Movement Mortgage Niceville

12/26/2025

🎄✝️Merry Christmas!✝️🎄

03/03/2025

Did you know having a mortgage with no monthly payments was an option? Too good to be true? Well, one scenario essentially is to good to be true. If you get something in the mail referencing a "Home Equity Agreement" DONT ACT ON IT. Instead, lets chat first. I will post about that soon. The other no pagment option though, is a game changer. A life changer actually!

This is “Ms. K” and she closed on a mortgage last week with no monthly payment requirements moving forward. She gave me permission to share her story because of how impactful this will be to her quality of life and she wants others who are burdened the same way she was to know there are options to help overcome financial stress in retirement. This will be life changing for her and she hopes you or someone you know, will get to experience the same new freedom she has.

When Ms. K’s husband passed away he left her in what most would think is a good spot financially. There were no bills, she had fixed income for life, and a home with no mortgage. The problem is, life is expensive. Caring for a home is expensive. Medical costs are expensive. Everything is significantly more expensive than we think and it catches up to many people making it nearly impossible to maintain life, let alone enjoy retirement.

Ms. K came to me from a dear friend who knew i could be a trusted resource in helping her explore financing options to fix her roof, seemingly through using a home equity loan. While that was an option and while that would get her the money needed to fix the roof, she’d also be adding a payment to a very tight budget which she really couldn’t afford. This would also just be a bandaid until the next issue arose requiring more equity and thus adding more payments.

Instead of leaving our conversation with a new additional payment, Ms K left with a plan for a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage which allows her to access her home equity, just like a traditional home equity loan, but instead it never requires her to make a monthly payment. In addition, the equity amount available to her grows every year as her home value increases. Now, not only does she have the power to fix her home, she also unexpectedly has the resources to fix her RV and travel again, something she knows will honor her late husband as traveling in the RV was a passion of theirs.

The emotion at closing was extremely touching. The relief she experienced and freedom of a new opportunity to enjoy her retirement years is an understatement. Too often we find senior adults sitting on a ton of equity in their home while strapped by the payments of a mortgage that could be eliminated and/or equity that could be accessed without monthly payment requirements.

If you or someone you know is approaching or over the age of 62 with significant home equity, lets have a discussion to see if there is something that can be done to:

- Lighten the financial burden of retirement

- Retire earlier

- Retire more comfortably

- Retire more strategically by reducing taxable income

- Eliminate a mortgage payment

- Have home equity pay a monthly distribution

- Acess equity with no monthly payments for home repair, renovation, travel, medical needs, investment strategy, and more

- Open the doors to a financial future allowing you to do things you never thought were financially feasible in retirement

Message or call me to schedule an appointment and lets discuss
850-897-8971
[email protected]

01/17/2025

How would you feel, or how do you feel (because it happens to a lot of us) if/when you open letter in the mail every year showing your mortgage payment is going up? NO BUENO! It sucks, right? It’s beyond frustrating and many times can be an adjustment of hundreds of dollars per month. That’s on top of many stretching to make ownership a reality in our expensive housing environments.

Can I take a second to help lessen that frustration by introducing you to why it happens, what you can do to help prevent this from happening again, or at least soften the blow?

Every year our mortgage payment goes through something called an ESCROW ANALYSIS. This is where automation reviews what was collected through our monthly payments for property taxes and insurance verses what was actually billed, and thus paid on our behalf.

This is a very common pain point as it’s often misunderstood. When you find yourself in this position, please email me your escrow analysis and I’d be happy to help shed light on what additional options you have and how to prevent it from happening again.

[email protected] or call/text 850-897-8971

In general:

- Make sure you review your insurance renewal EVERY YEAR when it takes place. Especially when homeowners escrow their insurance payments, we tend not to pay a lot of attention to our renewal. We see it come through but honestly don’t know if it’s higher or lower than the year before. In Florida over the last few years it’s almost always higher, and not just by a little which means we’re coming up way short in our escrow collection. At renewal is a good time to review our policies and if it’s gone up, while unfortunate, it’s reality, and we can at least adjust our escrow collection at that time and not wait for the annual analysis.

- As with insurance renewals, review your property taxes every November. Did they go up significantly over last year? Make sure your property taxes are being escrowed correctly and if they’ve gone up, have your escrow adjusted at that time. Property tax collection is most problematic when you purchase a new construction home OR one that has had a tax discount (like Homestead) for a long period of time in place the year you purchased. After finishing that initial calendar year of ownership (ex: bought in 2024 and benefitted from the previous owner low tax bill) the bill will adjust to your future reality.

- When you come up short in escrow your payment will adjust for what the payment should be per the actually property taxes and insurance bills, PLUS collect additional to catch up from the shortage in payments from the previous year. This is a double whammy and is what really makes the increases hurt. The shortage can be made up with a lump sum payment though, saving you from such a dramatic increase.

I review escrow analysis’ with our customers annually and would be happy to review yours, with you, as well.

11/19/2024

Super excited to have Impact Lightscapes & Outdoor Audio lighting up the office this holiday season. Jon and his team are phenomenal and if you’re in need of seasonal or permanent outdoor lighting solutions get in touch with them! They lit up the Chamber office last year too and the added touch brought a little something extra special to the center of Niceville.

11/18/2024

Rates finished last week a tick higher than the week before.

