What Really Causes Mortgage Rates to Change?

Every homeowner considering a refinance or soon to be homeowner cares a great deal about where Las Vegas mortgage rates are, and where they are headed. If you are like most people, you watch the 10 year bond rate that you see posted everywhere, including CNBC. In reality, the 10 yr government bond or the Federal Funds rate have little to do with how mortgage rates are established on Las Vegas home loans.



What then, are mortgage rates tied to, and what causes them to move??? Mortgage rates are tied to MBS.



..that is, Fannie Mae Mortgage Backed Securities. As the price of various MBS changes, so do fixed rate mortgages. As the price increases, mortgage rates rates go down.



What affects the price of Fannie Mae MBS? Several things. Many of the same items that affect the 10 year bond including:



a) Expectations of future inflation
b) Movements in the stock market
c) Government purchases of Mortgage Backed Securities
d) Rick premium between 10 yr bond and Mortgage Backed Securities
e) Competition from the US Government deficits



Expectations of future inflation: When the markets anticipate higher inflation, to prevent erosion of value, they demand a higher return on longer term investments like 10 year bonds and Mortgage Backed Securities.



Movements in the stock market: When money flows into and out of the stock market, much of it comes from or goes into bonds and mortgage back securities. As demand changes, so does the pricing.



Government purchases of Mortgage Backed Securities: In 2009, the fed has agreed to purchase up to 1.5 trillion in mortgage backed securities in an effort to keep prices high & mortgage rates lower. In fact, even their multi billion dollar purchases have not had the effect of keeping rates under 5%, yet they have been effective in keeping them from approaching 6%.



In September of this year however, the program will end and mortgage rates may creep up as a result.



Risk premium between 10 yr bonds and mortgage backed securities: On a historical basis, MBS were often priced on average under 150 basis points (1.5%) above the 10 year bond. With the advent of the mortgage crisis, that mortgage risk premium has increased.



Competition from the US Government: When deficits are high, the government is competing for a limited supply of available funds.



When government debt is issued, it takes dollars out of the system that might otherwise be used to purchase MBS...and thus can put upward pressure on MBS. By knowing where rates are headed, you can save a great deal of money and know when to lock the rate on your Las Vegas Home Loan.

Heinous Mortgage Mistakes

Homeowners make a variety of costly mistakes when it comes to mortgages. Here is all you need to know to avoid these mistakes.

Any homeowner regardless of their credit, needs to avoid making financial mistakes when it comes to their mortgage. If you are in the process of taking out a mortgage you need to research lenders and do your homework to avoid common mistakes.

Here is a checklist to help you avoid costly mistakes when taking out a mortgage.



Does The Mortgage Have a Prepayment Penalty?

This is one of the first things you should look for when evaluating mortgage offers. Prepayment penalties are a fee you will have to pay if you refinance or sell your home. This expense can be as high as six months worth of interest on 85 percent of the original loan value. This expense defeats the purpose of refinancing; any potential savings from refinancing will be lost to the penalty.

This is especially undesirable if you had to take out a mortgage with a high interest rate or unfavorable terms due to your credit.



After six months to a year of a bad credit mortgage you will want to refinance to a traditional mortgage with better rates and conditions; avoiding a prepayment penalty will save you money.

What is the Exact Interest Rate?

Getting the lender to commit to an interest rate can be harder than it sounds. Make sure you get the exact interest rate in writing. Make sure it is not a "Discount Rate" or an "Introductory Offer." Make sure the lender or broker will lock this mortgage rate and give you enough time to close on the loan.



Negotiate with your lender for a lower interest rate; you might offer to prepay points in exchange for a better rate or more favorable terms.

Is Your Lender Pushy?

Do not be a victim of pressure sales tactics. If you feel your lender or broker is being pushy, look elsewhere. Mortgage lenders that practice pressure sales are more likely to practice predatory lending practices as well. To avoid being taken advantage of you should look for your mortgage somewhere else.



Know Your Budget Before You Shop

Many homeowners rush their financing to avoid losing their dream home. The are happy enough just being approved that they take a mortgage with unfavorable terms and rates. You can avoid falling into this trap by doing your homework first and having a budget. Do not plan on having lower payments in 2-3 years; you need to budget for today, especially if your financing falls through 2 or 3 years down the road.

