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Posts Tagged “

Real Estate

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People lose their houses and move all their stuff into self-storage, where the first month is often free. Then it turns out they can't pay their self-storage bills any better than their mortgage. However, the number of defaults are down from a year ago, suggesting that the worst is over. [NYT]

16 comments

Mortgage meltdown isn't just for people with bad credit, 2.3% of prime loans were 60 days past due in February, up from 1.4% a year ago and the highest in a decade. [USATODAY]

5 comments

Dr. Housing Bubble tells the tumultuous story of one two bedroom 1 bath 825 square foot home in Santa Ana, California. The little house sold for $88,000 in 1988 and had skyrocketed in "value" all the way up to $505,000 when it was sold in 2006. The 90 year old house is current on the market for $177,495. [Dr. Housing Bubble]

13 comments

real estate

Don't Get Cheated On Closing Costs

Some homebuyers are pissed because when the actual line item fees for various closing costs come in less than the estimation, their closing agents are simply pocketing the difference. How do you fight back? This article on LawyersandSettlements says,

Ask if the recording charges are indeed estimates, and ask why. Then demand to see the actual recording fee(s) once actuals are established, and compare them with the estimates. At the very least, insist that you are re-imbursed for the difference once actuals are determined, and demand to see the paperwork after the fact.

Real Estate Overcharges: Others Get Rich on Your Money [LawyersAndSettlements]

(Photo: Getty)

12:51 PM on Thu May 8 2008
By Ben Popken
3,645 views, 26 comments

Fannie Mae lost $2 billion in the first quarter. Whoopsie. [Chicago Tribune ]

9 comments

subprime meltdown

Countrywide Still Asking Consumers To Lie About Their Income

Countrywide would like you to believe that it put all that messy "predatory subprime lending" business behind it and is no longer coaching consumers to lie on their loan applications in order to qualify them for loans they can't afford... but are they telling the truth about telling the truth? One woman who recently contacted Countrywide about refinancing her home told NPR that sketchy mortgage lending is alive and well at Countrywide. More »

11:39 AM on Tue May 6 2008
By Meg Marco
5,866 views, 40 comments

mortgage meltdown

Jose Canseco Makes "Mathematical Decision" To Let Mansion Go Into Foreclosure

Was ex-American League MVP and admitted steroid abuser Jose Canseco too busy counting the money from his Major League Baseball tell-all books to remember to pay his mortgage? Nope. When the California market tanked, Canseco made "a mathematical decision" to walk away from his mortgage, says the Wall Street Journal. More »

9:39 AM on Tue May 6 2008
By Meg Marco
7,617 views, 62 comments

The state of Florida is offering single-family homeowners in the state free wind inspections that can then be used to get insurance discounts. [My Safe Florida Home]

1 comment

Bob Lawless considers why fewer homeowners walk away from "underwater" mortgages than you might expect. [Credit Slips]

34 comments

subprime meltdown

No Help For 70% Of Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

A new study shows that despite the best efforts of lawmakers and mortgage-service companies, little is actually being done to help homeowners facing foreclosure, says the Wall Street Journal. More »

12:16 PM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Meg Marco
3,602 views, 71 comments

mortgages

Is Your HELOC In Danger Of Being Frozen?

If you have an open home equity line of credit you were counting on for renovations or other projects, you might want to read CNN Money's article about how lenders are freezing them around the country. The main triggers for HELOC freezing are credit score changes and a rapid drop in home value in your area. The freeze may also be a computer-determined action, so if your HELOC suddenly goes away and you don't think it was justified, it may be worth checking your FICO score and then contacting the lender to reopen the line or renegotiate it. More »

8:25 PM on Mon Apr 21 2008
By Chris Walters
1,758 views, 18 comments

Latest by rekoil: We just got one of these letters ourselves from National City suspending our HELOC - the HELOC we were about to draw from to redo our kitchen. Never mind that I don't know how we're going to remodel now, there more »

subprime meltdown

Real Estate Speculation: From A Trailer Park To Foreclosure On 4 Homes

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a fascinating article about real estate speculation in Minnesota. The article focuses on Bradley and Sarah Collin, a couple with three children who were living in a trailer park when they were suckered by a local "property management company" that (illegally) paid the couple $20,000 cash to buy 4 houses in a new subdivision. More »

12:18 PM on Mon Apr 21 2008
By Meg Marco
9,228 views, 53 comments

Apparently, buying a house you can afford and fixing it up with a modest loan and money that you earned through gainful employment is rare enough to warrant a 3-page profile in the NYT. [NYT]

15 comments

subprime meltdown

Life In A Subprime Ghost Town: Not Paying The Mortgage Feels "Great!"

We've been hearing tales of suburban McGhost-Towns that were submerged by a tidal wave of foreclosures at the height of the subprime meltdown and are now just sitting there, the lawns turning brown one by one. More »

10:09 AM on Thu Apr 10 2008
By Meg Marco
26,057 views, 257 comments

real estate

Zillow Offers Anonymous Mortgage Shopping

Zillow has a new tool for those of you who wish you could do your mortgage shopping while wearing a ski mask and speaking through one of those things that makes you sound like Darth Vader — the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. More »

11:37 AM on Fri Apr 4 2008
By Meg Marco
3,594 views, 14 comments

shady

Justice Department Will Investigate Countrywide's Lending Practices

A judge has authorized an investigation into Countrywide's lending practices, says the NYT.
Judge Thomas P. Agresti of the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh on Tuesday approved an inquiry into "the impact of Countrywide's bankruptcy procedures on the integrity of the bankruptcy process" by the Office of the United States Trustee, a Justice Department arm that polices bankruptcy filings.
More »

3:18 PM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Meg Marco
1,937 views, 6 comments

sub-prime business opportunities

How To Get An "Iffy" Loan Approved

Sometimes when you're trying to get a borrower approved for a mortgage the system will tell you something stupid like "this person is not qualified." Luckily, this internal document from Chase shows a few tips and tricks you can use to tweak a borrower's profile so they can get a stated-income asset loan (which recently has received the unfair pejorative of a "liar's loan" by the sensationalist media apparatchik) a piece of The American Dream. It's specific to Chase's internal loan approval system. Irregardless, many of the principles have universal application, no matter what level of the fast-paced exciting field of sub-prime mortgages you work. Highlights:

1. Bundle all compensation as base income, don't break it down to commissions, bonuses and tips
2. Add gift funds to the base income
3. And if that still doesn't work, just top off the income with an extra $500!

Full document as leaked to The Oregonian (turns out journalists are good for something other than reprinting our press releases, at least now the rest of us can learn from these advanced tips), inside...

More »

1:00 PM on Tue Apr 1 2008
By chadsteelgate
4,923 views, 29 comments

Latest by RandomHookup: Umm...they're not my kneepads...they, umm, belong to a friend who left them. She's from...Canada. more »

New trend: organized bus tours of foreclosed properties for potential buyers. [AP]

4 comments