Mortgage rates lowest in 37 years

30-year mortgage rate falls for the ninth week in a row...
"The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10% for the week ending Dec. 31, down from 5.14% last week and 6.07% a year ago. The mortgage rate hasn't been lower since Freddie Mac started the Primary Mortgage Market Survey in 1971."

Time to refinance? Perhaps. If you save more than 2 points or 2 percent of your mortgage loan, it's worth it. For instance, on a $150,000 mortgage, 2 points is $3,000 ($150,000 x 2% = $3,000). If your reduced monthly payment adds up to $3,000 over the next three years, it's definitely worth it.
Read more here.

Flood plains

If you've noticed the national news coverage of the Midwest floods, or if you live in one of the flooded areas, you might have wondered about the terms "100-year" and "500-year" flood plains. Understanding these terms is vital when you consider purchasing a home or adding flood insurance to your coverage.

It turns out these terms do not mean that this kind of catastrophic flooding occurs once every 100 or 500 years as many think, but rather, it is a statistical possibility that one out of 100 or one out of 500 floods will be that bad. Read more about this in the Iowa Press-Citizen.