Sean Murphy

Is your rate 6% or above? Do you have an FHA loan with an adjustable rate? Did you know that on a $200,000.00 loan a 1% lower rate would save you over $125.00 a month. 2% lower more than doubles that. Let me get you a 30 year fixed rate as low as 4.875%. Even if your credit is not as good as when you orginally got your FHA loan, or you have more debt you may still qualify for this program. It is designed by HUD to simply make your monthy payment more affordable. I can qualify you in just a few easy steps! It is simple and takes as few as two weeks to complete!

Lower Your Mortgage Rate on Your FHA Loan with FHA Streamline

Community First Bank makes it simple. If today’s mortgage rates are lower than your current rate, or you have an FHA ARM that may adjust upward, you can refinance your FHA loan up to the original amount of your current loan at today’s lower rates. And with FHA Streamline, you could qualify for an FHA refinance with no appraisal and no income verification. It’s easy, fast and designed to get you a lower payment on your FHA loan.

What the FHA is Saying about FHA Streamline

Here is some information from HUD’s website about FHA Streamline:

“The ‘streamline’ refers only to the amount of documentation and underwriting that needs to be performed by the lender, and does not mean that there are no costs involved in the transaction. The basic requirements of a streamline refinance are:

• The mortgage to be refinanced must already be FHA insured.
• The mortgage to be refinanced should be current (not delinquent).
• The refinance is to result in a lowering of the borrower’s monthly principal and interest payments.
• No cash may be taken out on mortgages refinanced using the streamline refinance process.”

Get an FHA Streamline and Get a Lower Mortgage Rate Today

Let’s clarify the benefits of FHA Streamline. Consider a 30-year fixed rate mortgage of $250,000. The monthly payment on this mortgage at 7% is approximately $1,663. If you could lower that interest rate to 5%, your payment would be approximately $1,342. That’s a monthly difference of $321. Over a year that would be $3,852. Over 10 years the difference is $38,520. And over the full life of your 30-year mortgage, that’s a difference of $115,560.

Click this link for VA approved condos

http://condopudbuilder.vba.va.gov/2.2/frames.html

Click this link for FHA approved condos

https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm

Interest-rate movements are based on the simple concept of supply and demand. If the demand for credit (loans) increases, so do interest rates. This is because there are more buyers, so sellers can command a better price, i.e. higher rates. If the demand for credit reduces, then so do interest rates. This is because there are more sellers than buyers, so buyers can command a lower better price, i.e. lower rates. When the economy is expanding there is a higher demand for credit, so rates move higher, whereas when the economy is slowing the demand for credit decreases and so do interest rates.

This leads to a fundamental concept:

• Bad news (a slowing economy) is good news for interest rates (lower rates).
• Good news (a growing economy) is bad news for interest rates (higher rates).

A major factor driving interest rates is inflation. Higher inflation is associated with a growing economy. When the economy grows too strongly, the Federal Reserve increases interest rates to slow the economy down and reduce inflation. Inflation results from prices of goods and services increasing. When the economy is strong, there is more demand for goods and services, so the producers of those goods and services can increase prices. A strong economy therefore results in higher real-estate prices, higher rents on apartments and higher mortgage rates.

Mortgage rates tend to move in the same direction as interest rates. However, actual mortgage rates are also based on supply and demand for mortgages. The supply/demand equation for mortgage rates may be different from the supply/demand equation for interest rates. This might sometimes result in mortgage rates moving differently from other rates. For example, one lender may be forced to close additional mortgages to meet a commitment they have made. This results in them offering lower rates even though interest rates may have moved up!

There is an inverse relationship between bond prices and bond rates. This can be confusing. When bond prices move up, interest rates move down and vice versa. This is because bonds tend to have a fixed price at maturity.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:

This week's FOMC meeting has adjourned with an announcement of a half-point rate cut by the Fed in an effort to stimulate economic activity. The move was widely expected by market participants, but has still boosted stocks and hurt bonds. The Dow is currently up 218 points while the Nasdaq has gained 44 points. The bond market is currently down 17/32, which will likely push this afternoon's mortgage rates higher by approximately .250 of a discount point.

The post-meeting statement indicated that the Fed was still concerned about the economy and was expecting further weakness. This led to speculation that the Fed may lower short-term rates again in the future despite the fact that the Federal Funds rate is now at a record low of 1.00%. It has not been this low since June 2003 to June 2004. The fact that it appears the Fed has conceded more measures may be needed and is ready to act has helped drive stock prices higher during afternoon trading. This has made bonds less attractive to investors and is the reason we likely will see upward revisions to mortgage rates this afternoon.

