National mortgage settlement scams proliferating

Posted on February 20, 2012

Someone saying they’re your mortgage lender calls you and says they’ll send you a check as part of the recent national mortgage settlement. All you have to do is prove your bank routing number. Scams like these are already proliferating. Continue reading →

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What the national foreclosure settlement means for mortgage borrowers

Posted on February 20, 2012

Many homeowners are probably wondering when and how they can get piece of the $25 billion foreclosure settlement between state attorneys general, the federal government and the five largest mortgage servicers. The answer is that Continue reading →

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Historic foreclosure deal reached with states

Posted on February 9, 2012

Major banks, state attorneys generals and the federal government have reached a $26 billion settlement to stop foreclosures and provide resitution to many homeowners who have lost homes through foreclosures. Continue reading →

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Mortgage rates increase but still near historic lows

Posted on January 27, 2012

Mortgage rates are up this week but are still remarkably low, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Continue reading →

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Will the Fed try to lower mortgage rates with QE3?

Posted on January 27, 2012

The Federal Reserve may embark on a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, a massive purchasing program of mortgage bonds in order to drive down mortgage rates.

Some market experts reading into comments of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke think the Fed has its finger on its mortgage-bond-buying finger, ready to pull it at any sign of economic backsliding. Continue reading →

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Obama proposes reducing mortgage refinance rates

Posted on January 25, 2012

Homeowners will be able to save up to 3,000 a year under a new mortgage refinancing proposal that President Obama advocated in his State of the Union speech last night.

The refinance plan would help homeowners save money by offering lower interest rates, he said. The program could be funded by a “small fee” on large financial institutions that would not add to the federal deficit. Continue reading →

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Major banks stop foreclosures for the holidays – sort of

Posted on December 6, 2011

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and several major banks are stopping evictions of involving foreclosed properties over the holidays. That doesn’t mean they’ll stop legal and administrative work leading up to foreclosure. They’ll just not evict anyone from a foreclosed property. Continue reading →

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Foreclosures at all-time high but mortgage delinquencies fall

Posted on December 5, 2011

The number of homes in foreclosure set an all-time record at the end of October when 4.29 percent of active mortgages were in foreclosure, a new report reveals. The forceclosure rate jumped 2.5 percent from the previous month. Continue reading →

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Fewer homeowners are underwater on their mortgages

Posted on November 30, 2011

underwater homeowners,mortgage refinance rates, mortgage refinance qualificationSlightly fewer homeowners have negative equity, or mortgages worth more than the value of their homes, according to CoreLogic, a research and analytics firm. Most of those homeowners with little or no equity have above-market mortgage rates and could benefit by refinancing into current low interest rates, according to the company. However, lack of home equity makes qualifying for refinance mortgages difficult.
In an attempt to boost the economy and help homeowners avoid foreclosure, the federal government changed its Home Affordable Refinance Program  (HARP) to allow homeowners to refinance into current low fixed-rate mortgage rates if their home loan is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or insured by the FHA and they meet other qualification guidelines. Continue reading →

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Home sales rise but housing market remains sluggish

Posted on November 29, 2011

Sales of new single-family houses in October rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000, according to the Census Bureau and HUD. But that’s sill far less than the 700,000 sales you’d expect in a healthy housing market. Continue reading →

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