Groping in the Dark Toward Foreclosure Remedies

Groping in the Dark Toward Foreclosure Remedies
Feb. 25, 2010 — Wall Street Journal

Mortgage bankers used to spend most of their time at conventions talking to one another. Now, having made too many crazy loans during the housing boom, they spend more time listening to Big Brother. Some of the most eagerly attended sessions at this week’s annual convention of loan servicers–sponsored by the Mortgage Bankers Association at a hotel in San Diego–have been those featuring representatives of the Treasury, the Federal Housing Administration and other government-related bodies. Loan servicers are the firms, many of them owned by banks, that collect payments on home loans and (lately) handle foreclosures and mandatory efforts to avoid them, such as the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP.

Selling or Buying a Home With a Loan Under Water
Feb. 22, 2010 — New York Times

Increasingly, financially strapped homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth are trying a so-called ''short sale'' as an alternative to foreclosure. In a short sale the lender agrees to accept less than the homeowner owes on a mortgage. Before 1990, short sales were rare. Last year, the National Association of Realtors estimates there were 500,000 short sales, about 10 percent of all sales. Still, there is a great deal of confusion and misinformation surrounding short sales, particularly regarding credit scores.

Finding Rentals, Houses and Foreclosures Nationwide
Feb. 22, 2010 — Wall Street Journal

Visionary Apps has unveiled a suite of free real-estate iPhone apps for home buyers, renters, sellers and brokers. The apps, the Complete Realty Suite, promise to “drive a revolution in how people shop for, buy, and sell real estate using the ever-evolving features of their smart phones,” Daniel Burrus, founder of Visionary Apps, said. Complete Foreclosures helps prospective buyers find foreclosed homes by price range, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and other features. The app provides pictures and satellite aerial views as well as driving directions to the homes. It also comes with a foreclosure buying guide that helps buyers navigate through the intricate process of purchasing a foreclosed home.

Bernanke Forecasts Long Period of Low Interest Rates
Feb. 24, 2010 — New York Times

WASHINGTON — Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, signaled on Wednesday that he did not plan to begin raising interest rates anytime soon, saying the economic recovery would remain halting for months to come.

Fannie, Freddie overhaul to wait
Feb. 25, 2010 — Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration will wait until 2011 to propose an overhaul of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday, arguing that he wanted to put some distance between a new system and what he called “the worst housing crisis in generations.’’