mortgage: Las Vegas underwater homeowners to float by 2020? It's possible - 03/26/10 08:19 AM
Many Southern Nevada - including Mountains Edge, Summerlin, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Canyon Gate and Spanish Trail - mortgage borrowers are still dealing with the effects of the great real estate meltdown. Short sale has recently become a more acceptable avenue for home loan banks to address the lingering issue of delinquency, giving people a somewhat more palatable way out of a tight spot. Despite that, high mortgage foreclosure filings continue clouding the sandy landscape of Las Vegas valley. The once in a lifetime housing upheaval is by no means over and done with yet.
Sin City's homeowners have watched in … (13 comments)

mortgage: Mortgage giant BofA to lower principal for qualified HAMP borrowers - 03/24/10 02:02 PM
The housing market meltdown seems to be truly making life miserable for Bank of America. As things started unraveling in the residential real estate sector and pushed countless mortgage lenders to either bankruptcy or to the brink of one, BofA figured it'd buy one of them on the cheap and really grow even bigger just like that. It promptly acquired Countrywide and apparently got much more than it bargained for. The once dominant mortgage lender had plenty of bad paper in its books which then became BofA's headache. On top of that it may have had its own internal issues, but … (6 comments)

mortgage: Mortgage fraud declining amid tightening underwriting criteria - 03/22/10 09:16 AM
When the notorious housing bubble was forming some years ago a lot of factors were aiding and abetting its run to those dizzying, unsustainable heights. One of them was mortgage fraud. Banks were so busy crafting new and glitzy home loan products and making money hand over fist with them that often they overlooked questionable mortgage loan applications. When opportunity knocks, it has to be taken full advantage of, seems to have been the going motto then.
But things have changed drastically in the mortgage world since the air rapidly hissed out of the bubble. Investors, who bought mortgage-backed securities, or … (4 comments)

mortgage: Will mortgage rates head higher soon? A tough one - 03/18/10 10:23 AM
The real estate market has been meandering along with little purpose for a long time, trying urgently to locate firm ground anywhere from which to launch something resembling a rebound. That it is in a position like this at all it can thank the government for. Despite what the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have done, the Fed has easily been the main dynamo supplying badly needed liquidity to the secondary mortgage market, where it has been actively buying MBS, or mortgage-backed securities. It quickly and prudently filled in the void left by the private investor when the housing sector dramatically … (14 comments)

mortgage: Mortgage industry faces changes by new financial regulation bill - 03/16/10 09:59 AM
The home loan and real estate markets have been anxiously waiting for fresh initiatives from Washington to address the many shortcomings that led to the recent bust. For a time it looked as if not much was going to happen thanks to the fierce opposition from Wall Street for any meaningful reform. Housing industry officials and hard-hit consumers alike were getting restless over the inaction, and rightfully so. Everyone, except the irresponsible Wall Street operatives, seems support a rather serious overhaul.
Now that call has been answered. Sen. Dodd is behind the just-released lengthy financial regulation bill. It has some sections … (2 comments)

mortgage: HOA fees going increasingly unpaid - creative legal remedy to help - 03/12/10 07:03 AM
Home Owners Associations are as vulnerable to the mortgage and real estate meltdown as banks, property owners and investors are. There is no escaping the wrath of the marketplace. Homeowners finding themselves in mortgage payment trouble often stop meeting their HOA responsibilities even before letting the loan itself go delinquent. That can spawn an unrelenting downward spiral where the HOA falls short on its fee collections and has to cut back on services and maintenance, while affected homeowners later on go into foreclosure and abandon their properties, leaving vacancies subject to blight and all sorts of ugly stuff. The end result … (9 comments)

mortgage: Southern Nevada real estate prices firming up in February - 03/10/10 08:42 AM
Las Vegas homeowners should be mildly encouraged about the direction housing prices are going nowadays. Well, they aren't actually going much of anywhere, and that's what's good about it. They have put the breaks on the slide that seemed to go on forever and are seemingly stabilizing. Mortgage borrowers whose property is underwater can now hope that values will soon start heading in the other direction, up that is. And eventually lift them from the painful, wallet-busting submersion, whenever that'll be.
GLVAR, or Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, just released its latest stats for February to show that the median … (2 comments)

