| Author | Message | ||
     Wolfridgerider |
Mortgage rates... any thoughts??? Are we at the bottom yet? | ||
| Xl1200r |
I'm putting an offer in on a house today. I hope they plummet in the next month  | ||
| Slaughter |
Basing homebuying decisions on sportbike BBS discussions is like looking to the same boards for voting and political advice. We bought our house and closed escrow a couple months ago... suppose that kinda said MORE about what we think of the house prices than the mortgage rates. Unless you're looking at buying into "distressed assets" or whatever the banks are calling such things this week. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
I just spoke with an agent last weekend. He said the 8000.00 credit will be going away shortly, but interest rates should stay low for a while, although the market is picking up on high end homes. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I think it's the combination of low prices and low rates that make this the time to buy for first-timers (like myself). I look at it this way. Property values are down, but you think my rent is going to decrease? Not a chance. | ||
| Greenlantern |
Don't ask me, I am still fuming over HOG ($8.00 2 weeks ago) and C (technical penny stock 2 weeks ago) and I sat on my ass.  | ||
| Rde48 |
I say not yet. I am waiting to see 4% before I do my rate modification. | ||
| Rfischer |
Hmmmmn.....well, our Fearless Leaders' latest maneuver - getting the Fed to buy Fannie-Freddie mortgage-backed paper and 10 year/20 year Treasuries - has pushed 30 year fixed conventional rates to a new all-time low [4.85% last week] and may yet push them a bit lower. At least one pundit of my acquaintance [broker with UBS International] thinks to 4.25%. But, he's a Cuban refugee living in Coral Gables so.....  My own reading of the tea leaves, bones, taro cards, and dart board suggests maybe 4.5% or so, beginning to rise early next year. For what it's worth, I'm in the middle of refinancing a 7/1 ARM JUMBO into a 30 yr. fixed. Am being quoted 5.75% which is a very good rate for a JUMBO I think. That's what the 7/1 ARM was written at 18 months ago. The issue for most folks remains how to qualify. Lending standards are still ridiculously tight in many regions. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
My bank is at 4.85 on a 30 year fixed. The board I put outside during the new moon has warped so the middle is hi and the ends are low.... I think that indicates I should give it a few more days before I lock in.... All b/s aside, I think they are going down just a little more.... We shall see | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
If you want a smaller mortgage payment just quit paying and the bank may knock down the mortgage. This is what happened to my wifes friend. They quit paying and moved out of their house. As they were settling into their apartment the bank offered to knock off nearly $30000. They moved back in. | ||
| Court |
>>> just quit paying Ya always have to live with yourself and dishonesty just seems to haunt a person day and night. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
About to close in a few weeks on a 15 year refinance at 4.75%. The rates may go lower, so if they drop the last minute before the closing, I'll have to insist that I get the lower rate. The banks are looking for solid investments now, so if you can qualify, you can pretty much dictate your terms. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Fixed rate mortgages here are around 4.25 on a 15 year sliding up to around 5ish on a 30 year. I wasn't making much out of my investments with HSBC so a couple of years back I pulled it all out & paid off the mortgage. Knowing that your home is entirely yours is a wonderful feeling. | ||
| Drummer |
"...Knowing that your home is entirely yours is a wonderful feeling." Yep, and it's probably the most critical part of anyone's retirement plan. Regardless of how bad things get...no one can come and take my house. You'll sleep better. | ||
| Methed |
> ...no one can come and take my house. just make sure to pay all of your taxes, then this statement is true. | ||
| Zane |
I’ve been talking to realtors in the last two weeks or so. I needed a professional’s unemotional opinion of what my house was worth before I made a buyout offer to my soon to be ex wife. Both realtors came in within $5000 of each other on the house’s market value. Both were right inside the bracket that I thought it would be in. The realtor that seemed to have her act together the most said something I thought interesting. She that housing prices aren’t “down” but corrected. The housing prices we saw in 2004 and 2005 did not reflect real worth, but speculation. It’s her opinion that housing prices have regained some semblance to reality with today prices. She things that prices will remain steady or climb slowly at low single digit rates. The realtor also said that houses in the $150,000 to $250,000 are still selling well. That is the range of first time home buyers in this area. Above $250,000 and the market is very slow. Everyone already in a decent home is staying put. Mortgage rates here in the Tampa Bay area are in the range of 4.85% to 5.5%. My credit union is advertising 4.95% for best credit with most people qualifying around 5.25% for 15 year fixed. | ||
| Xl1200r |
She said that housing prices aren’t “down” but corrected. Just like the stock market after the internet bubble burst. It wasn't real, and neither were the home prices. However, it all depends on where you are in the country. Where I am near Albany, NY, prices have been very stable and not declined much since the peak of the housing boom, mostly because SO many people are employed by the state government in this area, so unemployment stays very low for the most part. The place I'm looking to put an offer on today is priced at $170k, and with my stellar credit, I'll be able to get an FHA 30-year fixed no higher than 5%. | ||
| Zane |
Good Luck Xl1200r. I hate the idea of starting over on my mortgage. I'm about 1/2 way through my existing 15 year mortgage. I'll have to do a refi to buy out my dear bride but it's worth it. At least I'll still have a roof over my head and a I'll be debt free except for the mortgage and monthly bills. Except for a m/c payment, I plan to stay that way. There's a good reason why owning you're own home is part of the American dream. Good luck on your offer. I can't wait to see pictures of YOUR place. (Message edited by Zane on March 30, 2009) | ||
