Oklahoma Mortgage Group - Mike David

  A newly signed executive order has created an attention-grabbing headline: some borrowers could eventually have private mortgage insurance canceled proactively. That possibility is real, but it is not an immediate, universal change. The October 22 order directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to establish a pilot program involving eligible single-family mortgages owned, guaranteed or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The proposed system would use automated valuations and other data to identify borrowers who appear to meet equity and additional cancellation requirements. The pilot would apply only to mortgages made after the program is established. Eligibility, payment-history, safety-and-soundness and contractual requirements would still apply. The White House What can existing homeowners do now? Many borrowers with conventional loans already have PMI-cancellation rights. For qualifying mortgages, homeowners can generally request cancellation when the principal balance...

A tenant-occupied home is not automatically ineligible for mortgage financing. However, the lease, possession date and buyer’s intended use must align with the selected loan program. The first question is straightforward: Will the buyer move into the property, or will the property remain a rental? Buying it as a primary residence A primary-residence mortgage is based on the borrower’s genuine intent to occupy the property. FHA requires at least one borrower to occupy the property within 60 days of signing the security instrument and intend to remain for at least one year. Common Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac security instruments contain a similar 60-day occupancy provision, subject to stated exceptions. hud.gov If an existing tenant holds a lease that extends beyond the required occupancy period, an owner-occupied mortgage may not match the actual situation. The parties should resolve the possession timeline before closing rather than assume the tenant will leave immediately. Keeping the ...

HUD Section 184 financing remains an important home-loan option for eligible Native American and Alaska Native borrowers. Beginning October 1, 2026, however, one of the program’s costs changed. HUD increased the upfront loan-guarantee fee from 1% to 1.5% for new Section 184 firm commitments, including refinances. The annual loan-guarantee fee remains zero. content.govdelivery.com What is the upfront guarantee fee? The upfront guarantee fee helps support HUD’s guarantee of the loan. It is calculated as a percentage of the applicable loan amount and is generally incorporated into the loan structure rather than treated like an ordinary monthly charge. Because the fee increased by half a percentage point, buyers may see a slightly higher final loan amount and monthly payment. For illustration, a 0.5-percentage-point increase equals: $1,000 on a $200,000 base loan amount $1,250 on a $250,000 base loan amount $1,500 on a $300,000 base loan amount These examples only demonstrate the fee diffe...

  Mortgage rates finally showed a little improvement late last week. After several weeks of increases, mortgage-backed securities began recovering some of their losses, and daily national mortgage rates moved lower. That was encouraging. But buyers should be careful about assuming a few better trading sessions mean mortgage rates are headed significantly lower. This week brings two important inflation reports that could quickly change the direction of the mortgage market. There is also a fresh housing-market story that may be particularly useful for buyers. More homes are available nationally, even though fewer sellers are listing. That combination tells us quite a bit about where the market stands as we move further into October. Mortgage Rates Improved Late Last Week Freddie Mac reported that its national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 7.40% on October 8 , up from 7.28% the previous week. That marked the seventh consecutive weekly increase. AP News However, Freddie M...

September’s jobs report looked like the kind of economic news that should help mortgage rates. The U.S. economy added only 29,000 jobs in September . Unemployment increased slightly to 4.2%. Wage growth slowed to 3.0% over the past year, and July and August payrolls were revised lower by a combined 60,000 jobs. Bureau of Labor Statistics Mortgage rates briefly improved Friday morning. Then the improvement disappeared. Mortgage News Daily’s national 30-year fixed index ultimately finished Friday at 7.57% , close to its highest level in years. Mortgage News Daily That may seem contradictory, but it tells us something important about the mortgage market right now. The Fed Is Only One Piece of the Mortgage Rate Puzzle The Federal Reserve controls a very short-term overnight interest rate. A 30-year mortgage is a long-term financial instrument. That means mortgage rates are influenced much more directly by mortgage-backed securities and longer-term Treasury bonds. Early this week, the 10-ye...