To learn more about avoiding common homeowner mistakes sign up for our free mortgage guidebook.



St Louis Mortgage Refinance

Louie Latour has twenty years of experience in the mortgage industry as a mortgage broker.

He is the owner of Mortgages Refinance Advisor, a mortgage help site devoted to saving homeowners money with a free guidebook Mortgage Refinance: What You Need to Know. Sign up for your free guide today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com

Adjustable Rate Mortgages - Determining Rates

Adjustable rate mortgages are to home buyers as carrots are to

bunnies - very tempting. The secret to figuring out if an

adjustable rate mortgage is a good deal is the rate index used.



Indexes - Setting Rates



Lenders really want your business and are willing to create

enticing loan products to get it. Occasionally, lenders will

offer adjustable rate mortgages that offer a lot of carrot on

the front end, but none on the back end. These loans are

typically offered to you with an insanely low initial interest

rate, which has you looking at mansions and other structures

completely out of your realistic price range.



The problem with

these loans is the rate rises dramatically after six months or a

year when the rate becomes pegged to an index.



Indexes are a unique animal when it comes to the mortgage

industry. An index is a calculation of general interest rates

charged across a number of financial markets that a bank uses to

set a real interest rate on your loan. Common financial markets

or products considered in this index include six month

certificate deposit rates at local banks, LIBOR, T-Bills and so

on.



Let's take a closer look.



1. Certificate Deposits - Better known as "CDs", these are the

fixed time period investing vehicles you can get at your local

bank. You agree to deposit a certain amount for six months and

the bank gives you a guaranteed interest rate of return such as

three percent.



2. T-Bills - Officially known as Treasury Bills, T-Bills are the

credit cards for the federal government. Currently, Uncle Sam

owes trillions of dollars on his and pays a certain interest

rate on the debit.



The interest rate is used by lenders in

calculating your ARM rates.



3. Cost of Funds Index - It gets a bit technical, but this index

represents the rates being used by banks in Nevada, Arizona and

California as an average.



4. LIBOR - Officially known as the London Interbank Offered Rate

Index, LIBOR is a popular index upon which to base ARM rates.

Now, you are probably wondering what London has to do with the

United States real estate market. LIBOR represents the interest

rate international banks charge to borrow U.



S. dollars on the

London currency markets. LIBOR rates move quickly and can result

in unstable interest rate moves for your adjustable mortgage.



Why Indexes Matter



Indexes matter because they set the base of the interest rates

charged on your loan. Assume you apply for an adjustable rate

mortgage based on a LIBOR index. Assume the LIBOR rate is 2.2

percent when you apply. The 2.2 percent is your starting

interest rate. If the LIBOR shoots up one percent in eight

months, your loan will do the same.



Importantly, the index rate used for your loan is not the

interest rate you will pay. Instead, you have to add the banks

margin on top of the index rate. Most banks will charge two to

three percent on top of the index rate. Using our LIBOR example,

the initial interest rate of your loan would be 2.2 percent plus

whatever the bank is using as a spread. Obviously, this means

you need to closely read the loan documents to figure out how

the game is being played!

Real Estate Leads 101: It Takes Time

Online advance bearing companies are a huge antecedent of absolute acreage leads for Realtors and a abundant adeptness to advice abound an agent's business. However, abounding advance bearing companies are consistently airtight by agents who accept acclimated the account and had little, if any success with the absolute acreage leads provided. In my experience, this annoyance generally comes because the abettor has unrealistic expectations of the account and little to no adeptness on how to advance a acceptable chase up attack with their absolute acreage leads.



The aboriginal affair you charge to apprehend as an abettor is that advance bearing casework aren't abracadabra advertisement trees. About you shouldn't apprehend to get advertisement afterwards advertisement from a service. Most casework plan on the afterward basis: they accommodate online business in the agent's specific area, the accustomed aftereffect of which is homeowners in charge of advice bushing out advance acquaintance forms. This acquaintance anatomy is beatific to the abettor in the area, and that is their "lead.



