Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love the weather as the seasons are changing, I love the atmosphere of fun and mischief, and I love how happy kids get for a few small candies. If you or your family will be dressing up this year for Halloween, or if you […]

In today’s market, many customers buy houses with cash, rather than a mortgage, to expedite the process and avoid closing costs. And while this strategy may be great for investors, it is usually not a very good idea for people buying a primary residence or a vacation home. When considering if buying a house with […]

In my last post, I discussed the process for buying a foreclosure. And as you might have read, unless there is a unique situation, the process ultimately runs parallel to the normal mortgage process. And while many people put foreclosures and short sales in the same group in just about every sense, from a “getting […]

Like most industries, the mortgage industry has a number of acronyms and abbreviations which mean nothing to people who are not in the industry, but are used on a regular basis by those of us in the industry. It can be confusing and difficult to understand what a mortgage specialist is talking about for home […]

Have you often thought about giving back to the community or a favorite charity but found yourself unable to due to monetary constraints? Well this year Marc Edelstein has decided to help you save money AND give back this year with his new Pay It Forward Promise. Not only can he save you money on […]

In a week packed with a Fed meeting, significant economic data, and Treasury auctions, there were no major surprises to be found. European events, often a source of market moving headlines, also had little impact this week. As a result, mortgage rates ended the week with little change. After the Fed’s blockbuster announcement for a […]

In recent weeks, mortgage rates have been pushed and pulled mostly by Fed policy expectations and European Union headlines. With little news on these fronts, though, the US economic data emerged as the main driver of mortgage rates this week. Unfortunately for mortgage rates, the data was generally stronger than expected, and rates ended the […]

There were several significant influences on mortgage rates this week including the possible Fed announcement of further action to stimulate the economy, the European Central Bank (ECB) announcing its plans to help stabilize the euro-zone, and the July Jobs Report here in the US. In the end, the effect of these influences was offsetting and […]

Reduced concerns about Europe caused investors to shift to riskier assets such as stocks, hurting bonds. Weaker than expected US economic data and potential Fed action helped to limit the losses in bond markets, however. After several weeks of improvement, mortgage rates ended the week a little higher. Early in the week, a stream of […]

Events in Europe were the primary influence on mortgage rates again this week. The Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of Obama’s health care plan had little impact on rates.Mixed US economic data and weak Treasury auction demand also caused little reaction. Mortgage rates ended the week a little lower.For most of the week, expectations for […]