Shopping for low mortgage rates is a game of luck.  Some days, mortgage rates are favorable.  Other days, they're not.  And while you can sometimes make an educated guess about where rates might be headed, you're not always going to guess right. Even the experts get it wrong more often than they'd like. But some parts of the rate shopping process can be predicted and one of them is the future of mortgage guidelines.  In general, the more often homeowners default on their respective mortgages, the harder it is for future mortgage applicants to be approved. This is why "now" may be the best time to apply for a FHA mortgage.  Defaults are climbing, suggesting that FHA underwriting guidelines are about to tighten. Indeed, the FHA has implemented two major changes since last summer: The mini... 04/15/2009

For the second week in a row, mortgage markets started the week strong and then ended with a fizzle.  In the holiday-shortened week, rates were exactly flat overall. There wasn't much economic data to move rates last week, incidentally. The market's up-and-down action was largely based on two events: A reputable analyst said banking-sector optimism may be premature. Wells Fargo reported a record $3 billion in first quarter earnings. It was the first item that dropped rates Monday and Tuesday; the second item, in part, led them back up. This week, data returns. Tuesday, we'll get a look at Retail Sales.  Because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of the economy, a lower-than-expected figure for Retail Sales would dampen Wall Street's current optimism for the U.S. and that would li... 04/15/2009

When conforming mortgages adjust, they're often tied to an interest rate index called LIBOR. LIBOR is an acronym for London Interbank Offered Rate. But what LIBOR stands for isn't as important as the role it plays. LIBOR is an interest rate at which banks borrow money from each other.  Therefore, when banks feel the banking system as a whole is unsafe, LIBOR rises to compensate.  It's why LIBOR spiked last October after Lehman Brothers failed.  Financial institutions wondered what other institutions would fail and that added risk to the system. Since October, however, and because of massive government interventions worldwide, LIBOR has been on a steady retreat.  Moreover, with close to $30 billion in conforming mortgages scheduled to adjust by Labor Day, the timing couldn't be better f... 04/10/2009

April 4, 2009, marked the official start of the Making Home Affordable refinance program. Expected to help 5 million homeowners, the Making Home Affordable program "looks the other way" with respect to falling home values, approving mortgage applications based on borrower payment history and benefit to the homeowner. Not every homeowner is eligible for a Making Home Affordable refinance, however.  There are 3 basic criteria that must be met. First, your existing home loan must be backed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  Thankfully, both companies provide online lookup services.  Start with the Fannie Mae site because Fannie has a greater market share and because Freddie Mac's site requires your social security number. Next, you must have a perfect mortgage payment history over the l... 04/10/2009

Thursday morning, homeowners in different parts of the country awoke to find similar-sounding newspaper headlines: Rates on 30-year mortgages sink to 4.78%, a new low. LA Times. Mortgage rates at record low for 2nd week. Miami Herald. Mortgages hit another record low. San Francisco. The underlying story was that Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the lowest, average 30-year fixed rate mortgage in its 38-year, rate-tracking history. Once again, however, the headlines came too late for homeowners. Prior to Thursday's market open, mortgage markets had already worsened from their record-setting levels.  Slowly at first, and then with momentum.  The shift pressured rates higher so that when lenders issued their Thursday morning rate sheets, most showed an 1/8 increase... 04/10/2009

The number of homes under contract to sell is rising, another signal that the housing market may be regaining its footing. As reported by an industry trade group, the Pending Home Sales Index gained 2 percent in February. The report measures MLS-listed homes in "pending" status -- sold but not yet closed. Pending Home Sales is not a perfect statistic, though, by any means.  For one, the Pending Home Sales Index doesn't account for non-MLS listed homes including For Sale By Owner properties and mass foreclosure auctions.  In certain markets nationwide, these two categories represent a large percentage of the overall transaction volume. Secondly, Pending Home Sales samples just 20 percent of all MLS-based transactions -- hardly a complete listing. But most importantly, a "pending" home sa... 04/06/2009

A report published Tuesday showed that home values fell nearly 3 percent in January 2009 versus the month prior and by 19 percent from last year. On the surface, data from the study looks like more bad news for  housing. With deeper inspection, though, we uncover reasons to discount the report's finding. For one, the report includes home price data from just 20 cities around the country -- and they're not the 20 most populated cities, either.  For example, data from #4-ranked Houston is not included and neither is #7 San Antonio nor #10 San Jose. #54 Tampa, however, is included. Secondly, the report is two months lagging.  Published March 31, its data is only accurate as of January and a lot has happened in the last 2 months. This includes a record-drop in interest rates and the introdu... 04/06/2009

