According to foreclosure-tracking service RealtyTrac, the foreclosure rate is falling nationwide. Versus August, foreclosures fell by 12 percent in September 2008 as more than half of the states showed month-over-month improvement. Most interesting in the data is that several states that led th
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10/25/2008
According to foreclosure-tracking service RealtyTrac, the foreclosure rate is falling nationwide. Versus August, foreclosures fell by 12 percent in September 2008 as more than half of the states showed month-over-month improvement. Most interesting in the data is that several states that led th
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10/23/2008
In the widest definition possible, amortization (pronounced: am-ohr-tih-ZAY-shun) is the scheduled process by which a loan's principal balance pays down to $0. The opposite of an amortizing loan is an interest only loan for which there is no scheduled principal repayment schedule. With respect to
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10/22/2008
In an effort to limit risky borrower behavior, Fannie Mae announced a new round of mortgage guideline changes last week. Unlike previous its previous 20-plus updates that raised income requirements and minimum credit scores (among other changes), Fannie's latest guideline tweaks focus on the val
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10/21/2008
Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded both its largest one-day point gain and second-largest one-day point loss in history. Mortgage markets got whipsawed, too. From day to day, huge rate swings made mortgage rate shopping difficult. It wasn't uncommon for lenders to change pric
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10/20/2008
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is a mortgage lender's insurance policy against highly-leveraged homeowners. It's typically required when homeowner equity is less than 20 percent at the time of closing. With PMI defaults up 40 percent over last year, though, private mortgage insurers are taking
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10/17/2008
As the stock market dips then jumps then dips again, it's important to remember that markets are unpredictable and nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop the analysts from trying. An obvious example comes from May of this year. As the price of oil crossed $120
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10/16/2008
For homeowners with soon-to-adjust adjustable rate mortgages, the recent banking turmoil worldwide may lead to budgetary pain. This is because most conforming ARMs made since 2003 are based on a borrowing cost called LIBOR and LIBOR is up an uncharacteristic 2 percent since September. LIBOR stand
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10/15/2008
Throughout the feverish activity on Wall Street last week, mortgage bonds sold off with force, driving mortgage loan rates to their highest levels since July. It was the fourth straight week in which mortgage loan rates worsened. But, with the mortgage markets closed Monday, stock markets rallied
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10/14/2008
Given the stock market's recent performance, it's not surprising that gasoline's falling prices are garnering very little attention. That doesn't make it any less relevant, however. Since peaking in July, gas prices are off by 20 percent. Falling gas prices are an important positive for the U.S.
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10/10/2008
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