In The News

Fannie and Freddie caused housing crash?

In The News

Did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cause the housing debacle? Before we get to the answer, let’s all get on the same page about what Fannie, Freddie and FHA actually are. Neither Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA is a bank, they don’t lend money.  FHA insures loans and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are [...]

30 September 2010 Read the full article →

Arizona crime rates up? Not really.

In The News

Yesterday a local talk radio station aired a long interview with a local expert criminologist and a 20-year veteran Sergeant of the Phoenix Police Department. Campaigning local politicians talking about a rash of murders in the desert, but the FBI Crime Index shows crime sharply down statewide and in Phoenix since 2005. The FBI statistics [...]

24 September 2010 Read the full article →

How long does a short sale take? Part 2

In The News

First, read this recent post with an eye-catching visual about how long short sales really take. For even more commentary about how long short sales take, see the comments in this blog post about short sale processing time on the weblog REO Insider. Most comments written by Realtors, and other industry insiders. In short, (as [...]

20 September 2010 Read the full article →

FHA Short Refinance program

In The News

The FHA has announced a new program in the ongoing battle to fix the foreclosure crisis.  See details on the FHA website for this FHA Short Finance program for underwater homes. The main points of the new program – Existing loan to be refinanced is not FHA insured; Must owe more on their mortgage than [...]

14 September 2010 Read the full article →

Happy Labor Day!

In The News

Wishing all our readers a wonderful Labor Day 2010. Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our [...]

6 September 2010 Read the full article →

Did the homebuyer tax credit cause false buyer demand?

In The News

There are some talking heads claiming that the federal $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit caused a lot of fake demand for houses earlier this year and the sharp drop in July home sales was because the tax credit ended. It’s important to distinquish the difference between false demand and pushed-forward demand. The tax credit [...]

4 September 2010 Read the full article →

Short sales, loan modifications and checking accounts

Homeowner Help

image credit, user sgback at StockExchange If you’re trying to complete a short sale or loan modification on your home, do not keep money in a checking or savings account with the bank that holds your mortgage. Open accounts with another bank, savings and loan, credit union (or whatever) that is not related to your [...]

31 August 2010 Read the full article →

Mortgage rates hit the mid-4’s!

Glossary Posts

A snippet of an article from CNN’s Money section: NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Mortgage rates continued to decline this week, plunging to the lowest level in decades, according to surveys from Freddie Mac and Bankrate. Freddie Mac’s weekly report said the 30-year fixed rate slipped to 4.44% for the week ended Thursday, the lowest since [...]

21 August 2010 Read the full article →

West Valley cities continue to grow

In The News

The Glendale-Peoria Today reports in their July 9th edition a “growth sputter”, with growth in the west valley down to “more manageable” rates for all cities. The pace of growth has slowed to a crawl, but I was actually surprised to see any growth at all.  Here is a chart showing the growth by city [...]

13 July 2010 Read the full article →

Home buyer tax credit extended

First Time Buyers

Legislation that extends until Sept. 30 the closing deadline for claiming the homebuyer tax credit — HR 5623, the Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010 — was passed by the Senate by unanimous voice vote Wednesday and could be signed into law by President Obama today.  (source, Inman.com) Buyers still needed to be under [...]

1 July 2010 Read the full article →

Phony cashier’s checks going around

In The News

June 30, 2010 Just got an email news update I thought I’d share. Mechanics & Farmers Bank (NC) reports that counterfeit cashier’s checks bearing the institution’s name are in circulation. “The counterfeit items display the routing number 053100452, which is assigned to Mechanics & Farmers Bank. The items are similar to authentic cashier’s checks. A [...]

1 July 2010 Read the full article →