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
Home Short Sales Surge
By Mike Colpitts Bank assisted short sales of homes surged in the second quarter of the year as buyers snapped up discount priced properties at some of the lowest mortgage rates in decades. The surge in home purchases from pre-foreclosures account for an eighth of all residential sales, but represent less than a quarter of… Continue reading Home Short Sales Surge
Mortgage Modifications Near 5 Million
Banks and mortgage servicers not associated with the government’s Making Home Affordable program have made more than 4 million mortgage modifications to home mortgage borrowers, according to the private agency organizing the efforts. There were about 56,000 modifications made in July through organizations associated with the group, the latest month available, Hope Now representatives say.… Continue reading Mortgage Modifications Near 5 Million
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
Low Appraisals Slow Home Sales
By Kevin Chiu Appraisers are taking heat for home sales not improving in many areas of the U.S. as new uniform guidelines for appraisals go into effect. The new federally mandated requirements ushered in through Dodd-Frank financial reform went into effect Thursday. Dodd-Frank reform in relationship to appraisals is intended to require lenders to be… Continue reading Low Appraisals Slow Home Sales
Few Bankers Go to Prison in Financial Crisis
By Mike Colpitts Besieged by Wall Street and banking irregularities more than three years after the financial crisis exploded on Wall Street, only a handful of banking industry executives have been sentenced to prison in the fallout of the U.S. mortgage crisis that transformed the U.S. economy. A New Jersey based mortgage company president was… Continue reading Few Bankers Go to Prison in Financial Crisis
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