To follow up on my Post from yesterday regarding interest rates and how if any are lower rates effecting the market, I wanted to add some comments from Stephen Shockley, Residential and Commercial loan Consultant with The Bearland Group, LLC.
According to Mr. Shockley, “Interest rates have increased slightly over the last few weeks. The week before Christmas rates plunged to 4.5% for a short time. That drop increased mortgage refinance applications considerably. Rates have increased to 5% (which is still a very nice interest rate) due to the end of the year bond sell off for corporations to make their bottom line look a bit better before the end of the year.” He went on to state, “I am hoping the beginning of the upcoming year will show improvements to rates. The Feds have considered dropping the feds fund rate again another .25%, however that information has not been substantiated”
Stephen went on to point out that the rate drop has helped increase the Athens area refinance transactions. He stated that there have not been as many purchase loans as he had thought. According to Stephen, “The biggest issue we have encountered (in refinances) is lower than expected home appraisal values, which is not surprising during this current economic situation.”
He goes on to note that so far he has been pretty lucky with appraised values. He states, “I have had situations where the appraised value has come in exactly where I need to complete a particular deal and later find out the current mortgage payoff is higher than estimated. The unexpected increase in payoff amounts have mostly been late fees and payoff processing fees which are usually hard to account for. In this case, I will dive into a particular clients mortgage payoff/mortgage history versus actual home value. After examining my clients current mortgage versus the purposed mortgage, I will adjust closing costs, and other fees to try and make the deal work. The adjustments will vary for each individual. Some adjustments cannot be made depending on the clients particular mortgage situation. Adjustments for some refinance transactions are not needed. My average monthly savings for my clients has been at least $250 a month over the past few months.”
If you are looking for money to purchase or refinance please take a look at Stephen Shockley. His contact information at the Beardland Group is (C): 770-778-7497, (O): 678-456-0356, and his personal website: www.LoansMadeBySteve.com.
