By Mike Colpitts The nation’s giant mortgage lenders will force banks and mortgage servicers to enforce new guidelines to speed up short sales. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will require lenders to respond to requests for short sales from mortgage borrowers within 60 days under a new mandate ordered by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.… Continue reading Short Sales Finally Speed Up
Category: Banks
Home Prices Forecast Higher
By Mike Colpitts Home prices in a larger number of cities are forecast to inflate in value in 2012 as many U.S. cities make inroads towards a housing recovery. Signs of progress are developing in a growing number of U.S. states, including hard hit Florida, Michigan and Mississippi. Improving conditions in many cities are attributed… Continue reading Home Prices Forecast Higher
Mortgages Slow Despite Rate Drop
By Mike Colpitts Growing doubts about the U.S. economy and weakness in the job sector slowed mortgage application activity last week, despite a drop in key mortgage rates being offered by lenders, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The market composite index, a combination of both refinances and home purchase applications dropped 3.8%. But the… Continue reading Mortgages Slow Despite Rate Drop
Foreclosures Drop Two Straight Months
By Mike Colpitts Demonstrating the U.S. largest five banks are following rules agreed to in their $25 billion settlement with 49 state attorney generals, foreclosures saw a drop for two straight months in March as lenders increased efforts with home mortgage holders, according to RealtyTrac. The drop in foreclosure activity showed there were 198,853 filings… Continue reading Foreclosures Drop Two Straight Months
Housing Starts Unexpectedly Slide
By Mike Colpitts Despite record warm weather making it attractive for new home builders, housing starts saw an unexpected slide in March, but new home building permits rose to the highest level in three and a half years, according to the Commerce Department. The drop in new home construction caught economists off guard as starts… Continue reading Housing Starts Unexpectedly Slide
Homeowners Cash Pay Offs Gain Momentum
By Ryan Jackson In a move to improve bank balance sheets and increase their profits, banks are offering cash incentives to homeowners in default on their mortgages to entice them to make short sales on their homes. The effort is gaining momentum with an onslaught of banks and private mortgage companies as bankers offer as… Continue reading Homeowners Cash Pay Offs Gain Momentum
Mortgage Reductions May Help All Homeowners
By Mike Colpitts A progressive Washington based group is lobbying to reduce mortgage principal in an effort to help all homeowners, and Democratic members of the Senate Banking Committee are urging the reductions. The Center for American Progress is pushing for mortgage reductions on Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae held mortgages and is expected to… Continue reading Mortgage Reductions May Help All Homeowners
Bank CEO Admits to Robo-Signing Scandal
By Mike Colpitts Rising pressure on banks and mortgage firms are forcing lenders to merge, go out of business and make massive cuts to trim their bottom lines. The U.S. foreclosure crisis is making an ugly display of many banks balance sheets, and at least one major bank CEO is admitting to errors made during… Continue reading Bank CEO Admits to Robo-Signing Scandal
California Real Estate Bust Offers U.S. Hope
By Mike Colpitts The boom bust cycle of California real estate holds historic lessons that every where else in the U.S. can learn from as the nation sustains the housing crisis driven by the sharpest foreclosure epidemic on record. California has seen home values drop an average of 43.7% since the housing crisis started in… Continue reading California Real Estate Bust Offers U.S. Hope
Former Bank CFO Pleads Guilty to Fraud
By Mike Colpitts The former chief financial officer of one of the U.S. largest mortgage banking operations has plead guilty to committing bank fraud and lying to federal investigators in a $2.9 billion scheme that drove Taylor, Bean & Whitaker and Colonial Bank out of business. Delton de Armas may receive up to 10 years… Continue reading Former Bank CFO Pleads Guilty to Fraud