The Debt Crisis - Episode 3
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007My neighbour was keen to see me when we met again over the backyard fence. ‘I had lunch at the
Countrywide Subpoenaed As Two State Probes Launched
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007Lending practices at Countrywide Financial Corp. have become the subject of probes by attorneys general in California and Illinois with
12/18/2007 - Fed Taking Steps To Clean Up Mortgage Lending Practices
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007Amid one of the worst US housing slumps in decades, the Fed is racing to tighten up the rules
Housing Starts, Permits Fall Again But Builder Confidence Stabilizes
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007Housing starts took another dive in November, falling
another 3.7 percent from the revised October estimate of 1,232,000
starts. Even worse, the seasonally adjusted annual November rate of
1,187,000 starts is 24.2 percent below the 1,565,000 annualized rate of
residential construction initiated in November 2006.
Federal Reserve Expected To Adopt New Mortgage Regulations
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007The Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors is expected to endorse
proposed rules developed by its staff for the banks it regulates that
would end some of the more abusive lending practices
aimed at subprime borrowers.
The rules which have been widely promoted by consumer advocacy groups
for some time and already adopted in whole or in part by many state
regulatory agencies would, if enacted, do the following:
FHA Loan Limits Raised By Senate
Monday, December 17th, 2007So-called FHA reform reached an important milestone
on Friday when the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved its version of the
legislation.
The bill, which passed by a vote of 93-1, seeks to
make the Federal Housing Administration more relevant in the current
housing and mortgage lending environment by expanding the agency,
loosening some underwriting standards, and raising its current
restrictive loan limit.
The Senate version of FHA reform would raise the
limit on FHA loans from $362,000 to…
Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) Set To Reset?
Friday, December 14th, 2007Is your adjustable rate mortgage ready to reset you need to get your mortgage refinance approved and closed asap. With
House Committee Votes On Another Bit of Foreclosure Relief
Thursday, December 13th, 2007The U.S. House Judiciary signed off on Wednesday on a bill designed to
help certain bankrupt homeowners stay in those homes.
The highly controversial bill is yet another piece in a
crazy-quilt of government and mortgage industry attempts to curtail
rising foreclosures and stem the collapse of lending and lenders.
The bill changes the creditor-friendly overhaul of
the nation’s bankruptcy code passed in 2005 allowing bankruptcy courts to
change the terms of some existing mortgages to the benefit of the
homeowners.
Two Surveys Show Big Rate Moves In Opposite Directions
Thursday, December 13th, 2007The two mortgage interest rate surveys upon which we
report each week showed big changes for long term rates during the week
ended December 6 and 7, but the difference in the outcomes was striking.
Two of the products tracked by Freddie Mac dropped to new two year lows
while the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported substantial upward
movement.
The most recent result of Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey
for showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM)
averaging…
Bush’s Subprime Freeze, Who’s Still Left Out In The Cold?
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007The Bush Administration unveiled their new White House foreclosure prevention plan. This plan will freeze borrowers interest rates on their
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