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Entries Tagged as 'Real Estate'

Prime Delinquencies Up

December 23rd, 2009 · Economy, Housing Industry, Money Lost, Obama's Scheme, Real Estate, Stimulus

Prime mortgages that were delinquent more than 60 days rose 20 percent in the third quarter compared to the second, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision reported Monday.

Overall, more than 1 million mortgages, or 3.2 percent, were in some stage of foreclosure in the third quarter.

Almost 40 percent of borrowers whose loans were modified 20 percent or more through a federal program were delinquent again within a year, the government agencies also reported.

The report also revealed that lenders completed about 31,000 short sales in the third quarter, up 22 percent from the second quarter. That number doesn’t sound as good when you consider that lenders foreclosed on nearly four times as many homes in the third quarter.

Source: Reuters News, Kim Dixon (12/21/2009) and Associated Press, Alan Zibel (12/21/2009)

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Foreclosure relief program is stuck in first gear

December 12th, 2009 · Banking Industry, Corruption, Deception, Democrats, Economy, Ethics, Government Control, Greed, Housing Industry, Money Lost, Obama's Scheme, Real Estate, Selling Out the US, Stimulus, Tax Dollars, Taxes, Terrorism from Within

JUST 4 PERCENT IN FINAL STAGE
Thousands now risk losing mortgage help

By Renae Merle Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 11, 2009

The government’s foreclosure relief program is sputtering, according to government data released Thursday showing that the pace of help being offered to struggling homeowners slowed last month and many borrowers are at risk of losing the aid they have already received.

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Where’s the Refund?

December 12th, 2009 · Buyers, Stimulus, Taxes

First-time home buyers who bought as long ago as last winter are still waiting for their $8,000 tax refund.

As of mid-September, more than 1.4 million taxpayers had requested the credit by amending their federal tax returns. The IRS announced in October that it expects 5.1 million claims by year-end. That count doesn’t reflect the extension and expansion of the credit in November.

IRS spokeswoman Carrie Resch says the agency is experiencing a higher-than normal number of amended returns and because amended returns are reviewed by hand, the process is delayed.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has been fielding constituent calls for weeks from irate home buyers. She sent a letter to the IRS that said in part: “The full and immediate economic impact of the tax credit is lost when it takes up to four months for people to get the money due to them … such lengthy delays are unacceptable and erode the public’s trust in the competence of the government.”

Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, Kara McGuire (12/10/2009)

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Geithner Says TARP Will Be Extended

December 10th, 2009 · Housing Industry, Real Estate, Stimulus, Treasury

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress on Wednesday that the government’s financial bailout program, Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), will be extended until Oct. 3, 2010.

“The recovery of our financial system remains incomplete and near-term shocks to that system could undermine the economic recovery we have seen to date,” Geithner said.

He said new commitments financed by the fund will be limited to three areas, chief of which will be stepping up efforts to curb record-high home foreclosures. Geithner says this is necessary to stabilize the housing market and support an economic recovery.

Other targets will include providing capital to small banks and boosting a commitment to encouraging lending to consumers and small businesses.

Source: Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa and Daniel Wagner (12/09/2009)

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Banks: Borrowers Don’t Complete Paperwork

December 8th, 2009 · Banking Industry, Economy, Housing Industry, Real Estate, Stimulus

Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. both said their failure to help more borrowers stemmed from the fact that many home owners fail to complete mortgage-relief paperwork.

Jack Schakett, Bank of America’s credit loss mitigation strategies executive, cited “ineffective communications with customers, shortcomings in document maintenance, misunderstandings about program requirements, and the inability to comply by some borrowers.”

Likewise, JPMorgan Chase said only 4,300 home owners have completed the paperwork, although 16,000 have been approved.

“We are facing challenges with borrowers completing documentation or making trial plan payments as agreed,” Molly Sheehan, JPMorgan Chase’s executive in charge of housing policy, said in written testimony.

Source: Associated Press, Alan Zibel (12/07/2009)

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Mortgage Insurers Denying Claims

December 8th, 2009 · Accountability, Housing Industry, Real Estate

Mortgage insurers are increasingly likely to reject claims and hold lenders responsible for bad loans, says a report by Moody’s Investors Service.

Insurers have rescinded about $6 billion in claims since January, after their reviews indicated that lenders failed to do due diligence when underwriting the loans during the peak years of the boom.

If these claims are successfully denied, the losses will be transferred to the banks, but Moody’s says that many banks have already written off the majority of these bad loans.

Source: Reuters News, Al Yoon (12/04/2009)

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Government Announces Short Sales Guidelines

December 8th, 2009 · Real Estate

The U.S. Treasury Department announced new guidelines this week designed to make short sales go more smoothly.

To qualify under these new guidelines:

  • The property must be the home owner’s principal residence.
  • The home owner must be delinquent on the mortgage or close to defaulting.
  • The loan must have been made before Jan. 1, 2009, and be for less than $729,750.
  • The borrowers’ total monthly mortgage payment must exceed 31 percent of their before-tax income.

Under the plan, borrowers will receive $1,500 from the government for selling homes for less than the amount of their mortgages. Mortgage-servicing companies will get $1,000 for each completed short sale. Second-mortgage holders can receive up to $3,000 of the sales proceeds in exchange for releasing their liens. Investors who hold the first mortgage can collect up to $1,000 from the government for allowing the payments.

Borrowers who complete a short sale under the program must be “fully released” from future liability for the debt, according to the guidelines.

Source: Associated Press, J.W. Elphinstone (11/01/2009) and The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon (11/01/2009)

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Fannie Mae to tighten lending standards

November 27th, 2009 · Buyers, Economy, Housing Industry, Stimulus, Tax Dollars

Banks will demand higher credit scores, lower borrower debt

By Dina ElBoghdady Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 26, 2009

Fannie Mae, the giant mortgage finance company that helps shape lending guidelines, plans next month to raise minimum credit score requirements and limit the amount of overall debt that borrowers can carry relative to their incomes.

The changes are the latest in a series of crackdowns by the mortgage industry and could surprise some prospective home buyers. The industry is rolling back loose lending standards that led to the mortgage meltdown and the subsequent economic crisis. But the fear is that if the industry becomes too restrictive, it will freeze out too many borrowers and impede an economic recovery.

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Indicators Suggest More Housing Weakness

November 25th, 2009 · Economy, Housing Industry, Real Estate

A new report from the Federal Housing Financing Agency indicated that home prices were flat in September compared to August.

Some analysts saw this and other factors as a sign that home prices are likely to fall again.

Predicting a new 10 percent decline, John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo, said, “There is no clear, easy way out for housing. Contrary to my hopes, housing prices and the housing market in general will weaken again.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve continues to predict that unemployment will remain above 9 percent through 2010. Minutes of its most recent meeting show that Fed officials are unwilling to raise the overnight federal funds rate from its current level of zero for fear of pushing up mortgage rates and adding to the malaise.

Source: The New York Times, David Streitfeld, Edmund L. Andrews and Javier C. Hernandez (11/24/2009)

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First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended

November 24th, 2009 · Buyers, IRS, Taxes

First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended to April 30, 2010; Some Current Homeowners Now Also Qualify 

WASHINGTON — A new law that went into effect Nov. 6 extends the first-time homebuyer credit five months and expands the eligibility requirements for purchasers.

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends the deadline for qualifying home purchases from Nov. 30, 2009, to April 30, 2010. Additionally, if a buyer enters into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, the buyer has until June 30, 2010, to settle on the purchase.

The maximum credit amount remains at $8,000 for a first-time homebuyer –– that is, a buyer who has not owned a primary residence during the three years up to the date of purchase.

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