For home short-sellers, finally comes some good news Saturday, September 7, 2013 — Anonymous (not verified) Sections: Real Estate.Sunday, September 8, 2013 Author(s): Kenneth R. Harney WASHINGTON — Policy changes by two of the biggest mortgage market players could open doors to home buys this fall by thousands hard-hit by the housing bust and who […]
Category Archives: Short Sales
Fannie Mae increases options for surrendering deed, called mortgage release
If a homeowner wants to walk away from a home by mailing in the deed and seeking forgiveness, it’s no longer a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, according to Fannie Mae. From now on, it’s a mortgage release. Under the changes, Fannie Mae gives owners three options: • an immediate move • a three-month transition with no […]
Updated mortgage-aid program aims to pick up slack
PHILADELPHIA – April 5, 2012 – After months in the works, HARP 2.0 is available to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers who want to refinance but owe more on their mortgages than their houses now are worth. HARP 2.0 – HARP stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program – is being billed as an improvement […]
Bank of America: $20,000 short sale incentive to struggling homeowners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Oct. 7, 2011 – Bank of America, the nation’s largest mortgage servicer, is offering Florida homeowners up to $20,000 to short sale their homes rather than letting them linger in foreclosure. The limited time offer has received little promotion from the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank, which sent emails to select Florida Realtors earlier […]
Pace of foreclosures slowed further in April
Fewer Americans had their homes repossessed by banks or were put on notice for being behind on their mortgage payments in April compared to a year ago. That would ordinarily suggest improving fortunes for U.S. homeowners, but the decline had less to do with any turnaround in the housing market than with foreclosure processing delays […]
Some homeowners, who can afford the mortgage, still default
She has a sales job with a six-figure salary. He owns a successful tech company. And they are in foreclosure. But unlike countless other Americans faced with losing their homes, this couple could make the $5,200 monthly mortgage on the waterfront property in Pompano Beach that they bought for $585,000 in 2004. Foreclosure was their […]
As more homeowners walk away, experts fear for nation’s morals
Americans have taken a sharp slap in the face from the housing crisis, financial crisis and jobs crisis. Now, some wonder if the residue of those harsh realities is an ethical crisis. For the first time in the nation’s history, bankers say, people are walking away from mortgages they can otherwise afford to pay. The […]
JPMorgan halts 50K foreclosures for possible flaws
JPMorgan Chase has temporarily stopped foreclosing on more than 50,000 homes so it can review documents that might contain errors. JPMorgan’s move Wednesday makes it the second major company to take such action this month, underscoring a growing legal problem. The issue could stall an already overloaded foreclosure process. Still, analysts don’t expect the delays […]
Where is the shadow inventory?
For the last year, the real estate industry has been talking about shadow inventory and the coming flood of distressed properties. Where are they? Here’s what’s happening, according to a recent paper by Alan Mallach, a senior fellow the Brookings Institution: • Some delinquencies have been resolved through loan modifications or people working out the […]
Foreclosure vs. short sale: pros and cons
PALM BEACH, Fla. – July 28, 2010 – With today’s reduced property values and increased unemployment, it’s tempting for some homeowners to just throw their hands up in defeat, allow the bank to take their home in foreclosure and rid themselves of the monthly mortgage burden. Even suffering through the paperwork and stress of a […]