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Archive: mortgage-bank

How Borrowers Can Take Advantage of Record Low Interest Rates COVID-19

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Among speculation centered on long-term worries about the effects of COVID-19 shutdowns on the future of the United States economy, the Federal Reserve has committed to keeping interest rates low to encourage borrowing and stimulate the economy. Compared to last year (2019), mortgage rates are already remarkably lower, reaching below 3.3% for a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage. What does this mean for the mortgage industry and how can the average borrower actually benefit off of these record low mortgage rates?

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An Unexpected Side Effect of COVID19: How Lenders Can Pull Ahead During the Age of Innovation and Growth in Mortgage Technology

An Unexpected Side Effect of COVID19: How Lenders Can Pull Ahead During the Age of Innovation and Growth in Mortgage Technology 

It is no secret that the COVID19 pandemic has turned the world as we know it, completely upside down. We now spend a majority of our time working from home, and many in-person interactions that occurred in the workplace, now all occur via Zoom or similar digital engagement. Our lives have become more socially distant, in almost every regard. One silver lining of this pandemic, however, is that it has inadvertently led to increased innovation in the field of mortgage technology. Technological advancements have solved some of the most difficult challenges that Coronavirus has created in the mortgage industry.  This is good not only for lenders and lending teams to stay productive, but also borrowers, to keep their re-financing options open and home purchase possible when it's not possible to go to your local lending branch or meet your loan officer for a coffee.

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Is 2016 the year of Cash-out Refi and HELOCs?

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The last few years have offered an extremely friendly interest rate environment.  This has encouraged purchasing, refinancing, and more real estate activity.  As of late, we have seen the Fed nudge rates higher, which was inevitable at some point, and likely a good thing in the long run.  Even with this shift, in rates, new financial opportunities on on the doorstep for homeowners - and for those lenders offering deals to these homeowners.  What I found interesting  is that roughly half of the tappable equity belongs to borrowers whose first-lien mortgages have current interest rates higher than today’s 30-year rate – making them potential candidates for cash-out refis.  This translates to trillions of dollars in equity that can (and will be) tapped.  Meanwhile, the other half of tappable equity belongs to borrowers whose first-lien mortgages have current interest rates under 4%. What is shocking, is that 23% of cash-out refi borrowers this last year refinanced into higher base mortgage rate to take advantage of cashing out.  This strategy can make sense if there is debt consolidation or some other financial goal to reduce the blended rate of other debt at these lower rates.  Just be careful about the rate adjustments on any floating or adjustable rate loan products - that can bite!  (source: http://bit.ly/1nfZOfT)  We know the pain of shopping for a mortgage product and doing all the paperwork required to get a refinance or HELOC deal done - we are here at StreamLoan to help - and make this process simple for both the lending team and customers.   Visit us at www.streamloan.io for more information - and as always, feel free to reach out to us directly.  We welcome discussions.

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