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Mortgage deqlinquencies decline in September; Foreclosures on the rise

The “first-look” report from Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies decreased 0.5 percent in September from the month before and decreased 12.7 percent from the year before. On the other hand, and perhaps part of the reason for the decline in the delinquency rate, the foreclosure rate increased in September by 1.7 percent from the prior month and was up 8.9 percent from the year before. [...]

Mortgage delinquencies on the rise but down significantly from a year ago

Mortgage delinquencies in September increased to 2.10 percent of all mortgages, a 2.9 percent increase from the month before when delinquencies were at 2.04 percent but a decrease of over 33 percent from a year ago when the rate was 3.14 percent. [...]

5 Tips on How to Find Rock-Bottom Mortgage Rates

Mortgage interest rates hit an all time low in the past month with 30 year fixed rate mortgages dropping below 4 percent for the first time ever! Over the past couple of weeks, rates have ticked up slightly but are still dirt cheap! So what can you do to make sure you are getting the lowest mortgage rates possible? According to Doug Lebda, Chariman and CEO of LendingTree.com, if borrowers follow the guidelines listed below they can increase their chances of being approved for a mortgage loan at the most desirable interest rate: [...]

Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fall below 4 percent; first time in history

This morning, Freddie Mac released the results of it’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey revealing that the interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.94 percent, dropping below 4.0 percent for the first time in history! All I can say is WOW! [...]

Mortgage loan fraud reports in 2nd quarter up 88 percent from a year ago

A report released today by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shows that financial institutions filed 29,558 reports suspecting mortgage loan fraud activity during the 2nd quarter, an increase of 88 percent from the 2nd quarter of 2010 when there were 15,727 reports. [...]

Restitution for victims of improper foreclosure practices

Robo-signing is one of those terms I never heard until the news of improper foreclosure practices by some of the nation’s largest lenders started hitting the news in the past year and now the word has become synonymous with bad foreclosure practices.  As a result, in April of this year the Office of the Comptroller [...]

Mortgage delinquencies decline in August; down almost 12 percent from year ago

I keep saying that, until the foreclosure rate gets back down closer to a “normal” rate and the REO inventory is absorbed to the point where they are no longer putting such immense downward pressure on home prices, we are not going to see any sort of sustainable recovery in the housing market. It [...]

Double-dip recession concern by consumers is putting a damper on the housing market

Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group says that we are not out of the woods yet and that the economy is “flirting with another economic downturn” now after more than two years since the worst recession since the World War II era.  Fannie Mae Chief Economist, Doug Duncan, said “the weakening economic backdrop, [...]

Homeowners in negative equity position declines in 2nd quarter; majority have above market interest rates

A report released today by CoreLogic shows that 22.5 percent (10.9 million) of all homeowners in the U.S. with a mortgage were in a negative equity position in the second quarter of 2011, down slightly from 22.7 percent the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being “underwater” or “upside down” and [...]

Minnesota Emerges as Mortgage Fraud Hot Spot

Minnesota has emerged as the state with the highest amount of mortgage fraud (in total dollar amount) according to the second-quarter 2011 Mortgage Fraud Index from MortgageDaily.com.  With $184,715,000 of mortgage fraud activity in the 2nd quarter Minnesota inched out the first place spot from Florida which had $184,009,434 in loans with mortgage fraud involved.

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Mortgage interest rates dip to lowest rate this year

Mortgage interest rates have hit a new low for the year, dipping to an average of 4.29% (4.54% APR) for 30-year fixed mortgages, 3.53% (3.90% APR) for 15-year fixed mortgages and 3.38% (3.63% APR) for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) earlier this week according to the LendingTree Weekly Mortgage Rate Pulse.  The report also [...]

Four Florida Men Charged in Boston with Defrauding Homeowners in Home Loan Modification Scam

Four Florida men were arrested on charges that they defrauded homeowners in Massachusetts and elsewhere in connection with a home loan modification scam. Earlier this month, a 20-count indictment was unsealed in federal court in Boston, charging Christopher S. Godfrey, 42, of Delray Beach, Fla.; Dennis Fischer, 40, of Highland Beach, Fla.; Vernell Burris [...]

Businessmen, Loan Officer, and Title Company Attorney Indicted for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering in a Multi-Million-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme

HOUSTON—Two Houston businessmen, a mortgage company loan officer, and a title company attorney and escrow officer have been indicted for their alleged involvement in a scheme to defraud residential mortgage lenders of more than $22 million in loans.

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Freddie Mac offering to pay future condo fees through HomeSteps special

HomeSteps, the home-sale division of Freddie Mac, announced “Condo Cash”, a special limited-time offer to pay up to $1,500 in future condo fees for eligible buyers purchasing a condominium being sold through the Freddie Mac HomeSteps program.

