Mortgage info

[diehard]

If you missed 60 minutes the other night, you owe it to yourself to watch this podcast replay of an interview with Whitney Tilson. 12 minutes. I guarantee you'll watch it all it you give it the first minute. Intriguing.http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4668112n
Happy Viewing!

[jamiche]

Scary. However, the mitigating factor might be that rates are now so low (and heading lower) that the teaser rates may end up as permanent rates.

[Bayfieldgopher]

I know two bankers each who manage a small bank in two different small rural Wisconsin communities. Both have no mortgages in default stats. And both banks are very solid, enjoyed a very good year and operate in a conservative manner.

This seems to be a vicious cirle that foolish, ignorant and very greedy people were willing to get involved with.

We could have purchased our home with an 4% ARM but chose the standard 30 year fixed rate of 6.12%. Who knows what the rate would have been when the ARM was due? 5%, 7%, 10%, 12%? We did not want to take that chance not knowing what lied ahead. Yet millions of people did.

Buyer beware and, I will also add, banker beware as well. Millions are learning a lot of tough lessons due to their decisions.

[Inigo Montoya]

Four years ago we originally selected a 30 year fixed loan for 6.25%. About 4 months after closing our loan officer offered us a decreased rate @ 5.875% with no refinance fees which we took. Just yesterday we received a letter from Wells Fargo, who owns our mortgage note, that we were eligible to lower and renew our 30 year term @ 5.375%. It's nice to see that some banks are rewarding customers who have been paying their mortgages on time. Or am I being altruistic and there's something in it for Wells Fargo also?