Mortgage News

This article can be found at: http://www.thestreet.com/story/10849838/1/cali-mortgage-modifications-fa...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (TheStreet) -- Just when troubled homeowners in California thought they'd be getting some additional help in preventing foreclosure, a surprising factor stands in their way: lawmakers.

The California State Assembly rejected a law on Monday that would have allowed homeowners to sue banks that foreclosed upon homes without fleshing out mortgage-modification options. A federal homeowner-rescue program requires participating mortgage servicers to do the same, but doesn't allow homeowners to sue if the requirement is ignored.

This article can be found at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/38861560

The United States government needs to take steps to preserve its top AAA-rating, a Standard & Poor's Ratings (S&P) official told Dow Jones newswire in an interview published on Thursday.

The measures taken in response to recommendations President Barack Obama's commission on fiscal responsibility would be crucial in the view S&P takes on the U.S. credit rating, he said.

"It is very important for the credit standing of the United States that the Congress considers very carefully what the fiscal commission proposes," John Chambers, chairman of S&P's sovereign rating committee, was quoted as saying.

"It is very important for Congress to take the required steps."

Federal Officials: No Plans for Expanding Refinance Programs
The Wall Street Journal
By Nick Timiraos
August 5, 2010

Obama administration officials knocked down rumors on Thursday about any plan for new programs–dubbed an “August Surprise” –to streamline refinancing or cut mortgage balances for homeowners in a bid to stimulate the economy without asking Congress for money ahead of the midterm elections.

Speculation has intensified over the past week as some economists have proposed that the government put cash in more Americans’ pockets by making it easier to refinance. A news report on Thursday suggested that such stimulus might also include a plan to lower mortgage balances for some homeowners.

Freddie and Fannie won't pay down your mortgage
By Tami Luhby
CNN Money
May 14, 2010

Pressure is mounting on loan servicers and investors to reduce troubled homeowners' loan balances...but the two largest owners of mortgages aren't getting the message.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are controlled by the federal government, do not lower the principal on the loans they back, instead opting for interest rate reductions and term extensions when modifying loans.

But their stance is out of synch with the Obama administration, which is seeking to expand the use of principal writedowns. In late March, it announced servicers will be required to consider lowering balances in loan modifications.

Borrowers flunking out of trial mortgage modifications
CNN Money
By Tami Luhby
May 17, 2010

The number of troubled homeowners falling out of President Obama's foreclosure rescue plan soared in April.

More than 122,000 borrowers had their trial mortgage modifications canceled in April, bringing the total to 277,640 since the program began about a year ago, according to federal statistics released Monday. Meanwhile, only about 68,000 homeowners were converted from these trials to permanent modifications last month.

Under the program, known as HAMP, eligible troubled borrowers are put into trial modifications to determine whether they can keep up with the lowered payments and to give loan servicers time to verify income and hardship.

Fannie, Freddie Freeze Out Energy-Efficiency Loan Initiative
The Wall Street Jouranl
By Nick Timiraos
May 17, 2010

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are giving the cold shoulder to a White House-backed effort to encourage Americans to make their homes more energy efficient.

The initiative, called Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, aims to eliminate the high upfront costs that have kept homeowners from making cost-saving energy retrofits on their homes. Under the program, property owners borrow money from their local government to pay for the retrofits, repaying cities over 15 to 20 years through a special assessment that is added to their property-tax bills. Local governments fund the programs by selling municipal bonds to investors.

I copied this from the CT. real estate investors association site. This could have a big impact on our transactions with owner financing in the future. Please read it voice your opinion if you are cCT REIA News
Protect You Property Rights Now

Contact your state representative and ask to have seller financing de-coupled from the following bills: HR4173 and the ‘Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010′.

Fannie Tightens Lending Standards
By Nick Timiraos
The Wall Street Journal
April 30, 2010

Fannie Mae on Friday said it will tighten lending standards on adjustable-rate mortgages and "interest-only" loans that helped fuel the housing bubble and have led to a disproportionate share of losses for the mortgage-finance giant.

The changes, which will take effect in September, will require lenders to qualify borrowers based on whether or not they can afford potentially higher payments once adjustable-rate loans reset, and will require much more stringent criteria for interest-only borrowers.

Why Americans Get Ripped Off on Mortgage Loans
By James R. Hagerty
The Wall Street Journal
April 29, 2010

You might think that Americans would have learned over the past few years that home mortgages can be dangerous products, to be approached warily, only after careful study and consideration. You would be wrong.

Americans spend twice as much time shopping for cars than they do for home loans, Zillow.com reported Thursday. An online survey of 2,729 adults commissioned by Zillow found that on average they spent five hours choosing a mortgage, compared with 10 hours for a car and four hours for a computer. Nearly a third of the respondents devoted two hours or less to choosing a mortgage.

Jumbo Loans Easier to Find
Mortgage Money Available for Expensive Homes; Credit Standards Remain Stiff
By Nick Timieaos
The Wall Street Journal
April 30, 2010

Getting a jumbo mortgage is becoming a little easier for home buyers in the New York area.

Jumbos in the tri-state area are mortgages that exceed $729,750, the limit set to receive government backing or for lenders to sell the loans to mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since the mortgage crisis, banks haven't been eager to make large loans without federal protection, so the market for such mortgages suffered, crimping sales of expensive homes.