Articles by Carolina Palmer

Reverse Mortgage Eligibility and Guidelines
The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is the only reverse mortgage insured by the U.S. Government. . This program allows senior homeowners to convert a portion of their home equity into cash. Equity is the current cash value of a home minus the current loan balance...

Mortgage Rates Still on the Rise
Pharmaceutical company Actavis is still dictating today’s range trade after their corporate bond offering yesterday. This morning’s minimal rate fluctuation is due to the fact that the bond offering is lower than yesterday’s estimates. After the deal...

Mortgage Rates Stabilizing
Rates have been volatile over the past couple of days and today there has finally been some relief. MBS have been slowly stabilizing since this morning. The slightly weaker ADP reading made for modest, but immediate gains. Tomorrow, expect the trend to continue with MBS getting...

Mortgage Rates Nearly Unchanged
The European Central Bank released its quantative easing details which caused only modest volatility this morning. The selling that proceeded stopped before pushing rates into weaker levels, leaving us near unchanged levels heading into the afternoon. Rates have stayed...

Mortgage Rates 3-6-15
What will mortgage interest rates do on Monday? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The jobs report released today will have a profound effect on mortgage rates. Overall, the jobs report was strong--295k jobs were added. The lack of meaningful wage...

Mortgage Rates 3-9-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. It has been a quiet day in the US bond market. Yields have been increasing, while prices have been lowering. The majority of activity is currently occuring in Europe.. Check...

Mortgage Rates 3-10-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. As the European bond market strengthened, so has the US market. US 10-year yields have been steadily decreasing. MBS have retraced a majority of the losses from last week....

Mortgage Rates 3-11-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Today's auction of 10-year treasury notes sold $21 billion. The demand was about average and the yield was higher than February's, so it went well overall. The...

Mortgage Rates 3-12-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Retail sales were very weak, falling for the third consecutive month. This was contrary to expectations and caused investors to purchase a significant amount of US...

Mortgage Rates 3-13-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have stayed relatively stable today. US producers had weak profit margins in February; the producer price index fell for a fourth straight month. These...

Mortgage Rates 3-16-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Today started off with weak industrial production and housing market data. MBS reacted by increasing rates, but only to levels that are slightly above those of Friday....

Mortgage Rates 3-17-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have been relatively inactive ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). This committee meeting is expected to result in restrictive monetary...

Mortgage Rates 3-18-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Rates have slightly declined across the board. The main event will be at 2pm today when the FOMC results are released. Until then, the majority of the action is occurring...

Mortgage Rates 3-19-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates fell drastically after the fed meeting yesterday; they are now near historic lows. The Fed indicated yesterday that it will continue to keep short-term...

Mortgage Rates 3-20-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Trading activity has been light, leaving rates similar to the lows of yesterday. The futures expiration this afternoon should cause some trading activity. Since rates...

Mortgage Rates 3-23-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Rates have continued to lower over the course of the weekend. The existing home sales from February were released today. They rose 1.2% to an annual rate of 4.88 million...

Mortgage Rates 3-24-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Rates have continued to decrease, except for the 5/1 ARM rates which increased by 2 points. The consumer price index was released for February which rose for the first...

Mortgage Rates 3-25-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Durable goods orders in February were weaker than predicted (-1.4 instead of the forecasted +0.4). This is in constrast to last month when durable goods had increased...

Mortgage Fees You Can Avoid
Plugging numbers into a mortgage calculator is easy—deciphering the results is not. Consider the following fees during your search for the right mortgage broker. . Origination fees:This is the originator’s commission for securing the loan. Ask what...

Mortgage Rates 3-26-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll.  The recent economic data has been very mixed, which explains the random fluctuations in mortgage rates. Jobless claims data was released this morning, with...

Mortgage Rates 3-27-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Although markets are focusing on the Q1 gdp for 2015, the third and finalized estimate for 2014's Q4 was released today. The result was that gdp grew 2.2%, whereas the...

Mortgage Rates 3-30-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The most significant market movers this week will be the conclusion of the month and Q1. February's Incomes and Outlays data released this morning shows that...

Mortgage Rates 3-31-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Two important economic indicators were released today. The first was Chicago PMI for the month of March. It was weak--registering at 46.3 instead of the forecasted 51.5....

Mortgage Rates 4-1-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Two big market movers today have continued to push rates under. ADP employment was significantly lower than expected. It was 189k instead of the forecasted 225k. This is...

Mortgage Rates 4-2-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The strong economic data presented today signals continued recovery in the US market. Jobless claims for last week are near their lowest level in 15 years. Weekly...

Mortgage Rates 4-3-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Nonfarm payrolls took front and center stage today. The report crushed recent optimism about the economy. 245,000 jobs were expected to be added, but instead that...

How A Credit Score Rating Impacts Your Mortgage
A credit score can severely impact the likelihood that you will get approved for a mortgage. Since it is the biggest factor in the mortgage decision process, learning about your credit score should be a top priority. It is possible to calculate your interest rate and monthly...

