Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Arab-League-Awaits-Syrias-Reply-on-Crackdown-132915863.html
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/NATO-Libya-7-month-Mission-Ends--132916738.html
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-21/going-going-not-quite-gone-for-david-wright-or-his-condo/
Household Moving House Plans Home Warranties Commercial & Investment
Short Sale Waterfront Homes Real Estate Agent Foreclosure Homes
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/4vHhY2-oWYY/a-pros-take-restaining-deck
WSJ Heard on the Street columnist David Reilly stops on Mean Street to discuss the merits of the government's plan to help some refinancing homeowners. Source: http://online.wsj.com/video/harp-stringing-along-housing-or-fixing-housing/E6...
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-24/zillow-forecasts-3-7-yearly-decline-in-case-shiller-index/
Today's housing market is scary enough. Who needs a home that might actually spook someone? Maya Pope-Chappell has details on Lunch Break. Source: http://online.wsj.com/video/selling-homes-near-dead-people/3BAD6EB2-EA31-4E10...
Pending home sales fell for the third consecutive month in September according to data released today by the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). NAR's Pending Home Sales Index, a forward looking indicator of home sales contracts signed during the month, fell 4.6 percent to 84.5 in September from 88.6 in August and 89.7 in July. Even with the downturn the index is still 6.4 percent higher than the September 2010 level of 79.4.
Pending sales were down in every region of the country on a month-to-month basis but every region also showed improvement over levels of one year ago. In the Northeast pending sales were down 4.7 percent from August but up 4.0 percent from September 2010. The current level is 60.6. In the South pending sales declined to 91.6, a 5.5 percent month-over-month loss but 5 percent higher than one year ago. The Midwest index was 71.5 in September compared to 76.2 in August and 63.7 one year ago, a 12.3 percent improvement. In the West the index declined 2.1 percent to 105.8 in September but is 5.6 percent higher than September 2010.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, called the housing market "excessively constrained." "A combination of weak consumer confidence and continuing tight lending criteria held back home buyers, even though the private sector added nearly 2 million net new jobs in the past 12 months," he said.
Yun was critical of current federal actions. "America's monetary policy is contradictory and confusing," he said, where some consumers with the best financial capacity and top-notch credit scores pay higher mortgage interest rates. The Federal Reserve evidently has been attempting to lower mortgage rates, yet more consumers are faced with taking out jumbo loans that carry higher interest rates."
Yun emphasized the need to reinstate higher loan limits in 42 states. "Just leaving excessive cash to sit in banks and not work into the economy is a drag on the overall recovery," he said. "We need a comprehensive approach to address housing issues - not additional impediments."
The Pending Home Sale Index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. The index base of 100 equals the average level of contract activity in 2001. Homes entering contract are generally expected to close within two months.
Pending Home Sales
Click Here to View the Pending Homes Sales Chart
...(read more)
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/10272011_pending_home_sales.asp
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Foreclosures Home Sales Outlook Housing Starts President Obama
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRealEstateBookBlog/~3/RqbE9tGcRZ0/
Interest Rates Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/_b2GWtLVQm4/asian-investors-fuel-canadian-housing-bubble
Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/_b2GWtLVQm4/asian-investors-fuel-canadian-housing-bubble
Short Sale Waterfront Homes Real Estate Agent Foreclosure Homes
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-22/weekly-real-estate-roundup-102211/
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
The length of the foreclosure process depends on several factors, including the lender, government programs, state in which the distressed home is located and individual circumstances, among others. Foreclosures, if ever, are rarely the same. However, there are state-by-state averages, which Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) tracks each month. Nationwide, homeowners facing foreclosure are collectively [...]Source: http://blog.foreclosure.com/2011/10/foreclosure-process-how-long-or-short-is-it-in-your-state/
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/_b2GWtLVQm4/asian-investors-fuel-canadian-housing-bubble
Interest Rates Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices
On Friday October 28th, Mark Zuckerman tweets about college affordability and student loans for White House Office Hours (Photo by Mori Rothman)
Today, Mark Zuckerman, Deputy Director of Domestic Policy Council, answered your questions on the President's announcement this week that will help make college more affordable and make it even easier for students to repay their federal student loans.
