FHA, VA & USDA Mortgage Rate Watch

Daily FHA, VA, and USDA government-backed mortgage rate monitoring, comparison, and newsletter-style summaries. Use when the user asks about current FHA mort...

Security Scan

The skill's code, instructions, and requirements are consistent with a rate‑watch and newsletter generator — it fetches public rate data, computes payments with a small utility, and suggests storing state for alerts; nothing in the bundle requests unrelated secrets or includes suspicious installs.

Purpose & Capability

The name/description (mortgage rate monitoring, comparisons, newsletter summaries) matches the included files and instructions. Required environment variables, binaries, and config paths are none, which is reasonable for a skill that fetches public web data and does local calculation.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md instructs the agent to fetch public rate data (web search or listed public sources), format summaries, calculate payments, schedule cron jobs, and optionally persist last-known rates to memory/rate-watch-state.json. Those actions are in-scope for a rate-watch skill, but the instructions assume the agent/platform can perform network requests, create cron jobs, and write a small JSON state file — capabilities that may not be available or desirable in all environments. The instructions are otherwise specific and do not request unrelated files or secrets.

Install Mechanism

There is no install spec (instruction-only with two small helper scripts). No remote downloads, package installs, or archive extraction are present, minimizing install-time risk.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables, credentials, or sensitive config paths. The runtime instructions do not ask for secrets or unrelated credentials. This is proportionate to the stated purpose.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill suggests using cron for scheduled checks and storing last-known rates in memory/rate-watch-state.json; it does not request always:true nor modify other skills' configs. Users should be aware this implies writing small persistent state and scheduling capabilities, which may require explicit platform permissions.

Assessment

This skill appears coherent and low-risk, but check the runtime environment before installing: ensure the agent is allowed to make outbound web requests and to write a small state file (memory/rate-watch-state.json) if you want alerts; platform-managed cron/scheduling may be required or unavailable. Confirm you trust the data sources listed (they are public aggregators) and remember the skill explicitly disclaims personalized financial advice. If you don't want any persistent state or scheduled jobs, disable cron/use the skill only on demand. Finally, review and run the included validation script locally if you want to verify behavior before enabling automated execution.

Monitor and summarize daily government-backed mortgage rates across FHA, VA, and USDA loan programs.

Safety & Disclaimers

• ✅ Fetch and summarize publicly available rate data
• ✅ Compare FHA, VA, and USDA rate trends
• ✅ Explain loan program differences and eligibility basics
• ✅ Generate rate watch summaries and newsletter-style reports
• ❌ NEVER guarantee specific rates or approval
• ❌ NEVER recommend a specific lender or loan product
• ❌ NEVER provide personalized mortgage advice
• ❌ NEVER replace a licensed loan officer or mortgage broker

Mortgage rates depend on individual credit profiles, lender policies, and market conditions. Always verify rates with a licensed lender. Data sourced from public aggregators and may lag real-time pricing.

Rate Data Sources

Fetch current rates via web search or these public sources:

Source	URL	Notes
Freddie Mac PMMS	freddiemac.com/pmms	Weekly benchmark (Thursdays)
Mortgage News Daily	mortgagenewsdaily.com	Near-real-time daily rates
Bankrate	bankrate.com/mortgages	Daily averages by loan type
NerdWallet	nerdwallet.com/mortgages/mortgage-rates	Daily comparison
HUD/FHA	hud.gov	FHA program details
VA.gov	va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans	VA loan eligibility
USDA RD	rd.usda.gov	USDA loan areas and eligibility

When fetching rates, search for today's date + loan type (e.g., "FHA 30 year fixed rate today April 2026").

Loan Program Quick Reference

For detailed eligibility rules, MIP/funding fee structures, and program comparisons, see references/loan-programs.md.

Program	Min Down	Credit Floor	Key Feature
FHA	3.5%	580 (3.5% down)	MIP required; first-time buyer friendly
VA	0%	No VA minimum	Funding fee; military/veteran only
USDA	0%	640 typical	Guarantee fee; rural/suburban areas

Core Workflows

1. Daily Rate Summary

Fetch today's rates and format:

📊 Rate Watch — [DATE]

FHA 30-Year Fixed: X.XX% (▲/▼ X.XXpp from last week)
VA 30-Year Fixed:  X.XX% (▲/▼ X.XXpp)
USDA 30-Year Fixed: X.XX% (▲/▼ X.XXpp)

Conventional 30-Yr (for comparison): X.XX%

🔍 Commentary:
[1-2 sentences on trend direction and what's driving it]

Sources: [list sources checked]
⚠️ Rates are national averages. Your rate depends on credit, lender, and loan details.

2. Rate Comparison Table

When comparing across programs or timeframes:

| Loan Type | Rate | APR | Monthly P&I ($250K) |
|-----------|------|-----|---------------------|
| FHA 30-yr | X.XX% | X.XX% | $X,XXX |
| VA 30-yr  | X.XX% | X.XX% | $X,XXX |
| USDA 30-yr | X.XX% | X.XX% | $X,XXX |
| Conv 30-yr | X.XX% | X.XX% | $X,XXX |

Include MIP/funding fee impact in APR when available.

3. Payment Impact Calculator

Use the standard amortization formula:

M = P × [r(1+r)^n] / [(1+r)^n – 1]

P = loan amount, r = monthly rate, n = total months

Show how rate changes affect monthly payment:

Per 0.25% rate change on $300,000 loan:
  → ~$45/month difference
  → ~$16,200 over 30 years

4. Newsletter-Style Summary

For weekly or subscriber-style output, see the template in references/newsletter-template.md.

5. Rate Alerts via Cron

Set up recurring rate checks:

"Check FHA/VA/USDA rates every weekday morning and send a summary"
"Alert me if FHA 30-year drops below 6%"

Use cron jobs for scheduled delivery. Store last-known rates in memory/rate-watch-state.json to calculate deltas.

Scripts

Script	Purpose
scripts/payment_calc.py	Calculate monthly P&I for given rate, amount, and term

References

File	Contents
references/loan-programs.md	FHA, VA, USDA eligibility, fees, and program details
references/newsletter-template.md	Weekly newsletter template with formatting guidance