close video Lenders weigh in on mortgage rate adjustments: ‘We’re no stranger to these changes’
United Wholesale Mortgage Chief Operating Officer Melinda Wilner and loanDepot loan consultant John Gerardi debunk mortgage rate changes from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Experts at two of the nation's top lenders claim homebuyers may not fully understand a new Biden administration rule that redistributes high-risk loan costs to homeowners with good credit.
"I think there's a little bit of maybe misinterpretation," United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) Chief Operating Officer Melinda Wilner told Fox News Digital.
"A lot of people think that higher credit scores are now paying more for their mortgages than lower credit scores and that's actually not the case. It's just some of the changes were more impactful to certain pockets of credit scores and loan to value."
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The new rules enacted by the FHFA on May 1 aim to help lower-income borrowers afford their monthly mortgage payment. Under it, borrowers with a credit score of 679 or lower and less money for a down payment will qualify for better mortgage rates than they otherwise would have, while those with higher ratings ranging from 680 to above 780 will pay increased fees.
However, LoanDepot broker John Gerardi told Fox News Digital that people in the upper-credit score range will still get the benefit of having a better payment option than someone with a lesser credit score.
"They’re just maybe going to lose out on a very small discount that they might have had six to eight months ago with the old pricing grid," he explained. close video PA Treasurer Stacy Garrity blasts Biden’s new mortgage rule punishing borrowers with good credit: ‘Disaster’
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According to Gerardi lenders have been complying with the new adjustments way before they went into effect.
"These adjustments have been in play for a long time, and [the FHFA] go back to the drawing board, analyze which loans are doing better than other loans and make their changes," the New York-based loan consultant explained. "So right now we have the newest of their wave of changes, which most lenders were made aware of in January and already had started to build it into their pricing model."
Both Gerardi and Milner emphasized that the rate changes are normal and part of the FHFA's typical process for evaluating prices.
"Rates change all the time. The adjustments change often as well. So we're no stranger to these changes," Wilner said.
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However, she also pointed out that concerns from buyers have become "a little louder" since the changes began circulating in the media and challenged the idea that good creditors were paying the difference in new rates for poor-credit buyers.
"It's just different adjustments," Wilner said.
"It's nothing that you can really tangibly feel when a borrower comes to a lender and says, hey, you know, what's my rate going to be, what's my payment, we give the rate with everything built into it. It's not normally, hey, yesterday it was this, and today it's this kind of thing," she added. "I think the attention to it kind of makes people feel that way, but they're not seeing tremendous amounts of difference between it."
A recent change to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) pricing adjustments has many buyers concerned about mortgage payments. Some have said the changes give better rates for buyers with low credit and have good credit buyers subsidizing those (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli / AP Images)
In an attempt to alleviate fears, FHFA Director Sandra Thompson said in a statement last month that the new fees will not "represent pure decreases for high-risk borrowers or pure increases for low-risk borrowers" and will instead be targeted at "products such as second homes and cash-out refinances."
"Many borrowers with high credit scores or large down payments will see their fees decrease or remain flat," Thompson explained.
The motivation behind it, according to Gerardi, may be to get first-time homebuyers into the market.
"We took some hits during the pandemic and now we want to make our new changes to kind of inspire first-time homebuyers, give them a little bit of benefit, even if they don't have the best credit," he said. "But in order to give to one side of the spectrum, they have to take from another."
Gerardi added that the pricing model for those purchasing second homes has also changed with the new FHFA rules. In the past second homes were priced like primary residences, but are now being priced "out closer to what an investment property would look like."
"There is a lot of risk to financing a second home investment property, especially with these inflated prices," he said. "So that's definitely a risk that shows you the intention behind it is where do we [FHFA] feel like the chips are going to fall in today's day and age? Who is going to really take that homeownership and basically hold on to it with all they've got? – The first-time buyer."
“A lot of people think that higher credit scores are now paying more for their mortgages than lower credit scores, and that’s actually not the case.” – Melinda Wilner, United Wholesale Mortgage COO
Given the tumultuous housing market with inventory shortages, high rates, and skyrocketing costs, the risk associated with second homes and investment properties has come under a new lens.
Market volatility has some experts like Gerardi concerned about these changes and the fear surrounding them could have a negative impact on an already weak housing market.
"So with these changes that are coming up, besides just discouraging people from coming out and looking to buy homes, they're already feeling like that they're behind the eight ball being a seller's market," he explained. "But now you might discourage sellers from wanting to list their homes because they're now concerned, well, what am I going to be able to afford on my next purchase?"
"The last thing that we want to do is discourage sellers from even listing their home because of the inventory issue that we're dealing with," he added. close video Biden’s mortgage redistribution rule adds ‘insult to injury’: Brian Lewis
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Wilner, however, said she does not believe the changes will "halt" the housing market as seasonality and numerous other factors come into play when buying a home.
"I don't see any of these LLPA changes as catastrophic or anything too significant that will impact a lot of people from buying homes," she said. "The bigger impact is really what are rates holistically going to do. These adjustments are not as significant as if rates came down into the fives and into the fours and into the threes again."
