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Loan Modification

The Truth About Mortgage.com

Mortgage news and advice (with great photos by author).
By Anonymous

Post Frequency: 2.1/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2011 at 15:56:07

Lack of Refinancing Drags Mortgage Demand Lower

Posted on January 27, 2010
An apparent lack of borrowers eligible to take advantage of the near record-low mortgage rates is pushing mortgage demand lower, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinance activity fell 15.1 percent last week compared to the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted purchase index slipped 3...

Second Mortgage Modifications In the Works

Posted on January 26, 2010
Bank of America announced today that it’s the first mortgage servicer to formally commit to the pending second-lien component of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which has yet to be finalized. The so-called Second Lien Modification Program (2MP) will allow loan modifications on second mortgages upon completion of a HAMP modification on the associated first [...

Nic Cage Takes $3.5 Million Loss on Vegas Mansion

Posted on January 26, 2010
It wasn’t quite a Hollywood ending for actor Nicholas Cage, according to the Las Vegas Sun. He sold the $8.5 million mansion he acquired in September 2006 yesterday for just $4.95 million, which somehow still seems overvalued. Sure, the 14,300-square foot home is nice to look at it, but it’s hard to imagine plopping down nearly $5 [...

FHA Withdraws, Suspends Mortgage Lenders

Posted on January 25, 2010
v The FHA continued its crackdown of approved mortgage lenders today, withdrawing three from the program and suspending another. FHA approval was withdrawn for: - Strategic Mortgage Corporation (Strategic) - ProMortgage Inc. - Americare Investment Group Inc...

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FHA Borrowers Eligible for Help Before Delinquency

Posted on January 25, 2010
Struggling homeowners with FHA mortgages are now eligible for loss mitigation assistance before falling behind on payments, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In the past, homeowners couldn’t receive assistance until they had missed payments, a rule that has since been updated thanks to the Helping Families Save Their Home Act of [...

FDIC Chief Bair Receives Curious Mortgage from Bank of America

Posted on January 21, 2010
FDIC chief Sheila Bair, who spearheaded loan modification efforts early on at failed institutions such as Indymac, received a rather interesting mortgage from Bank of America last summer, according to a report from The Huffington Post Investigative Fund...

Mortgage Rates Below Five Percent

Posted on January 21, 2010
Mortgage rates decreased for a third straight week, sliding below the all-important psychological five-percent threshold, according to mortgage financier Freddie Mac. The widely popular 30-year fixed averaged 4.99 percent during the week ending January 21, down from 5...

FHA Underwriting Changes Announced

Posted on January 20, 2010
The FHA has taken a number steps to address risk and strengthen its balance sheet, including requiring larger down payments and higher mortgage insurance premiums. The upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) will be raised from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent to ?build up capital reserves and bring back private lending...

Mortgage Demand Down 50 Percent From Year Ago

Posted on January 20, 2010
Mortgage demand increased for a second straight week as mortgage rates headed back toward record lows, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today. Home loan application volume was up 9.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending January 15, but off a startling 52...

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Share Lowest on Record in 2009

Posted on January 19, 2010
Last year, just three percent of purchase-money conventional loans were adjustable-rate mortgages, according to Freddie Mac’s 26th Annual Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) survey of prime loan offerings. That’s the smallest annual share since the Federal Housing Finance Agency began keeping track in 1982, and nowhere close to the 62 percent share seen in 1984 when inflation and [...

Home Builders Say Inventory Now Too Low

Posted on January 19, 2010
The always entertaining National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) now claim the supply of ready-to-occupy new homes has fallen to a point where it ?could become a problem in certain markets and price ranges,? according to National Mortgage News. NAHB chief economist David Crowe warned the crowd at the group’s annual convention in Las Vegas that [...

Bank of America To Unload 6,000 Bank Owned Homes in Vegas

Posted on January 19, 2010
Bank of America plans to dump 6,000 bank owned homes in Las Vegas in 2010, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. A BofA executive told the paper it expects to release about 500 repossessed properties per month this year in the hard-hit region as the foreclosure rate increases...

SoCal Median Home Price Up for First Time Since 2007

Posted on January 19, 2010
The median sales price of a Southern California home rose year-over-year for the first time since the summer of 2007, according to DataQuick. Last month, the median price paid for a SoCal home or condo was $289,000, up 1.4 percent from November and four percent from the $278,000 price tag seen a year earlier...

Homes Owned Less than 90 Days Soon to be Eligible for FHA Financing

Posted on January 15, 2010
Soon it will be easier to finance foreclosed properties with FHA loans. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced today that FHA financing will be permitted on homes owned by sellers for less than 90 days in a bid to stabilize home prices and accelerate the sale of vacant properties...

Loan Servicers Complete More Permanent Loan Modifications

Posted on January 15, 2010
Banks and loan servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable program (HAMP) completed 66,465 permanent loan modifications through the end of December, up from 31,382 a month earlier, according to the Treasury Department. Another 46,056 are pending borrower acceptance, putting the sum of permanent modifications approved by servicers at 112,521...

