Obama Administration Awards $1B Additional Funds To Assist Neighborhoods Impacted by High Foreclosure Rates

HUD.gov recently published a press release on their web site announcing that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded an additional $1 billion dollars in funding to all states and several counties and communities who are struggling with the foreclosure crisis. This is the third round of funding in HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The program will provide emergency assistance to both state and local governments to "acquire land and property; to demolish or rehabilitate abandoned properties; and/or to offer downpayment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers (household incomes not exceed 120 percent of area median income)." The press release also notes that the states and/or local governments (grantees) can create "land banks" to assemble, manage, and dispose of vacant land to help stabilize neighborhoods and promote redevelopment of urban property.

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Chicago Foreclosure Auction - 200 Properties On the Block - Press Release

Properties Valued from $2,500 to $350,000 Will Be Auctioned October 2nd and 3rd by Hudson & Marshall

CHICAGO , Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Rising foreclosure inventories across the country translate into great deals for consumers, as banks continue to offer discounts on these properties to quickly move them off their books. Hudson & Marshall, America's leading real estate auction firm, will auction over 200 bank-owned homes in Chicago October 2nd and 3rd at - New 1:00 p.m. at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center.
Buyers will be required to make a cash or certified check deposit of $2,500 for each property, which they are the winning bidder. For properties selling for $10,000 or less, a buyer must pay the full purchase price of the homes on sale day. All sales will close within 30-45 days and buyers may secure financing with the lender of their choice prior to closing; however, closing is not contingent upon financing.

"Vacant homes bring down neighborhoods, invite blight and lower property values," said Dave Webb, principal, Hudson & Marshall. "The auction process is a win-win for sellers, buyers and communities. It allows banks and asset management companies to swiftly sell a large number of foreclosed properties at one time to buyers who are eager to grab deals and turn houses into homes again, which stabilizes neighborhoods," added Webb.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, during the second quarter of 2010, eleven states saw increases in the rate of foreclosure starts on a year over year basis compared to the second quarter of 2009. The largest increases in foreclosures were found in Illinois, South Dakota, and New Mexico. The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties was 9.85% of all loans at the end of the second quarter of 2010.

All properties auctioned by Hudson & Marshall are sold "as-is" and buyers should inspect properties before placing any bids. Properties can be viewed during the open house scheduled Saturday, September 25th and Sunday, September 26th from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. or by contacting listing agents to schedule appointments.
This is a reserve auction, which means sellers have the right to accept, reject or counter any bid; however, in past auctions conducted by Hudson & Marshall, the majority of offers have been accepted. Complete property details and additional information may be found at www.hudsonandmarshall.com or by calling 866-539-4172.

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Closing Costs - Most and Least Expensive States

There is a cool slide show on MSN's real estate site right now which highlights which states have the highest and lowest mortgage closing costs. Arkansas led way for most affordable with closing costs averaging $3007. Our home state of North Carolina was the second cheapest at $3,255 followed by Iowa ($3,261), Montana ($3,298), and Wisconsin ($3,303).

At the other end of the spectrum, New York won the prize for highest closing costs with a whopping $5,263 average followed by the Lone Star State at $4,708. Utah ($4,605), California ($4,566), and Alaska ($4,327) rounded out the top five most expensive states.

Find information on mortgage rates and home loan program on ForTheBestRate.com.

Home Mortgage Rates - Weekly MBA Survey - Week Ending 9/22/2010

The Mortgage Bankers Association released its weekly mortgage survey for the week ending 9/22/2010. According to the report, application volume fell 1.4% when compared to the previous week. The refinance index also decreased .9%.

The report also noted that the four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index fell 2.3% The refinance portion of volume represented 81.1% of all applications. ARM (adjustable rate mortgages), comprised 5.9% of all originations. Contract interest rates for 30 year fixed rate mortgages fell to 4.44% from 4.47% with points going down as well from 1.08 to .86.

You can find more and read the rest of the report on MBA's web site.

