Suze Orman on Underwater Mortgages
Home Ownership at 46-Year Low
Couple Threatens to Foreclose on BofA
MORTGAGE RATES » Home Mortgage Loan News
In Today’s Loan Modification Scams Exploit Foreclosure Crisis, we explain how fraud surrounding mortgage loan modification is as rampant as ever. Below are the references used to write this article–read more to learn about today’s loan modification scams and how you can avoid becoming the victim of one.
Fewer things are worse than taking advantage of someone losing their home. This is precisely what mortgage loan modification scams are doing at the worst time in the foreclosure crisis. Perhaps worst of all, most of those targeted are minorities, bringing an even more sinister edge to what’s already a heinous crime. 
A government official announced on Wednesday that the Emergency Homeowner Loan Program (EHLP) won’t assist all 30,000 homeowners as originally intended. The $1 billion federal program is expected to help in the ballpark of 10,000 to 15,000 financially-strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure before ending.
Borrowers Struggle to Qualify for EHLP
Due to the sluggish economic recovery, the Federal Reserve launched Operation Twist. This is the latest effort by America’s central bank to turn things around using monetary policy. Many hope the project will lower long-term interest rates, including mortgage rates. If history is any indication, however, shuffling around government bonds won’t have much affect.
In What the Fed’s “Operation Twist” Means for Mortgage Rates, we examine how the Fed’s plan to trade in short-term government bonds for medium- and long-term bonds will affect long-term interest rates, like mortgage rates. If you’d like to view the references used to write this article and learn more about what Operation Twist is all about, read on.
Conducting Monetary Policy at Very Low Short-Term Interest Rates (Federal Reserve Board)
New reports released by the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) revealed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are largely responsible for last year’s mortgage and foreclosure crisis. One report in particular implied that better risk controls at Fannie Mae could have helped avoid potential foreclosure abuse that forced banks to slow down and revamp their mortgage-handling processes.
Regulators Struggle to Develop Risk Controls
The housing market has been in the news on and off for the past few years, largely due to record-low mortgage rates, an increase in foreclosures and falling home prices. While most markets across the United States have seen fewer ups than downs since the financial crisis and national housing market collapse, there are some that have suffered more than others.
After weeks of hovering near a new record low, U.S. mortgage rates finally reached it by dropping to the lowest point in 60 years, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac. Despite this drop in rates, however, experts say that it is doing little to encourage prospective homeowners to go out and buy.
30-Year Fixed Drops to 4.09 Percent
Mortgage default notices on U.S. homes have seen the biggest monthly increase in four years, according to a new report from RealtyTrac. The real estate data provider found that first-time default notices filed last month jumped 33 percent from July.
Default Notices Reach 9-Month High
Big U.S. banks that have been in talks to settle claims of improper mortgage practices have been offered a deal. The deal, which has been offered by state prosecutors, will limit part of the banks’ legal liability in return for a multi-billion dollar payment.