maze of mortgage options.
How much can I afford to borrow?
How can I tell which mortgage rate is best for me?
What is the best type of mortgage for me? - fixed or adjustable rate.
Will this mortgage suit my current or future circumstance?
What commissions, fees or points am I going to pay?"
Can I make lump sum or early payments on my loan without penalty?
Will I be paying mortgage insurance?
How much is my closing cost, what are those specific items? -
What happens if I can't meet my mortgage obligation?
What are the fine prints, if any? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PROCESS:
Whatever their financial situation or credit rating, it is imperative that consumers begin to explore the prospects of home-ownership, lowering mortgage payment or consolidating their debt. To do so successfully, consumers could start by utilizing our FINANCIAL CALCULATORS to estimate monthly payments and income requirements based on various hypothetical interest rates.
The Mortgage Bankers Association website offers a wide range of information, which home-buyers can find quite useful in their research. You can visit them at MBA.org. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FANNIE MAE HOME OWNERSHIP INITIATIVE.
Chairman & CEO of Fannie Mae, is tired of people of color being “overlooked, underserved and overcharged” when it comes to housing. And as head of the nation’s largest source of home mortgage financing, he has the capital and the commitment to do something about it.
In January 2004, Fannie Mae kicked-off a bold new initiative that will help six million families, including 1.8 million minority households, become first-time homeowners over the next 10 years. The goal is to boost the homeownership rate for people of color from 49% to 55%, and ultimately to close the gap with whites entirely. (Approximately 75% of whites are homeowners.)
The new plan will also focus on developing rental housing, expanding the supply of affordable housing and aiding families at risk of losing their homes. In addition, the program seeks to make it easier for recent immigrants to become homeowners, even before they obtain permanent residency status. Meeting the proposed targets will require Fannie Mae to increase its average annual financing for first-time home buyers by more than 250,000 households—an increase of more than 70% over the annual average for the first four years of this decade.
So far Fannie Mae’s record for setting and exceeding grandiose goals has been impressive. The agency has already met the $2 trillion goal set in 2000 under their “American Dream Commitment” initiative to aid Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans become homeowners, and their previous “Trillion Dollar Commitment” launched in 1994.
Over the past 10 years, Fannie Mae has provided more than $3 trillion for over 28 million underserved families.“[This initiative] is just the right thing at just the right time in just the right hands,” said Mayor Anthony Williams of Washington, D.C., who was at the announcement.“What this does for our children is so powerful,” noted Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), referring to homeownership’s role in wealth creation. “What this is all about is empowering people.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Below are current mortgage rates updated daily and brought to you courtesy of Bankrate.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mortgage Rate Trend Chart Courtesy of Bankrate.com
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