A new home for newlyweds
Did you know February is National Weddings Month? In honor of this occasion, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about how all that wedding cash can be used for the best gift: a home of your own.
The good news is you can use all that money your friends and family shell
Posted in Mortgages
Tagged Mortgages, National Weddings Month, new home, newlyweds, wedding cash
Comments Off on A new home for newlyweds
Military gets foreclosure deal
Members of the military who were victims of wrongful foreclosures will receive substantial compensation from their mortgage servicers.
The U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement with four large lenders -- JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial -- to provide "any service member who was a victim of a wrongful foreclosure a minimum
Posted in Mortgages
Tagged military, Mortgages, settlement
Comments Off on Military gets foreclosure deal
FHA loans will cost more
If you plan to get an FHA mortgage or want to refinance with an FHA loan, act quickly.
A few weeks ago, I told you that mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration would get more expensive this year because of recently approved legislation that calls for an increase on FHA's mortgage insurance premium. At the
Posted in Mortgages
Tagged FHA, increase, insurance premium, Mortgages
Comments Off on FHA loans will cost more
Turn your home into a billboard
From the strange-but-true files: Struggling homeowners can find mortgage relief by allowing their home to be turned into a giant billboard. Apparently, 38,000 people are desperate or creative enough to submit their homes as potential advertisements to the marketing company behind this idea, Brainiacs from Mars.
The founder of the company, Romeo Mendoza, told Reuters that
The cup-half-full mortgage deal
The $25 billion federal-state legal settlement with five of the nation's largest banks over improper foreclosure, messed-up mortgage modifications, robosigning shenanigans and other abuses drew mixed responses from industry groups, economists and consumer advocates.
Does the deal put an end to lenders behaving badly or merely let them off the hook with a slap on the
Mortgage deal questions answered
Since the $25 billion mortgage settlement with five of the nation's largest banks was announced, borrowers across the nation wonder if or when they will benefit from it.
"This historic settlement will provide immediate relief to homeowners, forcing banks to reduce the principal balance on many loans, refinance loans for underwater borrowers, and pay billions of
Posted in Mortgages
Tagged deal, Foreclosure, Mortgages, settlement
Comments Off on Mortgage deal questions answered
Upbeat forecast for home prices
Consumer confidence in the economy is rising slightly and so are predictions about home prices. Mortgage company Fannie Mae reports that its January survey showed 30 percent of respondents believe the economy is on the right track, up from 22 percent in December. Respondents also predicted home prices will increase by 1 percent over the
Obama’s refinance dilemma
Is President Barack Obama's latest plan to allow millions more struggling homeowners to refinance their mortgages actually further stalling a housing market recovery? Critics of the proposal, announced last week, say the chief drawback is that it's setting up a delay in foreclosures, which, in turn, prevents home prices from hitting bottom.
Republicans, who believe government
Posted in Mortgages
Tagged foreclosures, housing market, Mortgages, Obama, recovery, Refinance
Comments Off on Obama’s refinance dilemma
More jobs, higher rates — maybe
The economy added 243,000 jobs in January. That's the biggest gain since April and more than analysts had expected. The unemployment rate also fell slightly to 8.3 percent.
Great news! But not good enough to cheer up the 12.8 million people who remain out of work. An additional 11 million are working part-time jobs because they
Posted in Mortgages
Tagged jobs report, mortgage rates, Mortgages
Comments Off on More jobs, higher rates — maybe
Banks can’t say no to refis? Huh?
Banks can't say no to borrowers who want to refinance their mortgages.
In short, that's what Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said when asked by a reporter if he believed lenders were going to embrace the Federal Housing Administration refinance plan that President Barack Obama proposed Wednesday. The program would