About Government Refinance and Home Purchase Programs

The federal government ended its shutdown last night and the immediate impact on mortgage interest rates has been positive. Investors rushed into buying US treasury bonds again as the threat of a default abated and that in turn caused yields on the 10 year T-Note to drop, which in turn has caused mortgage interest rates to drop.

Of course market forces and mortgage interest rates are always in flux so now is an excellent time to get the ball rolling on a refinance or a home purchase. The current deal to end the government shutdown only lasts a few months so another showdown could be looming at the start of 2014. In addition, there is the ever-present possibility that the Fed will start tapering its stimulus program that has been compressing interest rates for some time. The reality is that the last part of 2013 may be the last we see of these historically low interest rates.

Fill in the contact form on the right today and one of our counselors can point you in the right direction to get qualified to purchase a home or to refinance to a better rate while these excellent rates are still available.

As we discussed recently, the government shut down could potentially slow the flow of government-backed mortgages due to lack of manpower at the FHA and VA. But one week in to the shut down mortgage rates have drifted lower as well.

It appears that investors are getting skittish about the current shut down and pending debt ceiling debate. In response to those concerns more investors are moving money into the relatively safe haven of treasury bonds. The more money moves into bonds, the lower the yield on those bonds moves, and mortgage interest rates tend to drop in concert with the yield on treasuries.

In the end, what really matters to most Americans is mortgage interest rates are lower now than they were this summer. This dip in rates probably won’t last long though so fill in the contact form on the right to learn how to get the ball rolling on a refinance or home purchase right away.

In the wake of the Fed’s decision to continue pouring $85 billion per month into the economy until further notice, yields on US treasuries have been dropping, and mortgage interest rates have been dropping with them. Prior to the announcement, the financial markets were fully expecting the Fed to begin easing back on its stimulus program and had already adjusted rates accordingly in anticipation. The surprise news from the Fed has sent mortgage interest rates lower.

This is terrific news for folks who thought they had missed the chance to refinance or buy a home at low rates. While rates are unlikely to set new record lows, they have dropped significantly in the last week. Contact us in the sidebar today to learn more and to be referred to a specially authorized lender who can help you with a government-backed refinance or home purchase loan.

The federal government officially shut down on October 1st after congressional leaders failed to come to a budget agreement. One question on the minds of many Americans is how will this shut down affect government-backed mortgages like FHA, VA, and USDA-RD loans.

The short answer to that question is: It depends on how long the shut down lasts. If government officials can sort things out in a week or so borrowers probably won’t even notice a difference. The longer the shut down lasts, the more it could delay mortgage closings. With the government shut down, agencies like the FHA and VA will be using only skeleton crews. The longer that happens the more loans will start backing up as those skeleton crews get overwhelmed with requests. Likewise, requests to the IRS for tax transcripts that are normally needed for any type of loan could start to be delayed.

So the upshot is, the sooner the federal government can get their acts together and come to some kind of compromise, the better it will be for you as you seek a government backed refinance or home purchase loan.

In the meantime, rates have dipped again over the last few weeks so now is a terrific time to get started on a refinance or a home purchase. If you get started now you can close your new loan after this shut down is over. Fill in the contact form on the right to get more information and to be pointed in the right direction to get started.