Mortgages
Vets Get $22 Million to Settle Mortgage Foreclosure Claims
Two national mortgage lenders will pay more than $22 million to settle claims under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) that they allegedly violated a law meant to insulate military members from illegal foreclosure, according to the Department of Justice. A Bank of America subsidiary improperly foreclosed on about 160 service members from January 2006 [...]
15Jun2011 | Chris Birk | 0 comments | Continued
Should I Pay More Points For A Lower Mortgage Rate?
The answer most often given no doubt looks at current mortgage rates and while interest is a big part of the answer, it’s not the only cost paid by borrowers. There is also an origination fee and, often, also one or more points. The origination fee is a charge to compensate the lender for his [...]
6Jun2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Maryland Rejects Foreclosure-Free Appraisals — What About Your State?
The Maryland House of Delegates has rejected proposed legislation that would have required appraisers to value real estate without using data from foreclosures or short sales. If enacted, the legislation would have ended all mortgage lending in the state because the higher valuations shown in appraisal reports would not reflect marketplace realities. Moreover, the legislation [...]
2Jun2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Citi Rolls Out Mortgage Relief Program for Disabled Veterans
Disabled veterans with Citi-owned mortgages may be able to tap into a special relief program recently announced by the financial giant. The program cuts interest rates for eligible service members and waives late fees and other past due amounts. The 2.5 percent rate reduction covers a two-year window. Service members are required to provide documentation [...]
31May2011 | Chris Birk | 0 comments | Continued
Are ARM mortgage interest rates about to rise?
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has come out with a new approach to mortgage financing, good faith estimate forms (GFEs) that are supposed to be better than the form introduced by HUD in 2010. This is important stuff for three reasons: First, HUD estimates that the 2010 GFE saves borrowers $700 per loan. Second, when [...]
31May2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Is it good not to pay your mortgage loan?
Is it a good thing if you don’t pay your mortgage? The usual answer is a fat “no” after which comes a discussion of foreclosures, diving credit scores, ugly credit reports, deficiency judgments, loan denials and higher interest costs for mortgage loans and automobile financing. And yet there’s a strange and somewhat logical theory floating [...]
25May2011 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Is the government holding down mortgage interest rates?
One way to re-start the housing sector and thus a big part of the American economy would be to assure that mortgage quotes were as low as possible. And given that banks today can borrow money at pretty close to zero, is the government now forcing down mortgage rates to 5 percent or less? The [...]
23May2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Tornado Relief Sought for VA Mortgage Loan Borrowers
The VA is asking mortgage lenders and servicers to provide relief to military borrowers in areas affected by April’s devastating tornadoes. In a circular released earlier this month, the agency encourages servicers to waive late charges and halt credit reporting for veterans whose homes, families or livelihoods were impacted by the storms, which tore through [...]
18May2011 | Chris Birk | 1 comment | Continued
Foreclosure Activity Down For 7th Month, Now Average 400 Days To Complete
Foreclosure filings were down again in April, but not because of an improved economy or a recovering housing market. Once more the issue is improper paperwork, apparently on a scale never before seen, and the result is not only fewer foreclosures but far longer foreclosure delays. RealtyTrac reports that April foreclosure filings — default notices, [...]
12May2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Less FHA Mortgage Loan Demand Undermines American Home Prices
A small change in FHA guidelines has now hit the market and the result has been both immediate and devastating. “Purchase applications fell last week, driven primarily by a sharp decrease in government purchase applications as new, higher FHA premiums went into effect,” said Michael Fratantoni, the Mortgage Bankers Association Vice President of Research and [...]
2May2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
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