New commonsense mortgage rule
The Fed is proposing a rule that would require lenders to make sure borrowers can afford payments before they are issued a mortgage loan.
Isn't that common sense? You would think so but it was the lack of basic, commonsense rules that allowed lenders to give out mortgages to people who clearly couldn’t afford them during
Homeowners still optimists
"The five-year swoon in home prices has done little to shake the confidence of the American public in the investment value of homeownership."
That's the key finding of a new nationwide Pew Research Center survey that queried about 2,140 adults in late March.
Indeed, more than 80 percent of those polled said buying a home was "the best
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Tagged buy a home, home values, house prices, Mortgages
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New bill for short sales
A new bill that would give lenders 45 days to respond to short sale requests was introduced in the in the U.S. House this week.
If passed into law, the Prompt Decision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of 2011, would "require the lender or servicer of a home mortgage, upon a request by the homeowner
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Tagged HAFA, Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, mortgage, Mortgages, short sales
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FHA costs go up Monday
It will cost more to get an FHA-insured loan, starting Monday. You have this weekend to apply for an FHA-insured mortgage and grab the lower premiums.
The Federal Housing Administration insures mortgages, and it has a two-part premium structure. There's an upfront premium, which is a percentage of the loan amount and is paid at closing;
Benign inflation report
Overall inflation was about the same as expected in March. When you ignore fuel and food, inflation was lower than expected. Mortgage bond yields are down this morning, and that should keep a lid on mortgage rates today. I'm not saying mortgage rates will fall, but this Consumer Price Index report won't make them rise.
Overall
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Tagged economy, mortgage rates, Mortgages
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Bad foreclosures hurt everyone
Borrowers, mortgage markets, communities, courts and mortgage investors are all victims of loan servicers' inadequate foreclosure policies and practices.
That's one clear conclusion of a new 15-page report, "Interagency Review of Foreclosure Policies and Practices," issued by the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Office of Thrift Supervision, three federal agencies that
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Tagged Foreclosure, loan servicing, Mortgages
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Slapping a servicing idiocracy
Mortgage servicers ignored the countless news articles that described their slipshod practices, so now the government has to step in. That's my conclusion after reading the Interagency Review of Foreclosure Policies and Practices, a report released yesterday by three federal regulators.
Imagine that your company were terrible at what it does. So bad that newspapers and
Fannie offers closing cost help
Fannie Mae is reviving incentives to lure buyers, as it tries to unload its thousands of foreclosed homes.
The agency is offering to give buyers up to 3.5 percent of the selling price to be used toward closing costs. The incentive applies to offers submitted on or after April 11 that close by June 30.
Fannie lists
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Tagged Fannie Mae, foreclosed homes, Mortgages
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Fair housing for all
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, is working on a rule that would offer lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, collectively LGBT, a little more protection from housing discrimination.
The agency is finalizing a federal rule that would ensure its own housing and programs are open to everyone, regardless of marital status, gender
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Tagged fair housing, housing discrimination, LGBT housing, Mortgages
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Mowing the foreclosure’s lawn
Who's paying to mow the lawn at that foreclosure down the block? If you own a life insurance policy, chances are it's you, mate. Not only that, but you're probably getting hit for twice what the guy doing the mowing is pulling down.
A recent interview in the St. Petersburg Times with a 45-year-old Dallas lawyer
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Tagged foreclosures, life insurance, Mortgages
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