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Mortgage applications jump on refi demand: MBA
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for home mortgages jumped last week, fueled by increased demand for refinancing as interest rates fell, an industry group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, rose 7.5 percent in the week ended Feb 3.
The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications climbed 9.4 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases was nearly flat, edging up just 0.1 percent.
The refinance share of total mortgage activity also increased to 80.5 percent of applications, from 80.0 percent.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.05 percent, down 4 basis points from 4.09 percent the week before.
The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.
(Reporting By Leah Schnurr; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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Because my payments are current and my mortgage is deeply underwater I would have to pay a 1/2% premium above the going rate. There is an additional 1/2% that goes presumably to the mortgage servicer though no one to whom I spoke was prepared to discuss that.
Through a more research, I made a shocking discovery. Minnesota is a one of 12 non-recourse states which means that if I walk away from a property that has only one mortgage on it, the bank must accept the property in lieu of payments… like collateral. They have no legal recourse to hold me responsible for the amount remaining on the mortgage.
However, that only applies to mortgages that are taken out at the initial purchase of the home. If I refinance the mortgage, the mortgage servicer suddenly has legal recourse to come after the entire amount remaining on my mortgage. They might negotiate a lower amount but they would suddenly be in the driver’s seat and I would be at their mercy.
They made no mention of how entering into that refinancing agreement would change the legal character of the mortgage.
Whatever happened to the Consumer Protection Bureau? Are they asleep at the wheel? I wonder how many of the mortgages that comprise the surge mentioned in this article are in the 12 non-recourse states.
Wall Street is a den of gutter-dwelling vipers. Customer beware.
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