Mortgage news, minus the noise.
What’s moving in housing and lending, and what it means if you’re buying, refinancing, or tapping your equity.
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How an Adjustable-Rate Mortgage Resets, and Why ICE Says 2020's Seven-Year ARMs Face the Biggest Jumps
ARM demand is at a nearly four-year high, but the index, margin and caps written into a loan decide how much a payment can move once the introductory period ends.
GuidesHalf of Borrowers Now Pay Discount Points: How Buying Down a Mortgage Rate Works
The share of borrowers paying points reached its highest level since early 2025 in August, ICE reports. Whether the upfront cost pays off depends largely on how long the loan is kept.
GuidesWhy a Fixed-Rate Mortgage Payment Can Still Rise: Insurance, Taxes and Escrow Shortages Explained
Insurance now makes up nearly a tenth of the average mortgage payment, according to ICE, and industry data show most escrow accounts are running short this year.
GuidesSeller Closing-Cost Credits Have Hard Caps—Here Is How Loan Programs Limit Them
Interested-party contributions can shrink cash to close, but conventional, FHA, VA, and USDA rules set ceilings—and unused credit does not become cash back.
GuidesWhen Conventional Borrowers Can Cancel Private Mortgage Insurance Under Federal Rules
The Homeowners Protection Act sets borrower-request, automatic, and midpoint paths to end PMI on many principal-residence loans—rights homeowners should track as equity builds.
GuidesTennessee’s Great Choice Plus: Three Paths to Down-Payment Help for Middle Tennessee Buyers
THDA’s Great Choice Home Loan pairs with Great Choice Plus second-mortgage assistance—deferred, amortizing, or new-construction—for eligible first-time and targeted-area buyers across Tennessee.
GuidesFHA Title II Forwards: How Floor, Ceiling, and MIP Structure Frame 2026 Purchase Limits
HUD’s calendar-year 2026 loan limits set a one-unit floor of $541,287 and a high-cost ceiling of $1,249,125; upfront MIP remains 1.75% under Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 as elevated rates keep low-down-payment channels in focus.
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