SOME FIRST-TIME HOME BUYERS NEED AS LITTLE AS $1,000. Is this a return of the nutty days of zero down payments and the now-infamous liar loans? Nope — it is possible with the aid of several state of California-backed programs, designed to assist low- and moderate-income families in purchasing a home. The California Housing Finance […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Justice for homeowners?
MOST PEOPLE WILL AGREE THAT the proliferation of easy lending standards in the early 2000s fueled a historic boom in home values followed by the greatest crash since the Great Depression. As subprime lending gathered steam in the early 2000s, Countrywide Financial became the nation’s largest home loan lender, offering ever-expanding and easier-to-qualify mortgages. In […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Eye on credit
CREDIT SCORES INCREASINGLY ARE BEING USED by numerous industries to evaluate risk. A damaged credit score can result in higher insurance premiums and increased borrowing costs, and could even cost you your dream job. Given the value and importance of credit scores, it surprises me how few people actively monitor their credit reports to insure […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Credit and collections
I WAS WORKING WITH A YOUNG COUPLE THIS WEEKEND who are trying to relocate their family to Benicia. Unfortunately, they have a couple of paid medical collections in their credit profile that are dragging down their credit scores, making it difficult to qualify for the type of financing they need to purchase a home in […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Reset button
IN THE REAL ESTATE BOOM YEARS OF THE EARLY 2000s, millions of homeowners were attracted to interest-only loans. Many of these loans came with a 10-year interest-only period followed by a repayment period of 20 years. But as these loans reset, the monthly payments for many will rise significantly. Most borrowers who financed with interest-only […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Cooling off
CORELOGIC, A LEADING PROVIDER OF DATA SERVICES, has released its monthly Home Price Index report for June. It seems clear, at least on a national level, that skyrocketing home values are cooling and appreciation levels seem to be coming back to Earth. Nationally, home values increased at a year-over-year rate of 7.5 percent in June. […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: A no-catch energy audit
I WOULD NOT CALL MYSELF “GREEN” BY A LONG SHOT, but I tend to be environmentally aware. I drive a hybrid and take measures to save energy whenever possible, and I was probably the first on my block to change the settings on my sprinkler timers when the city announced the odd/even plan for conserving […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Foreclosure prevention
AT THE HEIGHT OF THE HOUSING CRISIS, the federal government designated 18 states as the hardest hit by the housing downturn. In response to the crisis, California was awarded nearly $2 billion in June 2010 to develop unique foreclosure prevention programs to assist eligible homeowners avoid foreclosure. As of June 18, 2014, the program has […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Eyes on BoA
IN A DEAL ANNOUNCED MONDAY, Citigroup has agreed to pay $7 billion to settle a Justice Department lawsuit over the bank’s role in the sale of risky mortgage-backed securities prior to the 2007 collapse of the housing market. The settlement includes $4 billion in civil penalties, which Attorney General Eric Holder said was a record […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Ruminating on rates
AS A MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL, I am tasked daily with predicting the direction of interest rates. The public asks out of interest in the overall health of housing and the economy. Realtors seek this information as they, too, are frequently asked about interest rates and need to know for business planning purposes. Home buyers and folks […]