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Housing Chatter delivers the news you need to know about current events in the housing market in simple terms. We have no political or institutional affiliations so you can be confident that our content and commentary is unbiased. Housing Chatter is brought to you by your professional Realtor®.

15 March 2015

Getting Mortgages Is Now Considerably Easier Than a Year AgoGetting a mortgage now is considerably easier than it was a year ago, according to the inaugural Zillow Mortgage Access Index (ZMAI).

In fact, access to mortgages is about two-thirds of the way back to 2002 levels, which was before the housing bubble and crisis distorted home values and borrowers’ ability to buy homes.

Access to home loans peaked in August ... Read More »
Editors Note:

BY MELISSA ALLISON
How To Turn Obstacles Into OpportunitiesI am not big on clichs such as "every time God closes a door, he opens a window."

But I do think there is one overused phrase that does has merit. That phrase: There are no such things as problems, just opportunities."

Indeed I think it is actually an apt description of the business environment we now find ourselves in.

The world, which has always been un ... Read More »
Editors Note:

By Paul B. Brown
Average mortgage loan size outpaces home pricesThe increase in average loan sizes for purchase mortgage applications has outpaced the recovery in house prices. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey for the week ending March 6, 2015 reported that the average purchase loan size had grown to a record high of $294,900. 

For comparison, the average purchase loan size was about $50,00 ... Read More »
Editors Note:

by Trey Garrison
Make Sure You Do a Success FailI'm at a South by Southwest session sponsored by sister pub Fast Company, listening to Biz Stone talk about his new opinion-sharing app called Super.

Stone is the co-founder of Twitter and has an interesting entrepreneurial story about how his previous app, called Jelly, failed (some would say miserably) to get traction. I profiled Jelly once in Inc. Magazi ... Read More »
Editors Note:

by John Brandon
Your down payment isnt the only cash you need ready to buy a homeIt's always a good idea to buy less house than you can afford .

Aside from your monthly mortgage payment, you also have to have cash at the ready for a down payment, which is usually 20% of the home's price.

And there's one more cost that's easy for homebuyers to overlook: closing costs.

Nicole Lapin, author of "Rich Bitch: A Simple 12 Step Plan for Getti ... Read More »
Editors Note:

by SARAH SCHMALBRUCH
Introducing the New HUD1 Settlement StatementThe growth of the housing mortgage industry has finally forced the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue a final rule to bolster fairness and clarity in residential lending.  Come August 2015, the CFPB will be introducing a simpler, direct HUD 1 Settlement Statemeent, Truth in Lending, and Good Faith Estimate. These less convoluted documents will hel ... Read More »
Editors Note:

By Hope Teller
How to figure out if the home you want to buy is affordableDeciding where to live can be hard.

You are probably thinking about proximity to work, to family, friends or significant others, as well as food options, climate, travel accessibility, crime rate, education, culture and of course — affordability.

We all know that living within our means is important to maintaining good financial health, but figuring how to ... Read More »
Editors Note:

by AJ SMITH, CREDIT.COM
7 Services That Will Basically Do Your Spring Cleaning For YouIt isn't easy being clean. But someone has to do it. Luckily, it's 2015. And while we don't have Rosie the Robot just yet, we do have the seven services here to help us get our homes in order this spring.

For All That Stuff You've Been Meaning To Donate To Charity
If good intentions have gone to die inside your entryway closet, Donation Town is here to give ... Read More »
Editors Note:

By	Jessica Cumberbatch 
4 technology drivers for game-changing customer service in mortgage lendingLet’s admit it, the mortgage lending process can be cumbersome.

As a technology executive at a major mortgage lender, I know this. But I believed the process was only flawed at other lenders. When my daughter and son-in-law recently bought their first home, I hand selected our best loan originator to handle their purchase. When the loan funded and they move ... Read More »
Editors Note:

by Thomas Knapp
Teens are now helping their parents find homes online, and its a great ideaA new report in The New York Times by Joanne Kaufman finds that kids and teens are helping their clueless New York parents find the next family home online.

The children of the families who spoke with The Times ranged from 10 to 15-years-old and were all comfortable finding deals, communicating with brokers, and looking at websites for their future property ... Read More »
Editors Note:

by MEGAN WILLETT
The perks of bringing your kids to workNo one is completely prepared for parenthood, but businesses can help facilitate a balance.

MPW Insider is an online community where the biggest names in business and beyond answer timely career and leadership questions. Today’s answer for: If you’re a working mom — have you experienced workplace bias? If so, how do you respond? is written by Gay Gaddis, CE ... Read More »
Editors Note:

by  Gay Gaddis
In the world of real estate, buyers can often miss the benefits of something called a "reissue rate" on their owners title insurance. A reissue rate is simply a homebuyer discount on owners title insurance. In order to obtain a reissue rate, the homebuyer and the transaction must satisfy the underwriters guidelines and conditions.  To qualify for a reissue rate, the seller of the property must have owned the home for at least 10 years and have purchased an owners title policy within that 10 year period.  

	The buyer does not have to use the same title insurance underwriter that the seller had during the transaction; you can still get a reissue rate on owners title insurance.  The reissue rate discount varies per state as well. In Maryland and DC, the homebuyer will receive a 40% discount based on the prior policy.  For example, if a homebuyer needs a policy to cover a $500,000 purchase and the sellers prior policy is for $400,000, the 40% discount would apply to the first $400,000.  The homebuyer would then have to pay full price on the remaining $100,000. Below is a visual example:

Reissue rate discount					Total			NO reissue rate discount	Total
Policy coverage for first $400,000				$1,397.50	 	 
Reissue rate discount (40%)				($559.00)	 	 
Policy coverage for first $400,000 w/ reissue rate discount	$838.50	 	 
Policy coverage for remaining $100,000			$370.00	 	 
Policy coverage for$500,000 with reissue rate discount	$1,208.50	Policy coverage for $500,000 without reissue rate discount	$1,712.50

	Virginia reissue rates are 30% of the original premium paid. Below are the different tiers for Virginia reissue rates on purchase transactions.

Purchase Price		 Minimum Credit
$0 - $199,999		$100.00
$200,000 - $299,999	$200.00
$300,000 - $399,999	$300.00
$400,000 - $499,999	$400.00
$500,000 - $599,999	$500.00
$600,000 OR Greater	$650.00

	For refinance transactions in DC and Virginia, the borrower automatically gets the reissue rate on title insurance, so long as the conditions are met. The borrower does not need to provide the existing owner's title insurance policy to receive a reissue rate. A 40% discount is automatically applied to the lenders title insurance premium. Previously, if you had a DC refinance for $500,000, without a reissue rate would have cost $2100 for lender's title insurance. Now that reissue rates on refinances are automatic, the same refinance would cost $1260 - a savings of $840!

	Some title companies do not provide a reissue rate because it costs them time and money. Ultimately, it generates less revenue for the company by researching discounts and potential savings.  Furthermore, some title companies are in a joint venture with real estate brokers and/or mortgage companies. These relationships cause them to have to share the title premium and therefore do not have enough revenue to be viable if they do not charge the full title premium.  So next time you are thinking about refinancing or buying, be sure to ask your title company the benefit of a reissue rate on title insurance. 
Reissue Rates Explained ... Read More »
Editors Note:

By Hope Teller

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