My New Blog

Interest rates are at historic lows, making it possible for many homeowners to refinance and improve their financial position – and combined with homes listed currently at bargain prices, those who are in the market to buy are able to purchase the home of their dreams and get a great deal.

Here’s the bad news. All lenders and investors in the US have been completely slammed with the recent increase in loan applications – right at the time that many have laid off staff to save money in a challenging economy. This means that time frames needed for underwriting, approvals and closing have become longer than normal. It also means that some companies have chosen to actually raise rates, just to slow down the volume to a manageable level.

But wait – there’s an answer. I know how to plan ahead and be smart, so that we can keep your rate protected. We may want to consider a longer lock period than we might normally utilize, just to ensure that your loan will be processed, underwritten, approved and closed in time to protect your rate in this extremely volatile climate. Normally we lock rates on 30 days and in these times we are locking refinances on 60 days.