Each of the three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - collects data from your lenders about your history of borrowing and paying back credit.

But how does this actually affect your Florida mortgage application? What sort of rates can you look forward to based on these scores? Let’s investigate further … 

The aforementioned companies compile that information into your credit report, which any lender can access whenever you apply for a Florida home loan. The Fair Isaac Corp. is the major producer of credit scores. It takes the information from those credit reports, applies its own trade-secret formula and, based on the three credit reports, distill three credit scores for you into one score ranging from 300 to 850.

Meanwhile, a new credit scoring system has been developed by the three major credit bureaus - the VantageScore. Their VantageScore reports are available for $5.95 each, a fraction of the cost of the FICO score. However, the scores are not a direct substitute for each other and mortgage lenders continue to look at FICO scores when reviewing mortgage applications, so they are the scores a Florida mortgage borrower should buy.

Borrowers with high FICO scores - the top tier ranges between 760 and 850 - can expect lenders to offer them lower interest rates and more loan choices. Scores of 620 or lower usually place a borrower in the “subprime” category, and they can expect to be quoted significantly higher interest rates and may be offered fewer varieties of loans. A FICO score of about 500-520 is generally the minimum that will qualify for a Florida mortgage.

Fair Isaac’s consumer website offers a chart that is updated regularly and shows how your FICO score can affect your interest rate.

For example, here’s what a borrower could have expected to be charged in Florida mortgage rates for a $300,000 30-year fixed rate mortgage, based on his credit score, according to March 2007 interest rates:

Such variations in interest rate can add hundreds of dollars to your monthly payment and can make a big difference in the amount of debt for which you can be qualified. Contact our brokers today to see how you can lock in the lowest rates.SOURCE: Bankrate.com

Florida mortgage rates moved up slightly over the past week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of lenders, released yesterday.

The 30-year fixed-rate Florida mortgage averaged 6.16 percent for the week ending March 22, up from last week’s 6.14 percent.

The industry’s benchmark home loan is still down considerably from its year-ago average: 6.32 percent.

Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed-rate Florida mortgage loan averaged just 5.90 percent over the week, up slightly from last week’s 5.88 percent average.

The 15-year Florida mortgage averaged 5.97 percent a year ago.

Five-year, Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable mortgage rates averaged 5.91 percent in the past seven days, up a bit from last week’s 5.90 percent. The ARMs averaged 5.96 percent a year ago.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs, conversely, moved in the opposite direction, averaging 5.40 percent for the week, down from 5.42 percent. The ARMs are now lower than at this time a year ago: 5.41 percent.

To obtain the rates, the 30- and 15-year Florida mortgages required 0.4 points on average, while 5-year ARMs required 0.6 points and 1-year ARMs 0.7 points.

In a news release, Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac V.P. and chief economist, said the following:

“Mortgage rates were stable this week as the bond market took readings on producer prices and consumer prices in stride… core inflation at the wholesale level was up more than anticipated… Weighing relevant factors, The Fed decided to leave [interest rates] unchanged.”

February’s new and existing home sales, due out soon, will help provide more insight about the health of the Florida housing market.

Wednesday, a Mortgage Bankers Association report showed that Florida home loan application volume decreased 2.7 percent in the week ending March 16.

SOURCE: MarketWatch

In the heady days of the US real estate boom, it seemed like a safe bet to use her house as collateral for a loan. But today, Sharon Edwardsen risks losing her Staten Island, New York home, trapped by spiraling payments.

Edwardsen, a 47-year-old assistant optician, is a model for all Florida mortgage holders. She was tempted to take out a special high-risk loan targeted at people with low credit ratings. Today her monthly repayments have soared to 2,800 dollars, yet she only takes home 1,600 dollars.

She is among 2.2 million people across the US who risk forfeiting their homes by the end of the year as they struggle to meet monthly repayments swollen by rising mortgage rates, and triggering fears that a financial crisis could sweep US lenders.

“I’m panicking every day. I’m not sleeping because I’m worrying. This house has been in my family forever and I don’t want to lose it. But I can’t make the payments they are asking me for,” she said.

In 2005 these so-called subprime mortgages, offering a short-termed fixed interest rate which then converts into a variable rate of about 12 percent, accounted for some 20 percent of all US mortgage deals.

As the real estate market boomed, they enabled some of the country’s poorest citizens to get a toehold on the property ladder. Some of the loans dubbed “ninas” for “no income, no assets,” were seen as an innovative way for people to realize the dream of owning their own home.

But now as interest rates rise, one in five borrowers of these high-risk exotic loans is set to default and see their homes seized by creditors.

