Enterprise appoints CitiMortgage exec to board

Enterprise Community Partners has named CitiMortgage CEO Bill Beckmann to its board of trustees.

Beckmann brings more than 20 years of real estate finance experience to the Columbia non-profit, formerly the Enterprise Foundation, which was launched by developer Jim Rouse and his wife Patty in 1982 to finance and build affordable housing.

Beckmann became CitiMortgage CEO last July.

Enterprise has raised and invested $6 billion in equity, grants, and below-market loans and is investing about $1 billion a year in communities. The organization is led by chairman and CEO Bart Harvey.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.