Mortgage Rates 4-6-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Trading levels are low today due to the easter holiday and Passover. So far, MBS are close to erasing the majority of Friday's gains. A lot of lenders have repriced...

Mortgage Rates 4-7-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The bond market is saturated with low liquidity today. There are still many absences due to the holiday. The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey was released this...

Mortgage Rates 4-8-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The biggest event today was the FOMC minutes. Fed members are divided over hiking rates in June. Several members support a hike in June, others support a hike later...

Mortgage Rates 4-9-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates continue to push near record lows this week. This is causing some lenders to consider negative repricing. The 30-year bond auction this morning...

Mortgage Rates 4-10-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Import and export prices did not have a strong effect on MBS. Export prices increased by 0.1%, which surpassed expectations of a 0.2% decline. Import prices fell in...

Mortgage Rates 4-13-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Trading on Mondays has almost come to a full halt. There aren't any big events scheduled today, fortunately the rest of the week will prove to be more exciting. MBS...

Mortgage Rates 4-14-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Trading had a strong reaction to the market data released this morning. The economy is showing signs of growth. Retail sales grew 0.9% in March, rising for the first time...

Mortgage Rates 4-15-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. This morning has been flooded with negative data. After the positive reports from yesterday, there has been a complete reversal. The economy continues to take one step...

Mortgage Rates 4-16-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. There were three pieces of important economic data today. The Philly Fed manufacturing index showed that economic growth could be increasing in April with a reading of...

Mortgage Rates 4-17-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. After this morning's bond market volatility, MBS remain nearly unchanged. This has been a recurring trend. The first announcement was that the Consumer Price...

Mortgage Rates 4-20-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Overall bond markets are weaker, but there aren't any significant economic events scheduled for today. It is a typical monday lacking in trading activity....

Mortgage Rates 4-21-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Rates have been stable today, barely moving above yesterday's. In fact, the 30-year fixed rate has moved so little in the last four weeks that it has stayed in the...

Mortgage Rates 4-22-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. With the spring house buying season starting to kick off, finally the bond markets are seeing some action. Finally the markets are seeing some bond action. Spring...

Mortgage Rates 4-23-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have spiked after selling off this morning. This sell off can be attributed to corporate bond action. Corporate bonds are an alternative, attractive...

Mortgage Rates 4-24-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Today, the durable good orders from March were released. The orders increased by 4.0% instead of the predicted 0.6%. This was mainly due to an increase in civilian aircraft...

Mortgage Rates 4-27-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The activity in Europe caused some action in the US bond market. As a result, MBS had lower prices and higher yields. MBS then bounced back after this morning's...

Mortgage Rates 4-28-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Consumer confidence for April was lower than forecasted, reaching its lowest level since December. It was 95.2 instead of the predicted 102.5. The 5 year auction was...

Mortgage Rates 4-29-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The economy grew very slowly in Q1. GDP only grew 0.2% vs the forecasted 1%. Compared to Q4 of 2014 when GDP gained 2.2%, this is a massive deceleration. Bond markets were...

Mortgage Rates 4-30-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. MBS are still being pushed into weaker territory due to activity in Europe's bond market, although the effect is not as strong as it was yesterday. There were two...

Mortgage Rates 5-1-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The ISM manufacturing index for April came in relatively flat at 51.5% instead of the expected 52.2%. Any reading above 50% indicates growth, no matter how slow that...

Mortgage Rates 5-4-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The economic data released today was overlooked by MBS. Factory orders were slightly above forecast, at +2.1 instead of +2.0.  Also, the Chicago Fed President Evans...

Mortgage Rates 5-5-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The Institute for Supply Management released its non-manufacturing purchasing managers index for April, which came in strongly at 57.8 vs. the forecasted 56.3. On the...

Mortgage Rates 5-6-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. ADP released employment for April today, which fell lower than expectations. There were 169,000 private sector jobs created in April instead of the predicted 205,000....

Mortgage Rates 5-7-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The jobless claims data was largely ignored today. First-time unemployment benefits are barely rising above a 15-year low. German bunds remain the dominating factor...

Mortgage Rates 5-8-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The bond market is correcting itself after mortgage rates spiked earlier this week. We are seeing a rally that is pushing MBS into stronger territory. The weak NFP...

Mortgage Rates 5-11-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. MBS opened the day in weaker territory due to the activity in Europe and corporate debt issuance. Specifically, Greece announced a 750 million euro payment to the IMF....

Mortgage Rates 5-12-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Yesterday mortgage rates rose quickly, and MBS have been pushed into even weaker territory today. The main factor causing the sell-off is a lack of liquidity and...

Mortgage Rates 5-13-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Extreme MBS fluctuations continue their crash course today. This erratic behavior is mainly due to overseas action, which is overshadowing domestic economic data....

Mortgage Rates 5-14-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have not been as volatile this morning. This narrow range for rates will not last long if the trend of the past 2 weeks continues. The bond market...

Mortgage Rates 5-18-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. This Monday is looking better for MBS than last Monday. The markets are still weak, but there is less pressure from German bunds this time. Expect mortgage rates to stay...

