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Thursday, February 02, 2012 8:59 AM

Obama administration announces another mortgage refinance plan

In the administration's continuing effort to successfully help underwater borrowers be able to refinance their mortgages at today's record low interest rates, one more plan has been announced using FHA financing and costing from $5 to $10 Billion.
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Tuesday, January 31, 2012 7:30 AM

This report card has a BIG FAT F

A couple of big stories out there in the Financial World have my attention and it's only my opinion but I can't help but give a BIG FAT F on my report card. Unlike almost everybody from surprisingly on both the left and the right, I don't
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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Saturday, December 17, 2011 8:10 AM

Charleston mortgage report, with record low rates, the trend is your friend

Bad news is good news for mortgage rates. Courtesy of Bankrate , here is a one year chart of the 30 year fixed rate conventional mortgage and as you can clearly see, the trend has been your friend in the last year whether you are buying or refinancing
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, December 02, 2011 7:49 AM

[Real estate gravity] What goes up sometimes falls hard

A tale of distressed property in Charleston that illustrates the point that home values sometimes decline far more than the average because this home appears to be back to where it sold around 2002. Now, you don't really know what the condition of
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, November 03, 2011 2:33 PM

Mortgage rates fall again to 4 percent but why you can't always get the lowest rate

As a Charleston real estate agent, I generally quote mortgage rates to clients (or readers of this blog) in nice round numbers like 4, 4 1/4, 4 1/2, etc., based on what rates my preferred lenders are currently offering. Back in the old days of 6 percent
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Wednesday, November 02, 2011 1:48 PM

Don't be fooled by low online mortgage rates

One of the most important jobs I have as a Realtor is to insure a smooth transaction when a client buys a home and nowhere can a transaction get more messed up than in the mortgage process. It's just one of the reasons that I insist that clients use
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Monday, October 24, 2011 8:24 AM

Will this refinance program be any more successful than prior failures

The administration is to announce a turbo-charged HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program) today in Nevada, the foreclosure capital of the United States designed to allow underwater homeowners who are current on their mortgage to refinance at lower rates
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, October 13, 2011 10:10 AM

Charleston mortgage report: Mortgage rates rise sharply this week

Why do mortgage rates tend to decline slowly but rise sharply. That's the case this week off a better than expected jobs report (which in my opinion wasn't exactly a great report with a dismal 9.1 percent unemployment rate and only 103,000 net
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Sunday, September 25, 2011 6:47 AM

Rent or buy, you be the judge

First of all, let me say that there is nothing wrong with renting and there are times when it's a better choice. But the other day I viewed a home that was available for both rent and for sale. The offering price was $300,000 or $2400 per month. Actually,
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, September 22, 2011 7:24 AM

Fed Twists, interest rates plummet

Helicopter Ben just resurrected a 60's program to twist the yield curve by swapping short term debt with long term securities. I suppose Chubby Checker will once again be popular as a result. Anyway, interest rates on long term treasuries plummeted
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Friday, September 09, 2011 7:06 AM

Charleston mortgage report, buy or refinance with record low mortgage rates

With 10 year US Treasuries sitting at a ridiculous 2.0 percent (and the usual disclaimer, mortgage rates are based on the prices of mortgage backed securities but Treasuries are a proxy), mortgage rates continue to set record lows according to Bankrate's
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 1 Comments
Friday, September 02, 2011 7:31 AM

Fannie and Freddie to sue big banks over mortgages

The NY Times reports that "the federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, August 25, 2011 7:24 AM

New FTC rule to prohibit misrepresentation when advertising mortgage products [or does it]

A new FTC rule went into effect on August 19 to protect consumers from misrepresentation when advertising mortgage products. It will affect real estate agents who provide a lender's rate sheet to consumers by requiring disclaimers and imposing record
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Saturday, August 20, 2011 8:37 AM

Charleston mortgage report: Today's mortgage rates set record lows

The combination of lots of negative news in August regarding both the US Economy and the global slowdown and concerns about the sovereign debt problems in Europe has served to bring mortgage rates down to record lows. So whether you are interested in
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
Thursday, August 18, 2011 7:54 AM

Don't mess with Uncle Sam, US inquiry eyes S&P ratings of mortgages

Payback is sometimes a b*tch. The NY Times reports that an investigation into S&P began before the ratings agency cut the United States credit rating earlier this month. But that action isn't likely to make life very comfortable for S&P. “The
Posted by Howard Arnoff | 0 Comments
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