Deeds.com

As our readers know, the typical 30-year fixed mortgage rate is above 7% now — having surged several percentage points in just the past year.

The tension is high for potential buyers looking for access to finance, and mortgage lenders are clearly concerned. The home loan giant Rocket Companies made $60 million in the second quarter of 2022 — quite a bit less than its $1 billion in profits for the prior quarter.

The corporation is now sweetening its range of offerings to potential borrowers. One is the “Inflation Buster” — and to get it, a loan applicant needs to lock in a rate by the end of 2022.

Millennials have finally arrived — in their own homes. It hasn’t come easy to them. Millennials and younger people do want to buy homes, but they’re presented with an obstacle course along the way.

Of millennials, 65% believe buying a home is the key measure of financial success. Around 60% of post-millennials (Gen Z) agree. And they’re either buying, or trying.

Reacting to a pandemic, the U.S. Federal Reserve launched a monetary policy that pressed mortgage rates astonishingly low — at one point they dipped below 3%.

In late 2021, the Fed did an about-face. And the rates shot up.

The Fed doesn’t manipulate mortgage rates directly — but banks generally raise their interest rates following the Fed’s moves. This year, rates have soared beyond most analysts’ predictions and are currently in the 7% range.

So let’s get straight to the question. Is it too late to refinance now? 

The question is more loaded than you might think.

Almost every buyer finds something amiss in the home after taking the keys. A few minor things here and there? No big deal. But often, the problems are far more than a buyer bargained for.

And some home sellers know exactly what the buyers will find.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty on seller disclosures — or the lack thereof.