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The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the recent fall of mortgage rates. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of mortgage rates, this week saw a decline in mortgage rates with the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropping to 4.80% the week of April 21, compared to 4.91% the week before. A 15-year … Continue reading Affordable Financial Services’ Weekly Finance Review Affordable Financial Services is reminding everyone that April is Credit Scores Education Month. Those who are looking to apply for a mortgage should check their credit score, as the federal government has tightened its lending requirements. Credit Scores Education Month is a month-long campaign sponsored by the Consumer Bankers Foundation and the Leadership Conference on Civil … Continue reading April is Credit Scores Education Month Bloomberg recently reported that U.S. banks will close 5,000 branches in the next 18 months as they face falling profits, decreased loan demand and lower fee revenue. Analyst Meredith Whitney, formerly of Oppenheimer & Co., said banks are facing an “uphill battle” to generate loan growth as consumers reduce debt; in addition, banks will collect … Continue reading Affordable Financial Services Weekly Finance Review The Associated Press reported today that the mortgage problems that have been hanging around since the housing market collapsed are catching up with the banks that took on those risky loans in the first place. According to the AP, stocks of Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup, Inc. … Continue reading Mortgage Problems Sink Bank Stocks Zimonet.com posted two articles over the past two days on how more homeowners are switching to a 15-year mortgage as a way to pay off their house and get out of debt more quickly. The articles also point out that, although it is an attractive option, it isn’t for everyone. According to information from CoreLogic, a … Continue reading 15-Year Mortgage Becoming Attractive to More Homeowners Today’s Associated Press article reported that the amount consumers owed on their credit cards fell to its lowest level in eight years. According to TransUnion, the average combined debt for bank-issued credit cards — either with a MasterCard or Visa logo — was $4,951 in the second quarter of this year, down 13% from $5,719 … Continue reading Credit Card Debt at Eight-Year Low With mortgage rates at record lows, some homeowners are still not taking advantage of them, but through no fault of their own. Today’s CNNMoney article reports how the new lending requirements are turning away borrowers who, under the old lending rules, would have been eligible for a loan. Last week, mortgage rates fell for the eighth … Continue reading Some Homeowners Unable to Take Advantage of Record-Low Interest Rates Remember the old commercials urging people to turn their home equity into cash for new cars, vacations and other luxuries? Well, people are still cashing out, but for a different reason: to decrease the size of their home loan. MarketWatch reported today that “cash-in refinancing” is the new trend in which borrowers tap their home equity … Continue reading Homeowners Use Cash-in Refinancing to Pay Down Mortgages The Associated Press reported today that there was an increase in the number of applications for home loans last week as people sought to take advantage of the ever-decreasing interest rates. But the people jumping on the low-interest rate bandwagon aren’t those looking to buy a home; it’s those who already own a home. Data from … Continue reading Mortgage Applications Rise, But — Still — No Buyers |
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