Posts

Showing posts with the label Native American Home Loans

The HUD Section 184 Upfront Fee Has Increased: What Oklahoma Buyers Should Know

Image
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 Hit Nearly 3-Year Highs Despite Weak Jobs

Image
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...