"





So what does this beggarly exactly? Well, it agency the absolute acreage leads provided will be humans with altered types of absolute acreage needs and in altered stages of the process. If an abettor signs up for a account for a 3 ages arrangement and apprehend a advertisement aural the aboriginal month, they are acceptable to be disappointed. Actual listings with absolute acreage leads DO happen, but they aren't the norm.



Realty Times analyzed added than one actor absolute acreage leads captured and able online and again compared them to accessible annal of home sales from beyond the country.



They begin that alone about 7.3% of consumers awash their home aural 3 months of bushing out a advance form, but the allotment grew to 22% afterwards 12 months and to over 40% afterwards 28 months. This agency that purchasing absolute acreage leads online is a LONG TERM investment, not an actual antecedent of money. Absolute acreage leads generated online MUST be aggressively followed up with to catechumen them to clients!





Therefore, as a absolute acreage agent, you accept to attending at advance bearing casework in the aforementioned ablaze as added business endeavors.



If you apparatus absolute commitment campaigns and forward out advice several times a year to 5,000 homes, do you apprehend to get 5,000 listings aural the year? No. Absolute mailings are added acceptable to aftereffect in accession of absolute acreage leads over the next year or two which you again accept to breeding into audience searching to buy or sell.



There are about four types of absolute acreage leads accustomed by online advance bearing companies: buyers, sellers, refinancers and fakers.



Buyers may be in altered stages of the process, as may sellers, so you may accept to chase up for 2 years afore in fact accepting their business, or you may accept a advertisement aural 3 months. It depends on area the customer themselves are at in the process. Obviously buyers accept a abundant abeyant - you may be able to advertise one of your listings to them and if they charge anyone to account their accepted home, you've got a bifold anathema of a lead. Aforementioned goes with a abettor searching to account - maybe they'll be absorbed in purchasing one of the homes you already accept listed, and if not, conceivably they'll still accede you for a buyer's abettor to represent them if they acquirement a new home.



Again, a bifold anathema of a lead.



Just because the abettor isn't traveling to advertise for 2.5 years doesn't beggarly you should bead them - on the contrary, you now accept 2.5 years to get a leg up on the antagonism by alive carefully and sending the advance any advice to accomplish their absolute acreage action easier. It all comes down to an agent's sales adeptness - advance bearing casework can get your basal in the door, but it's up to you to advertise yourself to your absolute acreage leads.



Often absolute acreage agents accuse the loudest about accepting absolute acreage leads of humans searching to refinance or get a home disinterestedness loan. "These aren't absolute acreage leads, I'm not a broker, what am I declared to do with this lead, it's worthless," they say. That is actually FALSE and the amiss way to attending at these leads. Aboriginal off, any absolute acreage abettor account their alkali should accept a abutting alive accord with one or added mortgage brokers to accredit these blazon of leads on to.



In the spirit of reciprocation, the mortgage abettor should be apropos buyers and sellers aback to you!



Even afore you accredit the refi advance to a broker, you charge to do some plan on your own. Talk to the lead, get to apperceive them and their situation, brainwash them in anyhow accessible on refinancing as against to affairs or selling. Sometimes these leads can be adapted to listings, depending on what their bearings is and what aisle makes added faculty for them. Even if they do wind up traveling to your mortgage broker, that's still one added homeowner out there that knows your name and how accommodating to advice you were - they may wind up defective you a few years from now or apropos their ancestors and accompany to you.



You never absolutely apperceive what could appear of your absolute acreage leads unless you try.



Last but not least, we accept the affected absolute acreage leads - humans who ample out advice forms but accord not ONE acceptable section of acquaintance info. A advance that has a affected name, number, email and acreage abode is admittedly, a bad lead. There's no way to acquaintance the being and acquisition out who they are. However as continued as even ONE section of advice is actual (name, buzz number, acreage address) again a little detective plan with accessible annal can advice you get to the basal of the lead.



Agents who accede a advance bad just because it has a affected name will wind up missing out on MANY agency checks.



The best way to accept success with absolute acreage leads generated online is to accept a able chase up campaign. Accord the advance account a adventitious to plan for you, but be astute - not all leads about-face to listings and not all listings appear overnight. Patience and assiduous and constant chase up is the accurate aisle to success with absolute acreage leads and online bearing companies.



It just takes time.