Inflation, It’s Not Just For Balloons Anymore

Mortgage rates posted growth this week on renewed inflation fears, according to surveys conducted by Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

In Freddie Mac’s survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to an average 6.16 percent from 6.14 percent last week, while the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage gained from 5.88 percent to 5.9 percent. Points, which are fees lenders charge for loan processing expressed as a percent of the loan, averaged 0.4 on the 30- and 15-year loans.

A Drop In The Bucket, But Still A Drop

Long-term mortgage interest rates were down Wednesday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield sank to 4.54 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 5.67 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate slipped to 5.42 percent. The 1-year adjustable held at 5.32 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield inched up to 4.72 percent.

Rates are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states. Points on these mortgages range from zero to 3.5.

Bankrate.com

The Predator

There are some stories that you stumble upon, and you just read and mentally file, then there are some you must simply share.  You need to know the difference between legitimate lenders, and predatory “loan sharks”.  Ya, the deal may sound great, but you know the saying, if it sounds to good to be true, than it probably is.  Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NAVR) has some pointers to help you weed out the junk mail. 

Know the Basics
Before we look at abusive lending practices, a quick review of lending fundamentals is in order. All kinds of loans, including home mortgages, work pretty much the same way: the lender offers the borrower financing terms based on the amount of risk the lender believes that borrower poses. Using employment history and debt repayment records, lenders assign each borrower a rating or score designed to reflect the likelihood that the lender will receive repayment in full.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. Property Tax, That Is.

Last Tuesdays meeting of the PW Board of County Supervisors brought some surprising opinions.  Some citizens asked that taxes be increased a little, instead of cut.  What would prompt this madness?  Well, the less taxes paid, the less our county government can have in their budget.  And that ultimately hurts our first responders and teachers. 

“I hear from our teachers and our firefighters and our police officers that our budget is very austere,” said Supervisor Maureen S. Caddigan (R-Dumfries).

The current plan is to keep the tax rate the same, 75.7 cents per $100 of assessed value. The board is thinking of charging more for county activities such as youth sports and development fees.  That means that county swimming pools will have to be shut down one day a week and maintenance on some athletic fields may be cut back. 

 Source: Timothy Dwyer, Washington Post

Son of “The Raging Bull”

Who knew that realtors and movie stars were strange bedfellows?  Well, one realtor is at least.  It helps that his pops is a movie master.  If you see a listing by Raphael DeNiro, you better bet he is going to “do what he can” to “get the deal done” (If you’s know’s what I’m sayin’).

I’m sure by now you know that young Rafael is the son of “Bobby D”, Robert DeNiro.  30 year old Rafael tried the entertainment biz, but instead decided to try his grandparents profession.  Grandma & Grandpa were heavily involved in SoHo real estate.

His Uncle Jack is an agent in South Florida, and has several offices in New York.  Rafael took a real estate license course at NYU, and now has had clients as famous as Naomi Campbell and other celebrities.

 So don’t be surprised if you hear a realtor say, “You talkin to me?” 

Robert DeNiro, Taxi Driver

Source