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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/31/2008 - 1:58am
Nearly 3 million homeowners will enjoy Christmas in their own homes this year because of the cooperation and programs of the HOPE NOW program. HOPE NOW closes out 2008 with nearly 1 million in loan modifications. This alliance created an unprecedented effort by private mortgage servicers, counselors, and investors to stem the rising tide of foreclosures.
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- Greg Mischio - MortgageLoan.com | 12/30/2008 - 1:43am
The tables have turned in the home improvement world. During the red-hot housing market, finding a contractor who would perform simple home improvement jobs was nearly impossible. As the market has iced over, renovation specialists are finding that the shoe is definitely on the other foot.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/29/2008 - 1:54am
December brings holiday cheer and the end of the 2008 tax year. Not exactly "visions of sugar plums dancing," but certainly in the dreams of most adults as 2008 comes to a merciful close. How can you position yourself this month to maximize your 2008 tax savings?
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/26/2008 - 1:24am
US bank regulators continue to report escalating re-default rates on mortgage loan modifications. Data being assembled by bank regulators is showing a steady trend of rising month-over-month loan work-outs falling back into delinquency within six months.
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- Catherine Brock - MortgageLoan.com | 12/24/2008 - 1:59am
The first lesson of personal finance is to budget your income and spend wisely. The second lesson is to get even more conservative about your spending when recession is knocking at the door.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/23/2008 - 1:35am
Today brings the release of existing home sales, new home sales, and housing price data. All mortgage news that is not expected to excite investors or economist about recovery in 2009. However, Wednesday's Mortgage Bankers Association's mortgage applications data is likely to be a ray of hope with mortgage rates trending downward.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/22/2008 - 1:08am
Mortgage brokers and loan officers are reeling from a surge of mortgage applications that have challenged their dwindled numbers. Fighting nearly a two year battle just to survive mortgage companies and banks are scrambling to handle the work load. A very nice Christmas present for mortgage bankers as mortgage refinance applications jumped 6.5 percent over the previous week.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/19/2008 - 1:47am
The 30-year mortgage rate dropped for the seventh consecutive week, hitting its lowest level since 1971. This has hit mortgage brokers and lenders with a surge of homeowners and refinance applications looking for a Christmas bonus.
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- Greg Mischio - MortgageLoan.com | 12/18/2008 - 1:03am
A favorite target of criminals used to be subprime borrowers. As the market for subprime loans collapsed, mortgage fraud crooks set their sights on another type of home loan. They're now focused on the home equity line of credit (HELOC), and homeowners need to be especially vigilant.
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- Tom Kerr - MortgageLoan.com | 12/17/2008 - 1:58am
A recent report on the economy showed that there are more than 9,000 foreclosures per day, on average, across the USA. But in some regions, especially those where prices didn't experience dramatic escalations during the real estate bubble, the housing markets are relatively stable.
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- Greg Mischio - MortgageLoan.com | 12/16/2008 - 1:22am
Long gone are the days of the "bubble" in the real estate market. We're now beginning to see signs that we've reached the bottom, as falling real estate sales have created more affordable housing. Prices are more in line with median incomes around the country, providing a strong signal that the end of the slump may be in sight.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/15/2008 - 1:06am
First time home buyers may be entering the market of a lifetime. Mortgage rates are already at a record low 5.5 percent, and the Treasury is determined to make that 4.5 percent. Housing prices are also at record lows and plentiful. If you are looking for your first home, now is the time to start getting serious.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/12/2008 - 1:35am
Funny how ideas can come full circle. It seems some private equity and investors think US Treasury Secretary Paulson's first plan was a pretty good one--buy troubled mortgage assets of bank balance sheets. In fact, a few have offered to take that opportunity with the government's help.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/11/2008 - 1:44am
The US government continues to be successful in driving down mortgage rates, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging below 5.5 percent. However, surprisingly mortgage applications are moving in the wrong direction--down over 7 percent from last week.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/10/2008 - 1:02am
The mortgage crisis is still in full swing, but will the Bush administration request the remaining $350 billion in TARP funds? If so, he may have a battle from both sides of the aisle. Democrats have specific earmarks in mind and the Republicans are still having remorse for passing TARP at all.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/09/2008 - 1:06am
Bank regulators and congressional leaders are still at a loss on how to help troubled homeowners. A surprising report by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) revealed 51 percent of borrowers receiving modifications to their mortgage loans become delinquent or slip back into foreclosure within 6 months.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/08/2008 - 1:14am
It would be stating the obvious to say we are in a mortgage crisis, but the daily financial news makes it hard not to regularly restate the facts. Despite the variety of government bailout programs and government refinance and assistance programs the economy and the housing market continues to stall. The net effect is that the mortgage market and homeowners continue to move into uncharted and desperate waters.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/05/2008 - 1:36am
Housing prices continue to plummet largely because new home buyers are unwilling to buy these bargains. Faced with fears of continued housing depreciation, mounting job losses, and declining economic conditions--they are staying on the sidelines and saving their cash. However, the US Treasury thinks pushing mortgage rates down to 4.5 percent is the answer.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/04/2008 - 1:32am
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released their weekly report of mortgage applications revealing an enormous surge, 112 percent. Not a surprising reaction to a new Federal Reserve initiative that triggered mortgage rates to decline to a 3 year low on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/03/2008 - 1:28am
The Hope Now initiative, a private mortgage lender and servicer alliance, is increasing its effectiveness in preventing foreclosures. In October, Hope Now set a new record in foreclosure prevention modifying 225,000 mortgages. That total exceeds September's loan modifications by 13,000.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/02/2008 - 1:11am
Increasingly loan modifications are becoming the preferred mechanism to help defaulting homeowners and troubled bank mortgage asset portfolios. All of the major banks, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Citigroup have announced streamlined loan modification programs.
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- Bill Rice - MortgageLoan.com | 12/01/2008 - 1:01am
Retailers got a welcome Holiday gift on Black Friday, with retail sales actually rising 2 percent over last year. Despite the doom and gloom of economic prognosticators consumers lined the sidewalks in the wee-hours of the morning for "door-buster" deals.
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