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- MortgageRefinance.com
8/12/2013 2:24:23 AM
Now that the housing market has a firm foundation and is continuing its recovery, President Obama has decided to introduced legislation to reform the government-sponsored enterprises (GSE)—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which has =backed 90 percent of all mortgages over the last five years.
Bi-partisan legislation called the "Housing Finance Reform and Taxpayer Protection Act" was introduced by Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) a few months ago, if passed, will eventually replace the GSEs and create a brand new government reinsurer called the Federal Mortgage Insurance Corporation Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
7/25/2013 5:52:23 PM
The market for previously owned homes has made one heck of a transition in recent months. In many locations around the nation, the local real estate market has turned in favor of sellers. This has been created in part because of the shortage of homes.
Furthermore, despite mortgage interest rates that are still relatively low, more and more sale transactions—30% in June, have been all-cash, according to the latest data released by the California-based real estate data firm RealtyTrac.
Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
7/8/2013 11:20:36 PM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)—the conservator of government-sponsored enterprises (GSE) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—has announced a new mortgage refinance housing program designed to help financially-strapped homeowners get their mortgage payments up-to-date and save a lot of money in the process.
The Streamlined Modification Initiative is geared toward homeowners who are 90 days or more delinquent in their mortgage payments. Qualified borrowers will soon be receiving letters from their respective lenders. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
5/28/2013 2:06:57 AM
The housing market seems to pass one hurdle after another as it continue on it road to recovery. Late last year, it seemed as though “low-ball” appraisal would curtail real estate sales transaction. Today, data show that more appraisers are valuating homes at higher prices, which allows for more real estate sales transactions to go to the closing table and property to exchange hands.
After the housing market crashed, it became a buyer’s market, and sellers received unreasonably low offers that were far below the home’s selling price. The importance of getting higher valuation cannot be overestimated. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
3/21/2013 12:38:19 AM
After the financial crisis of 2008, many people lost jobs or suffered other mishaps that eventually resulted in 4.5 million foreclosures by 2012. Service Members and other borrowers with VA loans were among those affected. Today, the housing market recovery has finally taken hold. Although the unemployment rate is 7.7%, the job market has started to show a little life.
Like many people who lost their homes to foreclosure, veterans want to get back into home ownership. To qualify for a VA loan after a foreclosure, the person must wait at least two years in most states. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
1/10/2013 2:58:18 PM
Starting January 21, mortgage borrowers will know precisely what their mortgage product cost them and other terms based on new regulations released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The primary purpose of the new rules is to prevent mortgage lenders from making loans to borrower who do not have the resources to pay off the mortgage, according to CFPB’s director Richard Cordray. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
1/8/2013 1:45:07 AM
Bank of America (BofA) has entered into an $11.6 billion agreement with Fannie Mae to settle the bad loans it sold to the government sponsored enterprise in the form of mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The total settlement includes a cash payment of $3.6 billion made to Fannie Mae.
In addition, the bank must buy back 30,000 risky mortgages, worth $6.75 billion purchased and insured by Fannie. These home loans have a high risk of going into default. The lender also pays the mortgage agency $1.3 billion for failure to deal with foreclosures in a reasonable time frame. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
12/11/2012 7:57:41 PM
If all goes as expected on Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee will vote to increase its purchase of Treasury Securities to give a badly need stimulus to U.S. economic growth as we enter the new year. The Feds announced after the close of its September policy meeting that it would start buying an additional $40 billion worth of bonds-- starting that same month.
It also left open the possibility that it would take further action if the labor market did not improve.
As we border on a new year, the housing market seems to finally be in recovery with inventories falling across the nation, demand up, a high mortgage refinance applications, more ground-breaking for new homes, and home prices appreciating after five years of decline. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
11/20/2012 4:03:45 PM
According to a report released by the independent settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith Jr., the lenders to the mortgage settlement have paid out $26 billion to more than 300,000 homeowners. In February 2012, five big banks-- Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial, reached a deal with state and federal government negotiators to resolved issues related to the robo-signing scandal, which dominated news headlines in October 2010.
The robo-signing scandal alleges the lenders used deficient paperwork, illegal signatures and faulty procedures to illegal foreclosures on homeowners.
The average settlement amount is $84,385 per homeowners from 49 states and the District of Columbia. The State of Oklahoma worked out a separate settlement with the banks. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
11/8/2012 12:03:55 AM
The largest real-estate investment trust (REIT) listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Annaly Capital Management Inc., like other companies that specializes in the purchase of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) are not among the many who celebrate the reelection of Barack Obama as president of the United States.
REIT refers to firms that have a collection of the real estate related investments. Besides investing in mortgage bonds, REITS may have holdings in commercial real estate, residential properties, and the equities of firms connected with real estate, which include mortgage lenders.
The biggest fear of firms like Annaly Capital Management concerns the possibility a second term for President Obama will lead to more aggressive housing schemes, which will assist home owners to refinance from high-interest rate loans into low-interest rate mortgages--especially home owners who have obligations insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
11/3/2012 7:53:55 PM
Mortgage Relief is coming for homeowners hit hard by Superstorm Sandy. The government-sponsored enterprises (GSA), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, own or insure 60 to 70 percent of all the mortgages in the U.S. In the aftermath of super storm Sandy, the GSAs will help homeowners with plans to offer breaks on mortgage payments and other types of financial assistance. who lose their source of income or face a decline in home value as a result of the historic storm. The GSAs have instructed mortgage lenders that service their loans to provide assistance to home owners. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
11/2/2012 2:49:01 PM
This infographic compares the 2012 Presidential candidates where they stand on the Financial Industry and who is more likely to turn the Real-Estate around for the benefit of the taxpayers. Facts show that Obama has made a lot more effort to jump start Mortgage and increase Real-Estate sales whereas Romney relies on faith that the market will re-adjust itself and the only action needed is to sell 200,000 vacant foreclosed homes owned by the government.
Obama's QE3 program if applied and run properly should guide the real-estate market back in gear as soon as the Federal government starts making profit on their MBS investment.
Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
10/29/2012 1:11:47 AM
Following a settlement with J.P. Morgan Chase and the filing of a lawsuit against Wells Fargo Inc., the federal government has filed litigation against the Bank of America (BofA) for mortgage fraud. In its complaint, the U.S., Attorney General says that the Bank of America committed fraud by selling defective mortgages.
The scheme became known within the corridors of the Bank of America offices as "the Hustle.” It’s a moniker for the BofA streamlines mortgage origination process program called High-Speed Swim Lane (HSSL).
Mortgage refinance loans were purchased by government-backed mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and resulted in over $1 billion in taxpayers losses and countless foreclosures, according to the charges announced Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
10/24/2012 4:19:06 PM
The Federal Reserve, Central Bank of United States launched a QE3 (Quantitative Easing 3) Program in effort to repair the broken mortgage industry. QE3 will buy $40 Billion dollars worth of MBS (Mortgage-Backed Securities) each month hoping to lower mortgage interest rates and motivate mortgage banks to lend more money. Read more
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- MortgageRefinance.com
10/23/2012 12:50:31 AM
For the last few months, some mortgage industry analysts and professionals have stated that historic low mortgage interest rates should be even lower. The publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance Guy D. Cecala states that if lenders had the same profit margin that was in place of a few years ago, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at an interest rate of 3.55 percent would be about a ½ point lower or 3.05 percent.
This would save a borrower about $30,000 on a $300,000 mortgage, said Cecala.
In light of the fact that major mortgage lenders have reported record-breaking profits in the third quarter 2012, the argument that borrowers should be paying lower interest rates when buying or refinancing mortgages takes on more relevance. Read more
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