By Kevin Chiu Mortgage servicers will be required to forgive a year’s worth of mortgage payments under new guidelines proposed by the Making Home Affordable Program offered by the Obama administration. The adjustment to the FHA program will be provided to unemployed homeowners at risk of foreclosure trying to stay in their homes looking for… Continue reading Mortgage Relief Extended for Unemployed
Category: 2011 Housing Market
Home Lending Slows Despite Mortgage Rate Drop
Mortgage applications dropped for the third straight week, despite a decline in interest rates demonstrating a slowdown in home lending led chiefly by a drop in refinancing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The decline in interest rates saw the contract rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage decrease to 4.55% from a higher 4.69%… Continue reading Home Lending Slows Despite Mortgage Rate Drop
Sheila Bair Exits FDIC with Warning
By Kevin Chiu Completing her term as the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) with a last appearance on Capitol Hill, Sheila Bair warned a Washington, D.C. audience to be aware that the financial crisis is rooted in real estate, which is blocking an economic recovery from developing. “The fact that so many… Continue reading Sheila Bair Exits FDIC with Warning
Former Homeowners Not Hurt By Bad Credit
By Kevin Chiu The threat of bad credit isn’t hurting millions of former homeowners who have undergone foreclosure when it comes to finding a new place to live. Landlords are even getting used to hearing from foreclosure victims applying for homes and apartments to rent. In fact, the plight of former homeowners isn’t even considered… Continue reading Former Homeowners Not Hurt By Bad Credit
Taking a Loss On Your Own Home
By Kevin Chiu It’s a beating that’s hard to take –a financial loss on your own home. Just a handful of years ago you couldn’t go any where in public without over hearing how hot the housing market was. People were buying and selling property as much as they could afford or were allowed to.… Continue reading Taking a Loss On Your Own Home
Real Estate Broker Pleads Guilty in Straw Buyer Scheme
By Mike Colpitts A former real estate broker pled guilty to fraud charges in relationship to a mortgage scheme that involved more than $12 million in mortgages, straw borrowers that operated over a course of seven years and real estate investors. The plea was entered after federal prosecutors worked out a deal with Alexander O.… Continue reading Real Estate Broker Pleads Guilty in Straw Buyer Scheme
U.S. Bank Failures Decline
By Mike Colpitts Fewer U.S. banks have failed in 2011 compared to the mid-way point last year and had to be taken over by the FDIC as insolvent. The government has forced the takeover of just 48 banking institutions through last weekend, which is a major decline and expects fewer to fail by the end… Continue reading U.S. Bank Failures Decline
Mortgage Interest Rates Fall
By Mike Colpitts Weak unemployment figures and the lowest bond rates in months drove mortgage interest rates significantly lower for the first time in a month, according to Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage had a fall to average 4.51% from 4.60% a week ago. The bench mark 30-year mortgage reached the same rate… Continue reading Mortgage Interest Rates Fall
Ozzy Osbourne Rocks to New Home
The Prince of Darkness, rocker Ozzy Osbourne has listed his home on the market for sale in the Hidden Hills area of Los Angeles for nearly $13-million. The former lead singer of Black Sabbath has been a hard rock star for almost 40 years, and until recently appeared in a MTV television reality series featuring… Continue reading Ozzy Osbourne Rocks to New Home
Real Estate Investors Plead Guilty to Auction Bid Rigging
By Mike Colpitts Eight San Francisco Bay Area real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, according to the Department of Justice. The real estate investors took part in conspiracies to rig bids by agreeing to refrain… Continue reading Real Estate Investors Plead Guilty to Auction Bid Rigging