We are pleased to announce the arrival of Tiffani Miller as ABBA First Mortgage, Inc.’s newest team member. Tiffani brings a high level of integrity and enthusiasm to our business and we value her contributions as we continue to expand our operations to better serve you.

Feel free to contact Tiffani at 866-676-3349 or Tiffani@AbbaFirst.com.

Finally, the decision to choose a mortgage company for home financing has been made easy again- choose ABBA First Mortgage, Inc. for all your mortgage needs. Please contact us today to discuss how we can save you money on your next mortgage.

“The U.S. housing market has been in a slump for the past four years. When will it ever end?

In recent years, real estate has proven as jittery and unreliable as any other market. The average U.S. home price nearly doubled between January 2000 and April 2006, according to the First American LoanPerformance index. Since then, the average has fallen about 30%. The drop has been 53% in the Las Vegas metropolitan area and 39% in Miami, where about a quarter of all households with mortgages are behind on their payments or in foreclosure. The value of your home might be determined more by whether the neighbors keep their jobs than whether the house has ample light and closet space.

Here is a guide to navigating a fractured and volatile market…”

To read more of this great article click here.

“You can’t make this up,” New York appraiser Jonathan Miller riffed in his entertaining blog, Matrix, back in June.

Miller was recounting the frustration of a real estate salesperson who was trying to refinance her own New York apartment with her current lender. According to Miller’s telling, the out-of-town appraiser walked into the apartment, threw his hands in the air, and asked “How am I supposed to appraise this thing?”

That story sums up the feeling of many in the real estate industry toward the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct, a set of rules created to prevent those who stand to profit from a real estate transaction from putting undue pressure on the appraiser.

The rules, which went into effect May 1 for all conventional, single-family loans destined for sale to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, prohibit mortgage brokers and real estate brokers from ordering appraisals and require that lenders erect a firewall between loan production staff and the appraiser. Sounds reasonable. After all, the appraiser is there to assure that the lender’s funding decision is sound, right?

Since the rules took effect, however, they’ve set off a firestorm of protest around the country…”

To read more of this great article click here.

“New numbers show things are starting to pick up in the Wilmington area housing market.

The good news is sales rose from 373 homes in May to 412 in June.”

Click here for more from WWAY.

How are things looking in your market?

Although the economy is still showing signs of weakness, you may want to consider making the necessary arrangements to lock your interest rate.  You can complete an application right on our website by clicking Apply Online.

Once the application is completed, one of our loan officers will contact you to go over the details of your transaction and to discuss continuing the process.  Couldn’t be easier!  We look forward to serving your mortgage needs…

MarketWatch First Take: Will Bernanke’s rebound have to wait? – MarketWatch

Posted using ShareThis

Interest rates rose last week after the FOMC meeting — as there was no hint for additional Treasury purchases. As a result, 10 year Treasury note yields shot up to 3.20 percent from its previous level of 3.05 percent and Mortgage-backed Securities (MBS) also followed a sell off as the 30 year current coupon MBS has drifted above 4 percent. The FOMC statement which closed this week’s meeting was considerably less pessimistic; they noted approvingly that “the economic outlook has improved modestly since the March meeting, partly reflecting some easing of financial market conditions” and that “household spending has shown signs of stabilizing.” Obviously, there was no change to short-term interest rates, but they did indicate that short-term rates would remain “exceptionally low… for an extended period.” The Fed has not been as concerned about the rise in Treasury rates, as their focus has been on improving conditions in the private market. With the mortgage-Treasury basis at historically tight levels, a further sell-off could lead to a rise in mortgage rates — of definite concern to the Fed.

Mortgage application activity was down 18.1 percent as mortgage rates declined. Despite lower mortgage rates, application activity declined in the week ending April 24th. The Refi Index dropped 21.9 percent to 5108.2 – its lowest level since the week ending March 13. As a percent of total applications, refinancing share fell to 75.3 percent from 79.7 percent. The Purchase Index fell for the third week in a row to 251.6 from 253.0, or 0.6 percent. Overall, refinancing activity is expected to remain muted over the near term, relative to mortgage rate levels, as originators are still setting up systems to handle the government’s programs and adding staff. Further declines in home prices and increased unemployment are also affecting activity. Any increase in mortgage rates will certainly not help refinancing. Overall, rates shouldn’t be expected to go too far, too fast, as the private mortgage market tries to regain health, while the government-backed market is supported to extend any activity. Later, when the actual “recovery” happens, concerns about inflation will quickly find their way back into the economy, and mortgage interest rates will begin to rise. By that time the private market will become more dominant and the Federal Reserve will no longer be the largest component of support for the mortgage market. There are still no signs of that day on the horizon.

If you want to buy a home or refinance your mortgage, you might not be all that concerned about how your lender selects the appraiser who figures out how much your home is worth.

But new rules intended to reduce appraisal fraud and curtail undue pressure on appraisers could have some dramatic repercussions for homebuyers and homeowners.

Proponents say the new rules will result in more-reliable appraisals, less fraud, lower costs and minimal disruption.

But critics expect less-accurate appraisals, delays in loan processing, higher costs and general misery for all concerned.

To read more about this controversial issue  click here.