November 2 2010 (Jeff Alan) If you’re within a few years of retirement, now might be a good time to consider buying a second home while home prices and mortgage rates are low. It may sound crazy in this economy but taking advantage of what the market has to offer can be enticing. Read more...
November 2 2010 (Chris Moore) The Census Bureau is reporting that homeownership in the United States is at its lowest level since 1999 hampered by rising foreclosures and weak demand for housing. The percentage of households that owned their homes was unchanged at 66.9 percent in the July-September quarter. That's the same as the April-June [...]
November 1, 2010 (Shirley Allen) Back in 2008, Congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act to try to revitalize the slumping housing market. One of the key provisions of the bill was a first time homebuyer tax credit. Eventually the Act would be extended twice and with the changes made after its initial passage, [...]
November 1 2010 (Chris Moore) In a report released by credit bureau giant TransUnion, mortgage delinquency “roll rates” peaked in the summer of 2009. The “roll rate” is the percentage of borrowers who enter a worse delinquency stage on their mortgage payments each successive month. In other words, a higher percentage of borrowers are behind [...]
October 31 2010 (Jeff Alan) According to a Mortgagee Letter from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), a previous FHA loan requirement that the sum of all liens not exceed the maximum geographical loan limit, has been eliminated. Previously, if a homeowner had several liens on their home, for instance a first and [...]
October 31 2010 (Jeff Alan) Freddie Mac has reported the share of mortgage loans that are being refinanced in which cash is being pulled out has hit a new low in the third quarter. Not surprising considering how far home prices have fallen in the last three years. The mortgage financier reported that just 18 [...]
October 30, 2010 (Jeff Alan) A California appellate court confirmed this week that real estate practitioners have the same responsibility as sellers to disclose information they have that affects the “value and desirability of the property.” In a homebuyers' suit against the seller's brokers, the would-be buyers claimed that the brokers were under an obligation [...]
October 30 2010 (Chris Moore) Las Vegas continues to top the country in foreclosure filings according to RealtyTrac in its third quarter report. Cities in four states -- California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona -- accounted for the 13 hardest hit areas. Las Vegas was far and away the hardest hit metro area. One out of [...]
October 29, 2010 (Shirley Allen) Inevitably someone has to try, but barring any big announcement from the Federal Reserve or some incident that jolts the economy, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) predicts rates on 30-year fixed–rate mortgages will climb to 5.1 percent by the end of 2011. Read more...