“People don’t understand that the loan is going to go up after two years,” said Eric Halperin, director of the Washington office of the Center for Responsible Lending. “In many of these cases, the lender lends money without regard to whether they (the borrower) will be able to repay the loan.”

During the boom years, when the repayments got too high, home owners could even Florida mortgage refinance their loans borrowing against the increased value of their house.

That’s exactly what Edwardsen did, remortgaging her home three times between 2002 and 2006.

Each time she got into difficulties, her mortgage broker would offer a new deal. From an original loan of 103,000 dollars, she now owes the credit company some 285,000 dollars even though her monthly income has remained the same.

“They took advantage of the fact that I was so desperate that I needed it. I told her (the broker) I had trouble with it. So she said in three months ‘we’re going to do this again. We’re going refinance you again and the money you take out, you going to use it for your mortgage payments,’” Edwardsen said.

“Blinded by their own greed and the incredible amount of money that was being provided by Wall Street, mortgage companies were making loans that were abusive,” agreed Ira Rheingold, of the National Association of Consumer Advocates which has taken up Edwardsen’s case.

Some companies were filling out false applications to ensure the credit was agreed. In Edwardsen’s case, she became a doctor with a monthly income of 6,000 dollars.

“They were making loans and they knew people couldn’t afford it and they made them anyway,” Rheingold said, blaming “greedy deregulation, failure of the government to intervene and Wall Street’s incredible appetite for high risk bonds that would pay them a lot of money.

Florida mortgage rates remained largely unchanged last week, despite wide-ranging reports of trouble within the subprime lending industry.

Even as multiple bad credit mortgage lenders experienced problems as their loans to risky borrowers are defaulting at record rates, the 30-year, fixed rate mortgage - the industry’s benchmark loan - averaged just 6.14 percent, unchanged from last week.

A year ago, the 30-year, fixed-rate Florida mortgage stood at 6.34 percent.

The 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage - a popular lending option for Florida mortgage refinancing - averaged just 5.88 percent, up a bit from 5.86 last week.

“Mortgage rates moved little in the past week, as the latest economic news gave no reason for change,” said Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac, which conducted the weekly survey.

A year ago, the 15-year, fixed-rate Florida mortgage averaged 5.98 percent.

As for what comes next? It will depend largely on economic forecasts.

“Over the course of next week, February inflation measures at the wholesale and retail levels will be published,” Nothaft said. “That could serve as the driving force behind mortgage rates‘ movement.”

The five-year treasury-indexed adjustable-rate Florida mortgage loan (ARM) averaged 5.90 percent over the past week, unchanged from last week.

The 5-year adjustable-rate loan last year averaged 5.93 percent.

The one-year ARM averaged just 5.42 percent, a drop from 5.47 percent last week. Last year around this time, the one-year Florida mortgages could be attained for were percent.

The impact of bad credit home loan problems has extended well beyond the Sunshine State, though Florida home mortgage problems remain a hot spot.

Leading U.S. home builders that have reported weakness in prices as the housing market has continued to slow dramatically include Lennar, Pulte Homes, and D.R. Horton.

A lack of definitive economic data helped keep Florida mortgage rates at their lowest levels since mid-December, a Bankrate.com survey reveals.

Rates dropped for the fourth time in the past five weeks, with the average 30-year fixed Florida mortgage - the industry’s benchmark loan - dropping to 6.19 percent.

According to the survey of the state’s lenders, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 0.3 origination points.

The average 15-year fixed rate home loan, very popular for Florida mortgage refinancing, remained unchanged at 5.95 percent.

On larger home loans, the average 30-year, fixed rate jumbo mortgage inched higher to 6.42 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages remained mixed, with the 5/1 ARM moving up to 6.04 percent and the one-year ARM sliding to 5.94.

The mortgage rates remained low on evidence of slower economic growth. Last week, the fourth quarter GDP was revised sharply lower. This week, productivity and factory orders came in lower than forecasted.

Although a survey of the manufacturing sector was stronger than expected, the larger services sector slowed notably. Prospects for slower economic growth help buoy demand for Treasury securities, pushing prices higher and yields lower. The rates of Florida mortgages are closely related to yields on long-term government bonds.

Fixed Florida mortgage rates are notably lower than last summer, when the Fed raised interest rates for the 17th consecutive - but last - time.

At the time, rates for the average 30-year fixed mortgage loan peaked at 6.93 percent, and a $165,000 home loan carried a monthly payment of $1,090.00.

With the average 30-year fixed rate now 6.19 percent, the same Florida home loan originated today would carry a monthly payment of $1,009.50, not counting property tax or insurance.