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"The hope is that there is some impact, especially on the lower credit and where there were decreases and maybe there is a group of people that now can buy the home based on changes that were made there," Wilner added.
As fears still remain for many homebuyers, the true impact of these rates is yet to be seen. Gerardi noted these changes could be reevaluated, and new adjustments could come within the year if the desired outcome is not met.
Wilner and Gerardi both stressed the importance of maintaining a high credit score when buying a home.
FOX Business' Michael Lee and Kristen Altus contributed to this report.
The director of hit BBC period drama Wolf Hall says the government “needs to have enough guts to stand up to the bully in the White House” to protect the future of public service broadcasting.
Peter Kosminsky told Sky News’ Breakfast with Anna Jones that calls for a streaming levy to support British high-end TV production was urgently needed to stop the “decimation” of the UK industry.
His comments follow the release of a new report from the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) committee, calling for the government to improve support measures for the UK’s high-quality drama sector while safeguarding the creation of distinctly British content.
Specifically, the report calls for streamers – including Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+ and Disney+, all of which are based in the US – to commit to paying 5% of their UK subscriber revenue into a cultural fund to help finance drama with a specific interest to British audiences.
He said he feared they would make the government reticent to introduce a streaming levy, but said it was a necessary step to “defend a hundred years of honourable tradition of public service broadcasting in this country and not see it go to the wall because [the government are] frightened of the consequences from the bully in the States”.
Image: The second series of Wolf Hall, starring Mark Rylance (L) and Damian Lewis, nearly didn’t happen. Pic: BBC
Kosminsky also noted that the streamers would be able to apply for money from the fund themselves, as long as they were in co-production with a UK public service broadcaster.
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Earlier this year, a White House memorandum referenced levies on US streaming services, calling them “one-sided, anti-competitive policies” that “violate American sovereignty”.
In response to the call for streaming levies, a Netflix spokesperson said such a move would “penalise audiences” and “diminish competitiveness”.
They added: “The UK is Netflix’s biggest production hub outside of North America – and we want it to stay that way.”
The Association for Commercial Broadcasters and On-Demand Services (COBA) said such a levy “risks damaging UK growth and the global success story of the UK TV sector,” and “would risk dampening streamers’ existing investment in domestic content and would inevitably increase costs for businesses”.
Image: Pic: BBC
COBA said it welcomed the committee’s support for targeted tax breaks for domestic drama.
Kosminsky also told Sky News the second series of Wolf Hall was nearly called off just six weeks before it was due to start shooting due to financial pressures, adding: “It was only because the producer, the director, writer and the leading actor all agreed to take huge cuts in their own remuneration that the show actually got made.”
He said that both he and the show’s executive producer, Sir Colin Callender, had “worked on the show unpaid for 11 years on the basis that we would get a payment when the show went into production”, calling it “a bitter blow” to see that disappear.
Working in public service broadcasting for his entire career, Kosminsky said it was “absolutely heartbreaking for me and others like me to see that the industry we have been nurtured by and we care about is being decimated”.
While he said he was a “huge fan of the streamers”, he said it was their “very deep pockets” that had “driven up the price of what we do”, to the point where the traditional broadcasters can no longer afford to make high-end television.
Image: Adolescence. Pic: Netflix
Just this week, Adolescence, created by British talent Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, became the fourth most popular English-language series in Netflix’s history with 114 million views.
But while some very British shows might get taken on by the streamers due to universal appeal, Kosminsky said dramas including ITV’s Mr Bates Vs The Post Office and Hillsborough, and BBC drama Three Girls about the grooming of young girls by gangs in the north of England were examples of game-changing productions that could be lost in the future.
He warned: “These are not dramas that the streamers would ever make, they’re about free speech in this country. That’s part of what we think of as a democratic society, where we can make these dramas and programmes that challenge on issues of public policy that would never be of any interest in America.”
Image: Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
The CMS report comes following an inquiry into British film and high-end television, which considered how domestic and inward investment production was being affected by the rise of streaming platforms.
Chairwoman of the CMS committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, said “there will be countless distinctly British stories that never make it to our screens” unless the government intervenes to “rebalance the playing field” between streamers and public service broadcasters (PSBs).
A DCMS spokesperson said: “We acknowledge the challenges facing our brilliant film and TV industry and are working with it through our Industrial Strategy to consider what more needs to be done to unlock growth and develop the skills pipeline. We thank the committee for its report which we will respond to in due course.”
Hockey fans are close to knowing the identities of the 16 Stanley Cup playoff teams for 2025. But the battles for seeding continue to rage — as does the jockeying for position in the draft lottery order.
Here’s what to monitor during Thursday’s 10-game slate — and we hope you can watch on multiple devices!
These two Original Six franchises will be back in the postseason again at some point, but not this season. Chicago begins the night second in the draft lottery order, three points back of the San Jose Sharks. The Bruins are fourth heading into Thursday night, tied in points with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Red Wings begin the evening eight points behind the Canadiens for the final wild-card spot in the East (Tuesday’s loss to Montreal certainly didn’t help). A regulation loss here eliminates them. After their win Tuesday over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Panthers are right back in the race atop the Atlantic Division. As play begins Thursday, the Leafs are No. 1 with 100 points and 39 regulation wins, the Tampa Bay Lightning are second (97, 39) and the Panthers are third (94, 36).
