Short sales will be streamlined under the federal government’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives, or HAFA, program, which kicks off today. These transactions – with a lender allowing a sale for less than the amount owed on the mortgage– can take several months to close and sometimes fail, with the eventual outcome a foreclosure.…
Randy Johnson, president of Independence Mortgage Co. in Newport Beach, author of “How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Home Mortgage” and a mortgage broker since 1983, answers questions… Q. We bought our house in Lake Forest in June 2008 for $452,000, Interest rate: 6.375% (conventional without PMI,…
First, in recent foreclosure news: Obama boosts help for homeowners Every week, homes throughout Orange County go to foreclosure auctions. The owners can be millions of dollars in debt, or owe just a few thousand. Often these homes revert to the lenders, who eventually put them back on…
Freddie Mac’s weekly mortgage survey says … 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.08 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 1, 2010, up from last week when it averaged 4.99 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.78 percent. 15-year FRM this…
The Department of Real Estate is issuing warnings about fraudulent short sales. It notes that in April, the federal government will offer financial incentives to provide short sales through the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, with requirements including a shorter time frame to respond to offers, debt forgiveness, and government payments…
If you missed it this bit of Orange County business climate analysis … Register columnist Jon Lansner’s Big Orange Index — a compilation of three dozen local economic variables — this winter rose for the second consecutive quarter after three years on a horrific slide. It’s banker slice –…
There’s new help for jobless and underwater borrowers in danger of losing their homes. . A program announced by the Obama administration today will allow lenders to cut monthly mortgage payments to 31% or less of the income of certain borrowers, or even let them miss some payments. The action, known as forbearance,…
Bank of America says it’s going to forgive up to 30% of some mortgage debt to help keep struggling borrowers from losing their homes. But there’s a hitch: It’s by “invitation only.” The bank is offering this to delinquent borrowers whose mortgage balance is at least 20% above what the homes are…
First, in recent foreclosure news: BofA to forgive some mortgage debt Foreclosures are ‘flying off the market’ First American sued for $535 million in loan losses Every week, homes throughout Orange County go to foreclosure auctions. The owners can be millions of dollars in debt, or owe just…
Homeowners have sued Bank of America Corp, saying the bank failed to keep a promise to modify mortgages of homeowners in trouble as a condition of accepting $25 billion in bailout money. . In a lawsuit filed Monday in Seattle federal court, two Washington residents accuse the largest U.S. bank of favoring…