Wells Fargo just released some new details about their Way2Save account. The Way2Save account was started by Wachovia Bank and has been continued by Wells Fargo after they acquired Wachovia.

First some details on the Way2Save account. The account is a savings account that is linked to your checking account. Every time you make a transaction from your checking account, $1.00 is deposited into your Way2Save savings account. Transactions eligible include using your Wachovia Check Card to make a purchase, automatic payments and paying a bill online. You also receive a higher yield on the savings account and a one-time anniversary bonus. Way2Save Account Application

The new details on the account include offering the account in Washington and Minnesota. The account will also be available in the State of Colorado in November.

On the Wells Fargo - Wachovia Blog, Matt Wadley had the following comments about the Way2Save account.

With the new and improved version of Way2Save, you’ll notice more automatic savings options including monthly and daily automatic transfers and the Save As You Go^SM option! It transfers $1 from your checking account to your Way2Save account for each Check Card purchase (signature or PIN), online bill payment or automatic payment (ACH) you make. You’ll also notice there’s no longer a limit on the monthly automatic transfers made to your Way2Save account.

We also heard you loud and clear when you said you wanted to be able to make deposits into your Way2Save account whenever you wanted. Well, we’re making that happen! Our new Way2Save account allows you to make deposits into your account in a store, at the ATM, or through an online banking transfer. Now, when you have money left over from that vacation or you receive money back at tax time, you can put it right into your Way2Save account!

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures bank deposits since 1933, including certificate of deposit accounts and savings accounts will be broke by this week if additional funds are not provided.

The insurance fund that has been depleted by 95 bank failures this year will be replenished by insured institutions by having them prepay their estimated “quarterly risk-based assessments” for the fourth quarter of 2009 and for all of 2010, 2011 and 2012. In short, banks are prepaying their insurance fees until the end of 2012.

The FDIC estimates that the total prepaid assessments collected would be approximately $45 billion which will be enough to replenish the insurance fund.

How about future bank failures? If the FDIC collects the next three year’s of assessments now what will it do for money in the future? The economy is turning around this quarter but there are dozens of banks that are still in dire straits, see the Texas Ratio Bank List. If the economy turns sour again or GDP growth is slower than expected, the list will grow - will $45 billion be enough?

The FDIC Board also voted for a three-basis point increase in assessment rates that will take effect on January 1, 2011 for seven to eight years. The special assessment will help the fund.

The FDIC also has the ability to borrow $100 billion from the Treasury right away and up to $500 billion with the Treasury Secretary and the Federal Reserve’s approval.

Banking online has become more and more acceptable these days. Consumers are increasingly using electronic banking to make payments and manage their personal finances. online savings account rates and CD rates are often better than rates that can be found at traditional brick and mortar branches.

Reward checking account rates can be as high as 4.00 percent these days for balances up to a certain dollar amount, you also have to do a certain number of checking account transactions each month to qualify for the rewards checking rate.

A Federal Reserve payments study showed a sift away from paper based transactions like check and cash to electronic payments like debit card purchases. Automatic deposits have also increased over the past several years. The number of debit card purchases increased from 15.6 billion in 2003 to 25.3 billion in 2006.

The number of ATM machines has now surpassed the number of bank branches according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), due in part to bank mergers and the growing popularity of ATMs.

Looking for the best bank rates? MonitorBankRates.com has CD Rate tables, Checking Account Rate Tables, Savings Account Rate Tables and Mortgage Rate tables you can use to find the best rates available today.

Current mortgage rates, which are at 5.28 percent today, along with an $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers and near record home affordability are all stabilizing the housing market. 

In many areas across the U.S. people are now discovering it’s cheaper to buy than to rent because of the near record low mortgage rates and the relentless decline in home prices over the past two years.

The available amount of new homes and exisiting homes for sale is decreasing because sales are going up. Existing home sales has gone up for three months in a row, the first time since 2004. Mortgage rates will stay low until early into 2010, as long as the Fed doesn’t raise interest rates and U.S. Treasury prices stay low.

Current Mortgage Rates

Conforming 30-year mortgage rates currently are at 5.28 percent, up slightly from earlier this week when the average 30-year mortgage interest rate was at 5.22 percent.

The average conventinal 15-year home loan rate is at 4.69 percent today, up from the average 15-year home mortgage rate of 4.63 percent set this past Monday. Still down from the recent high of 5.21 percent set on June 15, 2009.

Jumbo Rate Mortgages

Current Jumbo mortgage rates are at 6.11 percent today, down from the fixed jumbo mortgage rate of 6.14 percent set on August 24, 2009.  As recently as June 15 jumbo mortgage rates were over 6.50 percent at 6.65 percent.

