Tag Archives: Mortgages
Computer approves loan mods
First, there was “robosigning.” Now, there is IntelliMods.
The name might sound like science fiction, but, in fact, IntelliMods is a new Web-based computer application that purports to help loan servicers decide whether to approve borrowers’ requests f… Continue reading
Feds prep strict mortgage definition
To get a mortgage with the lowest rate and fees, you’ll have to make a 20 percent down payment if you’re buying the house or have at least 25 percent equity if you’re refinancing. And forget getting a good mortgage deal if you’ve been two months late o… Continue reading
Welcome to ‘housing purgatory’
I blinked twice at the figure: 638 days. That’s the average time it takes from an initial missed mortgage payment for the bank to complete foreclosure proceedings and change the locks here in Florida, the Foreclosure State. Nearly two years of free ren… Continue reading
Bus tour touts homeownership
U.S. home sales and prices are on a downward slide.
Sales of existing homes dropped 9.6 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.88 million units, a pace that’s slowed 2.8 percent compared with the 5.02 million level recorded a… Continue reading
Can you put down 20 percent?
Should homebuyers be required to make a down payment of at least 20 percent of a home’s purchase price to qualify for a mortgage?
That’s a question some Bankrate readers tackled when presented with the prospect of such a requirement on certain loans t… Continue reading
The foreclosure that never was
You know the old saying, “A rising tide lifts all boats?” Well, apparently the reverse is also true, at least for some property owners who opted for a short sale to avoid foreclosure. Through no fault of their own, their credit report now includes a fo… Continue reading
Are mortgages out of style?
Realty brokers are quick to observe that in today’s housing markets, “Cash is king.”
In fact, given the rise in the proportion of all-cash home purchases, it might be fair to say cash is not only king, but the whole royal family.
During the housing boo… Continue reading
Low rates may linger — or not
Mortgage interest rates peaked about month ago and have been on a downward trend since then. This week, rates may flatten out as investors weigh the latest economic data and try to suss out whether the recovery is in fact faltering or picking up steam…. Continue reading
The down payment dilemma
Should homebuyers be required to make a down payment of at least 20 percent of a home’s purchase price to qualify for a mortgage?
That’s a hot topic in a current debate about the federal government’s soon-to-be-issued official definition of a “qualifie… Continue reading
Housing still unaffordable
Home prices have dropped and mortgage rates are still low, yet housing costs continue to become more and more burdensome for many working households, according to “Housing Landscape 2011,” a study from the Center for Housing Policy in Washington, D.C.
… Continue reading