Housing's silver lining
Housing may soon rise from the dead, argue some economists. And, the severity of the slump may in fact accelerate the arrival of a recovery.
Beware the 'handoff rip-off' scheme
A simple scam aimed at hijacking just one or two mortgage payments from unwary homeowners is making the rounds once again. It isn't as insidious as, say, "flopping," the ruse de jour in the mortgage market. But it is a continuing, if not a growing, problem.
Requiring bigger down payments won't stop a repeat of housing crisis
There were a lot of factors that contributed to loan defaults, but the lack of hefty down payments was not one of them. Rather it was making loans to people who had little or no chance to pay their mortgages.
Mortgage applications see biggest gain in 3 months: MBA
Applications for both purchase and refinance transactions are up again this week, fueled by falling rates according to Mortgage Bankers Association.
Falling Mortgage Rates Spur Serial Refinancing
Negative economic reports of late have pushed the rate on the popular 30 year fixed to below 4.5 percent, the lowest this year and just about a quarter percent off the 50-year lows we saw last summer; adjustable-rate products are even lower. When investors see bad economic news, they pull money out of the stock market and park it in bonds. The price of bonds goes up, the yield goes down, and mortgage rates follow down.
A short way to short-sale fraud
Working short sales? Watch out for fraud. This article details a growing trend in short sale fraud. It can mean disaster for the unwitting buyer and huge financial losses for lenders.