On Friday the Senate passed new legislation that would make more Federal Housing Administration Loans available to troubled borrowers facing foreclosure, lowering the down payment required and allowing larger loans. The House passed similar legislation in September, and now House and Senate members will have to “resolve a number of differences between the two pieces of legislation,” says the Wall Street Journal.
mortgages
Another Ohio Judge Halts A Foreclosure
By 12.14.07
The judge said the foreclosure lawsuit was filed before Wells Fargo owned the mortgage – thus, the suit was premature.
Freddie Mac's Fraud Video Warns Borrowers
By 12.12.07
Freddie Mac produced this video to educate borrowers who face foreclosure about a fraud scheme where “a con artist will seek out a public notice of foreclosure and approach the potential victim with documents and the promise of sorting out the debt,” thereby tricking the homeowner into signing over the deed to the house.
By 12.12.07
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If you’re facing foreclosure, you can call 888-995-HOPE and get free advice from non-profit counselors about how to save your house or at least minimize the damage.
Bank Of America Plans To Lose An "Unknowable" Amount Of Money
By 12.12.07
Losses from the subprime meltdown are going to hurt Bank of America, but they won’t say how badly. They just want investors to be prepared when the 4th quarter numbers come in, says the NYT.
Freddie Mac Will Be Losing A Few Billion More, Decides To Stop Buying So Many Bad Loans
By 12.12.07
“If I were you, I would want in this time period someone running one of these companies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) to err on the side of pessimism rather than optimism,” he said.
Hey, good point.
The Subprime Meltdown From The Perspective Of A Housing Counselor
By 12.11.07
Coppedge saw it coming in slow motion. Around this time last year, she was mostly dealing with renters who were behind on payments. Rarely did she counsel at-risk homeowners. When she did, they were usually suffering a one-time setback such as job loss.
By 12.8.07
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Credit cards and banks are starting to let people charge their rent or mortgage on your credit card. Great for earning rewards points or frequent flyer miles, but it’s only a good idea if you can pay off your credit card in full every month. [NYT]
Should You Change The Title On Your House?
By 12.6.07
If you’re married and the two of you own your house, is your legal title recorded as “joint tenants” or “community property”? If you bought it recently, odds are good it’s “community property” (and it should also include “with right of survivorship”).
Lenders Freeze Mortgages Rates For Some
By 12.6.07
The Administration and the mortgage industry came to an accord yesterday to freeze loan rates and offer relief for some sub-prime mortgage borrowers. Here’s the salient details.
By 12.6.07
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Elizabeth Warren on the rumored teaser rate freeze. [Credit Slips]
From $2 Million To Foreclosure On An Ameriquest Subprime Mortgage
By 12.5.07
Frances Joy Taylor had had about $2 million in assets, which she intended to leave to her church, before she met a businessman named Tyrone Dash. Dash took over her affairs and “methodically liquidated or leveraged almost everything she owned: her bank accounts and securities, her insurance policies, her credit cards, her two apartment buildings and, ultimately, her home,” says the Seattle Times. Frances suffers from Alzheimer’s.
Someone Should Have Stopped This Mortgage
By 12.5.07
Here’s another mortgage that should have never been made: A single mother earning $34,000 a year buys a ranch house for $385,000 by taking out two mortgages. Her then boyfriend was helping with payments, but then there wasn’t more more construction work. Blogger JLP figures she was probably putting 86% of her income towards the mortgage.
Bush To Announce 5 Year Rate Freeze For Mortgages
By 12.5.07
Tomorrow, President Bush will outline a plan to freeze rates for 5 years for subprime mortgage loans that “originated between January 1, 2005, and July 31, 2007, with rates that are due to reset between January 1 of next year and June or July of 2010,” reports Reuters.
Failure: H&R Block Shuts Down Subprime Lending Operation
By 12.4.07
H&R Block has decided to admit defeat after a plan to sell its troubled subprime lending operation to Cerberus Capital Management LP finally unraveled.
Who Has A Subprime Mortgage? People With Good Credit
By 12.4.07
The Wall Street Journal analyzed more than $2.5 trillion in subprime loans made since 2000 and found that as the number of subprime loans grew, the loans were being issued to borrowers with better and better credit scores—borrowers who could have qualified for traditional loans with more reasonable terms.
By 12.3.07
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Washington Mutual forecloses on man who made every single mortgage payment, but the banks somehow misplaced his check and papers so oops we’re going to foreclose on you anyway. [Baltimore Sun]
Bush Subprime Mortgage Plan Will Be Finalized Soon
By 12.1.07
ABC News has an interview with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in which he says that the administration’s plan to help subprime borrowers is nearing completion.