mortgage: Real estate transactions may be burdened by private transfer fees - 03/08/10 07:05 AM
The present housing and mortgage overload is by some estimates only halfway through its painful cycle, still desperately looking for traction to solve high mortgage foreclosure numbers, underwater homeowners by the millions, home loan providers with books still loaded with toxic paper and persistent oversupply. The complexity and severity of the collapse is testing the skills, creativity and persistence of the public and private sectors alike. Progress has been made on many fronts, but a lot more needs to be done.
While the focus now is largely on turning the pummeled housing and mortgage markets around, a new fee is quietly … (8 comments)

mortgage: Las Vegas real estate now most undervalued in U.S. - 03/05/10 05:44 AM
An eye-catching national housing market study was released in January 2006, right in the middle of the infamous bubble that when it deflated with a lot of noise it threw the country's economy into a tailspin that it is still trying to get out of. It explained that the most overvalued, yes overvalued, real estate then was largely concentrated in California and Florida. Small surprise there. Naples, FL, was crowned the leader in that, being a whopping 84% above what property actually ought to cost. It's anyone's guess how many people would've dared to buy a house there those days had … (8 comments)

mortgage: HUD steps up mortgage modification scam enforcement - Las Vegas homeowners embrace initiative - 03/03/10 05:28 AM
Home loan scams are really part of the real estate landscape in any market, but generally speaking affecting only a small percentage of consumers. Now, however, things are very different. This housing and mortgage meltdown ranks right up there among the worst ever to sweep across from coast to coast. It brings with it some juicy opportunities for the con men among us and are they ever trying to take advantage of it.
Many have zeroed in on the mortgage loan modification programs heavily promoted by the government, but only tepidly adopted by the private sector. That has left a huge … (6 comments)

mortgage: Mortgage lenders in HUD's crosshairs over high FHA insurance claims - 02/28/10 12:05 PM
FHA-insured home loans have carved a large chunk of the market during this prolonged housing meltdown. Conventional mortgage lenders have withdrawn in large numbers into the shadows to get TLC from the government just to be able to survive. Many have plain vanished from the scene, generally swallowed by a little stronger bank.
FHA has become the favorite of first-time home buyers for its more lenient underwriting guidelines and lower down payment requirements. Its programs, however, are open to all applicants and many refinances have been done through it. Since FHA started gobbling up market share a couple of years ago, … (6 comments)

mortgage: Upside down home loans keep on multiplying - Nevada mortgage borrowers lead the nation - 02/24/10 12:18 PM
Underwater - or upside down - home ownership got worse as the past year wound down. First American CoreLogic published a new research paper on the issue stating that over 11.3 million homes were upside down at the end of 2009, meaning that 24% of all residential real estate with mortgages was carrying that unwelcome label. At the end of the third quarter of 2009 there were 10.7 million houses underwater, so in three months about 600,000 additional properties got whacked.
To stay with the statistics, First American CoreLogic further reports that 2.3 million more homes were heading towards the famous … (11 comments)

mortgage: Short sales making a move - Henderson mortgage recipients have more options - 02/22/10 12:41 PM
Mortgage foreclosure statistics of late are showing that the persistently upward trend seems to be waning, which is good news indeed. However, it is only part of the whole real estate picture. The economy remains weak and the stubbornly high unemployment level continues to worry many housing observers, suggesting that homeowners would still be vulnerable. So, how is it that home loan foreclosures are losing steam?
The answer to that interesting question appears to be that mortgage lenders are adjusting strategy to favor short sales over mortgage foreclosures. Campbell/ Inside Mortgage Finance survey just concluded supports that theory. It says that … (7 comments)