Check out the full questions and answer session below, or over on Storify. Be sure to follow @WhiteHouse on Twitter for updates from the White House and for more chances to engage.
Short Sale Waterfront Homes Real Estate Agent Foreclosure Homes
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Human-Rights-Divides-Commonwealth-132848018.html
Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-19/the-big-chill-winterizing-checklist/
Majority Leader Eric Cantor just wrapped up a speech to students and faculty at Stanford today, lauding the private sector as a source of innovation in our economy. Absolutely true. We have the most dynamic private sector in the world.
You can find Cantor's speech here.
Cantor's point is that the people, not the government will generate jobs and growth:
Individual initiative in the private sector has been and always will be the wellspring of America's prosperity provided we don't stifle it.
Also true.
But Cantor, while hailing the innovation that comes out of Stanford's famous labs, failed to mention that federal and state governments lavished $36 billion on university research in 2009. The federal government is the largest source of university research dollars. And Stanford is one of the top universities in the country receiving federal dollars for research.
Turns out a lot of government money is involved in helping along private sector innovation.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/03/majority_leader_eric_cantor_sp.html
War, famine and drought are currently devastating 13 million people in the Horn of Africa. The worst drought the world has seen in 60 years is devastating farmlands, uprooting families and killing tens of thousands in Kenya, Ethiopia, Dijibouti and Somalia. If long-term changes are not made soon, there will be more extremism, more threat and more instability in this part of the world.
To respond to this crisis, U.S. Agency for International Development announced the FWD campaign to raise awareness across America about this worsening situation.
In a special "Open for Questions," USAID Administrator Raj Shah and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of the National Security Council Gayle Smith shared their knowledge, took your questions and explained how Americans can contribute. Aired live on whitehouse.gov/live, Office of Public Engagement Director John Carson moderated the conversation and took questions from the audience, as well as Twitter followers who used the hashtag #askFWD.
You can jump to see answers to specific questions posed by the audience and Twitter followers by clicking on the links below.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/10/26/open-questions-crisis-horn-africa
Housing Starts President Obama Hope for home owners Fannie Mae
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-27/7-ways-to-make-your-home-safer/
Every four years -- count on it -- some political reporter will write a story about the odds of a brokered convention. You know, a deadlocked presidential nomination battle that ends when the winner emerges from a smoke-filled room only to find our intrepid reporter has already broken the story!
What could be better for a political reporter than that?
Never happens, but reporters can dream -- and write about it.
The economics reporter must settle for something less cinematic. Our version of the "Odds for a Brokered Convention" story is the "Grand Bargain Struck on Deficit."
There is no smoke-filled room in this narrative, merely a drab conference center at Andrews Air Force Base or some other location where reporters can be kept a respectable distance away. The parties emerge late in the evening to pronounce a deal that turns, not on promises to the Florida delegation, but on adjustments to inflation measurements in the Social Security formula that better reflect the actual rate of change in the cost of living.
(Can you imagine anything better? I thought you could.)
Still, I get excited about talk of Grand Bargains and the odds of this happening -- never good to begin with -- are getting better. The tide is moving to deficit reduction. The last-hour deal to avert a government shutdown can be read as a sign of seriousness and progress.
Next, the President will lay out his long-run budget plan on Wednesday. House Republicans have staked out their position. Our grand bargainers are setting the table.
Or not. The problem with Grand Bargains is that they are rare, in part because they ask too much. Problems are rarely solved in a comprehensive way by a small crowd at the table. More likely, Democrats and Republicans will gather for years at many conference tables, cutting many small and medium-sized bargains along the way. At the end of this -- three years? five? -- we'll look back and declare it adds up to a Grand Bargain. If that happens, it will still be a great story.
Source: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/blog/2011/04/brokered_conventions_grand_bar.html
Home Sales Outlook Housing Starts President Obama Hope for home owners
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/_b2GWtLVQm4/asian-investors-fuel-canadian-housing-bubble
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Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-14/val-kilmer-sells-new-mexico-ranch/
Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams
Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate
Last night, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome area students and the children of military families to the White House for trick-or-treating.
