October is expected to be a peak month for hybrid adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) to reset, with the interest rates on some $50 billion worth of loans poised to go up dramatically. In the past few months, the foreclosure story has become a tale of two regions. Some of the hardest hit states have traditionally been in the Midwest, where plant closings and job losses have hit the economy there hard. The other region is the Sun Belt, which is showing even more significant foreclosure growth as out-sized price increases in the first half of the decade led to virtually unchecked real estate speculation. When housing markets were hot, many delinquent borrowers escaped actual foreclosure because their home equity had grown enough so that it well exceeded the amount of the loan’s debt. That enabled them to sell their properties at a profit or refinance and use the money to pay off past loans.

(more…)

search for : adjustable rate mortgage

As lenders tighten their borrowing standards, fewer people will qualify for mortgages. Fewer qualified buyers can only mean that housing prices will slump further. Worst of all, economists don’t see much chance for a turnaround until mid- 2008 and possibly into 2009. Even before the credit crunch hit, softening home prices had turned into outright price drops in many areas, particularly markets that were red hot a couple of years ago. Prices of luxury homes, mostly immune to the slump until now, may be hit especially hard. Rates on jumbo mortgages have spiked to 7.46 percent, and some lenders are charging more than 8 percent.

(more…)

Last week, Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.31 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending September 13, 2007, down from last week when it averaged 6.46 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.43 percent. Interest rates on prime conforming loans fell across the board in the past week, with rates on 30-year fixed mortgages averaging 0.15 percentage points below the previous week’s level. The drop in mortgage rates may give some relief to borrowers who are looking to refinance or purchase a home. All the mortgage products in Freddie Mac’s survey this week were lower than they were at the same time last year.

(more…)

More and more consumers are on edge about the status of their homes should their mortgage company go bankrupt. And rightfully so. What should a person do if they learn their mortgage company is no longer in business? The short answer is nothing. And no, you won’t be able to live in your house for free now that your mortgage provider is out of business. You still owe exactly what you owed before and, rest assured, someone will be expecting you to send in a mortgage payment each month. What happens when a mortgage company goes bankrupt is simply that the mortgages they own are sold to another mortgage company. Nothing else changes.

(more…)

search for : mortgage provider

The number of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) up for reset is set to peak this fall, with an estimated $50 billion worth poised to adjust to higher rates in October. The housing and credit markets are bracing for another blow, but recent trends may mean the reset shock will be less painful than expected, especially if the Federal Reserve drops its Fed Funds rate. Many economists believe there’s a good chance the Federal Reserve will begin to lower the Fed Funds rate next week. Doug Duncan, the chief economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association predicts the rate will drop a quarter percentage point at each of the next two Fed sessions. The yields on short-term Treasury bills tend to follow the same direction as the Fed Funds rate, so ARM reset rates could drop even further into affordable territory.

(more…)

search for : short-term Treasury bills

Thousands of mortgage holders who may be struggling to make their mortgage payments are likely to get some relief in coming months, including more options to refinance into lower-cost, fixed-rate loans and tax relief if they do face foreclosure. It is projected that over 200,000 borrowers of the estimated 2 million with adjustable-rate loans scheduled to reset in the next year already are eligible to refinance into a loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). And, roughly 80,000 of them are eligible because of the newly created FHASecure Act, which loosens FHA’s criteria for refinancing.

(more…)

search for : FHASecure Act

The purposeful lack of full disclosure is at the heart of an investigation announced Tuesday by the Federal Trade Commission. Warning letters have been sent to more than 200 mortgage brokers, lenders and media outlets advising about “potentially deceptive” mortgage advertisements that may withhold information buyers need to understand the true cost of their home loans. “Many mortgage advertisers are making potentially deceptive claims about incredibly low rates and payments, without telling consumers the whole story,” said Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Those claims are central to an ongoing debate on Capitol Hill about whether the federal government should step in to help some borrowers now facing foreclosures who were the victims of predatory lending practices.

(more…)

search for : mortgage broker, foreclosure

$5,850,000

MLS Number: 50913

City: Valle Crucis, NC
Stories: 2
Bedrooms: 4 Baths: 4.5
Area: Boone-Blowing Rock, NC
Year Built: 1990
Plus Five fully furnished 1,400 sq. ft. Rental Cottages. Each built in 1996 on approx. 1/2 acre sites. Current cottage average annual rental income $150,000.

39.4 acres with 360 degree view of Blue Ridge Mountains.

5,200 sq. ft. main house built in 1990 on 1.24 acres.

No restrictions and no zoning offer many other options:

* Family compound
* Corporate retreat
* Religous retreat
* Horse farm / Dude ranch
* Recording studio
* Cottages can be sold separately
* Land can be further subdivided if desired

Contact Elizabeth Carter, 336.973.5594 or Greg Stikeleather, Broker, 704.880.5247 or email eacarter@charter.net

click here for more information

Continuing problems and bad press in the nation’s mortgage industry is putting a financial squeeze on home buyers and homeowners alike. Buyers find it harder to obtain home loans. Llenders tighten their credit standards or even go out of business. Homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) face a double whammy. House prices are falling even as their monthly home payments adjust upward in a big way. So when ARMs reset, many may find they can neither make their payments nor sell the house for enough money to cover the loan. Troubled homeowners may want to run and hide, and lenders may seem unresponsive, but the longer you wait, the fewer options you have for a workout. Keep records of when you called and whom you talked to.

(more…)

search for : mortgage industry

More and more borrowers, many with adjustable-rate loans, are finding themselves facing possible foreclosure. Nearly one in five subprime borrowers, or those with poor credit, were 60 days or more past due on payments in June, according to First American LoanPerformance. But the problem is spreading to other homeowners: Also in June, 1.24% of second mortgages for so-called prime borrowers, those with better credit, were 60 days or more late, up from 0.54% in the same month last year. And some 4% Alt-A borrowers, who fall between subprime and prime borrowers, were 60 days or more past due in June, up from 1.25% in the same month last year.

(more…)

search for : subprime, prime borrower