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See what Essex has been up to this month! January is here! Welcome to 2025!
Every month we post to our social accounts but sometimes it can get lost in the mix of all the content found online at any given moment. Keep up to date with us in our blogs and monthly newsletters.
Here's what you'll find in this newsletter:
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Top Loan Officers & Employee Spotlight
Top Loan Officers from last month:
Fred Itzkovics, Keith Murphy, and Christian Clements
FRED ITZKOVICS NMLS# 306112
"Fred is the best. I have done three loans with him. A testament to his outstanding service."
- Yuan Y., CA
KEITH MURPHY NMLS# 330827
"Keith is knowledgeable and a great communicator. He answered every question along the way. I can tell he truly loves what he does. Thanks again Keith, you're the best!"
- Rudy V., CA
CHRISTIAN CLEMENTS NMLS# 369922
"Chris made the overall experience great! He is responsive and explains the terms with clarity. Would definitely recommend to friends his services. Thank you!"
- Sam H., NV
Employee Spotlight:
Cathy Shoemaker | Accounts Payable Specialist
Question: How long have you worked at Essex?
Answer: I have worked at Essex since September of 2023.
Question: Why do you like working at Essex?
Answer: I like working at Essex because I feel like I am part of a large team of people that I find a lot in common with.
Question: What's a fun fact of yours?
Answer: A fun fact about myself is I collect low-light house plants. I am always on the lookout for one I have never had.
Question: If you had to live in a different country for a year, which one would you choose?
Answer: As a different country to live in for a year, I would say France because of all the historical places to visit.
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About Essex Mortgage
Community Appreciation: Marion County Animal Services
Marion County Animal Services is a dedicated organization focused on enhancing animal welfare and providing compassionate care for animals in need. They provide essential services such as sheltering stray animals, facilitating pet adoptions, and offering low-cost spay/neuter programs. With a strong commitment to community engagement, they operate a robust volunteer program where individuals can assist with their operations. Additionally, their foster program allows community members to provide temporary homes for animals too young or too sick to be adopted.
If you would like to learn more or donate, click here: https://animalservices.marionfl.org/
Our Story
Hailing from Essex, England, Roland Weedon founded Essex Mortgage in 1986. With a background in education, Roland remained adamant that educating the client wouId be the company's number one priority. Today, Roland still holds to the fact that an educated client is best equipped to make decisions that are not only in their best interest, but also help in achieving both short and Iong-term goals.
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Mortgage Education
Escrow
Escrow is a financial arrangement where a borrower provides funds to the lender to cover expenses like property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, and similar costs as they become due. These funds, along with certain documents or property, are held "in escrow" by a neutral third party until all the conditions of the home sale are fulfilled.
Annual Percentage Rate
Annual percentage rate, or more commonly referred to as APR, is how much the loan costs over the loan term expressed as a rate. Included in the APR is the interest rate, points, mortgage insurance, loan origination fees and any other credit charges that the borrower is responsible for paying for.
Co-Signer
A co-signer is an individual that signs a loan or credit application with the primary borrower and assumes the responsibility of paying off any debts should the primary borrower not be able to. Co-signers also aid in getting approval for the primary borrower if their income or credit score are not high enough.
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Mortgage News
Industry News
30-Year Mortgage Interest Rates
"Today’s 30-year mortgage—the most popular mortgage product—is 7.49%, up 0.15 percentage point from a week earlier.
The interest rate is just one fee included in your mortgage. You’ll also pay lender fees, which differ from lender to lender. Both interest rate and lender fees are captured in the annual percentage rate, or the APR. This week the APR on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 7.51%. Last week, the APR was 7.36%.
Let’s say your home loan is $100,000 and you have a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with the current rate of 7.49%, your monthly payment will be about $698, including principal and interest (taxes and fees not included), the Forbes Advisor mortgage calculator shows. That’s around $151,446 in total interest over the life of the loan." (source: forbes.com)
The rates found above are from January 15th and are subject to change. Use our loan calculator tool to determine your estimated monthly payments for different loan amounts, interest rates, and term lengths.
15-Year Mortgage Interest Rates
"Today’s 15-year mortgage (fixed-rate) is 6.65%, up 0.13 percentage point from the previous week. The same time last week, the 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage was at 6.52%.
The APR on a 15-year fixed is 6.68%. It was 6.55% a week earlier.
A 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage with today’s interest rate of 6.65% will cost $879 per month in principal and interest on a $100,000 mortgage (not including taxes and insurance). In this scenario, borrowers would pay approximately $58,277 in total interest." (source: forbes.com)
The rates found above are from January 15th and are subject to change. Use our loan calculator tool to determine your estimated monthly payments for different loan amounts, interest rates, and term lengths.
Realtor.com Freddie Mac Updates
"The Freddie Mac rate for a 30-year mortgage climbed to 6.93% this week as the 10-year Treasury surged higher and the market prepared for Friday’s employment report. More rate volatility is possible in the coming days, depending on how close Friday’s jobs report mirrors expectations.
The highly anticipated jobs data will be an important input for the FOMC meeting at the end of the month. A strong, but not too strong, employment report could help settle some economic uncertainty going into the new year. Convincing evidence of cooling job growth and easing inflation will be important in bringing mortgage rates lower." (source: realtor.com)
At an interest rate of 6.93%, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is estimated to cost $1,136 per month in principal and interest, private mortgage insurance, and property taxes and insurance for a loan of $100,000. (source: My Home by Freddie Mac)
The rates found above are from January 9th and are subject to change. Use our loan calculator tool to determine your estimated monthly payments for different loan amounts, interest rates, and term lengths.
Need a loan officer?
Visit our Find a Loan Officer page to find a loan officer near you!