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Recent head-line news on mortgage, housing market, remodeling,
investment, ...
(For latest news, see home page)
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* Foreclosure
damaging but can be overcome – Columbus Dispatch
12/19/2010 If you’ve been through a foreclosure, you might wonder whether
there is hope for you to become a homeowner again. Yes, but it will take
awhile. “It doesn’t mean you’ll never be a homeowner again,” said Linda
Davis-Demas, director of housing at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of
Greater Dallas.
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* 1
arrested, 2 sentenced in mortgage fraud scheme – Washington Post
12/18/2010 The federal investigation into a massive mortgage fraud scheme
that roped in hundreds of Washington area residents and dozens of Fairfax
County school employees has escalated with the arrest of a top official at
a Woodbridge real estate company and the sentencing Friday of two of the
company's employees. Another of the company's top officials is cooperating
with investigators and has worn a wire to the home of a former colleague.
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* Some
lenders won’t foreclose on condos so they don’t pay dues – MarketWatch.com
12/17/2010 A judgment of foreclosure and sale was entered by the court on
May 21. On Nov. 4, I received word that bank has directed the attorneys not
to proceed with the confirmation of sale hearing. No one knows why there is
a delay other than the fact that the banks are overloaded with
foreclosures.
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* The
X Factor--Why Making An Offer On A Home Should Be Based On Value To You
– realestate.yahoo.com
12/16/2010 So what's the X factor? In real estate, many buyers will shop
around, find the home they really like, and then, rather than make an offer
based on the value of the home to them (taking into consideration comp
prices too), they'll say, "How much less should we offer off the
asking price?" That's the X factor.
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* Foreclosure
prevention: Habitat shifts gears in Clayton – Atlanta Journal-Constit.
12/15/2010 Two vacant houses on Bola Court, in Jonesboro, sit as brick and
mortar reminders of a foreclosure crisis that has hurt not just those who
lost homes, but their neighbors, too. Home values in the Iron Gate
community have dropped more than 20 percent and crime has ticked up.
Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Brenda Rayburn
estimates one in five homes sit empty.
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* New
consumer advocate to focus on cost of debt – Richmond Times-Dispatch
12/14/2010 When Yahoo put out its top 10 searches in the financial category
for 2010, there was no surprise to find, among the leaders, unemployment,
foreclosures and the Dow Jones flash crash, the term coined for when the
Dow dropped more than 600 points in one day last May. At No. 7 on the Yahoo
list, behind the tea-party movement, was Elizabeth Warren. What makes
Warren stand out is her assignment to set up the new Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau.
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* City,
county rework sewer deal to exclude casino site – Columbus Dispatch
12/13/2010 If Penn National Gaming wants flush toilets at its central Ohio
casino, it will have to build it in Columbus. That, more or less, was Mayor
Michael B. Coleman's message as he made a rare appearance before the
Columbus City Council tonight and asked members to remove the casino site
from a 2003 city sewer contract with Franklin County.
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* Colorado's
foreclosure rules challenged – Denver Post
12/12/2010 Denver attorney John Prater sued the state of Colorado in
federal court Friday, alleging that it is allowing lenders to seize
properties without the due process required under the U.S. Constitution. He
said borrowers aren't getting a fair hearing under the state's current
system of public trustees and limited "Rule 120" court hearings.
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* FHA
deadlines loom for condo owners – Columbus Dispatch
12/11/2010 Tens of thousands of condominium-unit owners throughout the country
might not know it, but their ability to sell or refinance could be
jeopardized by a rolling series of federal government deadlines. On
Wednesday, an estimated 2,200 condominium projects lost eligibility for
unit sales or refinancings involving Federal Housing Association mortgages
because they had missed a key deadline for recertification set by the
agency.
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* California
mortgage modifiers disclose bankruptcy court filings – Sacramento Bee
12/10/2010 A Rancho Cordova mortgage-modification company accused of
scamming customers has closed its doors and filed for bankruptcy. The
closure of US Loan Auditors raises questions about the ability of state
officials to pursue their lawsuit against the company for $60 million.