The Commerce Department reported this morning that Durable Goods Orders for September rose 0.8% when they were expected to fall 1.0%. This means that manufacturing activity was stronger than expected, which is bad news for bonds and mortgage rates.

Tomorrow morning brings us the release of the preliminary reading of the 3rd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The GDP is considered to be the benchmark measurement of economic growth because it is the sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S. and therefore is likely to have a major impact on the financial markets and mortgage pricing. There are three versions of this report, each a month apart. Tomorrow's release is the first and usually has the biggest impact on the markets. Current forecasts call for a decline of approximately 0.5% in the GDP. If this report shows a larger decline, I am expecting to see the bond market rally and mortgage rates to fall tomorrow.

The Mississippi Development Authority will begin the second round of the Small Rental Assistance Program next week with a series of workshops for property owners who are considering applying for a forgivable loan to help build or rehabilitate Coast rental properties.

The 16 workshops begin Monday in Biloxi and will continue through Oct. 30 at various locations in Biloxi, Gulfport, Gautier, Poplarville, Saucier, Long Beach, Picayune, Pascagoula and Bay St. Louis.

"We've worked to make Round 2 of the Small Rental program much simpler for applicants to understand and navigate through the application process," said Jon Mabry, Chief Operations Officer for MDA's Disaster Recovery Division. "There will be a special emphasis on prioritizing those applications that help rebuild affordable housing in neighborhoods hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina."

The Small Rental Assistance Program applies to properties in Harrison, Hancock, Jackson and Pearl River counties to provide loans of up to $40,000 per unit, provided the owner rents the property to low- and moderate-income tenants at least five years.

Applicants with properties in existing neighborhoods, or "infill," are especially encouraged to apply.

"Restoring communities and giving them the tools needed to recover and prosper is really the overriding goal of Mississippi's hurricane recovery effort," said SRAP Program Manager Nell Rogers. "We're targeting SRAP dollars toward rejuvenating existing neighborhoods and helping people stay in familiar areas and long-standing communities where they feel most at home."

Each workshop will be managed by MDA personnel who can help applicants determine if the SRAP program is right for their property.

"Even though we're targeting infill, we encourage everyone who thinks they might qualify to attend a workshop," Mabry said. "We want as many applicants as possible, and our staff will gladly explore all ways in which SRAP can be applied toward establishing more affordable rental stock along the Coast."

An SRAP guidebook is posted on MDA's Web site: www.mississippi.org, click on "disaster recovery."

An online application form will be posted on MDA's Web site October 15.

SRAP workshops
Here is a schedule of SRAP workshops that will be held from Oct. 13 to Oct. 30 in South Mississippi:

Mon, Oct. 13, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Beau Rivage Main Theater, 875 Beach Road, Biloxi;

Tue, Oct. 14, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mississippi Power Bldg., Hwy. 90, 30th Ave, Gulfport;

Wed, Oct. 15, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. West Harrison Community Ctr., 4670 Espy Ave. Long Beach;

Thu, Oct.16, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Donal Snyder Community Ctr., 2520 Pass Road, Biloxi;

Tue, Oct. 21, 10 a.m. to Noon, Harrison Cty. Library, 2141 Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi;

Wed, Oct. 22, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. St. Martin Community Ctr., 15008 Lemoyne Blvd., Biloxi;

Thu, Oct. 23, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. MGCCC Jeff Davis Campus, Bldg. D, 2226 Switzer Rd., Gulfport;

Fri, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to Noon, American Legion Post 139, 703 Green Meadow Rd., Bay St.Louis;

Sat, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to Noon, MGCCC Jackson Cty. Campus, Fine Arts Aud., 2300 Hwy. 90, Gautier;

Mon, Oct. 27, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Pearl River CC Cafeteria, 101 Hwy. 11 N, Poplarville;

Tue, Oct. 28, 10 a.m. to Noon, Picayune City Council Chambers, 815 N Beach St., Picayune;

Tue, Oct. 28, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Our Lady of

the Gulf Community Ctr, 228 S Beach Blvd., Bay St. Louis;

Wed, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to Noon, Woolmarket Community Ctr., 16320 Woolmarket Rd., Biloxi;

Wed, Oct. 29, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Saucier Community Ctr., City Hall, 24014 Church Ave., Saucier;

Thu, Oct. 30, 10 a.m. to Noon, B.E. McGinty Ctr., Jackson Co. Fairgrounds, 2902 Shortcut Rd. Pascagoula;

Thu, Oct. 30, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., VFW, Orange Grove, 15206 Dedeaux Rd., Gulfport.