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March 2012 - Posts

Saturday, March 24, 2012 4:55 PM

Remodeling Tips

Talking Points Budgeting for a large remodeling project presents a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: Homeowners won't have a feel for the cost until they get bids from contractors. But unless the homeowner give the contractors a ballpark figure from
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Saturday, March 24, 2012 4:54 PM

Elusive bottom for home prices near, forecast says

The Wall Street Journal Bank of America/Merrill Lynch tweaked its forecast from November, when it expected home prices to fall 3.5 percent in 2012. Now, it expects a modest gain of 0.5 percent, a good sign for the sector that continues limping through
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Saturday, March 24, 2012 4:53 PM

U.S. court freezes assets for five mortgage companies

San Francisco Chronicle A federal court has frozen assets at five California companies that are being investigated for trying to scam U.S. homeowners facing foreclosure. Read the full story
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Saturday, March 24, 2012 4:52 PM

Home buying much cheaper than renting

CNNMoney In 98 of the top 100 housing markets, buying a home is more affordable than renting, according to the online real estate company Trulia. Only Honolulu and San Francisco buck the trend. Read the full story
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Saturday, March 24, 2012 4:51 PM

Foreclosures fall in California and U.S. – but it may not last

Los Angeles Times California’s foreclosure activity fell 13 percent to a 51-month low in February compared with a year earlier, with foreclosure filings going to 48,422 properties in the state, or 1 in 283 homes, according to RealtyTrac. Read the
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Saturday, March 24, 2012 4:50 PM

As home prices fall further, is it time to buy?

USA Today As home prices fall further, is it time to buy? Housing appears to be rated a “buy” these days, especially among investors, who see a ripe and rising rental market and big potential for income. Read the full story
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Saturday, March 24, 2012 4:45 PM

Website aims to stop strategic defaulters

San Diego Union-Tribune A California real estate agent has launched an awareness website that aims to stop strategic defaults, which are when underwater borrowers choose to walk away from their homes even though they are able to afford their mortgages.
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 8:00 PM

Market Update - January 2012

Calif. median home price : January 2012: $268,280 (Source: C.A.R.) Calif. highest median home price by region/county January 2012: Marin, $694,440 (Source: C.A.R.) Calif. lowest median home price by region/county January 2012: Tehama, $110,000 (Source:
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 7:58 PM

Scam Alert: Scam targets distressed homeowners

Scammers are calling homeowners, offering to help save their homes by filing an application for them for the Keep Your Home California program, bilking the victims of as much as $900. Applying for help from Keep Your Home California, from phone calls
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 7:56 PM

Seniors, young adults will influence U.S. housing markets

A new report by NAR in collaboration with several other housing-related agencies shows that aging baby boomers and their echo boomer children will significantly impact trends in the nation’s housing market over the next 20 years. In the report,
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 7:55 PM

Investigation peers into foreclosure problem depths

Now-settled mortgage servicing violations permeated every step of the foreclosure process and were monitored by top executives across the entire industry, according to findings released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General.
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 6:42 PM

Rental markets heating up, but home values continue to decline

Median rents rose 3 percent from January 2011 to January 2012, but home values continued to fall, declining 4.6 percent during that period, according to the January Zillow® Real Estate Market Reports. The Zillow Rent Index (ZRI) showed year-over-year
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 6:39 PM

Closing Day

Talking Points On closing day, most home buyers are excited about the prospect of moving into their new home. One important final step must be accomplished before settlement: A final walk-through. While plenty of buyers whip through each room with a glance,
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 6:37 PM

Bank of American to reduce principal for up to 200,000 homeowners

The Los Angeles Times Bank of America said Friday it would reduce by about $100,000 the amount owed by as many as 200,000 underwater homeowners as part of the recently announced government foreclosure settlement with top mortgage servicers. Read the full
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 6:36 PM

Beware tax rules when refinancing

The Wall Street Journal As more people refinance home mortgages, some are getting tripped up by tax-deduction rules. Those who decide to borrow more than they owe on their existing mortgage often assume they can write off interest on the whole new loan,
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 6:34 PM

Deeply underwater homeowners to get most aid from foreclosure deal

Los Angeles Times Homeowners more deeply underwater on mortgages handled by five major U.S. banking firms are prime candidates for getting help from a $25-billion nationwide settlement over alleged foreclosure abuses. Read the full story
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Tuesday, March 20, 2012 6:32 PM

FHA mortgages are poised to get more expensive

The Los Angeles Times The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) plans to impose significant restrictions on the amount of money that sellers can contribute at closing in the near future. The FHA also will be raising its mortgage insurance premiums during
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 9:16 AM

Mortgage Loan Fraud rises in Q3 2011

Financial institutions filed nearly 20,000 mortgage loan fraud suspicious activity reports in the third quarter, according to a report by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. That was an increase from the approximately 16,500 reports filed in the
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 9:14 AM