Legislation to Encourage Short Sales

According to a report on MortgageNewsDaily.com, the US Congress introduced legislation that would require both lenders and servicers to accelerate the approval or disaproval of a short sale or short sale title. The bill was introduced on 9/15/2010 by sponsoring representative Robert Andrews (D-NJ).

The goal of the bill is to help homeowners who are up-side down on their mortgages more easily sell their home and have a buyer reader to purchase the property at a price that will be less than the current mortgage payoff. The bill would also require lenders to respond to consumer short sale requests within forty-five days.

The same article on mortgagenewsdaily.com referenced a report from NAR, the National Association of Realtors, which noted that short sales where on the rise in many parts of the country with Nevada, California, Florida, and Arizona at the top of the heap. You can find more information on mortgages and short sales here.

Best Places to Live in the Southeastern United States - 2010

CNNMoney.com released its Best Places to Live 2010 list awhile back and we thought we would take a look at the list by geographic area of the Country starting in our neck of the woods, the Southeastern US. In our home state of North Carolina, CNN listed Cary (#23) and Chapel Hill (#40). Down in the Palmetto State (SC), Mount Pleasant squeaked into the list at number #100. Roswell, GA was the sole representative for Georgia at #76. The Sunshine State added Wellington (#72), Coral Springs (#44), and Coconut Creek (#48). Virginia won the Southern popularity contest with Chesapeake (#85), Suffolk (#91), Centreville (#30), and Alexandria (#47) rounding making the cut. Little ole Franklin, TN also garnered a spot at #66.

Access the full list.

If you are in the market for buying or refinancing a home in any of these hot spots, start research for some of the best mortgage rates out there on ForTheBestRate.com.

American Bank's New Mortgage Web Site

American Bank, a federally chartered and FDIC insured banking institution, recently launched a new web site for their mortgage division. The bank, founded 1983 and headquartered in Greenbelt, Maryland, has over ten branches sprinkled throughout the country and operates a national call center out of Columbus, Ohio. According to their new web site, American Bank offers a variety of home loans including VA and FHA mortgages, conforming fixed rate and adjustable rate loans, and non-conforming jumbo products. The new site also offers some educational resources and detailed information on their various products. Consumers may also request rates using their mortgage quote form and may also start the prequal process online.


 To learn more, visit www.americanfsbmortgage.com.

Having Trouble Paying Your Mortgage? Now What?

It is no secret that many American home owners are having a difficult time meeting their monthly mortgage obligations. High unemployment rates, depreciating real estate values, and lots of adjustable rate mortgages beginning to adjust has left many home owners in a position where they simply cannot refinance even if they wanted to. Let's face it, an unemployed borrower who owes $250,000 on a house that is now worth $200,000 is not an appealing loan for a bank to make.

What is a person to do? We ran across an article on American Financial Resource's web site which lays out some action steps to consider. The first and most important suggestion in the article is to speak to your lender to discuss any and all options that may be available to you. If you don't ask, you can't expect much assistance.

Also, the Obama Administration  rolled out the Making Home Affordable Program which provides opportunities for homeowners to refinance their mortgages and the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program which is designed for homeowners who are looking to short sale their properties to avoid foreclosure.

If you are seeking solutions, use the links above to find information that may get you moving in the right direction.

Refinances Down 3.1% While Purchases Up 6.3%

The Mortgage Bankers Association recently put out their weekly application survey which indicated that the Refinance Index for the week ending September 3, 2010 dropped 3.1% from the previous week while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 6.3% from one week earlier.

Michael Fratantoni, the MBA's VP of Research and Economics stated that "purchase applications increased last week, reaching the highest level since the end of May.  However, purchase activity remains well below levels seen prior to the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, and is almost 40 percent below the level recorded one year ago." 


The report indicated that the refinance portion of mortgage activity still represented over 81% percent of all total applications. 30 year fixed mortgage rates edged slightly higher from 4.50% (.87 pt) from 4.43% (1.24%) the preceding week while 15 year fixed mortgage rates increased from 4.00 (.87 pt) from 3.88% (1.45%).


You can read the rest of the report here.