Mortgage News

RISMEDIA, August 30, 2010--One in seven homeowners is past due on their mortgage or in foreclosure, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest report on home loan delinquencies. The report shows that mortgage delinquencies rose during the second quarter, and overall, one in seven borrowers is delinquent or in foreclosure. That's up from one in eight a year ago and one in 11 two years ago. Although there was a dip in the share of homes in foreclosure, the report shows that the foreclosure epidemic continues, with millions of homes still at risk.

RISMEDIA, August 16, 2010--(MCT)-By Tom Hudson-One of the most powerful and dominant pursuits is back. It's one that compels fanaticism and stirs up fantasies. No, it isn't the NFL preseason. It is the Federal Reserve effort to lower borrowing costs.

This week, the Fed will be in the bond market buying U.S. government debt. The Fed is playing defense against a slowing economy by hoping to keep interest rates low.

South Florida mortgage rates at record lows, but who can get them?

By Harriet Johnson Brackey
Sun-Sentinel Staff Writer

Updated: 9:32 a.m. Monday, July 26, 2010

Posted: 9:03 a.m. Monday, July 26, 2010

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Mortgage interest rates dropped to record lows last week, hitting rates not seen since the 1970s. But brokers say few of the many South Florida homeowners rushing to take advantage and refinance their loans will be able to qualify.

See what mortgage problems and mortgage modifications do to your credit score

(Posted by Chicago Tribune)

Sometimes you are doomed if you do and doomed if you don't.

That's the case now with mortgage payments you can't afford to pay. When you are missing payments, you are lowering your credit score, so your lenders get rough on you -- increasing interest on credit cards, for example, and making it harder to get your feet on the ground. On the other hand, your score also gets hammered if you get a loan modification.

Last Friday, The Florida Realtors Association reported that mortgage rates had dropped to the lowest level reported since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971. Here is the article:

McLEAN, Va. – July 9, 2010 — U.S. mortgage rates fell for the second straight week to the lowest level in five decades, as a refinancing boomlet took hold.

Mortgage company Freddie Mac reports that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) average 4.57 percent, down from last week when it averaged 4.58 percent. That’s the lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.

1 in 5 choosing to default on mortgages though they can pay

BOCA RATON, Fla. – June 30, 2010 – Nearly one in five delinquent mortgages through the first half of 2009 was owned by someone who could afford to pay, but decided defaulting was a smarter financial play.

The decision to walk away, called “strategic default,” was studied by crediting agency Experian and international consulting group Oliver Wyman.

WASHINGTON – June 25, 2010 – Mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest level on records dating to 1971, giving consumers added incentive to lock in low payments for home purchases and refinanced loans.

The average rate for 30-year fixed loans sank to 4.69 percent, from 4.75 percent last week, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday.

That's the lowest point since Freddie Mac began tracking rates in April 1971. The previous record of 4.71 percent was set in December. Rates for 15-year and five-year mortgages also hit lows.

RISMEDIA, June 25, 2010--(MCT)-By Steve Gelsi-For decades, the push for solar power has stalled not on public support, but on cost. That might be about to change with the launch of a unique tax program that's exciting some industry veterans.

Gary Garber is one. Garber built his first solar panels from scratch back in 1976. They went up on his parents' roof top in nearby Walnut Creek, Calif.

NEW YORK – Last November, Michael Hill of Lexington, S.C., finally got the call he'd been waiting for. Congratulations, a rep from JPMorgan Chase told him, your trial mortgage modification is approved. Hill's monthly payment, around $900, would be nearly halved.

RISMEDIA, May 3, 2010—In the first quarter of 2010, one-half of borrowers who refinanced their conventional loan lowered their mortgage interest rate by at least 16% according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly Refinance Report. The new interest rate was 0.9 percentage points or more below the old rate for one-half of borrowers.