Home prices decline for sixth consecutive month

CoreLogic’s January Home Price Index showed that home prices nationally, including distressed sales, declined 3.1 percent compared with the previous year and 1 percent compared with the month prior, marking the sixth consecutive month of declines.
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 9:12 AM

FHA announces price cuts to FHA’s Streamline Refinance Program

The FHA is reducing fees on its Streamline Refinance Program to assist qualified homeowners with refinancing their existing FHA mortgage. Beginning June 11, 2012, FHA will lower its Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) to .01 percent and reduce
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 9:07 AM

New housing scam emerges in California

San Diego Union-Tribune State officials have noticed an emerging scam: Callers say they will help homeowners apply for Keep Your Home California benefits for fees of up to $900. The calls are happening statewide. Applying for the program is free. Read
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 9:01 AM

Are more new foreclosures a good thing?

The Wall Street Journal Foreclosures starts jumped 28 percent in January compared with December, although starts were down 11.5 percent from the same month in 2011, according to data firm Lender Processing Services. Read the full story
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 8:59 AM

Lowering our expectations for foreclosure settlement

The Los Angeles Times The shortcomings of the $25-billion deal with five major banks seem to proliferate with each passing day. Read the full story
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 8:57 AM

Number of “underwater” borrowers rises

The Wall Street Journal CoreLogic said Thursday that 11.1 million of American households with a mortgage were “underwater” at the end of last year. That was up from 10.7 million of properties in the third quarter of 2011. Read the full stor
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 8:56 AM

Report criticizes housing regulator on mortgage servicing

The Wall Street Journal A report by the Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency says that the FHFA hasn’t done enough to oversee mortgage-servicing companies used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to collect payments on home loans despite
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 8:53 AM

Seller Pitfalls

Talking Points The greatest hindrance to the sale of a home can be a seller who is seized by emotion. Home sellers who allow emotions and sentimental attachments to overtake them during the sales process run the risk of making hasty, sometimes poor decisions.
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 8:51 AM

Feds roll out new mortgage refinance program

San Francisco Chronicle On Tuesday, the Federal Housing Administration announced it will slash mortgage insurance premiums for certain homeowners who refinance an FHA loan into a new one under its streamlined program. Read the full story
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Saturday, March 10, 2012 8:48 AM

A hidden fee is set to rise

The New York Times The guarantee fee – a hidden fee inside the interest rate quoted on a home mortgage – has been mandated by Congress to increase this spring, and other increases are likely later to take place later this year and next. Making
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Wednesday, March 07, 2012 11:33 AM

IRS Tax Scam Warning

The IRS is warning taxpayers of an emerging tax refund scam in which victims are advised to falsely claim tax refunds. The frequent targets of this scam are seniors, church congregations, or people with little or no income that would not typically be
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Sunday, March 04, 2012 6:06 PM

Homeowner Tax Deductions

Talking Points Homeowners should be aware of these tax breaks that they may be eligible to receive. Mortgage interest: Homeowners are generally entitled to reduce their taxable income by the amount of mortgage interest they pay, as long as they itemize
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Sunday, March 04, 2012 6:04 PM

Websites help home buyers, renters hone their searches

The Los Angeles Times Among new Internet-based real estate ventures to pop up in recent months is one that enables house hunters to simultaneously search for just about every lifestyle criteria imaginable. Another protects would-be tenants from unwittingly
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Sunday, March 04, 2012 6:03 PM

Bulk sales of foreclosed homes are a bad solution for California

The Sacramento Bee The president of the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® explains why the government’s bulk sales plan for foreclosures is not the right solution for California’s housing market and economic recovery. Read the full stor
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Sunday, March 04, 2012 6:02 PM

Where are all the home sellers?

The Wall Street Journal Inventories of homes listed for sale in January dropped by 6.6 percent from December to 1.77 million, the eighth straight month that listings have declined, according to data from Realtor.com. Read the full story
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Sunday, March 04, 2012 6:00 PM

Bills aim to curb unfair foreclosure practices

The Sacramento Bee A package of six bills designed to curb unfair foreclosure practices was unveiled this week. Read the full story
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Sunday, March 04, 2012 5:59 PM

Principal reduction isn’t ideal fix for foreclosures, official says

The Los Angeles Times Edward J. DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency told U.S. senators Tuesday that reducing the principal on mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie would not protect taxpayers. Read the full stor
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Sunday, March 04, 2012 5:56 PM

Foreclosures made up one in four home sales

CNNMoney During the three months that ended Dec. 31, homes that were either bank-owned or going through the foreclosure process accounted for 24 percent of all home sales, up from 20 percent in the previous quarter and down only slightly from a year earlier
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Sunday, March 04, 2012 5:54 PM

Points lose favor

The New York Times With interest rates at or near record lows, many borrowers are seeing little reason to pay points when buying or refinancing a home. Some are even opting for what’s known as “negative points,” agreeing to a slightly
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