Mar
How to raise your credit score 100 points in just 45 days
Let’s face it… Consumer Credit is an issue that affects everyone. Your credit score has tremendous power over many areas in your daily life such as buying or renting a home, auto purchases and insurance, and the interest rates you pay on your credit cards. And while a poor credit score can cost you money, [...]
Mar
New $10,000 Tax Credit for New Home Purchases
California allows qualified new home buyers a total tax credit amount equal to either 5% of the purchase price or $10,000, whichever is less. Taxpayers must apply the total tax credit in equal amounts over three successive taxable years (maximum of $3,333 per year) beginning with the taxable year (2009 or 2010) in which the [...]
Mar
The half truth of the headline “1 in 8 U.S. Homes are late paying or in foreclosure”
USA Today ran this 2008 Foreclosures by State Heatmap last week, reminding us of a simple truth: Headline statistics can be misleading. According to data compiled by RealtyTrac, 1 in 8 U.S. homes were in various stages of default or delinquency at the end of 2008. This is a fact and it was widely reported by the press. [...]
Mar
Details of Recovery Initiative provide huge refinance opportunity
Many borrowers have been anxious to take advantage of today’s historically low rates for refinancing, only to be frustrated by lower home values combined with reduced loan to value options on many product offerings. The Obama Administration unveiled the final details of its “Making Home Affordable Program,” which is designed to help up to 9 [...]
Mar
Modification opportunities for those at risk of foreclosure
The Obama Administration unveiled the final details of its “Making Home Affordable Program,” which is designed to help up to 9 million American families refinance or modify their loans to a payment that is affordable now and into the future. One of the initiatives in this program is aimed at helping struggling homeowners “modify” their [...]
Mar
Homes listed for sale plummet across 96% of major U.S. markets
If you ask an Economist why home prices have broadly fallen over the past 2 years, you’d get a short lesson in Supply and Demand. Too many homes for sale and not enough people to buy them pushed values lower until a balance point can be reached. Looking at the chart at right, that balance [...]
Mar
Some Homewoners are eligible for Mortgage Relief. Are you one of them?
When the White House first introduced the Making Home Affordable program in February, it was positioned as a mortgage program with two goals: To help financially-needy homeowners get mortgage relief To help homeowners who’ve lose equity qualify for today’s low rates Wednesday, in a much-anticipated announcement, the U.S. Treasury introduced new details about Making Home [...]
Mar
From the IRS: The First Time Homebuyer Credit Form
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the IRS has officially released Form 5405– better known as the First-Time Homebuyer Credit Form. True to tax code standards, the 10-field form is accompanied by 3 pages of instructions. Form 5405 is a helpful, go-to resource for home buyers with questions about the [...]
Mar
Can you guess what % of mortgages are still paid on time?
Mortgage delinquencies are on the rise nationwide, but the news may not be as bad as it appears at first glance. Using anonymous data from its national credit database, TransUnion reports that 4.58% of American homeowners were at least 60 days past due on mortgage payments last quarter. Comparing the statistic to the data from a year [...]
Mar
Mortgage Markets in Review: March 2, 2009
Mortgage markets worsened last week, taking interest rates with them. A steady drip of sour economic news plus concerns about the banking system outmuscled Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Congressional testimony in which he said the recession would likely end later this year. Overall, mortgage rates have risen in 9 of the last 12 trading days. [...]