In the hustle and bustle of working hard for my clients while simultaneously trying to prepare my household for the holidays, I was stopped in my tracks this week. Those that know me can attest to the fact that it is a rare moment when I find myself still and speechless. While driving between appointments this week, a song came on the radio that so captivated me, I nearly had to pull over because my eyes had filled with tears. In her Christmas song, Faith Hill captured the essence of why I am compelled to do the work that I do plus exemplified everything Christmas all at once. A Baby Changes Everything. Grab a tissue and listen to this song.

In chatting recently with someone at a holiday party, we were both sharing our work/vocation passion. She is studying to become a naturopathic doctor and is excited about the prospect of helping people heal naturally. What a great calling! Then I shared with her the joy that I get to see month after month when people become homeowners. I mean, how does it get much better than that, right? Imagine being the person who helps people make their dream of homeownership a reality. I get to do that for a living!

You see, I have always felt that a family's home is the most sacred place on earth. The home is where they gather to grow, learn, celebrate, comfort, mourn, and do all the things that families do. That I get to use my experience and giftedness to make this possible for families and individuals is an honor to me.

That is part of why the lyrics of this song struck me so profoundly. But another other part is that I just love babies and have been richly blessed with beautiful babies all around this year. Two new grandbabies joined our family this year, Amanda's new little bundle of fun has been a joy, and I still wonder some days how I got the privilege of having the children I have.

Take a look at the words to this song. See if the meaning of its verses strike you in a special way. Those of us that have been a single mom will identify with the pain/joy mix that is indescribable for many. But I have no doubt that all will be blessed by its message.

Truly, a baby changes everything.

Since I missed the bottom of the market, does that mean I can not refinance now? On the contrary!

As most of know, rates have increased since early November when they hit a 39-year low point. But just because someone may have missed the bottom of the market that doesn't preclude them from taking advantage of a still-very-low interest rate.

Honestly, some might say that we've actually been a little spoiled because mortgage rates have been so low for so long. We may have even begun to wonder if interest rates in the 4's were the new normal. And after spending so much time in an interest rate range in the 5's and 6's for most of the past decade, one could see how that would begin to feel like a normal interest rate.

My kids will occasionally roll their eyes when their mom uses phrases like, "back in the olden days..." and "when I was young...". In fact, I, too, would often chuckle when my own parents said things like "that car cost more than my first house."  Let me explain: when I bought my first home back in the 80's, I was thrilled to get a single-digit interest rate. After all, the first mortgage I ever worked on in the early 80's had an interest rate of 17%!

I needed some perspective myself so I went back and looked up the Freddie Mac weekly average. You can see the historical perspective here: http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.htm. In the 90's, interest rates in the 7's were the norm and in the late 80's you can see quite a bit in the 8's to 10's.

Now that we can see these rates in historical perspective, one can easily tell why a rate in the 5's is still an excellent bargain. So don't worry, you didn't miss the boat - you can still refinance at a very low rate. But yes, that is the ship's engine you hear - gearing up to start maneuvering out of the harbor soon!

For many years, many clients opted for FHA rather than Conventional loans when seeking financing for the purchase of their new home. Often, the reason that FHA appeared the better option had much to do with the cost of monthly mortgage insurance premiums. In many cases the monthly cost for FHA mortgage insurance was better than the cost of Conventional mortgage insurance.

However, since the calculations changed for FHA mortgage insurance in October of this year, many clients are putting Conventional back on the table as a very viable option. And for some clients with higher credit scores, the mortgage insurance will actually be less expensive on a Conventional loan than it will be on an FHA loan.

Let's take a look at an example. For a homebuyer with a 720 credit score seeking to spend $200,000 for the purchase of their new home, they could opt for an FHA loan and only be required to put down 3½% of the purchase price. The down payment in this example would be $7,000. The UpFront Mortgage Insurance Premium for this loan would cost $1,930, which is added to the loan balance, so they would finance $194,930. The monthly Mortgage Insurance Premiums would be $144.75 per month.

But if this same borrower opted for a Conventional loan and could afford to make a 5% down payment, $10,000 rather than $7,000, then the cost of the Private Mortgage Insurance might be as low as $106.08 per month. Additionally, because they would be financing less, their principal and interest payments would be approximately $25 per month lower as well.

Thus by opting for a little bit higher down payment of 5% rather than 3½%, $10,000 rather than $7,000, this buyer could save over $63 per month in mortgage payments!

The underwriting guidelines are quite different for Conventional loans versus FHA loans and there are many reasons that one might choose one loan type over the other, mortgage insurance costs aside. So it is important to work with a Loan Officer that can help you evaluate all options and help you determine which scenarios works best for you in both the short- and long-term.