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More news on the Mortgage Front

Well it is almost official. The senate passed the anticipated bill raising the conforming loan limit to $729,750, up from $417,750. Now the President just needs to sign it. This does not mean that loan amounts above $417,000 will receive the exact same pricing as loan amounts under $417,000. There will be some sort of add on pricing but it will be a whole lot better than where jumbo loans are priced right now. This move will hopefully stimulate buyers who have been sitting on the fence waiting for house prices to drop. After all, this is only a temporary move, good until the end of the year. This should help to make properties more affordable in the short term.

So anyone you know who is thinking about buying a home, and it has to be an owner occupied home, please have them call me. Also, anyone who has an interest rate between 6 and 7% should definitely call me to see if we can perhaps refinance and lower that rate. The big problem has been having enough equity in the property to allow for refinancing. Most lenders are taking an additional 5% off the purchase price or current appraised value for what they are calling "Declining Market". So, call me and I will have a comp check done to see if your property will qualify for a refinance.

Another issue that has recently arisen is that lenders are now freezing some borrowers existing equity lines, not allowing them to draw on them. They are doing this on properties they suspect do not have enough equity in them. This just does not seem fair, does it? If you are self employed and need your equity line to carry you through the slow times or, are planning to use your line of credit for home remodeling, purchasing a new car, etc...then you might want to consider calling me as well to look into refinancing. You do not want to get yourself in a compromising position with your equity line.

These are  difficult times but perhaps I can suggest some creative solutions to some current and potential challenges. I would very much like to help so please give me a call and together we will persevere!