15-year jumbo home mortgage rates are at 5.73 percent today. Down from 5.80 percent set this past Monday. 15-year jumbo rate mortgages have come down a lot recently. Super jumbo mortgage rates are still higher, that is if you can find a bank or a mortgage broker that will give you a super jumbo loan.

Compare mortgage rates from several banks at MonitorBankRates.com by using our mortgage rate search engine.

Find a List Current Mortgage Rates in Your Zip Code

Savings account rates and CD rates are so low these days, finding a decent rate is very challenging. Most variable rate accounts like savings accounts and money market accounts are paying rates under 1.50 percent.

The national average rate for a savings account or money market account with balances of $2,500 to $50,000 is around .50 percent. The only benefit to low interest rates these days is mortgage rates, if you’re currently buying a home or refinance a mortgage the low rates are a good thing.

Certificate of deposit rates are higher these days, of course the longer the certificate of deposit term the higher the annual percentage rate and annual percentage yield will be. Current 12-months CD rates are averaging 1.25 percent but you can find CD rates a lot higher than the national average. Current 60-month CD rates are averaging 2.46 percent.

Another option is to deposit your money into an account that will give you a higher rate like a rewards checking account, also known as a high yield checking account. There are certain monthly requirements to have to meet to earn the higher yield, like setup a direct deposit and/or use a debit card a certain number of times per month.

There are several banks that have annual percentage yields of over 4.00 percent for a rewards checking account. There is a website, checkingfinder.com that allows you to search for banks offering rates in your zip code.

As pathetic as deposit rates might be these days, once you factor in the inflation rate, your rate of return isn’t much better or worse than it has been in the past. The personal savings rate has actually gone up over the past year even though interest rates have been going down. The percentage of disposable personal income (DPI) less personal outlays was 4.6 percent in June, compared with 6.2 percent in May. Before the credit crisis, the personal savings rate was zero percent.

MonitorBankRates.com has tools to help you get a better rate of return from your money. Tools including  a CD calculator, CD ladder calculator, CD rate tables, savings account and money market account tables.

Historically speaking, current mortgage rates are near record lows. Could these low mortgage rates drive Toll Brothers sales contracts higher?

Probably so, along with the housing price declines we have seen over the past three years and the $8,000 tax credit for first time home-buyers. Toll Brothers, a high end home building company that has been around for over 40 years reported an increase in home buyers signing contacts to buy homes.

Three percent more homebuyers signed contracts in their fiscal third quarter. Although a three percent increase isn’t much of an increase, the big deal is this is the first annual increase in four years!

Home builders have had a hard time over the past several years. I bet they are jumping for joy with all the recent positive data on the housing market. Even more positive is quarter over quarter signed contracts increased 44 percent.

Current mortgage rates have been hovering in a tight range of 5.00 percent to 5.50 percent over the past month, for a 30-year mortgage. Today’s mortgage rates aren’t much higher than the low rates set in mid May of this year. 

Mortgage rates currently are estimated to go higher as the year goes on. 15-year mortgage rates can still be found for under 5.00 percent, the national average mortgage rate on a 15-year is at 4.81 percent today.  

Jumbo rate mortgages also haven’t changed much over the past month. Jumbo mortgage rates are higher than conventional mortgage rates by a range of three quarters to one percent higher.

Comparison shopping for the best current mortgage rate and mortgage loan type for your needs is a must. Selecting the wrong mortgage product or paying a higher rate than the mortgage rates currently available will cost you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in extra interest payments over the life of the home loan.

Even worse, you could possibly lose your home because a mortgage broker steers you into a mortgage that has lower mortgage payments initially but higher payments in the future. Many folks were talked into getting adjustable rate mortgages during the housing bubble or mortgages with initial teaser rates that reset making the monthly mortgage payments go up to the point the home become unaffordable.

Do you comparison shop for products you by? Getting a mortgage for a home purchase, a refinancing, or a home equity loan should be done the same way. You should compare all the costs involved in getting a mortgage. Closing costs or settlement costs will cost thousands of dollars, since costs will vary by mortgage lender it pays to comparison shop those costs as well. Getting a better mortgage rate will save you even more.

Home mortgage loans are offered from several types of lenders including, banks, mortgage companies, credit unions and thrifts. You will receive different quotes from each. Be prepard to contact serveral financial institutions for the best mortgage deal.

