Mortgages

The housing market is a complex entity that can confuse most Americans, especially when considering the various factors that influence it. Further adding to this entanglement that consumers must unravel are the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millennials are the generation known as the tech generation, the echo generation, along with other monikers. However, they’re also known for their reluctance to buy homes. There have been many reasons for this trend among millennials, according to BBVA USA Head of Mortgage Banking Murat Kalkan.

Fintech startups are transforming the path to homeownership with new financing models. Different companies in BBVA's ecosystem are revolutionizing traditional approaches to home buying, creating new options that are helping consumers become homeowners, more easily, quickly, and with a more personalized experience.

Mortgage rates recently reached their lowest point in 13 months, leading many homeowners to ask if now is the right time to consider refinancing.

When you’ve found the perfect house and the seller has accepted your offer, waiting to complete the home loan closing process - which can take around 40 days - can feel torturous.

It’s true that interest rates on mortgages are increasing, but it could still be a good time to refinance. As with so many things in life, it all depends on your unique financial situation.

According to RealtyTrac, as of April 2018, there were more than 600,000 properties in the U.S. in some stage of foreclosure. While the numbers of foreclosed homes are significantly lower than at the peak of the U.S. Housing Crisis, with more than a half million lender owned homes on the market, buyers still have a solid opportunity to find a good deal.

BBVA Compass has announced the appointment of Joe Cartellone as its Director of Mortgage Banking and Home Equity.

When it comes to buying a home, understanding which mortgage option is right is key. When constructing a home from the ground up, the same is true, but the options for financing are slightly different.

Generally, new construction financing falls into two types of loans, construction-to-permanent and construction only.

Being self-employed doesn’t mean homeownership isn’t attainable. In fact, lenders are willing and able to loan money to the entrepreneurial minded. People who are self-employed and seeking to buy their own home simply need to be aware of a few more things.

In December 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a tax overhaul that sought to cut corporate and individual income taxes and stimulate the economy. As part of the tax package, the standard deduction was increased across all tax brackets and rules for mortgage interest deductions changed.

Over the past several years, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has gradually increased the federal funds interest rates both as a response to favorable economic conditions and in order to curb inflation. In a rising interest rate environment such as this, lending is affected as banks set their own interest rates according to the prime rate, which is mostly determined by the aforementioned federal funds rate.

Black Knight, Inc.’s latest Mortgage Monitor Report indicates that taken together, rising interest rates and home prices have affected housing affordability, resulting in a more than $100 increase in monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage used to purchase a median-priced U.S. home.

BBVA’s independent venture capital business, Propel Venture Partners, has announced a new investment into UK online mortgage brokerage Trussle.

An eat-in kitchen. Open floor plan. Shiplap for days. For home remodeling show junkies, the inspiration for home renovation is never ending.

Home equity loans and home equity lines of credit are very similar financial tools, used by homeowners with a need for a quick source of funding.

The longer you own your home, typically the more equity you build. Many people wait to tap into this equity, while others use it to strengthen their financial footing.

One of the ways a homeowner might put their home equity to work for them is with a home equity line of credit (HELOC). BBVA Compass Director of Mortgage and Home Equity Originations Jose Pascual shares his top three reasons that homeowners might want to consider a HELOC.

On the road to home ownership, it can feel like every turn includes another unexpected charge or fee, with one of the final being closing costs.

‘Closing costs’ is an umbrella term that encompasses various fees collected by those who perform all the final tasks that ultimately allow a home buyer to sign on the dotted line of their mortgage loan. The fees, which typically range from 3 to 5 percent of the cost of the home, include various charges like appraisal,  underwriting and recording fees, among other charges. According to BBVA Compass Director of Real Estate Originations Jose Pascual, the number and total amount of fees can vary.

Let’s talk Private Mortgage Insurance, or as it’s more commonly known, “PMI.”

If you’re buying a house and in the process of obtaining a home loan, chances are good you’ve at least heard the term. Chances are even better you’re acutely aware of PMI if you’re planning a down payment of less than 20 percent, because PMI is the premium you’ll have to pay to insure the lender against loan default.

Taking on a mortgage might be the single most important financial decision a person makes, and accordingly, it may also be one of the most complicated. Simply understanding the type of mortgage loan that is right for your situation can be confusing at best.

In this article, we’ll wade through industry terminology to boil each option down to its essence, so you can better know which may be right for you and your home buying situation. We’ll also review some of the terms you might hear bandied about - Conforming, Conventional - to understand how they fit into the bigger picture.

When it comes to how much home you can afford, the answer is not always as cut and dried as the pre-qualification you receive from your lender, says BBVA Compass Director of Real Estate Originations Jose Pascual.

Pascual says that lenders do their best with what they’re given in order to pre-qualify customers for an affordable amount, but there are considerations outside their purview that borrowers should also consider.

Deciding to buy a home ranks among the biggest decisions a person can make, which is why it’s wise to go into the process with eyes wide open to your unique financial situation. Doing so will help ensure that before pen hits paper on the loan application, the approval that will get you the house of your dreams is in the proverbial bag.

There are a few steps anyone looking to get a home loan - aka mortgage - can take before application in order to be sure that they are best positioned for approval.

A bright new year dawned for BBVA Compass in 2017 with the January installation of a new President and CEO and the debut of a new global tagline - Creating Opportunities - that would become the theme for the bank’s activities throughout the year.

Let’s be honest. You’ve procrastinated in your holiday shopping. Even though a fall 2017 survey claimed that procrastination among holiday shoppers would dwindle this year and 30 percent of consumers planned to start their holiday shopping over Thanksgiving, it still leaves a big percentage of shopping stragglers.

The outlook for Argentina’s economy in 2018 remains optimistic, with GDP expected to expand by nearly 3% for the second consecutive year. However, achieving sustained growth and attracting international investment will depend, not just on stable macro indicators, but on long-lasting structural reforms. While the initial signs of economic recovery became apparent in the second half of 2016, it wasn’t until mid-2017 that growth rates began to pick up across most industries.

BBVA Compass National Mortgage Sales Manager Eduardo Castaneda has been in the mortgage business for over three decades, and can pour a vast amount of information on the subject at a moment’s notice.

Digital financial services are within everyone´s reach, but each generation has its own peculiarities when using them. Mobile banking apps have won over the centennials, while social networks influence Generation Y when it comes to changing banks, and Generation X confides in online banking. The baby boomers, meanwhile, prefer to take a stroll to the branch office.

Garanti Bank signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for 5-year term funding in the amount of Euro 75 million equivalent under the Covered Bond Programme. Thanks to this financing, the first transaction settled with EBRD in TL and covered bond format, Garanti aims to boost the expansion of Green Mortgage loans and to protect the future generations with environmentally-friendly buildings.

Atom Bank, the UK's first bank built exclusively for mobile and in which BBVA has a 29.5% stake,  launched residential mortgages - its first consumer lending product - which allows customers to manage the process from offer to completion through the Atom app - the only UK mortgage provider to do this.

One of the consequences of the latest financial crisis for banks has been the so-called non-performing loans or NPLs. Loans regarding which the borrower has either already failed to meet his payment obligations or is showing signs of having difficulties meeting them. Some financial systems, such as Spain’s, have already done their homework clearing their balance sheets. However, for other systems credit quality is still a matter that needs to be addressed. A recent case are Italian banks, which still bear a burden of over €300 billion in this type of assets.