Thursday, January 28, 2010

Get help—before you fall behind on your FHA mortgage

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Struggling to pay your FHA mortgage? Now you no longer have to be late with your payments to get help.

On Friday, the Federal Housing Administration announced that it will assist borrowers before they become delinquent. All you need do is prove your problems were caused by a reduction of income from a job loss, fewer paid hours, slashed wages or a decline in self-employed business earnings.

You may also qualify because of a change in household circumstances, such as a death or disability.

"The FHA has always required lenders to establish early contact with delinquent borrowers to discuss the reason for missing a payment and to evaluate reinstatement options," FHA Commissioner David Stevens said in a prepared statement. "Now servicers will have additional options for those borrowers who seek help before they go delinquent, which increases the likelihood that the borrower will be able to retain their home."

Read the rest of the article here:http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/22/real_estate/easier_FHA_help/index.htm

By Les Christie

Friday, January 22, 2010

Home loan applications jump 9% as interest rates fall

Applications for home loans jumped 9% last week as interest rates declined for all types of mortgages, falling back to 5% for 30-year fixed loans, the industry trade association reported Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Assn.'s weekly survey is showing an increase in applications for both purchase and refinance loans.

The typical rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.13% the week before last, the group says. Points paid to lenders (including the origination fee) also fell on 30-year loans, from an average 1.17% of the loan amount to 1.05%. Rates also fell for 15-year fixed mortgages and for variable-rate loans.

The rates apply to borrowers with good credit and have a 20% down payment or 20% equity in the home.


Thursday, January 21, 2010

Help for Haiti

By now, we all know about the severe devastation caused by the earthquakes in Haiti. NAR is helping answer the calls for help in two key ways.

First, we are contributing $550,000 to charities that will help bring much-needed supplies and care to the people of Haiti. Included in that sum is $100,000 donated by our REALTOR
Benefits® Program partner, Lowe’s®, which we have matched at $100,000. From that we will donate $50,000 to The Harvest of Haiti, founded by REALTOR® Patrick Moore, a 2007 Good Neighbor Award winner. Patrick has done great work for several years in Haiti supporting orphans, delivering clean water and providing medical care for more than 3,500 people a year.

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2010/01/donate_haiti

We are also contributing $500,000 to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, which is supporting earthquake recovery efforts with immediate relief and long-term support to earthquake survivors. For up-to-the-minute information about these efforts, visit NAR's Haiti relief page on REALTOR.org.

Second, I have asked NAR to accept donations from REALTORS
® through theREALTORS® Relief Foundation. Please consider giving today. To make a donation, go to www. realtor.org/relief, and complete the contribution form.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

REALTORS
® have earned a reputation for our compassionate work on behalf of others – both here in the United State and around the world. I hope you will join our latest efforts and bring that same compassion and hope to people who desperately need it.

-Vicki Cox Golder, CRB
2010 NAR President

Monday, January 4, 2010

Uncle Sam’s New Guide to Mortgage Shopping

Uncle Sam’s New Guide to Mortgage Shopping (Via WSJ)

Federal rules that take effect Friday, Jan. 1, mandate a standard, three-page Good Faith Estimate that urges consumers to shop around for the best loan and helps them compare lenders’ offerings. The rules are an update of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, a 1974 law known as RESPA.


MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS


Although Good Faith Estimates have been in use for many years, there never has been a standard form required of all lenders. Under the new rules, lenders and mortgage brokers are required to give consumers the standard estimate forms within three days of receiving a loan application.


The Good Faith Estimate form requires lenders to combine all of the bank’s fees into one “origination charge,” enabling consumers to compare one lender’s fees with another’s. Lenders are prohibited from increasing the origination fee from the estimate. Some additional charges, including title services and recording charges, can increase by as much as a combined 10 percent. Estimates for other charges, such as homeowner’s insurance and other services provided by third parties selected by the borrower, aren’t subject to such limits.


A finance professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School recommends that borrowers focus on two items as they shop: the interest rate and the “adjusted origination charge,” which includes any points paid to lower the rate.


Another change includes the HUD-1 form used by settlement firms in closings. The new HUD-1 includes a comparison of the estimated and final costs, as well as a summary of the loan terms.


To read the full story, please click here.

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