Fixed mortgage rates today offer a compelling refinancing alternative for adjustable rate mortgage borrowers facing sharp payment adjustments.

Florida mortgage rates declined for the second consecutive week, due in large part to indications of a slowing economy and lower inflation, the chief economist for mortgage giant Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

“Home mortgage rates drifted lower largely on the basis of new economic data suggesting a slower economy and lower inflation,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, in a news release.

According to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of the Florida mortgage lenders, the 30-year fixed-rate home loan averaged just 6.18 percent for the week ending March 1, down from last week’s 6.22 percent.

The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage - the most common Florida home loan and considered the industry’s benchmark financing product - averaged a very similar 6.24 percent a year ago.

A popular choice for Florida mortgage refinancing, the 15-year fixed-rate home mortgage loan, averaged 5.92 percent, down from 5.97 percent seven days ago. The mortgage averaged almost the same a year ago, 5.89 percent.

Meanwhile, five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid ARMs averaged 5.93 percent, down from last week’s 5.96 percent average. A year ago, that Florida mortgage product could have been attained at 5.97 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs came in at 5.49 percent in the week ending March 1, a figure unchanged from last week. This ARM averaged 5.34 percent a year ago.

To obtain the Florida home mortgage rates quoted above, the 30-year fixed-rate home loan required payment of an average of 0.4 points.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage loans necessitated an average of 0.5 points.

“GDP growth for the last quarter was revised downward to a 2.2 percent rate, compared to the 3.5 percent initially estimated, while the accompanying price measure showed that inflation was tamer than first reported, at a revised 1.9 percent annualized rate,” Nothaft added.

Weakness in January new-home sales and the unexpected rise of existing home sales for the month painted a mixed picture of the Florida housing market.

According to a separate survey released by the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday, Florida mortgage applications increased by 3.2 percent for the week ending February 23, and volume was up 8.8 percent from a year ago.

Florida mortgage rates slid downward in the past week as the housing market continues to falter in the Sunshine State and mortgage lenders are worried it will have negative effects on the economy.

The 30-year fixed-rate home mortgage - the industry’s most common home loan, and considered the benchmark loan for tracking market trends - averaged 6.22 percent, down from 6.30 percent last week.

According to Freddie Mac’s mortgage market survey, which the government-backed lending giant conducts on a weekly basis, last year at this time, 30-year mortgage rates averaged just 6.26 percent.

“Mortgage rates eased a little more this week, as market participants were concerned over how much negative impact a slowing housing market may have on economic growth,” Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist for Freddie Mac, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, 15-year mortgage rates, a popular choice for Florida home mortgage refinancing, averaged just 5.97 percent, down from 6.04 percent last week.

Borrowing conditions still favor buyers as the market slumps. One year ago, average mortgage rates for 15-year Florida home loans came in at just 5.89 percent.

As for 5-year adjustable-rate mortgages, they averaged 5.96 percent, down from 6.01 percent last week. Last year, when mortgage applications for such loans began to slow dramatically, it was 5.32 percent.

The 1-year adjustable-rate Florida mortgage, meanwhile, averaged 5.49 percent, down from 5.52 percent last week. A year ago at this time, it averaged 5.32 percent.

Next week’s release of new and existing U.S. home sales might offer a more complete gauge of the housing industry’s strength. Florida mortgage rates could fluctuate more significantly then.

“In addition, the second estimate of economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2006 will be released next week and should further provide insight into what extent the housing market is affecting the economy,” Nothaft said.

Florida mortgage rates moved slightly higher over the week, according to a weekly survey of the state’s mortgage lenders released on Thursday.

However, experts believe mortgage rates could experience more movement over the coming weeks as key indicators for the housing market and the economy are released.

The 30-year fixed-rate Florida mortgage averaged 6.30 percent for the week ending February 15, up from last week’s average of 6.28 percent, according to the survey of the state’s mortgage companies.

The 30-year Florida home loan, considered the industry’s benchmark mortgage, also averaged 6.28 percent a year ago.

Meanwhile, 15-year fixed-rate Florida home loans averaged 6.03 percent, up from last week’s 6.02 percent average.

The 15-year mortgage averaged 5.91 percent a year ago.

Five-year hybrid ARMs averaged 6.01 percent for the week, up from last week’s 5.99 percent average. The five-year adjustable-rate Florida mortgage averaged 5.95 percent a year ago.

The one-year Treasury indexed ARM - an option that has become increasingly popular in recent years given the state’s high housing prices - averaged 5.52 percent, up a bit from last week’s 5.49 percent average.

