Mortgages

Higher Credit Score Now Means Higher Mortgage Fees Or Rates

The higher your credit score, usually the lower your mortgage rate. Every time I went to apply for a new mortgage or refinance an existing mortgage, my mortgage lender would first ask for my credit score. If I said anything lower than a 720, they would politely tell me to look elsewhere. Before the 2008 […]

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Was Getting An ARM Before Inflation And Rates Went Up A Bad Move?

Given inflation and mortgage rates have gone up aggressively since August 2020, was getting an ARM back then a bad move? Maybe. But I’ll argue probably not. Let me reason why. One of the best things about running Financial Samurai is having readers criticize my financial beliefs and actions. So long as the criticism is

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Why Pay Off A Negative Real Mortgage Rate When Inflation Is So High

Paying off a mortgage with a negative real interest rate is a suboptimal financial move. However, that’s exactly what I did in this unusually high inflationary environment. Bad move? Maybe. My mortgage rate was a 30-year fixed at 4.25% and the latest inflation figure was 9.1%. Therefore, it had a negative real mortgage rate of

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Why It’s Better To Pay A Small Mortgage Fee Than Get A Large Credit

Imagine getting a $55,077 mortgage credit rather than paying a mortgage fee to get a new loan. A $55,077 mortgage credit was what I was quoted for a $4.125 million, 10/6 ARM at a 3.625% rate. Surely receiving a large credit is better than paying a mortgage fee right? Not necessarily. The higher the mortgage

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Well-Qualified Borrowers Are Paying Much Lower Mortgage Rates

House prices have cooled and will likely decline in some of the hottest markets. However, on my quest to get financing to conquer my real estate FOMO, I realized a positive datapoint for the U.S. housing market. Well-qualified borrowers are paying much lower mortgage rates than the headline rates you see in the news. There

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Mortgages By Interest Rate: Homeowner Tenure To Increase

Let’s take a look at the latest mortgages by interest rate. By understanding the composition of mortgages, we’re better able to understand how a rise in interest rates will affect the housing market and the consumer. Since November 2018, the vast majority of homeowners with a mortgage have refinanced and taken advantage of lower rates.

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