Another option is to get a mortgage through a mortgage broker. Brokers will look at your particular situation and recommend which mortgage product is best for you. They are supposed to find the best deal for you as well, but that isn’t always the case. Brokers are paid by lenders so there is some incentive to steer you into a product that gives them a higher commission. That being said, I recommend you contact several mortgage brokers for the best deal or do your own comparison shopping.

MonitorBankRates.com has mortgage rate tables you can use to search and compare lenders offering mortgages in your area.

Find Mortgage Rates Here

Home prices were up 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from April 2009 to May 2009. The fifth straight increase in the price of homes according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Home Price Index.

The home price increases are a result of the low mortgage rates we have seen this year, the first time home buyer tax credit and homes have become a lot more affordable than they have in recent memory.

Home prices have declined so much the past few years making them affordable again.

MonitorBankRates.com has free mortgage rate tables you can search for today’s mortgage rates in your zip code. Search for MortgageRates Here

The Pacific region of the country which includes, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California had the biggest house prices increase of 2.7 percent on an annualized basis.

While the New England region which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut had the largest decline in home prices, on an annualized basis prices declined 2.0 percent.

Other regions enjoying a rebound include the East North Central region which includes Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Home prices increased 1.5 percent on an annualized basis.

The South Atlantic region which includes Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida had an increase of 1.4 percent on an annualized basis.

The monthly FHFA index is calculated using purchase prices of homes that have mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae

Are you having trouble paying your mortgage? Do you want to take advantage of low current mortgage rates and refinance or loan. Do you want to have your mortgage modified to lower the monthly payments?  

The Making Home Affordable program might help you. The program was devised by the Obama Administration to end the housing crises and to put a floor on the relentless dropping him home prices.

Refinance

The program also included a provision for people who want to take advantage of  today’s mortgage rates and do a mortgage refinance but were unable to do so because they did not have enough equity in their home to refinance.

Most lending institutions and banks will only offer a home loan or let you refinance a loan with an 80% loan-to-value ratio. Meaning all your home loans, mortgages, home equity loans, etc, can equal to more than 80% of the value of your home.

Originally the program allowed for loan modifications up to 105% of the value of your home. The LTV was then raised to 125% of the value of your home.

Not everyone qualifies for either a mortgage modification or for a mortgage refinance.  To be eligible for the refinancing program your mortgage must either be held by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae or have been securitized by either Freddie or Fannie. Securitization is the process of bundling mortgages together into securities and selling those securitizes to investors.

You must also be current on your monthly mortgage payments to do a home refinance. You also must occupy a one unit to four unit home to qualify. The mortgage loan refinance program expires on June 10, 2010, meaning the refinancing of your home mortgage must be closed and funded by June 10, 2010.

Mortgage Modification

The program was initially designed to help people who were struggling to make their mortgage payments by offering incentives to mortgagee holders to change mortgage loan terms, in particular lowering monthly mortgage payments and forgiving a portion of the loan.

To be eligible for the home loan modification you must occupy a one unit to four unit home, have a mortgage principal balance of $729,750 or less for a single family home, two to four unit homes have higher limits. Have a mortgage loan that originated on or before January 1, 2009. Your mortgage payments must exceed 31% of your gross monthly income.

Are you searching for current mortgage rates in your area? You can use our free mortgage rate tables. Find today’s mortgage rates in your zip code.

Find Today’s Mortgage Rates Here

Starting July 1st, 2009, student loan repayments will be limited to 15 percent of a borrower’s discretionary income or 15 percent of the amount that a borrower’s (and spouse’s if applicable) adjusted gross income exceeds 150 percent of the poverty line, divided by 12.

If  you’re still paying the college loan off after 25 years all unpaid interest and principal are capitalized and any outstanding loan balance is forgiven.  Student loans that have been made on behalf of a dependent student and Direct Consolidation Loans that contain PLUS loans are not eligible for the income-based repayment program.

The bill gradually cuts interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans for undergraduate students in half according to the following schedule:

•  6.8 percent for loans first disbursed July 1, 2006 to July 1, 2008
• 6 percent for loans first disbursed July 1, 2008 to July 1, 2009
• 5.6 percent for loans first disbursed July 1, 2009 to July 1, 2010
• 4.5 percent for loans first disbursed July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011
• 3.4 percent for loans first disbursed July 1, 2011 to July 1, 2012

These new changes are part of the The College Cost Reduction And Access Act signed into law on September 27th, 2008 by President Bush.

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators has put together a more detailed analysis of the student loan income based provision of the law.

http://www.nasfaa.org/Publications/2007/LNIBRProvisions102207.html