Fed releases consumer mortgage brochure
Fed releases consumer mortgage brochure
|
New truth-in-lending rules effective July 30
New truth-in-lending rules effective July 30
|
$8K downpayment challenges Fla. officials
State and local housing officials are struggling to work out the details of Florida’s $8K downpayment tax credit loan program.
|
3 places to hunt for a mortgage
3 places to hunt for a mortgage
|
NAR: U.S. must support FHA programs
NAR: U.S. must support FHA programs
|
NAR: Market needs Fannie and Freddie
NAR: Market needs Fannie and Freddie
|
Sales up, but still jumbo loan logjam
Sales up, but still jumbo loan logjam
|
Borrowers eschew ARMs
Borrowers eschew ARMs
|
Lawmakers seek tighter oversight of credit raters
Lawmakers seek tighter oversight of credit raters. Credit rating agencies spurred the real estate meltdown, so lawmakers now want more disclosure, new SEC oversight and greater enforcement powers.
|
Interest in purchasing foreclosed homes rises
More U.S. adults (55%) say they’re likely to consider a foreclosed home and most think it’s a bargain; almost half expect to pay 50% less.
|
Bank of America revises short sale policy
Bank of America revises short sale policy. Bank of America revises short sale policy
|
Buyers shouldn’t dismiss all ARMs
Potential homebuyers should not dismiss the hybrid ARM based on recent bad press. ARMs’ starting rates are under 4 percent, and they can save owners thousands of dollars if the owners plan to sell after five or six years.
|
A COMFORTABLE MORTGAGE
A COMFORTABLE MORTGAGE
|
Realtors push mortgage reform
Homebuyers must be protected against mortgage lending abuses but still have access to affordable mortgages, NAR said yesterday as it expressed Realtors’ support for the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009.
|
FULL COURT PRESS
FULL COURT PRESS
|
Realtors support mortgage lending reform
NAR President Charles McMillan testified before Congress yesterday that the mortgage lending system needs reform to restore consumer confidence and the housing market. He said that the recently introduced “Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009” contains many reforms that NAR wants, but he also cautioned against overregulation.
|
IN SEARCH OF THE ELUSIVE JUMBO LOAN
Mortgage experts say that lenders will soon begin making loans between $625,500 and $729,750 in high-cost housing markets now that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued underwriting standards
|
FHA key to housing rebound, Realtors tell Congress
FHA key to housing rebound, Realtors tell Congress
|
Mortgage rates tick up from record lows
Mortgage rates tick up from record lows
|
JUMBO LOAN SIGHTINGS
The hard-to-find jumbo loan may be making a comeback. Bank of America is among the major banks rolling out jumbo mortgage programs and holding the loans in their own portfolios.
|
ADVICE FROM THE FEDS
Scam artists are proliferating, attempting to make money from troubled borrowers interested in taking advantage of President Barack Obama’s foreclosure-prevention plan.
|
FHA LOAN LIMITS
HUD announced changes to FHA’s single-family loan limits yesterday, the result of initiatives within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. For 2009, the maximum mortgage limit for an area is either the 2008 limit or 2009 limit – whichever is higher.
|
Huge loans remained as foreclosures spiked
McLEAN, Va. – Feb. 26, 2009 – About 9 percent of homebuyers in 2007 borrowed an amount at least four times greater than their annual income, according to an analysis of lender data by USA Today.
|
JUMBO CHALLENGES
The Obama Administration’s housing stability plan does not address jumbo mortgages, giving borrowers with loans too big for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy few options if they want to reduce their monthly payments.
|
Can you still buy without a fixed mortgage?
ORLANDO, Fla. – Feb. 9, 2009 – Buying a house doesn’t necessarily require getting a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. More and more people are exploring alternative financing plans as it gets harder to get a conventional bank loan.
|
Fannie Mae allows investors to mortgage more properties
WASHINGTON – Feb. 9, 2009 – Fannie Mae modified a policy that allowed real estate investors to have only four financed properties. The number can now be five to 10, depending on whether certain eligibility, underwriting and delivery requirements are met. Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR) President Cynthia Shelton raised the investment issue with Fannie Mae officials last week.
|
HARD TO HOLD DOWN
Mortgage rates are rising despite government efforts to hold them down, because it’s impossible to control all the variables.
|
DROWNING IN APPLICATIONS
Borrowers eager to take advantage of low mortgage rates have swamped lenders with applications. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” says Leif Thomsen of Mortgage Master, a lender with offices all over the Northeast. “This is the most I’ve seen in 20 years in this business. It’s amazing.
|
NAR: Homebuyers need higher loan limits – upper-end stalled
WASHINGTON – Jan. 16, 2009 – The drop in mortgage loan limits for conventional financing at the end of 2008 is hurting home sales and trade-up activity in higher price ranges across the country, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
|
Home loan advertisers failed to disclose key loan terms in ads
WASHINGTON – Jan. 12, 2009 – Some mortgage offers “too good to be true” aren’t true. The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with three lenders – one in Florida – who violated FTC law by misleading potential borrowers by allegedly touting low monthly payments and rates without fully disclosing loan terms. The lenders have agreed to settle FTC charges that their ads violated federal law.
|
NAR: Media shouldn’t say buyers need 20 percent downpayments
WASHINGTON – Jan. 6, 2009 – Don’t believe everything you read, says NAR.
|
HOUSING RECOVERY BY SPRING?