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Mortgage delinquency rate continues to fall in July

A report released this morning by Standard & Poor’s and Experian show a decrease in monthly default rates on first mortgages from 2.02 percent to 1.93 percent and a decrease in default rates on second mortgages from 1.40 percent to 1.25 percent in July. A continuing decline in mortgage delinquencies is one of the things [...]

FBI Report Shows Mortgage Fraud Continues at Elevated Levels

The FBI released it’s Mortgage Fraud Report for 2010 showing that mortgage fraud continued at elevated levels in 2010 and was consistent with levels seen in 2009. The top states for mortgage fraud activity in 2010 were Florida, California, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Georgia, New Jersey, and Maryland.

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Does the Mortgage Interest Deduction Help The Real Estate Market?

Last week, The Washington Post published an article by Kenneth Harney which said “if you take mortgage interest tax deductions, the next 100 days could have significant financial implications for you, thanks to Congress’s new federal debt ceiling plan……the compromise legislation created an unusual mechanism — an evenly split, 12-member bipartisan supercommittee — that could [...]

Four Florida Men Charged in Boston with Defrauding Homeowners in Home Loan Modification Scam

WASHINGTON – Four Florida men were arrested this past week on charges that they defrauded homeowners in Massachusetts and elsewhere in connection with a home loan modification scam, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz for the District of Massachusetts and Christy Romero, [...]

Mortgage delinquency rate declines by largest rate in two years

This morning, Trans Union released a report showing the national mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 or more days past due) decreased for the sixth consecutive quarter, dropping to 5.82% at the end of the second quarter in 2011 which is a 5.98 percent from the prior quarter, the largest quarterly decrease in [...]

Mortgage Lending Tumbles In 2nd Quarter

A report by MortgageDaily.com shows that 20 percent fewer borrowers obtained a home loan in the second quarter of 2011 than in the first quarter. The report also shows that Wells Fargo again this quarter originated more home loans than any other lender in the U.S.

Originations Rank Q2 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2010 1 [...]

Mortgage Broker Charged in $20 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

MINNEAPOLIS—This past Friday in federal court, an Edina mortgage broker was charged for his role in a $20 million mortgage fraud scheme that involved 57 properties. Derrick Ivan Lance, age 40, of Edina, was charged via an information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

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Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosure inventory increase in June

A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies increased 2.4 percent in June from the month before and decreased 14.7 percent from the year before. According to the report, the U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate declined 0.2 percent [...]

HUD Announces Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced last week, the launch of the Emergency Homeowner’s Loan Program (EHLP) to help homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure. This program is available in 27 states and is available to homeowners who have experienced a reduction in income due to:

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George Washington University Study Finds That FHA Loan Limits Are Too High

“FHA still could serve 95 percent of its historic targeted market even if the maximum FHA loan limits were reduced by nearly 50 percent.”

Last week, George Washington University released a report, “FHA Assessment Report: The Role and Reform of the Federal Housing Administration in a Recovering U. S. Housing Market,” in which it [...]

REO’s and Shadow Inventory are Roadblock to Recovery of Housing Market

A report issued yesterday by Equifax reveals just how severe the impact of shadow inventory (homes that have been, or should be, foreclosed on but have not been put back on the market for sale yet) and REO’s (properties owned by lenders after acquiring through foreclosure) are on a housing market recovery.

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Report shows declining foreclosure rate; lenders showing delay in foreclosing

A report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows that while mortgage delinquencies continue to decline, lenders are taking longer to foreclose resulting in a drop in foreclosure sales. In fact, there are still significantly fewer foreclosure sales than there were before [...]

Consumer organization blasts House Appropriations Committee on recent vote; fear return to policies that allowed predatory lending

This week, in response to the House Appropriations committee voting to slash funding for the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and to subject the new agency to a “politically-charged” funding process, Mike Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending, made the following comment: “the House Appropriations Committee yesterday voted for a [...]

Mortgage Delinquencies and Foreclosure Inventory Decrease In May

A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies decreased 0.1 percent in May from the month before and down over 18 percent from the year before. Other good news in the report is the U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory [...]

Homeowners with negative-equity declined slightly in first quarter 2011

A report released today by CoreLogic shows that 22.7 percent (10.9 million) of all US homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position in the first quarter of 2011, down slightly from 23.1 percent (11.1 million) the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being “underwater” or “upside down” and [...]

Mortgage Delinquencies Increase in April

A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies increased 2.4 percent in April, changing the downward trend we have seen in the prior few months. The good news in this report is that the U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory [...]