Home, Mortgage and Personal Finance News Archive

• What You Need to Know to Get a Mortgage
  The New York Times (June 1, 2008)
  What challenges face those looking to get a mortgage now, either as a first-time buyer or someone hoping to sell a place and move on? Find out what factors are involved in getting a mortgage loan in today's economic market.
• Housing Woes Hit Affluent Middle-Class Homeowners
  CNBC (June 1, 2008)
  Nearly a year after the mortgage meltdown became front-page news, the nation's housing woes have moved beyond subprime borrowers in working-class neighborhoods and into the realm of upper-middle-class homeowners.
• Alerting Borrowers to Credit File Errors
  The San Jose Mercury News (June 1, 2008)
  Two federal agencies have proposed risk-based pricing alert procedures that would cover all lending situations -- home mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, among others. This article explains how it might work for home mortgage applicants.
• Attention Home Buyers: Lock in Your Rate
  The Wall Street Journal (May 30, 2008)
  you are thinking about buying a home, it's time to look into locking in your rate. Now. Rates have suddenly spiked in the past 10 days and there is a serious danger that this could get a lot worse.
• Mortgage Rates Highest in 2 Months
  The San Jose Mercury News (May 30, 2008)
  Interest rates for long-term mortgages rose this week to their highest levels since March, pushed up by the threat of inflation.
• Some Home Sellers Told: Don't Even Bother Trying
  CNBC (May 30, 2008)
  In some areas of California, so many foreclosed homes are available to buy on the cheap that real estate agents are discouraging prospective sellers from even putting their houses on the market.
• Mortgage-Broker Study Finds High Fees Charged
  The Wall Street Journal (May 30, 2008)
  The home-mortgage industry takes advantage of consumers' confusion to charge some people much higher fees than others, according to a study prepared for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• Housing: A Train Wreck in Slow Motion
  Yahoo Finance (May 30, 2008)
  A round-up of top bloggers present straightforward conclusions that investors and homeowners alike should appreciate.
• Housing Rescue on the Rise; So Are Foreclosures
  CNN Money (May 30, 2008)
  The foreclosure prevention coalition Hope Now arranged workouts for 183,000 at-risk borrowers last month. Still, more families than ever are losing their homes.
• Deep in the Heart of Defaults
  BloggingStocks.com (May 30, 2008)
  TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the mortgage problem is in the process of cresting, which is why the stocks have largely bottomed.
• Mortgage Rates Rise, Topping 6%
  CNN Money (May 29, 2008)
  Rates on 30-year mortgages were pushed up this week above 6 percent amid growing concerns about inflation, mortgage backer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
• Bad Omens for Banks?
  BusinessWeek (May 29, 2008)
  News from KeyCorp suggests U.S. banks' loan losses may worsen. Is the credit crisis hitting a second, even scarier phase?
• Banks Miss an Easy Housing Fix
  CNN Money (May 28, 2008)
  Lenders are taking much longer than necessary to approve short sales, according to Duane LeGate, of House Buyers Network, a short sale specialist.
• Nobody's Home
  The Wall Street Journal (May 28, 2008)
  The Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit research group, estimates that a home's value is reduced by about 1% for every home that is foreclosed on or sits vacant in the neighborhood.
• Feds Broker Deal on Home Listings
  San Jose Mercury News (May 28, 2008)
  Online real estate brokers will be guaranteed full access to listings of homes for sale under an agreement announced by federal officials Tuesday.
• Government Aid for First-Time Home Buyers
  SmartMoney (May 28, 2008)
  In the current housing market, the best recourse for first-time home buyers is to look to government agencies like the FHA, which offers loans to those with average credit or little money for a down payment, and HUD, which helps out with down payments and closing costs. This article offers a rundown of the federal, state and local assistance available to first-time home buyers.
• Ross: Housing Issues Scarier Than High Oil Prices
  CNBC (May 28, 2008)
  Billionaire Wilbur Ross says the nation's housing situation is scarier than the oil-price crunch, and that the impact on the economy is likely to be severe.
• Mortgage Applications Fall as Rates Rise
  CNN Money (May 28, 2008)
  According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey, volume fell 4.6% during the week ended May 23.
• Slow Road to Recovery for Credit Markets
  CNN Money (May 28, 2008)
  Key parts of the debt market have shown signs of life in recent weeks. But further improvement will take some time.
• Home Sales Rise in Hard-Hit Areas
  The Wall Street Journal (May 27, 2008)
  Generally, home sales remain weak. But home sales are rising in some U.S. metropolitan areas where lenders are finally realistically slashing prices on foreclosed properties.
• Why Housing in Charlotte Is Holding Strong
  The Wall Street Journal (May 27, 2008)
  Most of the nation is singing the housing blues. But home sellers are singing a different tune in Charlotte, N.C., where prices rose in March, for the third month in a row, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Indexes.
• Foreclosures in Military Towns Surge at Four Times U.S. Rate
  Bloomberg (May 27, 2008)
  In the midst of the worst surge in mortgage defaults in seven decades, foreclosures in U.S. towns where soldiers live are increasing at a pace almost four times the national average, according to data compiled by research firm RealtyTrac Inc. in Irvine, California.
• Home Prices Plunge 14.1% in First Quarter
  CNN Money (May 27, 2008)
  U.S. home prices dropped at the sharpest rate in two decades during the first quarter, a closely watched index showed Tuesday. It's a somber indication that the housing slump continues to deepen.
• Contractors Are Kept Busy Maintaining Abandoned Homes
  The New York Times (May 27, 2008)
  Local and state governments have become concerned about the upkeep of foreclosed homes, which can drag down real estate values in neighborhoods and provide havens for drug users and gangs. Over the last year, localities have stepped up code enforcement by levying fines on mortgage companies for the degradation of homes they are repossessing.
• Sell Your Home in a Difficult Market
  MarketWatch (May 27, 2008)
  Though certainly not an easy feat, there are measures you can take to improve your chances of successfully selling a home in today's tough housing market. From Consumer Reports, here are five tips on how to sell your home in a difficult market.
• End of U.S. Housing Slump Likely to Be Long, Painful
  CNBC (May 26, 2008)
  Anxious sellers are facing the most brutal environment in decades, with a slumping economy, falling home prices and rising mortgage foreclosures. Even the faint promise of better days ahead might not come true, given all the headwinds the housing industry is facing at the moment.

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