With mortgage rates are hovering near all-time lows, lots of Americans are taking advantage of refinance and home buying opportunities.  The downside of today's unexpectedly-low rates, though, is that mortgage lenders are ill-equipped for the rush of new business.  As a result, the process of underwriting and approving new mortgage applications is taking some conforming lenders as long as 2 months to complete.  This is double the time needed as recently as six months ago. Because there may be 60 days between the application date and the closing date, it's important for applicants to remember that mortgage approvals can be revoked at any time prior to funding.  As mortgage applicants, there are many events that are out of our control -- job security and health matters, for example.  But ... 04/02/2009

The stock markets made strong gains last week but the mortgage markets barely moved in the wake of the Treasury's "toxic asset" plan.  After carving out wide trading ranges on most days, mortgage pricing ended the week slightly worse overall. From an economic standpoint, though, last week was an interesting one. Existing home sales showed unexpected strength. New home sales showed unexpected strength. Data showed home prices rising unexpectedly. In addition, consumer confidence rose unexpectedly, too. To rate shoppers, these "unexpected" developments are warnings worth heeding because mortgages trade on expectations of the future.  And "the future", you'll remember was widely expected to be an economic abyss. This is one of the many reasons why mortgage rates are so low right now -- dur... 04/02/2009

There's a wealth of information at your fingertips with the Guide including City of Maple Grove departments, contact information, boards and commissions, parks, transit, elections, police, fire and much more! Also included are listings for County, State, and Federal government (including contact information for elected officials), community organizations, churches, schools, and health care. Having a garage sale this spring? Wondering if a permit is required for a summer home improvement project? Looking for a venue for a fall family reunion? Snowmobiling in the winter? The Guide can provide the answers and information for all your year round events and activities. The Guide is partially funded by advertising support. It is published by Prime Advertising & Design, but City staff has edi... 03/27/2009

It's that Time of the Season - Clean-Up Day Returns   Each year the city holds two clean up events in the spring and the fall.  Each event usually involves a curb side pick up day and a drop off day where items are accepted at the Public Works Facility from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.  Annual curbside pick up days are held in April and October and the clean up days are held in May and October.  Dates are posted on our home page events section.  If you have questions feel free to contact the Engineering Department at 763-494-6350. The chart below indicates items that are part of these programs and the disposal cost of each.  Item         Clean up day Curbside pick up day Dehumidifier, dishwasher, dryer, freezer, furnace, garbage disposal,humidifier, microwave, refrigerator, stove, trash com... 03/27/2009

If you're in want of a cash out refinance, the most liberal cash-out program in town is about to make qualification more difficult.  Effective April 1, 2009, the FHA is reducing the maximum loan-to-value on cash-out refinances by 10 percent, dropping the loan size limit from 95% of the home's value to 85%. In its official press release, the FHA days it's making the change to "limit its exposure to undue risk".  It also lists the following cash-out requirements: With less than 12 months since the purchase date, a home's value cannot exceed its original purchase price -- even if home improvements were made. A homeowner must be current on his mortgage payments to qualify. A second, verifying appraisal may be necessary, depending on loan traits. Co-signers may not be added to the mortgage n... 03/27/2009

The national housing market got its third piece of good news in 3 days: Monday:Existing Home Sales up. Tuesday:Home values appear higher nationally. Wednesday:New Home Sales up. And although national real estate statistics are irrelevant to the local markets in which real estate transactions happen, to a country of would-be and wanna-be home buyers, repeated positive news on housing can be a strong signal that it's time to get off the sidelines. At least, that's what the data is showing us.  According to an industry trade group, first-time home buyers accounted for half of all sales of previously-owned homes.  The stimulus package's $8,000 tax credit likely played a role in this 50 percent figure, as well as sagging home prices in most markets and low mortgage rates nationwide. But lest... 03/26/2009