Check out the video of the President and First Lady handing out cookies, White House M&M's and dried fruit mix to trick-or-treaters at the North Portico of the White House.
The White House and the surrounding grounds are decorated in celebration of Halloween. As the trick-or-treaters made their way across the North Lawn to the North Portico they were entertained by the Marine Band playing Halloween music and spooked by in-costume actors from Washington-area theatres, brought together by theatreWashington.
Check out the White House Halloween recipes below.
The White House Sweet Dough Butter Cookie Recipe
1 lb Sugar 1 tsp Vanilla
2 lbs Butter 1 tsp Salt
3 Eggs 3 lbs All Purpose Flour
Mix the butter and sugar till soft and well beaten. Then add eggs, vanilla, salt and half the flour. Beat on slow speed till mixed, then add the rest of the flour and mix until incorporated.
Push flat onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate overnight. Roll out to one quarter inch thick and cut out cookie shapes with cookie cutter.
Bake at 350F for 14 minutes and then allow to cool.
Make Your Own Dried Fruit Mix
Dried Apples Dried Pineapple
Dried Apricots Dried Papayas
Dried Pears Dried Cherries
Dried Blueberries Banana Chips
Combine ingredients and serve.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/10/30/trick-or-treat-president-and-first-lady
Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages
Source: http://www.homefinder.com/news/opening-doors/2011/10/06/five-seo-building-blocks-for-realtors/
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-14/buying-a-home-in-the-next-year-time-to-get-to-work/
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Today’s GDP report shows that the economy posted the ninth straight quarter of positive growth. Real GDP, the total amount of goods and services produced in the country, grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011.
This good news is encouraging, but our economy isn’t growing fast enough. We’ve put 2.6 million people back to work in the last 19 months, but we have to do better to replace all the jobs lost during the recession. That’s why the President introduced the American Jobs Act, to put even more unemployed Americans back to work and further accelerate our economic recovery.
The American Jobs Act will help keep teachers in classrooms and firefighters and police officers on the job. It will invest $50 billion in our nation’s infrastructure, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs modernizing roads, railways, and airports. The President’s proposal will also cut taxes for small businesses to encourage hiring and investment. We can’t wait any longer to restore our economy to its full potential.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/10/27/american-jobs-act-numbers-9
Buying a retirement or second home might sound like a great idea, until friends and family begin using your place as a crash pad. Kathleen Hughes on Lunch Break discusses how to handle unexpected guests without damaging relationships. Source: http://online.wsj.com/video/when-your-vacation-home-becomes-everybody-home/A3...
Interest Rates Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices
Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages Household Moving
Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/St-Louis-Cardinals-Win-Baseballs-World-Series----132838333.html
Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden has sued the Mortgage Electronic Registration system (MERS) the controversial entity that has been at the heart of the robo-signing flap and perhaps the center of the housing crisis. The suit, filed yesterday in the Delaware Chancery Court, charges that the parent corporation MERSCORP and MERS have repeatedly violated the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
MERS was established by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and several large mortgage lenders such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America in 1995 with the goal of reducing recording costs and the inefficiencies of transferring ownership of residential mortgages among mortgage brokers, lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the secondary market system and investors. The concept was to record the initial loan documents in the name of MERS and retain that record even as paper documents were passed along from originator to subsequent holders of the debt.
Over the years there was an increasing tendency for loan documents to become separated from the loans themselves and as more banks consolidated, big mortgage companies began to fail, and foreclosures ramped up, more and more loan transfers were not properly recorded on the MERS system and documents were actually lost. This has led, not only to improper foreclosure procedures but even instances where properties were foreclosed where there was no outstanding mortgage. MERS is currently the repository for about 65 million mortgages.
Biden's suit charges that MERSCORP/MERS "engaged and continues to engage in deceptive trade practices that sow confusion among homeowners, investors, and other stakeholders in the mortgage finance system, seriously damaging the integrity of the land records that are central to Delaware's real property system and leading to improper foreclosure practices."
