home loan: Subprime mortgage mess reaches deeper - 11/03/07 11:32 AM
It appears that every month a new angle of abuse bubbles to the surface in the continuing saga of the subprime tangle. Haven't you already seen like fifty of them? Regardless, there is more. The well evidently is deep. This time it's the appraisal segment's turn to get caught in the limelight, a key player in the housing business.
New York Attorney General reports that a major appraisal firm eAppraiseIT has played it soft with some of the biggest lenders around. Subsequently, he has filed a civil lawsuit against the institution accusing it of giving in to demands from Washington Mutual to … (11 comments)

home loan: Home loan applications climb for the week - 10/31/07 04:12 PM
Good news are still rather rare in this current real estate environment, so when something noteworthy takes place, you ought to jump on it and shape a report to spread the word. Here's one of them that may not yet repeat itself week after week, but at least for now the curve on the chart is moving up.
The MBA, or Mortgage Bankers Association, conducts a weekly survey on loan applications nationwide and for the week ending October 26 it shows a volume increase of 3.8%. A nice uptick indeed. Encouragingly interest rates have recently been inching down which then has definitely helped push … (10 comments)

home loan: Reverse mortgages making a splash - 09/25/07 10:18 AM
This financial product has been around for a while, since 1989 to be exact, but its impact on the home loan scene has really been minimal. So far at least. One reason seems to be the lack of public awareness, meaning the marketing side has been lackluster. The other thing is that those who know that it's there are uncertain how it works and even have some reservations about its benefits. So, let's go over some of the more important features right now.
The starting point is that it's for seniors who are 62 or older.
The title stays with the homeowner.There … (2 comments)

home loan: Brighter side of mortgage foreclosure news - 09/19/07 05:04 AM
The recent headlines about the foreclosure stats compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association, or MBA, informed the world that the amount of loans sliding into trouble is the highest ever for this survey. It was started in 1953, a few moons ago. Numbers like that will make you wonder what will come next. It's particularly hard on those affected by it. Yet, let's take a deeper look at the situation and see what it tells us.
First of all, around a third of homeowners live in houses that are debt-free. Yes, there is no mortgage to burn at the end of the … (2 comments)

home loan: Housing woes pinch new home size - 09/18/07 06:23 AM
 
Home builders have lately been on a steady course of constructing ever larger houses and condos for the consumer who was looking for a bigger place to live in, whether he really needed it or not. That was the trend for years. It, in fact, accelerated during the early years of this millennium when mortgages were inexpensive and easy to get. Life was good.
A responsible attitude toward the marketplace and how it truly functions were largely forgotten by many and it gradually germinated heavy overbuilding and increasing foreclosure rates and all that has brought us to today's stagnant residential real … (8 comments)

home loan: ARM interest rate calculation made easy - 09/10/07 11:58 AM
Many borrowers today have ARMs, or adjustable rate mortgages, and it can be a good loan program in various situations. A lot of them were taken out around two to four years ago when the housing boom ruled the landscape. Those home loans are now in the process of resetting and a large majority of homeowners have very little idea what will happen to the interest rate. Will it go up? If so, by how much? Let's look at the four factors that determine the new rate and then you can easily figure it out yourself. So, pick up your mortgage … (0 comments)

home loan: Mortgage defaults bring opportunities - 08/31/07 03:26 PM
Real estate flippers and other speculators have been flogged badly in recent months for being partly responsible for the quick run-up in prices during the boom years and now for the smoldering ruins they left behind. And deservedly so. They managed to do most of the damage in four states, namely Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida.
The Mortgage Bankers Association, or MBA, reports that Nevada sits on top of the list of most home loan defaults for investors in the prime and subprime mortgage segments. Its data shows that through the end of June 32% of the prime mortgage defaults in the state … (2 comments)

home loan: Subprime home loans have many users - 08/27/07 11:43 AM
The word subprime mortgage has lately been one of the most used words in national headlines. To a point that you get vertigo seeing it. It has been featured in the print media, on the Internet, on TV, across the lips of consumers, on talk shows, just about everywhere. It has become a revered celebrity. Unfortunately most of that celebrity flavor has been negative because the media has largely highlighted borrowers who have had a less than stellar credit history, to put it mildly. The ones who have been foreclosed on or will potentially face it down the road.
Yet, on closer … (5 comments)

home loan: From mortgage troubles to lawsuits - 08/20/07 03:14 PM
This development was entirely predictable. It'll eventually be a standard operating procedure when things like this go down. A few years ago a whole bunch of people were so excited about making money in residential real estate that they couldn't stand still. Then when the market turned sour, they froze on their feet, with lower jaw hanging to the floor in disbelief. After recovering sufficiently from that otherworldly development, they scurried to the phone and began with sweaty fingers dialing attorneys. And that signaled that the third act is on.
So far at least in one case, a couple has won a … (6 comments)

home loan: Jumbo mortgage rates shoot up - 08/07/07 04:02 PM
In a full-size surprise, non-conforming, or jumbo, home loan rates for a 30-year fixed took off just last week, climbing from about 6.875% to around 8%. Wells Fargo made the initial move and soon other lenders followed. Jumbos are loans over $417,000. Mortgages below that limit are called conforming and are routinely purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two giant GSEs, or government sponsored enterprises.
Normally the spread between conforming and jumbo mortgage rates is from a half to three-quarters of a point, jumbo being the more expensive one. In this new environment the spread widened to a point and … (4 comments)

