borrower: International real estate buyers shying away from U.S. - 09/17/09 10:09 PM
When mortgage financing was still widely available here a few years ago and housing prices kept on racking up steady gains year after year, the foreign purchaser often thought he'd found the ultimate in property ownership. Heck, many Americans thought so, too. Then things on Wall Street and in Washington got … (10 comments)
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borrower: Mortgage securities gaining acceptance again? - 08/17/09 07:50 PM
Mortgage-backed securities were some of the most-sought-after paper on Wall Street not so long ago, when the residential real estate market was still cruising along smoothly. The yields were solid and risk was seemingly minimal. Everybody and his nephew wanted at least some of them in their portfolios.
Then the mortgage … (36 comments)
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borrower: First-time home buyer tax credit usage monitored by IRS - 08/14/09 07:49 PM
The real estate market has been pumped up nicely with the up to $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit, Las Vegas definitely being one of the beneficiaries. Many renters go for it here and acquire good homes that have become very affordable during the prolonged housing and mortgage slump. The program runs … (6 comments)
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borrower: FICO score can take a hit following Home Affordable Modification Program - 07/17/09 07:16 PM
This outcome hasn't been discussed much before but now it's out there for everyone to see. Namely that if a homeowner in distress is successful in using the Home Affordable Modification Program, kicked off in March, to lower his mortgage payments, his FICO score is likely to take a hit. FICO … (20 comments)
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borrower: FHA mortgage coming on strong in Las Vegas - 07/14/09 04:11 PM
FHA barely had any market share in Southern Nevada a few years ago because the conventional product was generally offering home loans with better terms. And then comes the mother of all housing slumps that manhandles the conventional mortgage segment and gives FHA another chance to show what it can do. And … (2 comments)
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borrower: Upper half of the housing market feeling the heat now - 06/19/09 10:20 PM
Early on in this real estate meltdown the subprime mortgage drew all the attention with its high foreclosure rates. As the default numbers mercilessly accelerated in the lower half of the market the prices in this category headed in the other direction, at an increasing pace. To many optimistic housing observers, … (12 comments)
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borrower: Washington serves up a short sale initiative - 05/15/09 05:38 PM
The Obama administration came up with a new plan that is aimed at trying to breathe some more life into the morbid real estate market. It still needs quite a bit of help from wherever it can get it. This time the focus is on short sales, and why not. Anyone … (8 comments)
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borrower: Mortgage approval requirements getting tougher, the Fed asserts - 05/12/09 03:39 PM
Washington has been super busy for months in trying to shore up the ailing financial sector, hoping to keep it from being swallowed into an abyss by the real estate market meltdown. It has used rented front loaders to distribute cash to banks weighed down by nearly-worthless mortgage paper. In addition, … (16 comments)
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borrower: More Las Vegas homes go underwater - 05/07/09 06:30 PM
Home values are still falling nationally. More in some areas and less in others, but they still seem to be in retreat. People who bought property in the last five years or so are in real danger of being underwater. Or upside down. That's when the balance on the underlying mortgage … (2 comments)
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borrower: Short sale can bite the borrower later on - 05/05/09 03:57 PM
They have become one way out of an untenable jam for many homeowners who can't make their mortgage payments in this tough real estate market. In a short sale a lender will allow the homeowner to sell the property for less than what the loan balance is. It often means the … (8 comments)
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borrower: FHA struggling with climbing mortgage defaults - 04/05/09 12:49 PM
FHA, or the Federal Housing Administration, almost vanished from the home loan scene a few years ago when conventional mortgage lenders came up with their own attractive loan programs for subprime borrowers. In 2006 FHA's market share was a paltry 2%. Then the real estate market imploded, mauling the mortgage industry … (18 comments)
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borrower: New mortgage guidelines coming into focus - 03/17/09 12:12 AM
On the heels of the latest stimulus package, or whatever it was called this time, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have provided the home loan industry more details about their new requirements. Some of the guidelines are actually more borrower-friendly than what was initially believed. Eligible homeowners must have a mortgage … (10 comments)
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borrower: Mortgage foreclosure relief program, the latest of many, offers more options - 03/03/09 10:38 PM
Let's try something different. Many home loan initiatives crafted to assist homeowners in distress have been introduced over the past year or two with great fanfare and thus far none of them have done much good. Now the Obama administration will try its hand at it. Its version will be officially unveiled … (4 comments)
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borrower: Las Vegas real estate market ready for a recovery? - 02/24/09 09:03 PM
That would be nice. But will it actually happen any time soon? Hard to say.
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association for Realtors, or NAR, thinks it is just around the corner. In his opinion it could kick off in the latter half of this year. He was … (4 comments)
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borrower: Fannie Mae update to boost housing demand - 02/21/09 09:35 PM
That's good news. One of the main barriers to getting the residential real estate market to change direction is the lack of demand. Well, there is some demand, it's true, thanks to very low mortgage interest rates and affordable prices. But they alone won't cut it because the underwriting guidelines remain … (14 comments)
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borrower: Buyers concerned about many challenges - 02/05/09 10:49 PM
The real estate market is still in a deep sleep, by many accounts. Yes, it's true that there are pockets across the land where severely-reduced home prices are attracting brave buyers and well-heeled investors to venture out to make purchase offers. That is encouraging and Las Vegas happens to be one … (12 comments)
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borrower: Freddie Mac offers more relief for homeowners and tenants in trouble - 01/31/09 07:55 PM
The agency is making life easier for mortgage borrowers and tenants facing foreclosure evictions. It has had its problems lately, including being taken over by the government last year because its portfolio of home loans was collapsing under failing mortgage paper, but is now making pro-active decisions to help out the … (4 comments)
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borrower: Mortgage loan modifications ought to have more bite - 01/22/09 09:22 PM
As foreclosure numbers keep growing nationwide lenders are facing more pressure to make home loan modifications, or workouts, more meaningful. Up to now their efforts have mostly been half measures from the borrower's perspective, backed by recent stats that around half of modified home loans re-default within six months. That surely … (6 comments)
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borrower: FICO score is becoming more consumer accessible - 01/20/09 04:42 PM
This is an improvement credit applicants can cheer about. For instance, when a house is purchased with a mortgage the borrower's credit credentials are pulled and in most cases the company providing it is Fair Isaac Corporation, the home of the well-known FICO score. It's used to get a look at the … (5 comments)
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borrower: Mortgage cosigner approach worth looking into - 01/15/09 10:32 PM
It could make home buying, or even a refinance, a reality. Mortgage interest rates are bouncing around the low 5% mark that ought to draw consumers to the marketplace by the thousands, and it's doing that to some degree. What still keeps many from getting a loan approved, though, are the … (4 comments)
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