The 1-year ARM averaged 5.36 percent a year ago.

To obtain the rates quoted in the survey above, both the 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages required the payment of an average 0.4 points, while 5-year ARMs required an average of 0.5 points and the 1-year ARMs saw an average of 0.6 points.

The Florida mortgage rates showed only small changes because there was relatively little new information that would prompt them to move.

Retail sales and consumer spending were both virtually unchanged from December’s levels. Furthermore, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before a Senate committee and forecasted that the economy seemed likely to expand moderately this year and next with gradual easing of inflation.

Next week, January housing starts, along with the producer price index and the consumer price index, will be released, and those comprise the first indicators of the housing market and inflation in early 2007.

In response, Florida mortgage rates may move more suddenly.

In a separate survey released Wednesday, mortgage applications were found to have increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.5 percent in the week ending February 9.

Applications for home purchase loans and Florida mortgage refinancing were were up 10.9 percent compared with the same week in 2006. The survey taken by the Mortgage Bankers Association covers about half of all retail residential mortgage originations.

Florida mortgage rates slipped slightly in the last week, a trend caused in large part by employment news halting what had been a recent upward trend.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average fell to 6.28 percent from 6.34 percent, the government-backed mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said, citing results of its weekly primary mortgage market survey.

While they’ve had their ups and downs, not much has changed in the last 12 months for the industry’s benchmark loan. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed-rate Florida mortgage averaged 6.24 percent.

The mortgage agency said its survey showed the 15-year loan also fell, to 6.02 percent from 6.06 percent. One year ago, the 15-year home mortgage, a popular choice for Florida home loan refinancing, averaged 5.83 percent.

“News of moderate employment gains in January led to a halt in the recent upward trend of [rising mortgage rates],” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac chief economist. “The 111,000 jobs added last month were fewer than had been anticipated, while the unemployment rate edged up unexpectedly.”

The 1-year Treasury-indexed adjustable rate mortgage decreased to 5.49 percent from 5.54 percent. At this time last year, 1-year ARMs averaged 5.34 percent.

The 5-year hybrid ARM dropped to 5.99 percent from 6.04 percent. A year ago, the 5-year adjustable-rate Florida home loans averaged 5.83 percent.

Freddie Mac said that throughout the year, Freddie Mac expect rates on 30-year mortgages to average between 6.3-6.5 percent, which is continued good news for those looking for an entry into the South Florida housing market.

The flat or increasing rates will likely cause Florida mortgage refinancing activity to contract gradually, experts say, and in addition, the dollar volume of home equity cashed-out will also retreat from record levels of 2006 to more reasonable totals this year.

While all the numbers aren’t in yet, the National Association of Realtors is reporting that winter inventory is selling.

Buyers are starting to respond to continuing low Florida mortgage interest rates, falling prices and smorgasbord inventories in buyer’s markets across the country. Could these signs be heralding a spring comeback in housing?

Existing home sales should fare well, but new homes will lag, says NAR Chief Economist, David Lereah.

“After reaching what appears to be the bottom in the fourth quarter of 2006, we expect existing-home sales to gradually rise all this year and well into 2008,” he said. “New-home sales should continue to slide, but we look for that sector to turn around later in the year. When you put it all together, home sales may appear weak in comparison with the record surge in 2005, but they will be sustained at historically high levels that are in line with long-term [Florida mortgage loan] demand.”

Recently, the NAR announced that existing-home sales reached the third highest total on record, 6.48 million homes sold in 2006, and forecasts sales to soften only slightly to 6.44 million in 2007, with sales improving to 6.68 in 2008.

New-home sales, following a fourth-best 1.06 million in 2006, are projected to decline below a million to 961,000 this year and then rise to 971,000 in 2008. Housing starts are likely to total 1.52 million in 2007, down from 1.80 million units in 2006, and then increase to 1.56 million next year, says NAR.Â

Existing home sellers can move with the markets faster than builders. They can lower prices and add improvements, whereas builders don’t tend to provide home buyer incentives until inventory is hanging around.

“When new home demand begins to catch up with supply, builders will slowly increase construction - probably in the second half of this year,” Lereah predicts.

NAR believes that mortgage interest rates will rise this year, but well below the original forecasts for 2006 at 7 percent. The 30-year fixed-rate Florida mortgage is forecast to rise to 6.7 percent by the second half of the year.

“Mortgage interest rates remain favorable, and a gradual rise means potential buyers have some time to weigh purchase decisions,” Lereah said. “When existing-home supplies become more balanced between buyers and sellers this spring, we’ll see some modest price gains.”