Today, America has an estimated 10.9 million underwater homeowners, all of whom are desperate for a way to alleviate their financial burdens. With 30-year mortgage rates at 4.09 percent, the lowest rates in at least 50 years, it would seem like the perfect time to refinance. Yet, so many homeowners are sitting on property that  … Read more

In Orange County, California, foreclosures are taking longer and longer to process. It now takes lenders in Orange County 30 percent longer to complete a foreclosure, with the time necessary to process a sale or repossession stretched to over a year. Recent studies have shown that foreclosures now take an average of 411 days to  … Read more

These days it can seem as though the American economy is caught in a never-ending downward spiral. Many Americans have lost their jobs and their homes, and the number of victims doesn’t seem to be improving. With such a seeming lack of progress, it is common to feel frustration with our banking industry’s apparent lack  … Read more

Last week, the regulators for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced a series of new actions to further the Obama administration’s mortgage refinancing program. Chief among these was a proposal that would force more borrowers to obtain private mortgage insurance. While most analysts consider this proposal reasonable, the issue under debate at present is who  … Read more

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has recently made suggestions designed to minimize the impact of distressed properties on local communities. According to the National Association of Realtors, inventory of real estate owned (REO) properties held by government agencies could be significantly reduced if additional resources were committed to loan modifications and short sales. They  … Read more

When a neighbor’s house falls into debt and is foreclosed on by the bank, it can do damage to more people than just the owners of that particular property. When a house gets foreclosed on, it can be an absolute nightmare for neighbors. Perhaps the biggest issue is that a property in financial difficulty can  … Read more

Today, every person you speak with, and every news article you read, will suggest that Americans are worried about their finances. In the current economy, as more and more Americans are facing unemployment, the depreciation of home values can be almost too much to bear. Yet, in all this tragedy, there is a silver lining.  … Read more

A number of US banks have teamed up to ensure that consumer complaints related to foreclosure processing are addressed. These major banks plan to launch a common website, as well as a toll-free phone number and advertising campaign. This coordinated effort is a response to a demand last spring from U.S. regulators for major banks  … Read more

In a short sale, banks agree to accept less than the value of a mortgage, at a loss of profit. In many states, banks can pursue borrowers for these losses and it is completely legal. This is known as a deficiency judgment. Avoiding a deficiency judgment Don’t sign anything hastily and have a lawyer review  … Read more

With so many loan modifications, modification programs, foreclosures and short sales these days, a little rumor control is mandatory. The loan mod industry is rife with hucksters, con artists and rumors. Still, there are more insidious myths being told that have some claim on the truth. Here are a few: Principle reduction loan modifications are  … Read more