By Mike Colpitts In a rare turnaround of sorts, seven people have been arrested for allegedly posing as homeowners of the homes they were renting and applying to take out nearly $6-million in home equity mortgages. The seven were arrested in Southern California by sheriff’s investigators after a major investigation, including the FBI led to… Continue reading Renters Ripoff Landlords in $6 Million Mortgage Scam
Category: California
California housing market
Refinancing Program to Aid Underwater Homeowners
By Mike Colpitts The U.S. government’s giant mortgage lenders will soon expand refinancing to underwater homeowners on their mortgages in efforts to reduce the growing number of homes being foreclosed, and aid the nation’s hurting economy. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will “remove barriers that exist in the current refinancing program” allowing more homeowners to… Continue reading Refinancing Program to Aid Underwater Homeowners
Jumbo Mortgage Rates to Feel Little Impact
By Mike Colpitts Loan limits on jumbo mortgages are scheduled to be slashed as a result of changes required in the Housing and Economic Act of 2008. However, the impact is expected to be limited by many lenders. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will reduce mortgage limits on loans in the highest metropolitan areas of… Continue reading Jumbo Mortgage Rates to Feel Little Impact
Guilty Plea in Condo Fraud Scheme
By Kevin Chiu A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to gain control of a condominium owners association and illegally direct business to a law firm and construction business. Steven Wark, 54, admitted that he operated a fraud scheme for nearly six years starting in May 2005, in which… Continue reading Guilty Plea in Condo Fraud Scheme
Homeowners Stuck With High Mortgage Rates
The over-whelming majority of homeowners with underwater mortgages are stuck with high interest rate loans and are unable to refinance their mortgages, according to real estate research firm CoreLogic. Some 10.9 million home mortgages were in negative equity in the second quarter of the year, and another 2.4 million were close or within 5% of… Continue reading Homeowners Stuck With High Mortgage Rates
Bargain Hungry Home Investors Thin
By Kevin Chiu Like them or hate them the real estate market needs bargain hungry home investors to pick through foreclosures as scavengers to eventually clean-up the inventory. But the ranks of investors hunting for deals are thinning out as homes that need work become harder to re-sell. The distressed real estate market, high unemployment… Continue reading Bargain Hungry Home Investors Thin
Congresswoman Calls On Obama To Fight Bankers
California Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters is calling on President Barack Obama to use his speech before the joint session of Congress Thursday night to offer “bold” solutions on the jobs crisis and foreclosures. Waters says the president should call bankers into his office and demand they modify mortgages to “keep people in their homes.” The… Continue reading Congresswoman Calls On Obama To Fight Bankers
Some Rising Prices Don’t Make a Recovery
By Mike Colpitts Rising home and condominium prices in isolated markets scattered across the U.S. rarely develop into a sudden real estate recovery, but demonstrate the differences of local housing markets. For the first time in years the average prices of homes and condos in Miami moved higher in July, showing that even in downtrodden… Continue reading Some Rising Prices Don’t Make a Recovery
White House Considers Underwater Refinancing Relief
By Mike Colpitts The White House is considering additional measures to slow the foreclosure crisis and aid homeowners, including a proposal that would allow underwater homeowners to refinance mortgages, despite a lack of equity in their homes. As many as two million underwater homeowners could be helped under the proposal, which was first offered by… Continue reading White House Considers Underwater Refinancing Relief
Short Sales Rise to Aid Real Estate
By Kevin Chiu At least two of the U.S. largest commercial banks are increasing the volume of short sales in efforts to increase their profit margins even as more homes bloat the inventory of properties that aren’t producing profits for the lenders. The transition hasn’t been an easy one for lenders in these wild days… Continue reading Short Sales Rise to Aid Real Estate