Category: Housing Market

Treasury Bonds Nudge Interest Rates Higher

By Mike Colpitts Lower rates paid on U.S. Treasury bonds sent mortgage rates higher this week as legislators in Washington, D. C. argued over an agreement on the national budget limit going into the August 2nd deadline. Rates on 30-year fixed rate loans averaged 4.55%. The 15-year fixed rate loan remained the same as a… Continue reading Treasury Bonds Nudge Interest Rates Higher

Man Convicted in Real Estate Ponzi Scheme

By Mike Colpitts A federal jury has convicted a Colorado man on felony charges related to running a $30 million real estate Ponzi scheme after his son pled guilty to being a partner in the crime spree. Philip R. Lochmiller, Sr. was found guilty of money laundering, mail fraud charges and conspiracy in U.S. District… Continue reading Man Convicted in Real Estate Ponzi Scheme

PMI Offers Money to Homeowners

By Mike Colpitts One of the nation’s largest mortgage insurers is offering cash money to upside down homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. PMI Group, Inc. is launching the innovative program with a former Goldman Sachs Banker, who started the program in an effort to get troubled homeowners to stay in their… Continue reading PMI Offers Money to Homeowners

Mortgage Relief Extended for Unemployed

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

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