home loan: Subprime mortgage mess gets new scapegoats - 08/03/07 04:41 PM
It honestly looked like they had already found every potential participant in the subprime home loan segment who could be blamed for its current troubles. At various times fingers were pointed at the lenders, investors who bought mortgage-backed securities, homeowners themselves, Wall Street outfits that packaged and sold the loans to investors, federal regulators and hedge funds. There is, however, still another player to consider.
Now in the hot seat are the bond-rating agencies, two of the largest being Standard & Poor's and Moody's. Companies typically pay these firms to rate their bonds and then investors base their decisions on the ratings … (8 comments)

home loan: Mortgage foreclosure law variations - 07/23/07 01:36 PM
It pays to know what type of a mortgage you have. What comes to mind first is the kind of home loan program you opted for. Whether it's a fixed rate product or an ARM of some sort, look up the details. If you happen to have an ARM, it's good to be aware of when it resets, like does it do it annually, every three years or when. Learn the index that's being used, and the margin.
Now that foreclosures are rising across the land, it's equally important to know what kind of a financial instrument secures the loan to the property. … (9 comments)

home loan: Subprime mortgage rules to be upgraded - 07/14/07 04:48 PM
It was a week or so ago when the federal mortgage market regulators distributed a new set of rules for the subprime home loan segment. It was good news, proving that the government is taking the issue seriously. But we have to remember one thing, it was only for the federally regulated lenders. They only originate about 35% of all mortgages. What about the rest? The vast majority of action is handled by mortgage brokers and non-regulated lenders. Excluding them left a large void in the rather complex system.
Well, now we have the answer to that. The Conference of State Bank … (4 comments)

home loan: 40-year mortgage a good deal? - 07/10/07 04:23 PM
Home buying can often be a highly emotional experience. It gives you a shelter that you can call your own, you can run it your way and you decide what to do with it and when. Nobody can evict you from it, either, as long as you keep making the mortgage payments. You are a proud property owner.
But you frequently forget that it's also perhaps the largest debt obligation you'll ever sign for. Therefore, it would be prudent to treat it as an investment as well. When you shift the focus toward the financial aspect of it, the key component now becomes … (7 comments)

home loan: Mortgage forms too confusing? - 07/05/07 05:10 PM
 
They apparently are. With the mortgage industry in turmoil thanks to the current influx of delinquencies and foreclosures caused by the subprime mortgage segment, federal investigators have been busy looking for answers to a host of questions. Indeed, they are trying to figure out what to fix. They have been listening to consumer advocates, they have questioned home loan industry experts and they have even taken into consideration some of the all-knowing Washington's advice. Recently they got an idea and approached the consumers themselves and put some questions to them. That was smart. Because it just could be they know something the others don't.
The Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, … (5 comments)

home loan: Mortgage brokers on the move - 07/04/07 10:34 AM
 
The entire home loan industry has been taking critical hits from many directions over the last several months, although the bulk of the flak has been aimed at the subprime sector. Now that the real estate market is very soft in many parts of the country and foreclosure figures are rising at an unacceptable pace, somebody has to be blamed. That always happens. When the downslope comes around, the blame game begins. Sometimes it's justified, at other times it's not.
As a trade group, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers are taking important steps to improve their business practices and ethics. It wants to … (2 comments)

home loan: Subprime mortgage rules revised - 07/03/07 11:35 AM
The Feds, in other words the federal monetary system regulators, have been working hard on this for quite some time and at last they can present the final product for distribution. It took a while because they had to listen to all sides on the issue and then merge the more useful ideas into policy decisions. But the new rules how to write subprime home loans are in. One thing to remember is that they only apply to federally regulated lenders.
Subprime mortgages are offered to borrowers who have had past credit problems or have thin credit files. These loans normally carry a … (3 comments)

home loan: Mortgage foreclosures create friction - 07/02/07 12:18 PM
It's all over the news now that mortgage lenders are working hard to avoid as many defaults as possible, for the simple reason that it's in their best interest. Taking possession of a foreclosed home typically would come at a loss due to legal and other costs and in many cases because the property sold for less than the loan balance. They are encountering other pressure, too. It comes from the politicians everywhere who are all over them to minimize the suffering. Most delinquencies today take place in the subprime segment of the huge home loan market.
Now there is a fresh complication to the equation. Servicers, which often … (2 comments)

home loan: Home builders on the move - 06/25/07 12:40 PM
 
The residential real estate market in the last year or two has been rather trying for new home builders in just about all regions of the country. Some areas have weathered the storm a little better than others, but overall the market is in a slump. Even though they have dutifully cut back on the supply, demand for their product has languished below the supply level and thus led to the weakened state they're in now. Let's look at two notable developments associated with this shift.
In 2006 the 100 largest builders managed to increase their market share to 44%, from 37% in 2005. This despite the … (2 comments)

home loan: FICO to purge scoring scam - 06/21/07 04:22 PM
If your FICO score comes in too low you can go online and look up a specialty company there that will help you boost it by up to 300 points. Go from, say, 500 to 750 in a matter of weeks. That improvement will make a large difference when you apply for a mortgage, not only putting you in a position to get a home loan in the first place, but also making you eligible for a lower rate and possibly fewer fees. How is that doable, you might ask?
Here's how it works. These specialty Internet companies recruit credit card holders with excellent payment backgrounds to … (8 comments)