Mortgage Informer

Bank of America refinance mortgage rates continue to hold steady below 5%. Bank of America home loans are currently at 4.95% on the 30 year fixed mortgage rate. The week of February 22nd, 2010 is likely to be very interesting as the 10 year treasury rate yield continues its up trend and we could see mortgage rates push higher.

Bank of America and all mortgage lenders have marketed the current low interest rate environment very well. President Obama and his staff have worked very hard to keep interest rates low so both the American public can benefit and the banks can benefit by gaining new customers and offering low mortgage interest rates.

Standing in the heart of the nation’s hard-hit foreclosure country, President Obama on Friday rolled out a $1.5-billion mortgage program meant for a handful of states, including California and Nevada, that have endured waves of home foreclosures during the recession.

The president also used the moment to give a needed boost to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s reelection chances, crediting him with helping stave off a depression over the last year.

Obama spoke to 1,800 people at a town hall-style event as part of a two-day Western swing in which he raised money for Democrats and campaigned for two senators facing tough campaigns: Reid and Michael Bennet of Colorado.

Millions of individuals have the ability to get themselves refinance mortgage loans thanks to over $75 billion in Government stimulus money. Here is how this all works.
Getting you a mortgage refinance these days is easier than ever. This can simply be attributed to the current economic climate and how many financial lenders are trying to find new ways of offering home mortgage refinance and even bad credit mortgage refinance.

Take a moment to think about what you would do with your mortgage if you were to pass away. Okay, that’s a trick question because you would not be able to do anything if you died. Now, think about what your family would do with your home mortgage if you were to pass away. Would you leave the burden on them to pay every month. Paying a mortgage with only one source of income can be very difficult financially.

Mortgage rates fell, with shorter-term loans posting the biggest declines and the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages retreating further below 5%, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.93% for the week ended Thursday, down from last week’s 4.97% average and 5.04% a year ago. It hit its lowest rate on record this month, when it fell to 4.71%.

The volume of mortgage applications filed last week dropped a seasonally adjusted 2.1%, compared with the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.

Mortgage interest rates were flat during the week ended Feb. 12, compared with the week before, according to the MBA’s weekly survey. The survey covers about half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.

Applications filed to refinance an existing mortgage fell an unadjusted 1.2% from the previous week. Home-purchase mortgage applications fell a seasonally adjusted 4.0%.

The four-week moving average for all mortgages was up 1.1%.

The mortgage industry saw employment expand in 2009 following three years that amounted to more than 100,000 job losses, though the good news eluded the state of New York.

Last year saw the creation of a net 8,321 mortgage industry jobs countrywide, a major improvement over the 36,766 net jobs lost in 2008 and the 88,817 jobs the industry shed during 2007.

Nearly 31,000 mortgage professionals were hired in the country during 2009, 5,849 of which were hired during the fourth quarter, while 22,578 were laid off. Fewer than 3,000 mortgage employees were laid off in the fourth quarter.

With mortgage rates hovering around the 5% mark, it is still advantageous to purchase a home. These rates will begin to rise as the Federal Reserve begins to withdraw excess liquidity from the economy, which they will have to do in the near future. This will lead to increased mortgage rates. The only situation that homeowners should be aware of is that the home they are interested in, is not located in an area where home prices still have more downside.

5% Still An Excellent Rate

There’s an old saying that death cancels everything but truth. Nice sentiment, although it’s not quite right. Still owe a chunk on your mortgage when you die? Your partner, children or estate have to pay it off. That’s why mortgage life insurance is so popular.

Mortgage life insurance guarantees that your remaining mortgage will be paid off in the event of your untimely demise, but it doesn’t come cheap. It can add more than 10% to your current mortgage payment depending on the size of the mortgage and how old you are. That’s not an insignificant sum to get a little peace of mind, and critics point out that the amount paid declines along with your mortgage even though your rates stay the same.

Prospective homebuyers should know that since the beginning of the year, two important events have occurred with mortgage offerings.  First, the rates on some types of mortgages have declined.  Second, a number of lenders have introduced new mortgage plans as a way of competing for your business.

Recent figures released by the Bank of England indicate that the interest rates on tracker mortgages and fixed-rate mortgages have decreased in recent weeks.  At the same time, many of the newer mortgage offerings require a smaller deposit, something that may be very attractive to people who want to move forward with buying a new home.