The Home Affordable Refinance Program, also known as HARP, has been extended for another two years by the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA). The original program was due to expire at the end of this year, but will now be available for interested borrowers until...
Because of the mortgage debt overhang that is still overshadowing the real estate recovery, the Fed has suggested the use of eminent domain as a way to tackle underwater mortgages that remain. This is according to a new report titled “Paying Paul and Robbing No...
The short sale process can be frustrating for both home buyers and their real estate agents. That’s why Fannie Mae is offering an online solution to shorten the short sale timeline. Through a new website, Homepathforshortsales.com, Fannie Mae is hoping to open up the lines...
According to a recent report by Trulia, home prices are climbing higher in some of the least affordable real estate markets around the country. In May, asking prices around the U.S. climbed 9.5% year-over-year, however, in the 10 least affordable housing markets, prices jumped 16.3%. What’s...
Foreclosures are starting to decline while building permits are on the rise once again. According to a new report from RealtyTrac, in some markets, the number of foreclosures and building permits aren’t moving opposite of one another, but rather, both are going up. Adds Daren Blomquist,...
Retirement is the reward for all of those years of hard work, but real estate experts say that more and more Baby Boomers are facing mortgage debt upon retiring. Securian Financial Group, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based financial services firm, recently published the results of a...
According to Freddie Mac, short sale and REO fraud continues to emerge. Rob Hagberg, associate director of fraud investigations at Freddie Mac, said, “This area is ripe with fraud” during a webinar hosted by CoreLogic. Hagsberg points to short sale and REO space as being...
According to new research and a Coldwell Banker Real Estate survey, nearly 25% of married couples ages 18 to 34 bought a home together before they were married. By contrast, just 14% of married couples ages 45 and older said they purchased a home before...
The Home Affordable Refinance Program, also known as HARP, has been extended for another two years by the Federal Housing Financing Agency (FHFA). The original program was due to expire at the end of this year, but will now be available for interested borrowers until...
If 13 and a half months sounds like a long foreclosure timeline, try more than one year and nine months on for size. Recent reports from two major sources confirm that drawn out foreclosures have been the norm for 2013’s first quarter. As reported on DSNews.com,...