The Sabres picked a strange time to go on a heater, as they are 8-2-0 in their last 10; maybe there will be some carry-over to start 2025-26? In any event, Buffalo begins the evening eighth in the draft lotto order, three spots (and three points) ahead of Columbus. The Blue Jackets stayed in the playoff race probably longer than anyone outside their dressing room believed they would, but they’ll be officially eliminated with another loss.
There was some nastiness the last time these two squads played; will we see retribution — particularly against Carolina’s Jalen Chatfield — on Thursday? As for the long-term impact, Washington is locked in as the No. 1 seed in the Metro, and Carolina needs one point to clinch the No. 2 seed over the New Jersey Devils.
From two Metro teams that have clinched a playoff spot to two who are on the cusp of elimination (after qualifying last spring). This rivalry game has a bit less juice than usual given the reality of the mathematics. The Rangers are currently 10th in the draft lottery order, the Isles 12th.
If the Stars have plans to overtake the Jets for the top overall seed in the West, they’ll need to win this one. Winnipeg enters the game four points (and one regulation win) ahead. So it’s not completely a must-win for the Stars’ quest for the No. 1 spot, but it’d certainly be a lot better for those chances if they won.
The Canucks were officially eliminated Wednesday night, and are currently 15th in the draft lottery order, a point back of the Hockey Club. As for the Avalanche, they are nearly locked into position as the Central’s No. 3 seed.
The HC has been playing inspired hockey as of late, but it was too late to get the final playoff spot, as they were eliminated Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Nashville begins play third in the draft lotto order, 10 points behind Chicago and seven ahead of the No. 4 Flyers.
This wasn’t the best season in Seattle Kraken history, though the club will likely get a top-10 draft pick this summer to continue the build; heading into Thursday, the Kraken are sixth in the draft lottery order, one point behind the Flyers and Bruins, and two ahead of the Penguins and Sabres.
Speaking of the Ducks, a win over their SoCal rivals would diminish the Kings’ chances of catching Vegas for the No. 1 seed in the Pacific; L.A. begins the evening six points back.
With the regular season ending April 17, we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 76 Regulation wins: 28 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 5 Points pace: 80.9 Next game: @ CBJ (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 73 Regulation wins: 25 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 3 Points pace: 75.8 Next game: vs. CHI (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Metro Division
Points: 107 Regulation wins: 42 Playoff position: M1 Games left: 5 Points pace: 114.0 Next game: vs. CAR (Thursday) Playoff chances: 100% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 84 Regulation wins: 28 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 4 Points pace: 88.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 64 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 4 Points pace: 67.3 Next game: @ UTA (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 54 Regulation wins: 19 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 4 Points pace: 56.8 Next game: @ BOS (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Pacific Division
Points: 103 Regulation wins: 43 Playoff position: P1 Games left: 4 Points pace: 108.3 Next game: vs. SEA (Thursday) Playoff chances: 100% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 97 Regulation wins: 39 Playoff position: P3 Games left: 5 Points pace: 103.3 Next game: vs. ANA (Thursday) Playoff chances: 100% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 95 Regulation wins: 33 Playoff position: P2 Games left: 4 Points pace: 99.9 Next game: vs. SJ (Friday) Playoff chances: 99.6% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 88 Regulation wins: 28 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 4 Points pace: 92.5 Next game: vs. MIN (Friday) Playoff chances: 11.3% Tragic number: 4
Points: 85 Regulation wins: 27 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 4 Points pace: 89.4 Next game: @ COL (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 78 Regulation wins: 24 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 4 Points pace: 82.0 Next game: @ LA (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 74 Regulation wins: 28 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 3 Points pace: 76.8 Next game: @ VGK (Thursday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 51 Regulation wins: 14 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 4 Points pace: 53.6 Next game: @ EDM (Friday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Note: A “y” means that the team has clinched the division title. An “x” means that the team has clinched a playoff berth. An “e” means that the team has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.
There were plenty of goals scored in the NHL on Wednesday night, and four players accounted for a bulk of them.
Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek and San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini traded hat tricks in one contest, and Toronto’s Matthew Knies and Philadelphia’s Tyson Foerster also had three-goal games. The four three-goal efforts in the first three games of the five-game schedule were the most in the NHL since five hat tricks on April 1, 2023.
In the highest scoring game of the night, Eriksson Ek had a career-high four goals in his return from a lower-body injury in the Wild’s 8-7 overtime victory over the Sharks. San Jose was led by Celebrini, a rookie star who finished with three goals and two assists.
Knies had his second hat trick of the season for the Maple Leafs in a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Foerster posted his first NHL hat trick for the Flyers in an 8-5 win over the New York Rangers.
The NHL had three three-hat trick days this season on Dec. 12, Dec. 27, Jan. 8 and April 5.