Current Mortgage Interest Rates
Mortgage Financing: Best Overall Resources:
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Conventional Loans (All loans except FHA, VA or RHS loans)
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Mortgage loans offered by non-government sponsored lenders. Loan types include:
- Fixed Rate (i.e., 15 year, 30 year Fixed = set interest rate for 30 yrs)
- Adjustable Rate (ARMs): Fed Reserve Hanbook
- Combination (Hybrid)
- Balloon Mortgages & Pledge Asset loans
- Jumbo/Construction Loans
- Reverse Mortgage
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| Conforming Loans |
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| FHA Loan |
Mortgage loan guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority |
| VA (Veterans Admin) Loan |
Mortgage loan offered to American veterans by the US Dept of Veteran Affairs |
| RHS Loan Programs |
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| State & Local Housing Programs |
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| Jumbo Loans |
Loans for more than $729,750 (DC Metro) Jumbo Loan Basics |
| B/C Loans |
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| Location Efficient Mortgage (LEM) |
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| Fixed Rate Mortgage |
Mortgage loan with an interest rate that does not change throughout the duration of the loan (i.e., 15 or 30 years)
Examples:
- 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage: Payment on a $200,000 Loan at 4.875% and 70% loan-to-value (LTV) is $1058.42 (PI) with 1.375 points due at closing. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 5.048%. Payment doesn’t include taxes and insurance.
- 15-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage: Payment on a $200,000 1 Loan at 4.25% and 70% loan-to-value (LTV) is $1504.56 (PI) with 1.25 points due at closing. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is 4.526%. Payment does not include taxes and insurance.
- PI = Principal & Interest. Your monthly mortgage payment will include PITI (Principal, Interest, RE taxes & Hazzard Insurance)
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| Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) |
Mortgage Interest rate that varies ("floats") over the term (i.e., 30 yrs) of the loan, usually in response to changes in the Prime Rate or Treasury Bill Rate. Purpose = reduce the short term interest rate for a several years (i.e., 1, 3, 5, 7 yrs). There is a ceiling/maximum interest rate which can be reset annually. Advatage of ARMS: (1) Interest rates are going down (not the case in 2010+); and (2) Buyer will live in home for less than 5 years (If true, an ARM might be fine in 2010+)
ARMs have the following features:
- Index
- Margin
- Adjustment Frequency
- Initial Interest Rate
- Interest Rate Caps
- Convertibility
Index: ARMs increase or decrease based on publicly published indexes. ARM indexes include:
- US Treasury Bills (T-Bills)
- 11th District Cost of Funds Index (COFI)
- London Interbank Offering Rate Index (LIBOR)
- 12-Month Treasury Average (MTA or MAT )
- Cost of Savings Index (Wells Fargo COSI )
- Bank Prime Loan (Prime Rate)
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| Combined/Hybrid ARMs |
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Great Index of Many Calculators: Mortgage, Credit Card, Auto, Retirement & Investment, Savings, College Finance. Calculators provided by bankrate.com
Mortgage Loan Calculator (PITI): Determine your monthly mortgage principal, interest, taxes and insurance payment (PITI) and amortization schedule.
Mortgage APR Calculator: Find the APR (Annual Percentage Rate) on your mortgage.
Loan-to-Value Calculator: Do you have enough equity in your house to refinance
Required Income For Mortgage Calculator: Determine how much income you need to qualify for a mortgage and how different interest rates affect your required income.
Maximum Mortgage Calculator: Determine your maximum mortgage and how different interest rates affect your how much you can borrow.
Mortgage Tax Savings Calculator: Determine how much your mortgage could save you in income taxes.
Mortgage Points Calculator: Should you buy points to lower your interest rate?
Rent vs. Buy Calculator : Should you buy or rent?
Bi-weekly Payments Savings Calculator for an Existing Mortgage: Determine possible savings by starting to pay your current mortgage with bi-weekly payments, instead of monthly payments.
15 Year vs. 30 Year Mortgage Calculator: You can save a lot of money in interest over the life of the loan with a 15-year mortgage. But, it will cost you a chunk of extra money each money to do it.
Re-finance Interest Savings Calculator: Determine how much interest you can save by refinancing
Re-finance Breakeven Calculator: Determine when you will breakeven if you refinance your mortgage.
Home Equity Debt Consolidation Calculator
Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Household Budget Calculator:
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Documents (copies) Your Lender Will Need to Approve Your Loan
- Copies of your last two paychecks.
- Copies of your last two years W-2’s.
- Copies of last two years Federal Income Tax returns.
- A copy of last months bank statement(s).
- A copy of last month’s 401-K statement(s).
- A copy of last months Investment statement(s).
- A copy of Homeowners Insurance front page
- A copy of your Drivers License.
Current Homeowner:
- A copy of your last closing statement,... if refinancing.
- A copy of last month’s mortgage bill/statement.
- A copy of your real estate tax bill.
- A copy of the last appraisal on your home if available.
Other:
- A copy of your Divorce Decree.
- A copy of your Child Support Agreement.
Good Faith Estimate (GFE)
Lender's estimate of your total closing costs & monthly mortgage payment which you have a right to know before you are legally obligated to go through with the home purchase. it is highly recommended that you ask for, and receive, a GFE or Estimated Cost of Settlement (essentially the same as GFE) prior to writing an offer on home.
- What is it & How do Lender Fees Correspond to the HUD-1 (Settlement Statement) ?
Settlement Resources & Information
