So said Redfin’s mortgage broker, Warren Cavanaugh. He was joking. For over a year, in semi-stealth mode, Redfin’s been operating a mortgage practice, primarily for our home-buying customers. The premise is simple: mortgage customers get great service at a better price, like they do when they buy a home with Redfin.
Last night we had a mortgage class at the Redfin office in downtown Seattle. About 35 people came to hear about what’s changed in the mortgage market, how to keep you’re credit clean when you’re planning to get a mortgage, and how mortgage brokers get paid (punchline: They always get paid, through rates or fees, even in so called “no-cost” mortgages– so make sure you know what you’re paying.)
How things have changed over the tumultuous last year
- Borrowing standards are tighter
- Need a better credit score
- Need 20% down payment, or PMI
- But conforming loan limits are higher
- From $417,000 to $567,500 in most of Seattle
- Conforming = lower rate
- Since this weekend’s Fannie/ Freddie rescue, rates dropped- from 6.26% to 5.88%.
You can get the slides here. If we do another one of these, what info would you like to see?