Mortgage lenders must now pay the difference if a loan’s closing costs come in higher than they estimated, which means no more lowballing to lure customers. Facing new penalties if they lowball estimates of upfront mortgage costs, lenders and brokers appear to be coming clean about how much borrowers will pay. As a result, the [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Federal Housing Regulations, Lending Info, Market Update, Mortgage News, National Real Estate News on August 25th, 2010 | Comments Off
The average on a 30-year loan drops to 4.54%, while 15-year mortgages are down to 4%, Freddie Mac reports. This marks the sixth straight week of record lows. The Gershwin standard is “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” The refrain in today’s housing market would be: nice loans — if you can get them. [...]
Filed under: Federal Housing Regulations, Market Update, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News on August 2nd, 2010 | Comments Off
Reporting from Washington — Condominium owners who are trying to sell in today’s agonizingly slow housing market should make sure that their community is on the Federal Housing Administration’s approved list. Ditto for someone who is thinking about refinancing a condo. Under a little-noticed edict put in place in December, the FHA is no longer [...]
Filed under: Condos, Federal Housing Regulations, FHA loans, La Times, National Real Estate News on July 28th, 2010 | Comments Off
Reporting from Washington – Here’s a sobering message for anyone who has a federally insured reverse mortgage or plans to apply for one: If you don’t pay your local property taxes or hazard insurance premiums, you should know that the risk of losing your house to foreclosure is about to increase. Although the Federal Housing [...]
Filed under: Economic Recovery, Federal Housing Regulations, FHA loans, Lending Info, Mortgage News, Reverse Mortgages on June 30th, 2010 | Comments Off
Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell this week to their lowest level this year and were just barely above their all-time low, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. But demand for loans to purchase houses remains sluggish more than a month after the end of a federal program to stimulate the economy through tax credits for [...]
Filed under: Economic Recovery, Federal Housing Regulations, Home Buying, Lending Info, loan modification, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News, Refinancing on June 11th, 2010 | Comments Off
Thomas Hoenig, head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, is pushing for an increase in the benchmark short-term rate to 1%. So far he has found no support within the central bank. Thomas Hoenig, the head of the Federeal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, is cementing his reputation as the best friend of [...]
Filed under: Economic Recovery, Federal Housing Regulations, Home Buying, Lending Info, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News, Refinancing on June 11th, 2010 | Comments Off
Lawmakers plan to push the Obama administration to come up with an exit strategy for the troubled housing finance agencies, which have been propped up by bailout money. By Jim Puzzanghera The Los Angeles Times Reporting from Washington – It is the forgotten bailout: $125.9 billion spent by taxpayers so far to rescue housing giants [...]
Filed under: Economic Recovery, Federal Housing Regulations, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Housing Market Trends, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News, Problem Solving on March 24th, 2010 | Comments Off
the 0.6% drop, less than expected, follows steeper declines in January and December. It comes KB Home reports a narrower loss in its first quarter. By Alejandro Lazo The Los Angeles Times The housing market stumbled anew in February as sales of previously owned homes fell for the third consecutive month and the number of [...]
Filed under: Economic Recovery, Federal Housing Regulations, First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, Foreclosures and Short Sales, Home Buying, Home Prices, Home Selling, Housing Market Trends, Market Update, National Real Estate News on March 24th, 2010 | Comments Off
The rate, which has hovered around that mark since September, fell to 4.97% this week from 5.05% last week E. Scott Reckard The Los Angeles Times The typical rate offered by lenders on 30-year mortgages slipped back below 5% this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The mortgage giant’s weekly survey found that the average rate [...]
Filed under: Economic Recovery, Federal Housing Regulations, Home Buying, Home Prices, Housing Market Trends, Lending Info, loan modification, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News on March 5th, 2010 | Comments Off
By Kenneth R. Harney The Los Angeles Times If you plan to take out a mortgage or refinance any time soon, you might want to hear this blunt message from federal officials: Don’t fly blind. When you’re shopping among competing lenders for the best loan terms and fees, make sure you know which quotes come [...]
Filed under: Consumer Protection, Federal Housing Regulations, Home Buying, Lending Info, Mortgage News, Mortgage Rates, National Real Estate News, Refinancing on March 1st, 2010 | Comments Off