| Xl1200r |
I'll need it. There was a last minute open house yesterday, and the place was packed. As of last night, I'll be one of three putting an offer in today. The garage is big enough for my car, the three motorcycles and some workspace | ||
| Zane |
Sounds perfect. Does it have a kitchen or a bed room? Strictly speaking those are luxuries if you have enough work room in the garage but they're still "nice to haves". Sounds like yours does. Seriously... I'll send good vibes your way! Good luck again. | ||
| Drummer |
"just make sure to pay all of your taxes, then this statement is true." VERY good point. And for all those senior citizens in high cost areas like parts of Long Island, it's a crime for some of them to lose their homes over increased property taxes. An absolute crime. Steve | ||
| Seanp |
And to think that we bought a house last September and were happy with 6.125%...  If I'd have known the government was going to be so generous and give out bonuses, and that the rates would drop even more, I'd have waited a few months and bought in January. Oh well. What is the difference on monthly payment between 6.125% and, say, 4.625%? | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I used an allegory during the "housing bubble". If the going rate for dog poop is $5 per pound, you can probably sell Elvis Presley's dog's poop for $10 per pound because of its provenance. However, you'll never get $50 per pound for anyone's dog poop, because it still is after all just dog poop. | ||
| Johnnymceldoo |
>>> just quit paying Ya always have to live with yourself and dishonesty just seems to haunt a person day and night. Come on Court this is America in 2009. Why do you think we work so hard? Its to help out others and even things out.  | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
SeanP, if you have a 30 yr mortgage at 6.1%, you should shop and get a 15 yr at 4.6%. The monthly payment will be only slightly higher, and you'll save yourself 15 years of debt and interest. Don't let anyone fool you, there is no such thing as good debt. Unless your income is well up there, but that's another story. | ||
| Seanp |
Well, the thing is that we're probably going to sell the house when I move for my job in 2012, so we're not looking for a long-term solution. The only reason to go to a 15-year mortgage would be to pay off more principal to make more profit when we sell. I hate this stuff...  I just talked with our mortgage place and we could refinance at 4.375% with closing costs of $8,453, and our break-even point would be 2.65 years, and our payment would be about $300 a month less. That seems pretty good - we'll break even before we sell, and our payments will drop well below my monthly housing allowance, (even before I get promoted) so that's a plus. (Message edited by seanp on March 30, 2009 - because I'm a financial idjit) (Message edited by seanp on March 30, 2009) | ||
| Ulywife |
if you have a 30 yr mortgage at 6.1%, you should shop and get a 15 yr at 4.6%. The monthly payment will be only slightly higher, and you'll save yourself 15 years of debt and interest. That's exactly what we did a few years back. Dropped from 30 years down to 15 and only went up maybe $50-$75 a month. I laugh when the mortgage companies call to offer us a better rate. I tell them good luck! (Message edited by Ulywife on March 30, 2009) | ||
| Oddsc |
I just locked in a rate of 4.5% on a 20 year fixed for my first house. Aren't rates at something like a 50 year low. Even if they go down, I can't imagine it'll be enough to make me regret not waiting. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Offer is in. There were three other offers coming in besides mine, and while we were there looking at the place for the second time, there was a young couple right behind us waiting to get in. I'm quite surprised I put in an offer above the asking price, especially in a 'buyer's market' such as this. Nobody seems to report on the fact the entry level homes are still selling rather strong, and the good ones (such as mine) will often get multiple bids in the first week. Still crossing my fingers - won't know until Wednesday. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I got it! More like 5 offers, mine was highest by about $1000, so it was just enough to get it. It's modest, but still likely more than I need, 1.5 miles door to door to work, and pretty good for a 25-year-old guy buying his first home totally on his own. Full finished basement with family room, den, laundry and storage, garage is just big enough, pool in the back yard and move in ready. I got plans for this place! I know you guys like pics...     | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Looking GOOD... watch out for dog poo in the yard..... LOL I just pulled the trigger on the Re-fi hope to save a few bucks... Congrats on the purchase!... and the SHORT ride/walk to work! | ||
| Rfischer |
'round these parts, houses priced under $250K sell in a few days. It's the high-end that's slow. High-end new construction is at a drop-dead stop, even as mortgage rates drop to an all-time low. As for the 'good debt/bad debt' argument is really only an opportunity cost issue. If you have cash with which to purchase you will want to put it to the highest and best use. A 30 yr. conventional mortgage can be had at 4.85%, or thereabouts. You can buy various publicly traded income trusts or limited partnerships which pay distributions above 10%. Clearly then, you could buy the equities, take out a mortgage, and make money on the spread, or difference between the interest paid for the mortgage vs. the income received from the equities. In this example 5.15%, $7725 per year on a modest $150,000 mortgage. There are other issues, or considerations, involved as well, but this is the gist of the "good debt" logic. I can tell you from long experience that it is valid. But, I will also tell you that I have always made sure that, if push came to shove, I could/can pay off the mortgage in its entirety at any time. | ||
| Rfischer |
Oh, and Mark, nice house - ya dun good! |