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* PrimeLending
to pay $2 million to settle accusations that it overcharged black borrowers
– Dallas Morning News
12/09/2010 Dallas-based mortgage company PrimeLending has agreed to pay $2
million to customers in settling accusations that it overcharged black
borrowers compared with white customers. The Department of Justice said
Wednesday that PrimeLending "engaged in a pattern or practice of
discrimination against African-American borrowers between 2006 and
2009," according to court documents.
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* HUD
investigates lenders' fair-housing practices – San Diego Union-Tribune
12/08/2010 Federal officials launched an investigation Wednesday to
determine whether 22 mortgage lenders have been discriminating against
qualified African-American and Latino borrowers by denying them
government-insured loans.
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* Consumer
credit jumps by most in more than 2 years – Houston Chronicle
12/07/2010 Consumer borrowing rose in October by the largest amount in more
than two years, led by a big rise in the category that includes student
loans. The Federal Reserve said today that consumer credit rose at an
annual rate of $3.4 billion in October, the largest increase since a $5.7
billion gain in July 2008. Consumer credit was also up in September.
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* Survey
shows more homeowners would walk away if their homes are underwater – Palm Beach Post
12/07/2010 An increasing number of homeowners would consider walking away
from an underwater mortgage as the nation's lenders and banks face growing
criticism over their home loan and foreclosure practices.
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* Caution
from Bernanke sends stock indexes lower – Denver Post
12/06/2010 Stocks spent most of Monday in a funk brought on by cautious
comments about the economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Hopes for a compromise on extending Bush-era tax cuts and unemployment
benefits erased some of the losses. The Dow Jones industrial average ended
down 20 points, breaking a three-day winning streak. Stock indexes traded
in a tight range all day and volume was light.
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* Lenders’
FHA-loan rules challenged – Columbus Dispatch
12/05/2010 A national consumer coalition plans to file a series of federal
fair-housing complaints beginning Monday. The coalition is challenging a
widespread practice by banks and mortgage lenders: requiring borrowers who
apply for FHA loans to have FICO credit scores well above the 580 minimum
score set by the FHA itself for qualified applicants with 3.5 percent down
payments.
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* Calif.
housing recovering, coast first – Orange County Register
12/04/2010 The housing market has begun to stabilize in some of the coastal
regions in the state. While credit unions have been willing and able to
lend, demand for mortgages has been lean, despite the historically low
interest rates. Members are either over leveraged, or concerned about
future employment to make such a large purchase. Once individuals feel more
secure about their income, they will be much more likely to make long-term
purchases.
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* Are
banks unfairly denying certain loan applicants? – Washington Post
12/03/2010 A national consumer coalition plans to file a series of landmark
federal fair housing complaints beginning Dec. 6, challenging a widespread
practice by banks and mortgage lenders: requiring borrowers who apply for
FHA loans to have FICO credit scores well above the 580 minimum set by the
FHA for qualified applicants with 3.5 percent down payments.
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* In
tony towns, housing bargains still hard to find – Boston Globe
12/02/2010 With real estate supposedly ripe for the picking, Adam Waitkunas
and Kelly Mitchell hoped to buy a home in an affluent suburban community
without having to pay traditional Weston, Wellesley, or Lincoln prices. But
after months of house hunting, the young couple from West Concord reached
the conclusion that there are no easy bargains to be had.
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* Fed
names recipients of $3.3 trillion in aid during crisis – Washington Post
12/01/2010 The Federal Reserve, under orders from Congress, today named the
counterparties of about 21,000 transactions from $3.3 trillion in aid
provided to stem the worst financial panic since the Great Depression. The
Fed posted the data on its website to comply with a provision in July's
Dodd-Frank law overhauling financial regulation.
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* Tourism
picking up, but real estate lags on Grand Strand – Myrtle Beach Sun News
12/01/2010 Economic recovery is under way along the Grand Strand, but
expect tourism to bounce back before real estate does, said Robert Salvino,
a research economist at Coastal Carolina University. "In housing, it
will be years before we get to the [pre-recession] level because it was an
unprecedented upturn," Salvino said at a university event Tuesday
morning.
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