Don't look now but oil prices are climbing. This should worry today's home buyers and would-be refinancers because some of the same forces that helped to push crude past $50 for the first time in 4 months also cause mortgage rates to rise. March 18, the Federal Reserve committed an additional $1.15 trillion to support the economy.  Since the announcement, investors have questioned whether the Fed is purposefully spurring inflation.  The Fed's total debt purchases now total $1.75 trillion. And to finance its purchases, the Federal Reserve is printing new money, devaluing the U.S. dollar along the way.  This then leads to inflation which, all things equal, causes oil prices to rise, gas prices to rise, and mortgage rates to go with them. As we've seen the last few summers, oil prices and ... 03/25/2009

Each month, the National Association of REALTORS® releases a study called the Existing Home Sales report.  It's a detailed look at "used" home sale data from all four regions of the country. Among the key findings of each Existing Home Sales report is something called the "median sales price", the statistical price point at which half of the homes in the U.S. sold for more, and half sold for less.  Last month, the median sales price in the United States fell to $165,400, down 15.5 percent from a year ago. Nevertheless, just because the median sales price is lower from last year doesn't mean that the housing market is losing steam. The median sales price is just the middle point of all home sales in all U.S. markets.  By definition, it groups New York City and Danville, Illinois; Los Ang... 03/24/2009

Mortgage markets scored big gains last week, sparked by the Federal Reserve's pledge to buy $750 billion more mortgage-backed bonds in 2009.  Conforming mortgage rates fell on the week, overall. But Federal Reserve intervention wasn't the only good news for rate shoppers last week.  New evidence showed -- for the time being, at least -- that the U.S. economy may be reversing direction: Homebuilders are breaking ground on new homes again. First-time jobless claims are falling. Inflation is present and, therefore, deflation is not. Should the economy continue trend stronger through the summer, it will likely fuel stock market gains, drawing cash away from mortgage bonds.  This would lead mortgage rates higher -- perhaps for good.  Today's levels are artificially low, after all, supported... 03/23/2009

For the fifth time in a year, rate shoppers learned an important lesson this week: When mortgage rates plummet unexpectedly, they often recover just as fast. Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's newest $750 billion mortgage market pledge helped to push conforming mortgage rates near their lowest levels since WWII.  24 hours later, however, those rates were expired. After considering the long-term implications of the Federal Reserve -- literally -- printing new money to service the recession, markets grew fearful that the Fed's interventions will eventually lead to inflation.  Inflation, of course, is the enemy of mortgage rates. So, if you're looking for the explanation of why rates rose as suddenly Thursday as they fell the day prior, this is it.  And, in hindsight, rate shoppers might hav... 03/20/2009

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged today, within the target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.  This doesn't mean the Fed stood pat, however. On plan to resurrect the economy using "all available tools", today, the Fed announced a new, $1.5 trillion round of fiscal support for the treasury and mortgage markets. The stimulus will likely be Thursday morning's headline story. In its press release, the FOMC touched upon a few of the prevailing economic issues, using these points as a legitimizing backdrop for its newest debt load: Job losses and wealth loss are dragging down consumer spending. Some U.S. trading partners are falling into recession. Businesses are cutting back on investment and inventory. Of interest is that the FOMC said today's inflati... 03/20/2009

There's a mixed message in February's Housing Starts data and it may be a good sign for home sellers in the near-term. As reported by the government, new home construction rose by 22 percent last month.  The press is running with the headline number, calling it evidence of a market bottom. A more thorough inspection, however, reveals a different story.  The 22 percent figure applies to all homes built -- including apartment building units.  Isolating residential units, February's housing starts rose by just 1 percent.  Furthermore, the data's margin of error is 11 percent.  Statistically, we can't know if residential housing starts really rose last month, or if it fell instead.  What we do know, though, is that the number of building permit requests rose. Permits to build single-family ... 03/20/2009

Today, the Fed exceeded all expectations when they announced that they would expand their purchasing program of Mortgage-Backed Securities.  In addition to the $500 billion MBS purchase program which began in January, the Fed will purchase an ADDITIONAL $750 billion, bringing the total to $1.25 TRILLION!!  The Fed will also purchase $300 billion in long-term Treasuries (10-Year Notes) over the next six months. The primary goal of these actions is to lower mortgage rates in an effort to stimulate the economy.  If homeowners can lower the rate on their current mortgage by refinancing, the money saved every month would be available to invest, pay down debt, and most importantly, purchase goods and services.  Also, those homeowners would be less likely to go into foreclosure with the lower ... 03/18/2009