mortgage: Las Vegas mortgage borrowers get federal attention - 02/19/10 03:18 PM
The current mortgage and housing meltdown has been particularly brutal to property owners here in Southern Nevada, home to communities like Henderson, Silverstone Ranch, Anthem, Summerlin, Southern Highlands and Mountains Edge. Nevada has held the lead in most foreclosures by any state for months and that statistic is heavily influenced by Las Vegas valley, the most populous area in the state. Many of those who are still in their homes are often in some stage of the foreclosures process, trying to do a loan modification or have started a short sale campaign. Scores of others are hanging in there, but are … (4 comments)

mortgage: Mortgage delinquencies just won't let up - 02/17/10 09:39 AM
Some national housing reports lately have been cautiously positive. Prices have stabilized a bit in scattered real estate markets, a good example of that is Las Vegas. Sales have gone up here and there, spurred on by affordable mortgage money and of course record-low price levels. All this is still short of kicking off a full-blown recovery, but at least it's something to work with.
Despite that, TransUnion, one of the big three credit bureaus, now says that mortgage delinquencies of 60 or more days climbed to a new high of 6.89% in the fourth quarter of 2009, translating into a … (6 comments)

mortgage: Shared-appreciation mortgage new kid on the block - 02/14/10 02:11 PM
Home loan modifications have the potential to remedy the housing market swoon currently severely affecting most of the nation. They have to be done right for them to work, though. Thus far the government has been the driving force behind loan mods, urgently pushing the private mortgage sector to follow its lead. But the response has been disturbingly lukewarm, so far.
Innovation in the home loan business has been robust in the past but somehow now that new ideas are desperately needed there isn't much to write home about. Option ARMs, Alt-As, NINA products and many others flooded the real estate … (4 comments)

mortgage: Lender offering extra carrot to struggling homeowners - Las Vegas mortgage borrowers hoping to join in soon - 02/12/10 08:40 AM
The government has burned the midnight oil for months in an effort to help distressed homeowners deal with mortgage payments they can't afford and possibly find a way for them to stay in their homes. HAMP, or Home Affordable Modification Program, and other similar programs haven't really produced the results they were designed for, though. It is also almost single-handedly running the massive mortgage market today, pumping sufficient liquidity into it that in turn has kept interest rates record low. Despite its pro-active programs it can't do it alone. It needs the private home loan industry to play ball, which it simply … (6 comments)

mortgage: Las Vegas real estate statistics weaker in January - 02/09/10 01:54 PM
Southern Nevada - including Summerlin, Rhodes Ranch, Anthem, Southern Highlands, Mountains Edge and Spanish Trail - housing market has shown some stability over the last several months, essentially all through last fall and in December. The important numbers cautiously moved in the right direction, or at least didn't get much worse. Appealing mortgage rates continue to excite buyers, as do enticing prices especially in the lower half of the Las Vegas real estate spectrum. The new year started a little bit on an iffy note, though.
There were 2,608 existing single-family homes sold in January, 864 less than in December, adding … (6 comments)

mortgage: Housing recovery needs a stable mortgage market - 02/07/10 08:51 AM
Mortgage lending today is mostly in the hands of the government. Just about all new home loan financing or refinances are either purchased, securitized or insured by government agencies, the likes of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA leading the charge. Then there is the Federal Reserve that has filled the gaping void left by scared and loss-licking private investors in the secondary mortgage market. Without the Fed rolling up its sleeves and operating there that key segment would resemble a person from "Honey, I shrunk the kids." If so, the real estate market as it has been known until now … (6 comments)

mortgage: Las Vegas housing market entertaining a rebound - 02/04/10 01:55 PM
In small steps real estate talk in Southern Nevada - with communities like Summerlin, Mountains Edge, Charleston Heights, Spanish Trail, Henderson and Anthem - is turning to recovery looming on the horizon. 2009 statistics showed that it does have a pulse as investors descended in droves on the scene to gobble up property for rentals in the lower half of the market. First-time home buyers were also active, enjoying low mortgage rates, nice tax benefits and attractive prices.
Prominent Las Vegas housing industry analyst, Home Builders Research, is cautiously optimistic about the market's direction this year. Resale home prices are to … (10 comments)