Refinancing Boosts Mortgage Applications

Posted on January 13, 2010
Refinancing pushed mortgage applications higher during the week ending January 8, according to the latest weekly survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The home loan application index increased 14.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, and 66 percent on an unadjusted basis, as the previous week included the New Year’s holiday...

HUD Going After FHA Lenders with High Claim Rates

Posted on January 12, 2010
Subpoenas have been served to 15 mortgage companies throughout the country with ?significant claim rates? against the FHA mortgage insurance program. HUD wants the companies to provide documentation and data related to the large number of failed loans that resulted in claims being paid out by the FHA mortgage insurance fund, which as we all know, [...

2010 Expected to be Slowest Mortgage Year in a Decade

Posted on January 12, 2010
We’re only two weeks into the new year (and decade) and the predictions are flowing…just not the good kind. The Mortgage Bankers Association said today it expects residential mortgage originations to fall 40 percent in 2010 from last year to their lowest level in a decade...

Over $47 Billion in Prime and Alt-A Interest-Only Loans to Recast Over Next Year

Posted on January 11, 2010
More than $47 billion in prime and Alt-A mortgages where borrowers are currently making interest-only payments are set to recast to fully-amortizing payments over the next year, according to Fitch Ratings. ?This recast exposes borrowers to an average payment increase of 15% and possibly higher if interest rates increase,? the company said in a release...

More Than One Million in UK Use Credit Card to Pay Mortgage or Rent

Posted on January 11, 2010
I took a shot at the United States in my previous post when comparing our housing policy to that of China’s, but we may not be the worst, at least in some terms. In the United Kingdom, more than one million ?householders? have used credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent in the past year, [...

The Difference Between China and US

Posted on January 11, 2010
I thought this little tidbit illustrated the difference between Chinese and US policy when it comes to housing. In response to an unhealthy run-up in home prices in some parts of the country, China’s Cabinet recently announced new measures to curb the rise, including larger down payments for second homes...

Mortgage Rates Finally Improve After Month Long Run Up

Posted on January 07, 2010
Mortgage rates finally saw some relief after rising for four straight weeks since hitting record lows back in early December, according to mortgage financier Freddie Mac. The popular 30-year fixed averaged 5.09 percent during the week ending January 7, down from 5...

FHA Loan Origination Fee Cap Removed

Posted on January 06, 2010
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has removed the one percent loan origination fee cap on FHA mortgages originated on or after January 1, 2010, according to a mortgagee letter. The move is consistent with changes to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), as the sum of all fees and charges from [...

Mortgage Demand Sputters At Close of 2009

Posted on January 06, 2010
Mortgage demand decreased 22.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ending December 25 before rising a meager 0.5 percent a week later, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. On an unadjusted basis, the home loan index plummeted 46...

Now Borrowers Understate Their Income to Get the Lowest Mortgage Rate

Posted on January 05, 2010
I meant to address this earlier, but was held up with the holidays. AP business writer Rachel Beck wrote a good piece on the lack of permanent loan modifications extended via the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) back on Christmas day. In order for loan modifications to become permanent, borrowers must provide various paperwork, including income documentation, [...

More Principal Reducing Loan Modifications Urged

Posted on January 05, 2010
Former FHFA boss James Lockhart told CNBC today more aggressive loan modifications were necessary to stem the rising foreclosure numbers and put an end to the housing mess. He noted that a quarter of all homeowners with mortgages are underwater, meaning they owe more than the properties are currently worth...

Bernanke: Exotic Mortgages Caused Housing Bubble

Posted on January 04, 2010
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke noted in a speech yesterday that an increase in exotic mortgages, not monetary policy, was the cause of the latest housing bubble. Though the most rapid home price appreciation occurred when short-term interest rates were at their lowest levels, Bernanke argued that the ?magnitude of house price gains seems too large? to [...

Home Prices Increased 25 Percent Over the Past Decade

Posted on January 04, 2010
U.S. home prices increased more than 25 percent over the past decade, according to the National Association of Realtors. Per the group’s stats, the median home price climbed from $137,600 back in November 1999 to $172,600 in November 2009, based on the latest existing-home sales data available...

Six Percent Mortgage Rates by the End of 2010?

Posted on December 27, 2009
Here come the 2010 forecasts… Mortgages rates, which hit an all-time low about a month ago, are slated to rise to six percent by the end of 2010, according to the deputy chief economist at mortgage financier Freddie Mac. Amy Crew Cutts told the Washington Post mortgage rates could climb about a percentage point over the next [...

Mortgage Rates Continue to Rise

Posted on December 24, 2009
Mortgage rates rose for the third straight week after hitting record lows, according to mortgage financier Freddie Mac. The uber-popular 30-year fixed averaged 5.05 percent during the week ending December 24, up from 4.94 percent a week ago, but still slightly better than the 5...

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