Court papers outline three broad categories of deception:
Appearing on MSNBC last night, Biden said that American has historically had a robust recordation system where people could walk into the proper registry and "see, read, and touch" documents revealing who had a security interest in property. MERS, he said, in order to save millions in recording fees and facilitate the "slicing and dicing of mortgages" for the secondary market, has taken that public and private recording system and "screwed it up."
Asked by Rachel Maddow if this suit hits at the heart of the mortgage issue or if regulators are still working their way in from the edges, Biden said this suit is central, but there is still much to be done. Attorneys General Miller (Iowa), Schneiderman (New York) and Coakley (Massachusetts) are actively investigating as are people on the federal level. These cases, he said, are hard to pursue on a criminal basis because anytime lawyers and accountants have signed off on a process it is hard to go after the people who have employed that process, "but anytime you have all 50 states attorneys general agreeing on something, you know the banks have been up to no good."
-Press Release Announcing the Lawsuit
-Download a MERS Fact Sheet
-Read the Complaint
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/10282011_mers_foreclosure_law.asp
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-28/holy-little-house-for-sale/
In a joint press release issued Wednesday Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that three members of Freddie Mac's board would be leaving their positions over the next few months. Two, John Koskinen, the board chairman, and Robert Glauber who is currently Chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committee, will be retiring in February having reached Freddie Mac's mandatory retirement age. The third, Laurence E. Hirsch recently announced that he will not be seeking re-election when his current term expires.
To promote a smooth transition, Acting FHFA Director Edward J. DeMarco said that Christopher Lynch, the current Chairman of the Audit Committee will replace Mr. Koskinen as Chairman effective at the December 2011 board meeting.
In addition to the board changes, Current Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Charles E. "Ed" Haldeman Jr. recently informed the board of his desire to step down once a suitable transition can be established. DeMarco has asked the outgoing and incoming board chairs to work with the board and FHFA on developing a succession plan for the position of CEO.
Christopher Lynch is retired as a partner with KPMG, LLP and is a director of the American International Group Inc., where he became a member of the AIG board after that Company received an infusion of funds from the U.S. Treasury Department.
...(read more)
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/10262011_freddie_mac.asp
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/inmannews/~3/Wh6kkwd3Zuc/agents-compete-with-real-estate-rebates
President Barack Obama talks with Jay Leno during an interview on ?The Tonight Show with Jay Leno? at the NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif., Oct. 25, 2011
Yesterday, President Obama stopped by the Tonight Show to sit down for an interview with Jay Leno. The two talked about Libya, the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, and reality television -- including a show on C-SPAN called Congress.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/10/26/president-obama-tonight-show
Source: http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=31085590
Waterfront Homes Real Estate Agent Foreclosure Homes Realty Market
It was late evening when the call came in to one of our law enforcement agencies. Nasdaq management was on the line asking for assistance with a security breach they had discovered. Within twenty-four hours, a joint Federal team was on the way to New York to provide support and begin the investigation. Shortly afterwards, I was in the White House Situation Room with other top officials to review what steps we needed to take to strengthen the security of our networks.
This intrusion taught us a few lessons about the shortcomings of our current cybersecurity system. For instance, we greatly appreciate it when corporate leadership alerts the Federal government to serious intrusions, yet there is no general national requirement that companies do so. In cases of cybersecurity incidents that can damage our critical infrastructure such as the electric grid or our financial, transportation, and communication networks – damage that can put our national security, public safety, and economic prosperity at risk – the Federal government must know what is happening so that it can take steps to bring adversaries to justice and help protect Americans.
