The real estate market has had more than its share of bad news lately. Home prices are down, foreclosures are up and the outlook for the future is more of the same. From a big picture view the real estate market is miserable. But I’m seeing some signs here in the Chicago area that we may not have turned the corner, but we may be a lot closer than most people think. This isn’t a scientific account of what is going on, it is simply an anecdotal look at what I’m seeing in the market right now... Read Full Story

Welcome to Illinois Mortgage Rates and News week in review for the week ending August 15th, my take on the week’s financial news and how it affected Illinois mortgage rates. Over the last several weeks, mortgage rates have been going in a pattern, two steps forward – two steps back. Some weeks it is three steps forward and two steps back and other weeks it is exactly the reverse. In other words mortgage rates have been volatile with big daily moves either up or down, but over all they are in... Read Full Story

It’s been my goal here at Illinois Mortgage Rates and News to keep you informed about what’s happening in the real estate and mortgage markets, especially here in the Chicago area and throughout Illinois. In addition to this blog, I’m now also contributing to a group blog, Lenderama, the mortgage Industry blog. This blog is more of an insider account of topics of interest to those of us in the mortgage industry, and I’m excited to be part of a very impressive line up. It has been one of the... Read Full Story

One of the biggest provisions of the recently signed housing bill is a first time home buyer tax credit of up to $7,500. This credit is available for anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years and is designed to jump start the housing market and give first time home buyers a reason to get off the fence and in to the game. A lot of real estate companies have been pushing this credit as a no-brainer - free money from the government. I think there are some great benefits to this... Read Full Story

If you are buying a home in Chicago or the Chicago area, an FHA mortgage might be your best financing choice. With   FHA there are two ways to get your mortgage approved. The first is through an automated approval. This is the way nearly all conventional loans are approved, and most FHA loans are approved this way, too. When you apply for a mortgage approval or pre-approval your loan officer enters all your personal and financial information into a computer program and uses an Automated... Read Full Story

Welcome to Illinois Mortgage Rates and News week in review for the week ending August 1st, my take on the week’s financial news and how it affected Illinois mortgage rates. Allow me to take a moment away from the weekly mortgage rate update to mark an anniversary, of sorts. No, there are no holidays, no president’s or celebrity birthdays that I know of, and if it is your wedding anniversary, congratulations, but that’s not what I’m talking about either. Give up? This week marks the 1st... Read Full Story

One of the provisions of the recently signed Housing Bill, was the elimination of the Down Payment Assistance Programs (DPAs) like Ameridream and   Nehemiah. These programs were a legal loop hole which allowed sellers, in a round about way, to fund the buyer’s down payment and allow them use an FHA loan to buy with no down payment from their own pockets. The DPAs have been a great deal for home buyers who didn’t have extra cash saved up for a down payment, and it’s been a great deal for home... Read Full Story

The Housing Bill – The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was passed by the Senate on Saturday and is expected to be signed into law sometime this week. The bill will actually take effect on October 1st. There have been a lot of rumors as to how this will shake out, but these are some highlights of what has been agreed to and will be in the new bill: A bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, raising their debt ceiling and authorizing the government to purchase their stock as needed in... Read Full Story

Welcome to Illinois Mortgage Rates and News week in review for the week ending July 25th, my take on the week’s financial news and how it affected Illinois mortgage rates. There was a fair amount of mortgage related news this week, and even more rumors. The economic news was again mixed, and the big question in the mortgage backed securities markets is which battle should we be fighting, recession or inflation. The answer changes from day to day, and mortgage rates continue to be wildly... Read Full Story

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you know that the real estate market is tough. Homes are taking longer to sell and selling for much less that they would have just a year or two ago. Many of the Realtors I speak with are still making their adjustments to the new market and trying to find new ways to generate a paycheck. I met with one Realtor last week who offered me the chance to get in on the ground floor of a multi-level marketing program he was considering. But the market... Read Full Story