I’ve collected a few stats for today’s post that I found quite interesting. I had the opportunity to watch part of the proceedings that other morning where Ben Bernanke was before the Congressional committee that was questioning him on the bailout of Bear Stearns. Members of the panel were asking him some pretty hard questions, […]
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Many homeowners are finding themselves facing mortgage problems these days. Whether the problem is the current market values or you have experienced a sudden job loss or illness, there are solutions out there. If you are concerned about keeping up with your mortgage problems, the best thing to do is contact a non-profit counseling agency. […]
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Many borrowers wonder when they should begin contacting their lender, if loan payments have become late. Most lenders suggest that the wheels begin turning when your payment becomes 16 days overdue. At this point, the lender may try to get in touch with you to help decide how to bring the payment current. […]
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With more and more families losing ground in the mortgage payment game, it might be prudent to explain the foreclosure process. Typically when a borrower falls behind on payments, the home doesn’t immediately go into foreclosure. Instead, the lender waits until the payments are delinquent 90 days. He then will send the borrowers a […]
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An alarming trend is hitting portions of the nation - people are trying to stay current on their car loans and credit cards, but are not paying their mortgage payment. The NBC Nightly News reported on this topic, giving a lot of reasons why this is happening. Today, in The Indianapolis Star and on the […]
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Lots of advice is floating around for homeowners who are facing foreclosure. There are many: 2.2 million in 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a research company based in California.
Most civic leaders and lawmakers are trying to educate consumers with steps that a homeowner can do to retain their home, such as: Make their mortgage payments a […]
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Please read “Homeowners Stuck with Low-Value Properties,” my post from yesterday, if you haven’t already. One commonly held theory is this: if you are in danger of going into foreclosure, simply stop paying on part of your mortgage. Here is how this advice goes:
If you have two, three, or more loans against your home, figure […]
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The housing “bubble” of the past few years caused a flurry of lending that might not have happened, except property values were rising fast. Buyers felt good about it; after all, buying houses is what we do. And if they put 20% down, they figured property prices would have to drop by 20% immediately to […]
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One reason mortgage payments can be altered, even though you might carry a fixed-rate mortgage, is that it’s legal for lenders to raise the monthly payment if they determine that there is a deficit in the escrow account.
So, imagine that you remodeled your home last year. Because you had to apply for a permit, a […]
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Someone asked recently whether mortgage payments ever change for the better – going down instead of up. Of course my immediate reaction was: Yes, if the interest rate on your Adjustable Rate Mortgage drops.
But then I realized there could be other instances in which the monthly payment would change. For example, if your mortgage escrow […]
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