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Lenders: Looking to simplify closings? Work with an insurance agency

Housing Wire

HousingWire recently spoke to Tom Kriby, vice president of client development and partnerships at Westwood Insurance Agency, about how working with an insurance agency can simplify the closing process for their customers, even in times of interest rate uncertainty. HW: How does working with an insurance agency simplify the closing process?

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Buy now, pay later: How do mortgage pros deal with ‘phantom debt’?

Housing Wire

Racamato is now orienting his team to look closely at clients’ bank statements to find multiple — and often interest-free — installments of a few hundred or thousand dollars paid to the same company on a biweekly or monthly basis. But these sources also told HousingWire that they don’t see an imminent “systemic risk” tied to BNPL debt. “I

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The impact of student loans on buying a home

Housing Wire

Student loan debt may affect your home-buying goals in a few key ways. Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) Lenders calculate your DTI ratio by dividing your total monthly debt payments (including student loans) by your gross monthly income to assess your ability to handle additional debt, like a mortgage.

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Opinion: how to close the minority homeownership gap

Housing Wire

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have had affordable lending goals for years, but the impact of closing the minority homeownership gap has not been that significant. Income and credit information are inputted into the AUS. 1 answer has been, “They understand my borrowers and know how to close my loans.”

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Mortgage costs, lender denials jumped in 2022: CFPB

Housing Wire

Higher costs and rates meant customers taking out mortgages in 2022 devoted a higher share of their income towards paying home loans. The average debt-to-income ratio for Hispanic White and Black borrowers reached over 40% in 2022, about 39% among Asian applicants and 37% for non-Hispanic whites. in 2022, up from 8.3%

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First-time homebuyers made up a record share of agency purchase loans in 2023

Housing Wire

“The market in which these folks purchased their first home was one of record house prices, ballooning down payments , rising rates and elevated debt-to-income ratios (DTIs). Mortgage rates have averaged close to the 7% mark as of Feb. is more than 4 percentage points higher than for repeat buyers in recent months.

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3 unique mortgage products to get today’s homebuyer qualified

Housing Wire

Tom Davis, chief sales officer, Deephaven Mortgage Today’s market means that more borrowers have higher debt-to-income ratios, limited access to credit and are looking for alternative ways to get qualified for a mortgage. This is because they don’t require employment or income documentation and close quickly.