The Mortgage Minute, 2.14.2025

The Mortgage Minute Valentine’s Day, 2025

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What are clients saying about us?

"Greg is extremely professional. I will continue to do business with him in the future!"—Michael N, closed February 2025

Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated every February 14; this year Valentine's Day falls on a Friday. Across the United States and in other places around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine.

But who is this mysterious saint and where did these traditions come from? Find out about the meaning and history of Valentine’s Day, from the ancient Roman ritual of Lupercalia that welcomed spring to the card-giving customs of Victorian England.

Find out more about the history of Valentine's Day here:

https://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of-valentines-day-2

Mortgage Tip:

Tax season has arrived and it's an important time for self-employed clients to review their goals for 2025. If purchasing a house is on your list of "to do" items, I'd recommend scheduling a call with our team today so we can review your income prior to the Spring buying season.

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Key Points

·?????? The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.96% last week from 6.97% the previous week.

·?????? Applications to refinance a home loan jumped 10% compared with the previous week and were 33% higher than the same week one year ago.

·?????? Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home declined again, falling 2% for the week.

Generally speaking, a refinance is far simpler than a purchase, namely due to skipping the “down payment sourcing” headache, which is the most likely pain point during the underwriting process of a home purchase.? If you’ve got decent equity, it’s possible we won’t need an appraisal.? For FHA/VA loans, we can engage a “streamline” refinance, which also wouldn’t require an appraisal.

So how do you get the refinance process going?

We can provide accurate refinance quotes without unnecessarily pulling your credit.? You’ll need the following:

1.???? ?Copy of most recent mortgage statement so we can get an accurate payoff balance

2.???? Estimated credit score

3. Complete the Opt Out process outlined below (this will prevent you from being bombarded by numerous bad actors in the “lead generation” world):

OPT OUT First Horizon does not sell your information to solicitors, but the credit bureaus often do. ?It’s easy to opt out! ?Opting out should stop trigger leads and pre-screened offers. ?This process can take a few days (up to 5 business days), so if your credit report has already been pulled – this may not block offers immediately.

You can opt out of pre-screened offers for 5 years (or permanently) on the web or by phone.

• On the Web: https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?Opt Out Pre-Screen is a joint venture among the three national credit bureaus to allow consumers to control pre-screened offers.
• By Phone:?888-5-OPT-OUT

Add your number to the Do Not Call List! Trigger leads are supposed to be scrubbed against the National Do Not Call list. ?You can add your name to the list by phone or on the web. ? On the Web:?www.donotcall.gov ? By Phone: 888-382-1222

We’re not stifling competition, merely trying to prevent you from facing a barrage of telemarketing calls, texts, emails, smoke signals, and any other disruptive tactic online marketers can devise.

Let’s get your refinance quoted today!

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Greg Williams

AVP/Senior Mortgage Banker

404-457-4143 cell |?

2987 Clairmont Road, Ste 150

Atlanta, GA 30329

NMLS# 151412

https://www.firsthorizon.com/mortgage/greg-williams

Equal Housing Lender

We do Business in Accordance with Federal Fair Lending Laws

UNDER THE FEDERAL FAIR HOUSING ACT, IT IS ILLEGAL, ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, SEX, HANDICAP, OR FAMILIAL STATUS (HAVING CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 18), TO:

Deny a loan for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling, or to deny any loan secured by a dwelling; or

Discriminate in fixing the amount, interest rate, duration, application procedures, or other terms or conditions of such a loan, or in appraising property.