December 2009

After the real estate crash decimated the mortgage market, a tiny government agency has assumed an outsize role in the housing recovery. In 2006, the Federal Housing Administration—which insures home loans against default—backed just 3 percent of new home-purchase mortgages. [...]

Still, the larger storm cloud on the horizon is the state of the jobs market. While an out-of-work person can, theoretically, get a loan modification under HAMP by proving eligibility for at least nine months of unemployment benefits, the program [...]

Types of loan-modification scams • Falsely portraying employees as government counselors approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. • Operating with names similar to housing non-profits to confuse homeowners. • Using lists of foreclosure auctions to cold-call people [...]

Representatives will knock on doors of borrowers who are at least 31 days delinquent and either haven’t responded to calls or letters or have applied for loan modifications but need to provide additional documentation. Staffers will also help homeowners who’ve [...]

A Costa Mesa hotel has sold through foreclosure at half its previous purchase price. Hong Kong-based investor Rosanna Inc. paid $21 million for the 238-room Wyndham Orange County — a hotel and parking garage on three acres of land near [...]

For Michelle Fernandez and others who have discovered they are surrounded by the infamous toxic Chinese drywall, not so much. Fernandez says the stuff has tarnished her sterling silver, ruined her air conditioning and, most importantly, made her really sick [...]

Sometimes I can’t believe my eyes when I see these loan modification want ads appears on Craigslist in my old home time of  Corona, California. No where in this ad (posted below) does it say they are looking for licensed attorneys and [...]

This year through October, mortgage servicers have provided 2.65 million modifications and repayment plans to homeowners, according to Hope Now. There have been 650,000 trial modifications implemented through the government’s program, but only about 1,700 permanent modifications as of early [...]

His answer: a California company that pledged to get his mortgage loan modified. In return, the firm wanted nearly $2,000 upfront, and a seemingly affiliated debt-relief group asked for another $1,000. Desperate, Mr. Davis paid up.

Our tale begins in April 2006, when Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) sold $494 million of securities to institutional investors seeking yields somewhat above those that were available on U.S. Treasuries or high-rated corporate bonds. It was an especially hinky [...]

Raise your hand if you’ve heard something like this before: A couple looking to save money in tough times refinanced their home — only to discover they’d been taken in by fraud. Now they are fighting foreclosure and the loss [...]

The Washington Post reports Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan will tell the House Financial Services Committee that the agency wants to increase the up-front cash paid by borrowers,  raise minimum credit scores for borrowers, and limit how much [...]

Mortgage rates are at all time lows and the refinance party is beginning again for some lucky homeowners who are taking advantage of the current market. Interest Rates on 30 year fixed mortgages with 0 points reached a low of [...]

The billboards and roadside ads lining Stockton’s streets like campaign signs repeatedly proclaim: “Mortgage Modification Works!” and “Call for Loan Modifications!”  I counted five of them on one block alone, and together they created the impression that help had arrived.  [...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The number of foreclosures is rising in Tennessee and with it comes a new trend. People are upset and frustrated about losing their homes, and the house becomes the target of their anger. John Rummage is a [...]

“The banks say one thing, but the truth is they don’t care that people are struggling and trying to work with them. They’re totally unresponsive,” said homeowner Frank Cavadi, 58, whose home in east Bakersfield has lost more than half [...]

The U.S. Treasury Department is trying to give its foreclosure-prevention program some teeth, but economists are doubtful they will be sharp enough to keep people in their homes and contain the avalanche of foreclosures expected to hit the market.

NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) – The default rate for commercial real estate loans held by banks reached the highest in 16 years and the outlook looks worse, according to a report by a research firm released on Monday. * [...]

We found folks that were frustrated hearing, ‘We don’t take those kinds of cases,’” said Glenn Theobald, the chief of the task force and chief counsel of the Miami-Dade Police Department. Today, Miami is one of the few places in [...]

Regulators have closed 124 banks this year, the most since 1992, amid loan losses stemming from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The failures pushed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s insurance fund, used to pay customers for deposits [...]

To qualify for a reduced mortgage, borrowers must first make three reduced payments under a trial program. To receive a permanent fix, borrowers must also provide a hardship affidavit and other documents. But many borrowers complain that it is difficult [...]

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) – The Obama Administration is tightening the screws on loan services in response to thousands of complaints about denials and “trial loan mods” that are never converted to permanent modifications. It could mean that the [...]

The risk of mortgage fraud in the third quarter of this year on U.S. home loans shot up 11 percent from the previous quarter, according to Interthinx, a firm that provides fraud prevention services to lenders. But unlike the inflated [...]

It’s hard to know what to make of this. Some people are looking to buy a home — that’s understandable, given that everybody needs shelter. And some people are looking to invest money with a long-term time horizon. And some [...]