Gearing up for short sales and REOs

Gearing up for short sales and REOs
Inman News

In response to requests from its members, and the regularity of short sales and foreclosure-related transactions, the National Association of Realtors has launched a Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource Certification program.

"Someone that comes out of the program will have enough education to be a resource," said Kristen Short, managing director of education for the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council of NAR.

HAMP Delaying Foreclosures in California, but Not Cancelling Them Yet
DSNews

The government’s program to modify mortgage loans has clearly led to foreclosures being postponed in California, but they have not yet been cancelled pending trial period results, according to ForeclosureRadar’s monthly report on California foreclosures.

The administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) is designed to reduce mortgage payments for as many as 3 million to 4 million homeowners nationwide.

House Passes Two FHA Reform Measures in Voice Votes
DSNews

The House of Representatives passed two housing measures this week designed to assist certain borrowers of Federal Housing Administration loans, earning kudos from some of the nation’s largest trade groups in the mortgage and housing industries.

The 21st Century FHA Housing Act, approved late Tuesday night, would beef up the FHA on a number of administrative fronts, while the FHA Multifamily Loan Limit Adjustment Act passed Wednesday is designed to make FHA loans more accessible to borrowers in urban multi-family housing projects.

Housing Starts Post Moderate Rise
The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- Housing starts rose modestly as apartment construction rebounded and offset the first decline in single-family home starts after five straight increases, underscoring the fragility of the economic recovery.

Separately, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly declined, according to a Labor Department report Thursday. Meanwhile, total claims lasting more than one week increased.

FDIC Packages Loans From Failed Banks
The Washington Post

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. launched a new program Wednesday to subsidize investor purchases of loans that the agency has acquired from failed banks, as it tries to attract more bids and higher prices for its rapidly expanding collection of troubled assets.

The long-awaited program was announced earlier this year as a way to help banks that remained in business get rid of their soured loans, but a lack of interest from banks led the FDIC to focus on its own holdings instead.