HUD announced this week that it is changing how it defines foreclosed and abandoned properties. At HUD, foreclosed used to apply only to properties that had completed the foreclosure process. Now, foreclosed at HUD also encompasses properties in default. The agency used abandoned to define property that had been foreclosed on and had been vacant… CONTINUE
Big Brother is Watching
The FHA warned lenders this week that it is keeping a close eye on how mortgage companies are following the agency’s standards. And to put teeth into the warning, the FHA announced that it has permanently pulled its approval from two mortgage lenders: RSA Financial, Inc., Atlanta and 1st Alliance Mortgage LLC of Houston. From… CONTINUE
Harsh Reality
The foreclosure crisis has hit reality TV! No, not a new show…although “Pimp My Short Sale” might be popular….but the fact that many of the homes featured on the highly rated reality TV show Extreme Makeover are facing foreclosure. If you’re not a fan of the show, the premise is simple: hardship-stricken homeowners are sent… CONTINUE
Bittersweet Victory
California state lawmakers passed SB 401 this week, which exempts homeowners who have lost their homes to short sales or foreclosure, or who have received loan modifications, from having to pay state tax. From the Sacramento Bee report: The bill extends the state ban from 2009 through the end of 2012. It also bans state… CONTINUE
More MERS Mess
Fannie Mae issued new policy guidelines this week that told servicers they can no longer name MERS as a plaintiff in foreclosure actions on a mortgage loan owned or securitized by the GSE. From DSNews.com: “…the system has become the centerpiece of a number of lawsuits, with foreclosed homeowners challenging the naming of the electronic… CONTINUE
Fear Driving Prices Down
A forecast out last week from the University Financial Associates of Ann Arbor says that most metro areas in the country will see prices fall below the lowest levels of the past two decades, due in large part to fear. From the Real Estate Economy Watch website: “It is often stated that prices decline faster… CONTINUE
Foreclosure Forecast: Stormy
According to a forecast published this week by RealtyTrac, foreclosures are expected to rise to 4.5 million by the end of 2010, from 2.8 million in 2009. Is HAMP the finger in the dike, or a beaver dam hoping to hold back a tsunami? Here’s Jon Maddux’s take in a posting on housingstorm.com: Over a… CONTINUE
Why CA Housing Prices Depressed
There are five key financial indicators that show exactly what is keeping the housing market – and the rest of us – depressed. An informative post on drhousingbubble.com recently provided an in-depth look at these trends, which include: Increase in MLS Inventory Falling Prices Competition for Jobs Rise in FHA Defaults Mortgage Delinquency What this… CONTINUE
Exempt Us, Already
There’s a rising chorus of pleas to enact state legislation that will exempt debt relief for homeowners selling their homes in short sales. The question is, will the California legislature continue to be tone-deaf? There are currently two bills before the legislature — AB 1799 by Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, and SB X614 by… CONTINUE
New Credit Card Scam
As the economy continues to flounder, crooks seem to get more inventive with ways to scam regular folks out of their hard-earned cash. This one showed up in my Inbox recently and appears to be a fairly easy one to fall for: It works like this: Person calling says, “This is (any name) and I’m… CONTINUE
Top 10 List No One Wants to Be On
U.S. News & World Report released its Top 10 list of America’s Most Underwater Housing Markets last week: 1. Las Vegas, NV 2. Merced, CA 3. Phoenix, AZ 4. Orlando, FL 5. Greeley, CO 6. Bend, OR 7. Minneapolis-St.Paul, MN 8. Memphis, TN 9. Cleveland, OH 10. Grand Rapids, MI And closer to home, MONEY… CONTINUE
REO The Way to Go
In his recent posting on HousingWire.com, publisher Paul Jackson scrutinizes current data from Lender Processing Services – which showed that a record 7.5 million loans are non-current – and posits that the real key to resolving the housing market problems yet-to-come is REO property sales. And here’s why: For all loans at 90+ days delinquent,… CONTINUE
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