Your credit score is constantly changing

Here is a scenario that happens all too frequently: A would-be home buyer applies online to obtain his all-important credit score. It comes back at a healthy 720, good enough to qualify for the best rate in the mortgage market. But then, when he applies for a loan with a local lender

Filed under: Credit Scores on October 28th, 2010 | Comments Off

Deeds-in-lieu gain favor with lenders as alternative to foreclosure

Reporting from Washington – Short sales have been the hot solution for financially stressed homeowners and their lenders for the last year, but here’s another potent foreclosure alternative that’s about to take center stage: deeds-in-lieu. Some of the largest mortgage servicers and lenders in the country are gearing up campaigns to reach out to borrowers [...]

Filed under: Consumer Protection, Credit Scores, Economic Recovery, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Lending Info, loan modification, Mortgage News, Problem Solving, Refinancing on June 28th, 2010 | Comments Off

30-year fixed mortgage rate falls to near record lows

The debt crisis in Europe that has unhinged global stock markets also has helped push U.S. mortgage rates back toward record lows, prompting a surge in refinancing. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate offered on 30-year fixed-rate home loans sank to 4.78% this week, down from 4.84% last week and not far from [...]

Filed under: Credit Scores, Economic Recovery, Home Buying, Lending Info, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News, Refinancing on May 28th, 2010 | Comments Off

Average 30-year mortgage rate drops to 4.95%, Freddie Mac says

The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.95% this week from 4.97% last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The mortgage giant’s weekly survey asks lenders what rates they were offering – and the upfront fees they would charge – for borrowers with good credit and a 20% down payment. Upfront fees [...]

Filed under: Credit Scores, Economic Recovery, Home Buying, Lending Info, loan modification, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News, Refinancing on March 12th, 2010 | Comments Off

Professor advises underwater homeowners to walk away from mortgages

Brent T. White, a University of Arizona law school professor, says that it’s in the homeowners’ best financial interest to stiff their lenders and that it’s not immoral to do so. By Kenneth R. Harney The Los Angeles Times Reporting from Washington – Go ahead. Break the chains. Stop paying on your mortgage if you [...]

Filed under: Consumer Protection, Credit Scores, Economic Recovery, Federal Housing Regulations, FHA loans, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Housing Market Trends, Lending Info, loan modification, Market Update, Mortgage News, Refinancing on February 26th, 2010 | Comments Off

New FHA measures may cost home buyers

Mary Ellen Podmolik The Los Angeles Times The Federal Housing Administration will raise mortgage insurance premiums, update requirements for so-called FICO credit scores and down payments for new home buyers and take other measures designed to shore up the agency’s low capital reserves. The FHA, which insures mortgages, also will reduce allowable seller concessions to [...]

Filed under: Credit Scores, Federal Housing Regulations, FHA loans, Home Buying, Lending Info, Mortgage Insurance, Mortgage News on January 20th, 2010 | Comments Off