Portage, Valparaiso and NW Indiana Mortgage Company

The Veterans Administration offers a guaranty for mortgages of up to $417,000.00 to eligible veterans with -0- money down. In addition, the VA allows the veteran to borrow money at the time of the purchase for energy efficiency improvements to the home. Up to $6,000.00 can be borrowed with documentation to show the work to be done and the potential savings on utility bills. More than $6,000.00 can be borrowed with a review of the work by the VA appraiser to determine the increase in value to the house. Call today for details

U.S. fixed mortgage rates crept higher this week but still remain well below their year-ago levels, pushing up housing affordability, Freddie Mac said in its weekly survey Thursday. Adjustable-rate loans notched a slight decline. The benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan averaged 5.72% nationwide in the week ending Thursday, up from 5.67% the previous week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year averaged 6.30%. Fifteen-year fixed mortgages, a popular refinancing option, jumped to 5.25% from 5.15%. A year ago the 15-year loan averaged 6.03%. from Rick Kellow on Active Rain

THE GOOD NEWS. For every foreclosure there is a first-time home buyer getting a fantastic deal! As values increased, many first-time buyers were priced right out of the market. With the finance everyone for anything party over, home prices have fallen nationwide around 5%. Some markets even more.
This won't last for ever. Yet many people are sitting on the sidelines waiting, hoping, for prices to fall further. Look at the chart below. If one assumes a little further drop in home prices, does it really make sense to wait to buy? Rates are low today, but as the economy recovers, rates should go up to stem inflation. A 30-year fixed rate under 6.00% may soon be only a distant memory. From Joseph Metzler on Active Rain

We'll be doing a daily update of news on mortgage, mostly written by authors on Active Rain, so that our readers can glean from the great writing around the country. These are just exerpts, and you are encouraged to go to the links provided to read the full content of these posts.