Mortgage Rates 5-19-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. April housing starts data came in positively. They were at 1.135M instead of the forecasted 1.029M. Also, new permits came in at 1.143M vs the expected 1.070M. These two strong...

Mortgage Rates 5-20-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The FOMC Minutes this afternoon will trigger an influx of trading. Until then, it will be a quiet day for bond markets. The European market will likely have a significant...

Mortgage Rates 5-21-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. MBS started rallying today. MBS started in positive territory and remained relatively unchanged after the jobless claims data. Initial jobless claims increased by...

Mortgage Rates 5-22-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The Consumer Price Index came in strong this morning at +0.3 instead of the forecasted +0.2. The bond markets quickly reacted to this data, pushing mortgage rates...

Mortgage Rates 5-26-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Even though this week will be short, the bond market action will likely make up for it. This week is packed with important economic data. For the past month, mortgage rates...

Mortgage Rates 5-27-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. MBS started the day in weaker territory. After news leaked that Greece was close to finishing a debt deal, there was a sudden spike in selling and yields quickly rose. This...

Mortgage Rates 5-28-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Treasuries and corporate debt continue to be the main factors pushing liquidity. Today's economic data has made a small dent in MBS. Jobless claims came in weaker...

Mortgage Rates 5-29-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. MBS have been very stable this morning and the day has been exceptionally calm in comparison to the rest of the month. There was a short-lived rally after GDP results. GDP...

Mortgage Rates 6-1-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The ISM manufacturing index for May hit 52.8. Also, US construction spending increased by 2.2% in April. It has reached its highest level in 6.5 years. This strong data...

Mortgage Rates 6-2-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The main event affecting MBS this morning was news from Europe. Greece has issued a new debt deal proposal. There was a false alarm last week that there a new deal being put...

Mortgage Rates 6-3-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates shot up to some of the highest levels seen in 2015. This is mainly due to commentary from ECB President Draghi. In this morning's press conference he...

Mortgage Rates 6-4-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. 30-year and 15-year rates have continued to climb higher today, while ARM rates have slightly decreased since yesterday's highs. A significant portion of the...

Mortgage Rates 6-5-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. NFP caused MBS to quickly sell-off this morning. NFP employment increased by 280K in May instead of the expected 226K. In response, mortgage rates have slightly...

Mortgage Rates 6-8-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have increased and remain at their highest levels of the year. The bond markets are consolidating after the NFP results last Friday. There isn't any...

Mortgage Rates 6-9-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The direction of mortgage rates today have no real culprit. They have slightly dipped, but are expected to push higher tomorrow. Even though there is news coming from...

Mortgage Rates 6-10-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates are slightly higher today, but the cause is not clear. Rates have been on an upward spike for the past few weeks due to a combination of factors--signs that...

Mortgage Rates 6-11-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. The bond market is rallying and 30-year rates have hit their highest level of the year at 4.18%. Since bond yields increased earlier this week, it follows that mortgage...

Mortgage Rates 6-12-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. US rates have been following the path of EU rates today, which ultimately pushed them lower. However rates are still at their highest levels of the year. Home loan...

Mortgage Rates 6-15-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. This morning was marked by weak economic data. The New York Fed's Empire State Manufacturing came in at -1.98 instead of the forecasted +6.0. Industrial Production...

Mortgage Rates 6-16-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. MBS and treasuries are consolidating ahead of the Fed meeting tomorrow; they are positively skewed. 30-year FRM, 15-year FRM, and 30-year FHA remain the same as...

Mortgage Rates 6-17-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. MBS are in weaker territory before the Fed meeting. If you are deciding whether to lock or float before the Fed meeting, you should probably go with locking. Lenders are...

Mortgage Rates 6-18-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Bonds rallied after yesterday's Fed meeting. As markets expected, the status quo will remain. The Fed will be keeping interest rates at zero and did not make it clear...

Mortgage Rates 6-19-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. After the highs of this week, MBS are currently at some of their best levels since early in June. 10-year yields jumped up when bond markets opened this morning. Overall,...

Mortgage Rates 6-22-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have started off this week by decreasing. Economic data came in strong with US existing home sales beating expectations. They increased 5.1% in May,...

Mortgage Rates 6-23-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have begun to rise again today. There were various factors for this including some big corporate debt deals and strong new home sales data. Mortgage rates...

Mortgage Rates 6-24-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates continue their upward trend today. This steep climb begun at the beginning of June, had a short pause last week, and resumed its climb. The Greek debt drama...

Mortgage Rates 6-25-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Bond markets are weaker and mortgage rates haven't moved since yesterday. There is no real culprit for the MBS weakness. The economic data presented today was not a...

Mortgage Rates 6-26-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have been largely flat this week and that trend continues today. Greek drama is to blame for some of the MBS weakness, but it is not the only culprit. The lack...

Mortgage Rates 6-29-15
What will mortgage interest rates do tomorrow? Mortgage professionals are voting in our daily poll. Mortgage rates have sharply increased today, which should come as no surprise considering the MBS trend for the past month. Over the weekend Greece closed its banks due...