Unfortunately, our critical infrastructure has suffered repeated cyber intrusions in the past year. Cybercrime, including online identity theft that hurts millions of Americans as well as the theft of intellectual property – American companies’ innovative ideas that are the lifeblood of our economic growth – continues to escalate. Many cyber intrusions could be prevented by implementing sound cybersecurity practices, but companies must be better motivated to make these investments. And while the Federal government continues to take actions to improve our nation’s cybersecurity under our existing legal frameworks, our laws need updating if we are to even the playing field with the cybercriminals.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/10/28/time-ripe-cybersecurity-legislation
Short Sale Waterfront Homes Real Estate Agent Foreclosure Homes
Housing Starts President Obama Hope for home owners Fannie Mae
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) the remodeling industry has been increasingly impacted by the state of the national economy. After hitting a four-year high of 46.5 in the first quarter of this year, NAHB's Remodeling Market Index (RMI) dropped to 43.9 in the second quarter and, in third quarter data released on Thursday, is now at 41.7. An RMI below 50 indicates that more remodelers report that market activity is declining than report that it is increasing.
"Remodelers report that while many consumers show interest in having remodeling work done, they are slow to commit to projects," said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Bob Peterson. "Consumers are in a 'wait and see' mode with regard to current economic conditions."
The overall RMI combines ratings of current remodeling activity with indicators of future activity. In the third quarter, the RMI component measuring current market conditions fell to 43.0 from 44.8 in Quarter Two. All three factors within that component also dropped; work on major additions decreased from 46.2 to 45.2; minor additions to 45.7 from 48.5, and maintenance and repair to 37.1 from 38.4.
The component measuring future indicators of remodeling business and its underlying factors declined as well. The future indicator was down from 43.0 in the last quarter to 40.4 and calls for bids decreased from 49.8 to 45.4; the amount of work committed for the upcoming three months declined from 32.3 to 29.9; job backlog from 45.7 to 43.0, and appointments for appraisals to 43.3 from 44.2.
Regionally, current remodeling market conditions shrank in the Northeast to 43.9 (from 48.1 in the second quarter) and the West to 40.9 (from 48.2) while increasing in the Midwest at 46.8 (from 44.4) and the South at 47.1 (from 42.9). Future market indicators fell in all regions, except for the South, where it edged up to 42.2 from 41.6 in the second quarter.
"The current economic instability continues to affect consumer confidence, therefore we have seen a drop off in remodeling activity for the last two quarters," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "In order for the remodeling market to pick up, home owners need to have access to less restrictive lending requirements and see their economic future stabilizing."...(read more)
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/10272011_nahb_remodeling.asp
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Housing remains mired in a slump in most of the country, with nearly one in four homeowners under water. But as Juliet Chung explains on Lunch Break, a handful of bold investors are attempting to make millions on flips of high-end houses.Source: http://online.wsj.com/video/trying-to-cash-in-on-high-end-homes/B1518B44-E5F5...
Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties
Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its monthly House Price Index for August. The index calculates prices paid to purchase houses that are backed by mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
The HPI was down 0.1 percent from July to 183.02 on a seasonally adjusted basis and the July HPI was revised down from a previously reported 0.8 increase over July to no change from June at 183.23. The index is -4 percent below its 190.72 level in August 2010.
Among the nine census bureau divisions tracked by the HPI, the greatest improvement from July to August was a 0.9 percent change in the South Atlantic division. The worst performance on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis was a loss of 1.3 percent in the West North Central division.
The U.S. index of home prices is 19.1 percent below its peak in April 2007 and is roughly the same as the index in February 2004.
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/10252011_home_sales_prices.asp
On Friday October 28th, Mark Zuckerman tweets about college affordability and student loans for White House Office Hours (Photo by Mori Rothman)
Today, Mark Zuckerman, Deputy Director of Domestic Policy Council, answered your questions on the President's announcement this week that will help make college more affordable and make it even easier for students to repay their federal student loans.
Check out the full questions and answer session below, or over on Storify. Be sure to follow @WhiteHouse on Twitter for updates from the White House and for more chances to engage.
Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams
Source: http://www.homefinder.com/news/opening-doors/2011/08/18/is-your-home-weather-proof/
Interest Rates Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRealEstateBookBlog/~3/ZKwSKRa0H2E/
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/2011-10-25/smart-investing-a-tale-of-two-townhomes/
Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties Loans and Mortgages
Housing remains mired in a slump in most of the country, with nearly one in four homeowners under water. But as Juliet Chung explains on Lunch Break, a handful of bold investors are attempting to make millions on flips of high-end houses.Source: http://online.wsj.com/video/trying-to-cash-in-on-high-end-homes/B1518B44-E5F5...
Foreclosures Home Sales Outlook Housing Starts President Obama
Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams Real Estate Vacation Properties
This week, the President announced he'd keep his promise to bring our troops home from Iraq, honored the nation's top scientists and inventors, embarked on a three day Western swing to urge Congress to pass the American Jobs Act, and announced major new executive actions that will help middle class families in this difficult economy.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/10/28/west-wing-week-102811-or-we-cant-wait
Freddie Mac Mortgage Crisis Real Estate Agents Housing Market
Foreclosure.com today reminded college students nationwide who are enrolled in undergraduate programs that the deadline to submit essays for its 2011 scholarship program is approaching quickly on Dec. 1, 2011. Foreclosure.com encourages all students (high school students, graduate students and law students are excluded), regardless of major, to apply for the scholarships, which total $9,000 [...]Celebrity Foreclosures Most Expensive Homes Luxury Home Prices Mortgage Rescue Scams
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its monthly House Price Index for August. The index calculates prices paid to purchase houses that are backed by mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
The HPI was down 0.1 percent from July to 183.02 on a seasonally adjusted basis and the July HPI was revised down from a previously reported 0.8 increase over July to no change from June at 183.23. The index is -4 percent below its 190.72 level in August 2010.
Among the nine census bureau divisions tracked by the HPI, the greatest improvement from July to August was a 0.9 percent change in the South Atlantic division. The worst performance on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis was a loss of 1.3 percent in the West North Central division.
The U.S. index of home prices is 19.1 percent below its peak in April 2007 and is roughly the same as the index in February 2004.
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/10252011_home_sales_prices.asp
Source: http://www.homefinder.com/news/opening-doors/2011/09/08/agent-email-newsletter-tips/
The Chairman of the House committee that has been most active in the proposed dismantling of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae has released his proposal to reform the secondary mortgage market. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) who heads the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises said his proposal intends to ensure robust private investment in the market without a government guarantee. His proposal would also abolish the risk-retention or so-called "skin-in-the-game" provisions of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act.
According to a press release from Garrett's office, under his plan the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) will be directed to develop several categories of mortgages and develop uniform underwriting standards for each as well as standards and uniform securitization agreements, representations, and warrantees. The process for selling to investors will be streamlined for securities that meet the new standards and FHFA will be given authority to ensure underwriting and securitization standardization compliance.
Garrett said that his proposal would also ensure "rule of law and legal certainty" by removing conflicts of interest between servicers and investors, clarifying the rules around the eligibility of obtaining second lien mortgages and requiring mandatory arbitration of disagreements between investors and issuers regarding reps and warrants.
Under the proposal regulators would be prevented from unilaterally forcing investors to reduce the principal of loans in which they have invested and would allow for the appointment of an independent third party to act on behalf of investors in mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
To address issues of transparency and disclosure the quality of loan level information and disclosures to investors would be increased and investors would be guaranteed sufficient time to review and analyze disclosed information before making investment decisions. Lenders would have to disclose pricing history on securitization deals and an individualized marker would be created for each loan within a loan package. Servicers would also be required to use standardized accounting and reposting for any loan workouts
"Since taking control of the House in January, we have remained steadfast in our drive and determination to end the ongoing bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, protect taxpayers from future bailouts, and encourage private capital to re-enter the secondary mortgage market," Garrett said. "Now that we have taken the important step of introducing a series of bills to wind down the government-backed mortgage twins, it's time to start thinking about the ways we can jumpstart the private market to step in once they're gone."
According to Reuters, Garrett and other Republican members of the House have already introduced 15 separate bills in an effort "to chip away at the role Fannie and Freddie play in the secondary mortgage market.
...(read more)
Source: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/10272011_housing_market_reform.asp
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