The Bush Administration is quickly moving forward to closing a pact with major lending institutions that will freeze the rates on certain sub prime mortgages.  This is certainly good news for those facing foreclosure.  Details are still being worked out, but it looks as if this is a go.

The Players
The big guns are the ones […]

Posted in  Lending, Mortgage | Permalink | No Comments »

I knew it was going to happen sooner or later.  Today on the radio I heard an advertisement for a law firm informing listeners that federal law requires mortgage lenders to give borrowers a three business day right of rescission on refinances.  In other words, all refinances have a three day cooling off period in […]

Posted in  Lending, Mortgage | Permalink | No Comments »

If you are thinking of selling your home, you may be concerned about the status of the current housing market. Although the market presents a challenge, there are still buyers out there who want to buy a home or who must buy a home (due to relocation). So it is not a matter of whether […]

Posted in  Real Estate | Permalink | No Comments »

I think it imperative that we see the housing crisis for what it really is.  Not since the Great Depression has housing been in such a mess.  Between 1925 and 1933, housing prices fell by 30%.  We are seeing much the same thing now.
Domestic home prices are already down 5 percent from their peak 14 […]

Posted in  Lending, Mortgage | Permalink | No Comments »

The doom and gloom fortune tellers are saying that we are not out of the woods quite yet in the mortgage market.  Millions of adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) are due to reset in upcoming months, forcing homeowners to a higher interest rate as required by the loan agreements and leaving many homeowners unable to make […]

Posted in  Lending, Mortgage | Permalink | No Comments »

The nation’s second biggest mortgage holder had Wall Street in a tizzy on Tuesday when it was announced that they were showing a big loss.  This put both investors and prospective home owners in a tail spin.
Troubles At Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac owns or guarantees more than 40% of the country’s residential mortgages.  The guarantee is […]

Posted in  Lending, Mortgage | Permalink | No Comments »

Negative home equity — when the value of your home is lower than the amount you still owe on the loan –is becoming more and more common all across the country. Especially if you purchased your home in the past few years, you may find that you are in this situation.
Many people who thought […]

Posted in  Lending, Mortgage | Permalink | No Comments »

I am not sure when it started, but at some point in our home buying history, first time homebuyers got brownie points from banks.  Whenever I host home buying seminars, people always want to know about these programs.  However, over the years as a loan originator I have learned that when someone asks about first […]

Posted in  Loan Types, Lending, Mortgage | Permalink | No Comments »

Recently the House passed a bill that was designed to protect borrowers from “abusive” home loans. That means if borrowers are not able to realistically pay back the loan, lenders would not be able to make the loan in the first place. The bill also sets up a system of uniform licensing for mortgage […]

Posted in  Lending, Mortgage | Permalink | No Comments »

Drilling down in the crisis in the mortgage market gives you a very good idea of how bad things really are.  It is not just about big companies going belly up or hedge funds suffering.  It is about the little guy that has to take his lumps like every one else.
Across the nation, many renters […]

Posted in  Mortgage, Real Estate | Permalink | No Comments »