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See what Essex has been up to this month! January is here, welcome to 2024!
Every month we post to our social accounts but sometimes, that gets lost in the massive amounts of content found online at any given moment. Keep up to date with us in our blogs and monthly newsletters.
Here's what you'll find in this newsletter:
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Top Loan Officers & Employee Spotlight
Top Loan Officers from last month:
Keith Murphy, Steve Soriano, and Bob Maldonado
KEITH MURPHY NMLS# 330827
"Keith and his team are the best! They were so helpful and thorough which is so appreciated when dealing with constantly changing numbers and such an important purchase."
- Kaitlyn D., CA
STEVE SORIANO NMLS# 263934
"Steve was very transparent and always communicated with me. He is extremely trustworthy and I would highly recommend him to anyone who is trying to purchase a home. He made the entire process pain free. Thank you Steve"
- Emily L., CA
BOB MALDONADO NMLS# 269090
"Bob is amazing! He takes the time to explain whenever we had questions and his team is equally as helpful!!"
- Amber P., CA
Employee Spotlight:
Shenaye Blunt | Customer Experience Specialist
Question: How long have you worked at Essex?
Answer: I have been working at Essex officially as an employee for 6 months but overall 1 year and 5 months due to I started as a temp.
Question: Why do you like working at Essex?
Answer: I've worked in customer service my whole life and working at Essex gives me the opportunity to continue doing what I love which is to help people from all over with their mortgage not only resolving their issues but educating them on different aspects of their mortgage. I also enjoy assisting in other departments and my coworkers to help strengthen our customer service team as a whole.
Question: What's a fun fact of yours?
Answer: A Fun Fact about myself is I love to sing.
Question: Do you have any Christmas traditions?
Answer: The only Christmas tradition I have is getting together with family to share in food, fun, laughter and love which is most important to me!!!!
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About Essex Mortgage
Community Spotlight: Humane Society of Marion County
The Humane Society of Marion County is a non-profit organization that works to protect and care for animals in Marion County, Florida. They provide a variety of services to animals in need, including adoption, sheltering, veterinary care, animal cruelty prevention and much more. HSMC also has a thrift store that helps to fund their lifesaving work.
If you would like to learn more or donate, click the link: https://thehsmc.org/
Our Story
Hailing from Essex, England, Roland Weedon founded Essex Mortgage in 1986. With a background in education, Roland remained adamant that educating the client wouId be the company's #1 priority. Today, Roland still holds to the fact that an educated client is best equipped to make decisions that are not only in their best interest, but also help in achieving both short and Iong-term goals.
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Mortgage Education
Jumbo Loans
Depending on your geographical location, conforming loans have a financing limit of up to $510,400. If you require a mortgage for an amount surpassing this limit, it necessitates what's termed as a jumbo, or non-conforming, loan. These loans cater to qualified buyers seeking to purchase homes in pricier regions, where the average home selling price is considerably higher. Jumbo loans can additionally be utilized for purchasing second homes, vacation properties, and investment real estate.
Recording
The term recording refers to the act of officially registering a real estate transaction, such as a mortgage or a deed, with the appropriate government office. This is typically done at the county or local level. Recording serves as a way to publicly document the ownership and lien rights associated with a property. Once a mortgage is recorded, it becomes part of the official public record, providing legal notice to all interested parties and ensuring the priority of the mortgage lien in case of future property transactions or disputes.
Housing Expense Ratio
The housing expense ratio is a percentage that lenders use to determine how much of a borrower's income can be used to pay for housing costs. It is calculated by dividing the monthly mortgage payment, property taxes, and homeowners insurance by the borrower's gross monthly income. Borrowers can do a few things to lower their housing expense ratio, such as making a larger down payment, buying a less expensive home, or finding a home with lower property taxes or homeowners insurance.
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Essex Mortgage News
All Company Updates
DECEMBER ESSEX TOTALS
ESSEX TOTAL: $152,969,373 / 932 units
Retail Fundings: $8,370,181 / 23 units
Correspondent Purchases: $146,298,315 / 914 units
COMPLIANCE UPDATES:
The Compliance Department would like to extend their thanks to the entire team for a significant improvement in completing their compliance training on time!
Industry News
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rates
"Borrowers will pay more in interest this week as the average rate on a 30-year mortgage is 7.30% compared to a rate of 7.29% a week ago.
The annual percentage rate (APR), which includes the interest and all of the lender fees, on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is 7.19%. The APR was 7.22% last week.
If your mortgage is $100,000 and you have a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with the current rate of 7.30%, you will pay about $686 per month in principal and interest (taxes and fees not included), the Forbes Advisor mortgage calculator shows. That’s around $146,806 in total interest over the life of the loan." (source: forbes.com)
The rates found above are from January 9th and are subject to change. Use our loan calculator tool to determine your estimated monthly payments for different loan amounts, interest rates, and term lengths.
15-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rates
"The average interest rate on a 15-year mortgage (fixed-rate) sits at 6.44%. This same time last week, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was at 6.35%.
The APR on a 15-year fixed is 6.37%. It was 6.30% this time last week.
At today’s interest rate of 6.44%, a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage would cost approximately $868 per month in principal and interest per $100,000. You would pay around $56,177 in total interest over the life of the loan." (source: forbes.com)
The rates found above are from January 9th and are subject to change. Use our loan calculator tool to determine your estimated monthly payments for different loan amounts, interest rates, and term lengths.
Realtor.com Freddie Mac Updates
"The Freddie Mac fixed rate for a 30-year loan continued its downward trend this week to 6.61%. As the Federal Reserve’s projections fueled confidence among investors, the 10-year treasury yield remained below 3.9%. However, it is important to note that it is a general ‘noisy’ period during this time of the year due to holiday-driven fluctuations. Meanwhile, as the market’s focus shifted from ‘whether to cut interest rates’ to ‘when to cut interest rates’, the jobs report scheduled to release next Friday will give us a clear picture of the Fed’s next move." (source: realtor.com)
At today's interest rate of 6.61%, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is estimated to cost $1,114 per month in principal and interest, private mortgage insurance, and property taxes and insurance for a loan of $100,000. (source: My Home by Freddie Mac)
The rates found above are from December 28th and are subject to change. Use our loan calculator tool to determine your estimated monthly payments for different loan amounts, interest rates, and term lengths.
Need a loan officer?
Visit our Find a Loan Officer page to find a loan officer near you!