Mortgage Archives - Authentic Properties

Raising the Debt Ceiling: How Will It Effect Real Estate?

The effects of politicking in Washington led to some historic events for our country. Unfortunately, our most recent events have all been rather negative, to say the least. So, we are once again hearing that mortgage interest rates are at all-time, historic lows. I would not want to give our Washington elites too much credit for being the reason for these low rates. But the truth of the matter, is that due to our debt issues, our financial system must continue to make money as affordable as possible to those borrowing. This will help improve the velocity of money and

Underwater Mortgage: Is It OK to Walk Away?

In spite of the mild economic recovery we’re experiencing, the percentage of homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages — that is, they owe more than their homes are worth — has barely budged. According to new data from CoreLogic, 22.7 percent of homes with mortgages were underwater in the first quarter of this, versus 23.1 percent in the fourth quarter last year. Nevada is by far the worst off, with 63 percent of mortgaged homes underwater; Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and California round out the top five. So the question is this: If you owe $500,000 on a home that

Bill Proposes Major Mortgage Shake-Up by This Summer

Two lawmakers, a California Republican and a Michigan Democrat, are set to unveil legislation Thursday to replace mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with at least five private companies that would issue mortgage-backed securities with explicit federal guarantees. The measure is a compromise between conservative Republicans who have advanced bills to build a mostly private mortgage-finance system and Democrats, who say the government shouldn’t abandon the mortgage market. Fannie and Freddie were taken over by the government in 2008 as rising mortgage losses wiped out thin capital cushions. Taxpayers are on the hook for $138 billion to keep the

3 Simple Questions To Get The Right Mortgage

Are you shopping for a mortgage? If you have recently heard yourself say something like this: What kind of loan do you think I should get? And you got a response from a loan officer that was similar to: I think that ___________ is the right loan for someone in your situation. Stop. There are three simple questions you can ask yourself that will help you narrow down your mortgage product choices. Knowing these three simple questions can free you from having to use the “ask and hope” strategy— where you simply ask a loan officer and hope they do

How to Avoid Foreclosure

When the homeowners do not make payment to the lenders, foreclosure takes place. It really is that simple. The reason for why home owners may not be able to make the payments, however, can be anything but simple. The worst thing home owners can do when they cannot make their home loan payments is to ignore the problem and to ignore the lender. In many cases, lenders will be more eager to help you through the problem than to foreclose on your home. The truth is most lenders do not want to take your home from you. Foreclosure is a

California Mortgage Defaults Drop Again

The number of financially distressed California homeowners who were dragged into the formal foreclosure process declined again last quarter, the result of turmoil and policy changes within the mortgage industry as well as shifts in the economy, a real estate information service reported. A total of 68,239 Notices of Default (NoDs) were recorded at county recorders offices during the January-to-March period. That was down 2.2% from 69,799 for the prior quarter, and down 15.8% from 81,054 in first-quarter 2010, according to DataQuick. The San Diego firm tracks real estate trends nationally via public property records. Last quarter’s activity was the

Home Prices Down in Southern California

Southern California home sales turned in another lackluster month in March, the result of a fussy mortgage market, slow job growth and a continued wait-and-see attitude among potential buyers and sellers. There were signs, however, that the market was a little less dysfunctional than in recent months, a real estate information service reported. A total of 19,412 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in March. That was up 35.1% from 14,369 in February, and down 5.2% from 20,476 in March 2010, according to DataQuick. The San Diego

House Hears Debate Over 20% Down Only for Home Purchases

U.S. regulators “must be mindful of the trade-off” between borrower equity and access to credit as they consider new rules for mortgage risk-retention, Acting Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Bob Ryan said. Higher down payments won’t necessarily reduce default risk and could keep creditworthy consumers from buying homes, Ryan said at a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing on mortgage risk retention. “This definition has the potential to create false- positive situations,” Ryan told lawmakers. The Financial Services capital markets panel is reviewing a proposal calling on homebuyers to have a 20 percent down payment and unblemished credit to qualify for so-called

Foreclosure Settlement Muddies Outlook for Mortgage Relief

Image by Getty Images via @daylife The foreclosure-abuse settlements announced yesterday by federal regulators may make it harder for state attorneys general and the Obama administration to force banks to reduce loan balances for more troubled U.S. homeowners. The 14 largest U.S. mortgage servicers, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), agreed to review all foreclosed loans from 2009 and 2010, and pay back losses in cases that were mishandled. They also will improve procedures by hiring staff, upgrading document-tracking systems and assigning a single point of contact for each borrower. While the attorneys general

Mortgage Rates Inch Higher

Mortgage rates continued to rise this week, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 5.08 percent, according to Bankrate.com’s weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.41 discount and origination points. The average 15-year fixed mortgage inched to 4.27 percent, and the larger jumbo 30-year fixed rate moved up to 5.57 percent. Adjustable rate mortgages were slightly lower this week with the average 5-year ARM slipping to 3.87 percent and the 7-year ARM dropping to 4.21 percent. Mortgage rates moved higher, but not very much, as investors looked past global concerns and

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