We start this week finding the average VA rate locked last Friday over 6.25% and the average 30 year conventional rate locked just over 6.8%. Both

Please note the chart is a representation of rates locked across the entire mortgage industry as of close of business on November 15th, 2024. Rates vary depending on program, product, and individual qualifying. Rates also come with approximately .7% (for purchases) of the loan amount in loan discount points and origination fees, on average.

11/12/2024

Rates finished last week a smidge lower than the week before. Last week brought a Fed Cut of another .25% and the chaos of the election and speculations of the future economy had rates bouncing all over the place.

As things have settled, we start this week after the holiday finding the average VA rate locked Friday under 6.2% and the average 30 year conventional rate locked just over 6.7%.

Refinance activity has slowed so these rates are becoming more indicative of actual market purchase rates.

Please note the chart is a representation of rates locked across the entire mortgage industry as of close of business on November 11th, 2024. Rates vary depending on program, product, and individual qualifying. Rates also come with approximately .7% (for purchases) of the loan amount in loan discount points and origination fees, on average.

11/04/2024

Rates finished last week a tick up again and are trying to hang on to the wild ride and upward trend they’ve been on as of late.

We start this week finding the average VA rate locked Friday over 6.25% and the average 30 year conventional rate locked just under 6.8%.

As a reminder, these averages also include refinances (although less as rates have ticked up an over the last few weeks). Refinance customers are more apt to pay points to buy down their rate because it’s not out of pocket money. Closing expenses on refi’s typically roll into the loan. Paying points or extra fees lowers the rate being offered.

This will skew the true average of purchase rate locks as the image includes both purchases and refinances.

Please note the chart is a representation of rates locked across the entire mortgage industry as of close of business on November 1st, 2024. Rates vary depending on program, product, and individual qualifying. Rates also come with approximately .7% (for purchases) of the loan amount in loan discount points and origination fees, on average.

10/22/2024

Kitchen updating and pools! 🏡🏊🥰

Grateful to hear from Lisa Frederic with Kitchen Tune-Up - Niceville, FL and Shane Payne with Payne Pool Professionals today at Coffee and Conversations, Freeport.

Great information presented. A new or updated kitchen, or pool is not as complicated as you would think. As with so many things, you just have to work with the right people. AND we have financing options for you as well to make those dreams come true😊

These are locally owned companies with incredible track records. If you’re in the need to consult for either I highly recommend contacting them.

10/18/2024

Rates finished this week essentially where they finished last week. This is welcome news as mortgage bonds (and treasuries) are showing signs of finding footing to stop the bleeding on rates trending upward of late. It appears we have settled in to the new norm for the time being.

The end of this week finds the average VA rate locked yesterday over 5.9% and the average 30 year conventional rate locked yesterday just under 6.5%

As a reminder, these averages also include refinances (although less as rates have ticked up an over the last few weeks). Refinance customers are more apt to pay points to buy down their rate because it’s not out of pocket money. Closing expenses on refi’s typically roll into the loan. Paying points or extra fees lowers the rate being offered.

This will skew the true average of purchase rate locks as the image includes both purchases and refinances.

Please note the chart is a representation of rates locked across the entire mortgage industry as of close of business on October 17th, 2024. Rates vary depending on program, product, and individual qualifying. Rates also come with approximately .7% (for purchases) of the loan amount in loan discount points and origination fees, on average.

10/17/2024

Why we do what we do!

We Exist to Love and Value People, this is our mission!

Niceville's Steve Schutt made sure the team at Movement Mortgage got a leg up helping single moms get back on their feet.

10/15/2024

We are very excited to announce that CALM has been awarded a $10,000 Graceworks Grant! The check presentation will be at 11:00 on 10/16 at the CALM House in Niceville. If you are associated with CALM, we'd love for you to join us!

Graceworks is funded through the profits of our appraisal management firm, Karis Appraisal Management. Once $1MM builds up, we, as employees of Movement Mortgage, have the opportunity to submit non-profits from our local communities for consideration of being awarded one of the 100, $10k grants to be issued. Earlier this year, Children in Crisis, Inc. Florida in Fort Walton Beach, was awarded one of these grants. CALM will make two, local non-profits the beneficiaries this year.

Serving the less fortunate in our communities and beyond is why Movement is in business. "We Exist To Love and Value People by leading a movement of change in our industry, corporate cultures, and our communities."

10/11/2024

Rates ticked up again this week from where they finished last week. This increase is due in large part to a hotter than expected employment number last Friday. Mortgage bonds (and treasuries) are showing signs of finding some footing to stop the bleeding for now and expectations are we have settled in to the new norm for a bit.

The end of this week finds the average VA rate locked yesterday at nearly 5.9% and the average 30 year conventional rate locked yesterday was over 6.4%.

As a reminder, these averages also include refinances (although less as rates have ticked up an over the last few weeks). Refinance customers are more apt to pay points to buy down their rate because it’s not out of pocket money. Closing expenses on refi’s typically roll into the loan. Paying points or extra fees lowers the rate being offered.

This will skew the true average of purchase rate locks as the image includes both purchases and refinances.

Please note the chart is a representation of rates locked across the entire mortgage industry as of close of business on October 10th, 2024. Rates vary depending on program, product, and individual qualifying. Rates also come with approximately .7% (for purchases) of the loan amount in loan discount points and origination fees, on average.