When the Federal Reserve announced that they would acquire the debt and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae, homeowners across the United States rushed to lock in lower fixed-rate mortgages to preclude adjustments that were impending due to the acquisition of interest-only and adjustable rate mortgages (ARM’s). Consumers are getting smarter about their finances due to the current recession and the government is offering refinance programs that makes it even easier to get low fixed-rate mortgages.

 

Here in the Tampa Bay area, we have seen several expansions due to the so-called “refinance surge”. One such expansion was an announcement last week from Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union (TBFCU).  TBFCU has announced that they are expanding their Real Estate Lending/Servicing Division to handle the foreseen surge in the refinancing market. 

 

Dean Clark, Manager of Real Estate Lending/Servicing for TBFCU said, "In the first quarter of 2009, we have seen a surge in new clients taking advantage of refinancing their Fannie Mae mortgages (TBFCU is a Fannie Mae approved servicer). All you have to do is visit www.fanniemae.com and search their database to see if Fannie Mae owns your mortgage. If they do, the homeowner can pretty much go with any new finance option, which gives incredible advantages in the declining real estate market." (PR Newswire)

 

Becoming a member of a credit union such as TBFCU has many advantages like having a local lender, local servicer and local decision makers. Add lower closing costs, exemption from intangible state tax, no origination fees, no underwriting fees, no processing fees, and no third party broker fees and very competitive interest rates and it is easy to see abundance of benefits for any member.

 

If you have an interest in purchasing a new home at today’s low rates, please contact Nibal Elsaadi of SI Real Estate at 813-631-5144 or email Nibal@SIRealEstateInvestments.com.