February 2, 2011 (Chris Moore) The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 28, 2011. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 11.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from last week. Read more...
February 2, 2011 (Shirley Allen) Important changes took effect yesterday in the government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative (HAFA) program. The Treasury Department has revamped its short sale program by easing income restrictions and documentation requirements for homeowners facing foreclosure to help streamline the HAFA process and make the program more accessible to homeowners. In the [...]
February 2, 2011 (Jeff Alan) As promised, Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D) and the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday regarding possible legislation granting bankruptcy judges the power to require foreclosure mediation between banks and homeowners. Whitehouse, who recently commented on a story featured here concerning Judge Votolato’s recent bankruptcy court decision, is [...]
February 1, 2011 (Jeff Alan) The housing boom and the subsequent economic and housing crisis certainly validates that age old adage of “what goes up…must come down” as soaring home ownership during the boom years has led to 13 year lows during the bust. According to the most recent government figures, the nation's overall home [...]
February 1, 2011 (Shirley Allen) By a margin of almost three to one, homeowners who refinanced their first lien home mortgage lowered their principal balance by paying an additional amount at the time of closing versus those borrowers who took cash out. Forty-six percent of homeowners who refinanced their mortgage in the fourth quarter of [...]
February 1, 2011 (Chris Moore) There are many misconceptions concerning the issue of foreclosure. Unfortunately these misconceptions have lead many homeowners to take all the wrong actions in trying to stop foreclosure, which ultimately could cause them to lose their homes. Read more...
January 31, 2011 (Shirley Allen) We know, we know…not another top ten list, but we have to on this one, only because it’s Zillow. Besides, we have to fun every once in a while! When asked their thoughts on the best places for prospective homeowners to buy in the next year, they thought about what [...]
January 31, 2011 (Jeff Alan) U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Arthur N. Votolato upheld the court’s right to establish a mediation program for homeowners facing foreclosure. The ruling was in response to objections filed by creditors in two bankruptcy cases. The creditors are PHH Mortgage Corp., doing business as PHH Mortgage Service Center, and Ocwen Loan [...]
January 31, 2011 (Chris Moore) Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) introduced legislation to end the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Issa, the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and his colleagues said the Treasury Department's program to help troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure has been a bust. This comes on [...]
