Archive for the Real Estate Category

Homeonwership Rate Falls to 15-Year Low

Categories: News, Real Estate

Monday the Census Bureau announced that the percentage of people owning homes fell to the lowest level in 15 years to 65.4%, after peaking at almost 70% in 2004.

New Short-Sale Rules

Categories: Real Estate

Source: Kenneth Harvey LA Times A real estate short-sale occurs when someone sells their home for less than they owe the bank. People considering them are trying to get out of a mortgage payment they can’t afford, usually caused by unemployment, health care bills, divorce, or over use of debt related to these circumstances or not. … Read More »

Bank of America New Plan for Foreclosing Homes

The Wall Street Journal reported that BofA is initially offering in New York, Arizona and Nevada homeowners who are having difficulty making mortgage payments, to lease their home back to them, at market rates, in exchange for transferring the deed to the bank using a ‘deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.’ This could be a win for the… Read More »

The Tax Implications of Foreclosure

The current economic turmoil has seen many good people having to go through foreclosure. For those that have the unfortunate experience of this, they might want to read the article in the Wall Street Journal regarding the tax implications of foreclosure

Bank Of America To Pay $335 Million In Fair Lending Case

Categories: News, Real Estate

Fox reported today that Bank Of America To Pay $335 Million Settlement In Fair Lending Case | Fox News to resolve allegations that its Countrywide unit engaged in discrimination of African-American and Hispanic borrowers.

Mortgage Settlement Possibly Forthcoming

Categories: News, Real Estate

Housing and Urban Development and some state officials are negotiating a settlement in the ballpark of $25 billion, with the 5 largest mortgage providers: J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Ally Financial, and Wells Fargo that could benefit some homeowners with troubled mortgages, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Some homeowners could benefit by… Read More »

First Time Home Buyer Tips

Categories: Real Estate

Step 1: Get Your Financial House in Order Before you even think about the purchase of a home, look at your entire financial plan (talk to a financial planner and/or do your own plan using online software like eFinPLAN.com. The purchase of a house affects not only the amount of money you currently have in… Read More »

Mortgage Insurers Struggling

Categories: News, Real Estate

An article in The Wall Street Journal 11/15/11 about the Federal Housing Administration or FHA “Loan Backer’s Cash Runs Low” states that an audit being released today that FHA has close to a 50% chance of running out of money and require a tax-payer bailout. This follows the 10/23/11 news that PMI group the third largest mortgage insurer was taken over… Read More »

Refinancing Mortgage Considerations

Should I refinance our mortgage to get a lower interest rate? The old rule of thumb was if you are going to stay in your home for a few years, and interest rates drop more than your current rate by 1%, then it will be worth your while to refinance. Meaning since there are closing… Read More »