Cashing in on the crash
Investors who have been avoiding real estate are getting back in, even embracing one of the tactics that got so many in trouble in the first place: flipping.
As the housing crisis drags on and foreclosed properties continue to come onto the market, investors with cash are buying the homes, fixing them up and reselling, or
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Tagged cash, Investing, Mortgages, properties, real estate
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Rent for $60,000 per month
Since the housing market collapsed, rental demand has increased, along with prices. But how much would you pay to live in a premier property? The owners of the tallest residential building in the Western hemisphere, in Lower Manhattan, are betting renters will pay up to $60,000 per month. That's right: per month.
The 76-story building, called
BofA: From lender to landlord?
Bank of America will offer struggling homeowners a chance to stay in their homes as renters.
The bank is starting a pilot program that will offer borrowers facing foreclosure the option to become tenants as soon as they transfer the title of their homes to the lender. The program, called "Mortgage to Lease," would forgive the borrower's
Housing outlook good, or bad
Housing remains a weak spot in the economy, and the numbers this week prove that the recovery is still choppy.
Fannie Mae plans big sale
As mortgage servicer Fannie Mae begins unloading foreclosed properties, Wall Street investors are preparing to buy in bulk.
Private equity investors, hedge funds and broker-dealers are interested in purchasing pools of properties that include anywhere from 572 homes in the Atlanta area to 99 in Chicago, the Wall Street Journal reports. In all, 2,500 homes in
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Tagged bulk, Fannie Mae, foreclosed properties, Freddie, investors, Mortgages, sale
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Rates creep up
Mortgage rates have been rising nonstop since the end of last week. So if you're planning on getting a mortgage, you'd better get moving -- unless you like living on the edge.
Now, I don't want you to panic. But let me give you the facts so you understand why I'm warning you.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury
More buyers, fewer homes for sale
Homebuyers are out there, but they're finding fewer homes for sale than they were a year ago, according to the latest data from Realtor.com.
In February, the number of homes listed for sale rose a meager 0.5 percent from January, but fell 22 percent from the same time last year. The median time a home spent
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Tagged asking price, buyers, homes for sale, Mortgages, prices
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A horrifying refi
The national mortgage settlement has a potentially ghastly surprise for some who refinance under its terms.
The refi that keeps on taking
Watch out if you refinance your mortgage under the terms of the huge mortgage servicing settlement filed Monday.
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Tagged mortgage servicing settlement, Mortgages, Refinance
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When Fannie and Freddie die
Dismantling mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which together guarantee approximately three-quarters of all new home loans, is turning out to be a complicated operation. On the one hand, Congress wants to shut down the agencies and get the government out of the mortgage business. On the other hand, it has to be done
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Tagged agencies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, government, mortgage, Mortgages
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