Financial mogul Sam Zell, beleaguered owner of the Tribune Co. that declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, told an Israeli business conference Sunday that the U.S. real estate market will be in recovery by spring 2009.
|
THEY’RE BA-ACK
Some of the same subprime lenders that were operating during the boom are back, but this time they’re pushing government-backed, FHA loans. FHA “faces a tsunami” of ex-subprime lenders who market aggressively and sometimes fraudulently, says Kenneth M. Donohue Sr., the inspector general for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
|
NAR-backed rate buydown gains traction
WASHINGTON – Dec. 5, 2008 – An effort by the National Association of Realtors® to spur home sales through a mortgage-interest rate buydown appears to be gaining traction. Reports in major news media like the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal today quote sources familiar with a meeting between U.S. Treasury officials and NAR in November in which the buydown proposal was discussed.
|
NAR: New Fed plan will drive down interest rates and help stabilize housing
WASHINGTON – Nov. 26, 2008 – Calling it great news for homebuyers, home sellers and the U.S. economy, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) praised a plan announced yesterday by the Federal Reserve. Under the plan, the Fed will purchase housing-related debts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, thus freeing up mortgage money on Main Street. The move is one of four points advocated by NAR in a recent Call-to-Action.
|
HUD announces new, permanent FHA mortgage loan limits
WASHINGTON – Nov. 12, 2008 – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Steve Preston today announced the new Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage loan limits for single-family homes as prescribed by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.
|
NAR: Realtors help buyers, sellers, with short sales
ORLANDO, Fla. – Nov. 11, 2008 – When families lose their homes to foreclosure, communities, the housing market and the economy all suffer. Short sales are one way that some troubled homeowners can avoid foreclosure, a topic discussed by Realtors at the Short Sales Solutions session, part of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) 2008 Conference & Expo in Orlando.
|
New demands make mortgages harder to get
WASHINGTON – Oct. 30, 2008 – Even homebuyers with good credit are having trouble getting mortgages with terms they find attractive.
|
YOUR FLORIDA ASSOCIATION
HELP WANTED: Strengthen your state Realtor association by serving on the REIS Board of Managers, where your business and technology skills will help guide the development of cutting-edge real estate products. Board membership begins on Jan. 1, 2008; members serve for three years and meet quarterly in Orlando
|
Florida Attorney General warns Floridians about mortgage fraud
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Oct. 22, 2008 – In recognition of National Protect Your Identity Week, Oct. 19-25, Attorney General Bill McCollum issued a consumer advisory warning Floridians about mortgage fraud-related identity theft.
|
New rule adds mortgage rate disclosures
WASHINGTON – Oct. 22, 2008 – The Federal Reserve on Monday approved regulations requiring mortgage lenders to tell borrowers how much interest rates differ between prime mortgages and the higher-priced ones offered to less-affluent borrowers.
|
Mortgage inquiries focusing on Florida
WASHINGTON – Oct. 20, 2008 – New data from the Justice Department shows that federal prosecutors and investigators have launched 151 criminal investigations of potential mortgage fraud at financial institutions since October 2007.
|
NAR: VA law will serve those who serve our country
WASHINGTON – Oct. 13, 2008 – Veterans across America now have expanded homeownership opportunities, thanks to the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 signed by President George W. Bush on Friday. The bill includes housing provisions for veterans who are already homeowners and those who aspire to homeownership, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR).
|
New program allows subprime mortgages to become a fixed-rate FHA
WASHINGTON – Oct. 2, 2008 – A new program rolled out by HUD yesterday could help more homeowners avoid foreclosure. Under the program, the lender of an existing subprime mortgage forgives part of the debt as if it’s a short sale, and the balance of the mortgage is rolled into a fixed-rate FHA mortgage. Unlike earlier programs, however, the HOPE for Homeowners program is aimed more at lenders than homeowners.
|
FHA TOOLKIT
NAR joined with HUD to create a new Federal Housing Administration Toolkit designed to help Realtors better understand the FHA mortgage process. “The new toolkit will help Realtors educate consumers about FHA updates and changes, and the great benefits of using these programs,” says Pat V. Combs, NAR immediate past president.” FHA loans offer low downpayments, competitive interest rates and greater flexibility than most conventional mortgages.
|
VA LOANS
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, whose loans remain one of the few no-down-payment options in this tight market, have made more than 162,000 home loan guaranties this year, an increase of more than 31 percent over the same period last year. The VA has tried to streamline the loan process by allowing veterans to apply for a loan before they obtain a VA Certificate of Eligibility.
|
FHA: NO MORE ‘BUY AND BAIL’
The FHA will no longer allow homebuyers to rent out their current home and use the expected rental income as part of the basis for obtaining a new mortgage to buy another home.
|
NAR: Housing provisions bill would help veterans if passed
WASHINGTON – Sept. 15, 2008 – The U.S. House passed H.R. 6832, the Veterans Construction and Extension Act of 2008, in a bipartisan effort on Sept. 11, a move praised by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
|
Rent-to-own gaining favor once again
ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 5, 2008 – Rent-to-own options are becoming popular again after falling out of favor during the last couple of decades when mortgages were easy to get.
|
VA raises loan cap to $729,000
WASHINGTON – Aug. 25, 2008 – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is raising ceilings on its no-downpayment home loans from the current $417,000 to as much as $729,000. |
© 2009 Florida Realtors®