Morning! This is MF Lending - for the Parks agents, I hope your morning is full of Pedialyte and Christmas Cheer 🎅🏻.

This is the fool-proof way to serve up mortgage and real estate market knowledge without any of the guesswork. So you’ll look like the smartest agent in the room (and you are!)

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

1. All Eyez on Next Week - Fed Week 👀

2. Steadfast’s Discounted Mortgage Rates in Davidson County ✅

3. THDA Homeownership for Heroes Program 🫡

By the way, this article on Rate Cut Predictions Goes Viral is the most clicked link in this newsletter, you should check it out if you are interested.

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Rates Today 📉

All Eyez on Next Week - Fed Week 👀

Next week is Fed week.

As is tradition with Fed policy decisions coming the following week, this week has been relatively calm. We have not seen massive swings in one direction or the other, but rather a steady increase in bond prices.

Even something like Non-farm Payrolls coming in tomorrow may not move the needle too much as investors sit on their hands and wait for Jerome Powell’s statements on Wednesday.

What is expected to happen at this meeting?

One thing is certain - the Fed is going to hold rates where they are today.

The much more pressing question, and the question that bond traders are contemplating all week is this: What will the Dot Plot look like?

If you remember from the Sep Fed Meeting - once a quarter the Fed releases a report with the “Dot Plot.”

This dot plot shows the target rate for the Federal Funds Rate that each member believes is necessary over the next three years.

Said another way - it is each central banker’s forecast of interest rates for three years.

As detailed in Monday’s edition - there have been predictions of 4-6 rate cuts next year. But what does the Fed have to say about that? 

We will know on Wednesday…keep an eye out for the MF Lending Coffee Corner ☕

Steadfast’s Discounted Mortgage Rates in Davidson County ✅

Steadfast Mortgage has a program for Davidson County that offers discounted mortgage rates for specific addresses and zip codes in the county.

There is no additional qualifications for this program - you do not have to be a first-time buyer, or have a specific income, credit score, or debt ratio.

It is 100% based on the address - if the property falls in the bucket to qualify, you just need a conventional loan and you will get the discounted rate.

Listing agents I work with have been marketing homes they are selling that fit this program to give additional incentives to potential buyers.

Here is the difference in rate for buyers of a home in East Nashville listed for 825k:

Yes. Today, on this program, buyers could get a 6.625% rate with NO discount points.

These savings are $181-106 per month for doing absolutely nothing - just buying a house in the right place.

For potential buyers weighing their options on different homes, they will get a rate that is 3/8ths better than the market.

Listing agents I work with are finding huge wins for their clients by being able to offer this to buyers. Buyer’s agents also ask me to run addresses all the time for their clients to see if they can get discounted rates on homes they are touring.

If you want to see if your next listing or buyer showing qualifies for these discounted rates, DM me @mf.lending or email me [email protected] and I can run the scenario for you! 🪩

THDA Homeownership for Heroes Program 🫡

THDA has lowered their rates to 6.75% for the Great Choice Program, and 6.25% for the Homeownership for Heroes program.

This program offers financial assistance along with these added benefits:

• Reduced interest rate by half a percentage point (0.5%)

• Waive requirements to be a first-time homeowner in all areas of Tennessee for qualified military or veterans

• Borrow up to 100% of home’s purchase price with a VA or USDA-RD loan or 96.5% with FHA loans

I receive many inquiries of who qualifies for the “Heroes” program, so I wanted to reach out to give you an idea.

The THDA's Homeownership for Heroes program is designed to assist military veterans, active-duty military personnel, and certain qualified first responders in achieving homeownership.

Eligible first responders include police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and paramedics.

To qualify for the program, applicants must meet certain income, credit, and property eligibility requirements.

Keep in mind, if you are active duty or veteran, for this Hero program you “DO NOT” necessarily have to be a first-time homebuyer, but you do need to hit their credit requirements and income limits.

If you want more information on these programs, or have buyers that may qualify for it - you can email me at [email protected] 

The Cul-de-Sac

Thanks for reading - that is all we have for today 😎

Please forward this to your friends and colleagues if you found it valuable.

— Michael F DiLucchio