- Some borrowers who have sold their homes through short sales may be eager to buy another home while interest rates are still low. However, these borrowers should be aware of the downside of trying to purchase a home right away.
- While banks are starting to lend again to those who have worked to polish their tarnished credit, and once-wary investors are starting to show renewed interest in sub-prime mortgage bonds, buyers who simply can’t wait will have to pay high interest rates and likely a down payment of at least 30 percent.
- Working with a private lender is one option, but borrowers should first check to make sure that the lender is licensed to provide mortgages by searching the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Registry.
Borrowers who kept their mortgage payments current until the closing of the short sale also may be able to get a Federal Housing Administration loan. If the mortgage was in default though, an FHA loan is not possible for three years.
Corelogic has released a new default servicing platform to the mortgage industry that will streamline the way mortgage servicers manage loans through all stages of the default lifecycle. The new platform, DefaultView, opens pathways between previously disconnected servicing functions, allowing an exchange of information across multiple departments. The platform offers nine modules that interconnect within its architecture to help provide a more efficient and transparent default servicing operation.
DefaultView uses a master-loan architecture that offers a singular view of a loan. This design enables end users across a default enterprise to easily see a complete transaction history including workflow steps, resulting data, outcomes and all related documents and messages. By enabling top-down transparency across all relevant default departments and functions, the platform simplifies reporting and strengthens management oversight.
http://www.corelogic.com/about-us/news/new-corelogic-technology-platform-to-help-mortgage-servicers-adapt-to-loan-default-process-changes.aspx
CNNMoney
According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, 75.9 percent of all new and existing homes sold during the fourth quarter 2011 could have been comfortably purchased by families earning the national median income of $64,200.
Read the full story:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/15/real_estate/housing_affordability/index.htm?hpt=hp_t3
Last Thursday, the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers agreed to a landmark $25 billion settlement with a coalition of state attorneys general and federal agencies. The settlement addresses past mortgage loan servicing, foreclosure abuses and fraud, provides substantial financial relief to borrowers harmed by bank fraud, and establishes significant new homeowner protections for the future.
The joint state-federal group announced the agreement with the nation’s five largest servicers: Bank of America Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Company, Citigroup, Inc., and Ally Financial, Inc. (formerly GMAC). Collectively, the five banks service nearly 60 percent of the nation’s mortgages.
Under the agreement, the five servicers agree to:
Commit a minimum of $17 billion directly to borrowers through a series of national homeowner relief effort options, including principal reduction. Servicers will likely provide up to an estimated $32 billion in direct homeowner relief.
Commit $3 billion to an underwater mortgage refinancing program.
Pay $5 billion to the states and federal government ($4.25 billion to the states and $750 million to the federal government).
Provide homeowners with comprehensive new protections from new mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure standards.
Additionally,
An independent monitor will ensure mortgage servicer compliance.
States can pursue civil claims outside of the agreement including securitization claims as well as criminal cases.
Borrowers and investors can pursue individual, institutional or class action cases regardless of agreement.
More info
The Mercury News
The housing crisis has caught up with people whose wealth helped them hang onto their houses longer.
Read the full story:
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_19899224
