Finance
15-year fixed-rate falls to record low
The average interest rate on the 30-year fixed rate mortgages (FRMs) was 3.88 percent the week ending April 12, with an average 0.7 point, down from 3.98 percent last week and a notch off the 3.87 percent record low. Last [...]
Investors: Let’s get this party started
If you think investors are charging the housing recovery, you ain't seen nothing yet. Investors, hand picking individual properties, working in groups, buying in bulk and smacking down all-cash
Mortgage rates slip further below 4 percent
The average interest rate on 30-year fixed rate mortgages (FRMs) was 3.98 percent the week ending April 5, with an average 0.7 point, down from 3.99 percent last
Will higher gas prices translate to higher mortgage rates?
Gas prices are rising in the US and it makes you wonder: will mortgage rates soon be rising as well? The questions are not unrelated. In basic terms, the
FHFA rule restricts mortgages for properties with private transfer fees
FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has sent a final rule to the Federal Register on private transfer fees. The final rule limits Fannie
Treasury nets $25 billion in mortgage-backed securities
Chalk another economic one up for the Obama Administration. Remember how those toxic mortgages were bundled as securities and sold as investments to many poor saps before many of
Vacation homes reemerge as hot investment properties
Join a real estate investment group and pool your money. Tap retirement money. Get a second job. Get a third job. Just do what it takes. If you've ever
Investors fueling housing recovery, first-time buyers back off
More cash rich investors, with a growing penchant for short sales, are energizing the housing market. All-cash sales rose to 33 percent of transactions in February from 31 percent
30-year fixed-rate mortgage dips back below 4 percent
The average interest rate on 30-year fixed rate mortgages (FRMs) was 3.99 percent, with an average 0.7 point, for the week ending March 29, down from 4.08 percent
How financial market indexes shape your ARM
Index rates are a key component of the interest rates you pay for adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) used to finance or refinance a home, as well as home
Credit score confusion continues
No. No. No. No. No. Your lender has nothing to do with your credit score's rise or fall. Well, sure, if you don't pay your bills, run up too much
Most consumers don’t have a clue about HAMP, HARP
Recent enhancements to government programs designed to bail out more underwater homeowners and save others from foreclosure could be lost on millions of Americans. Most consumers don't even know
Mortgage rates up above 4 percent, to late 2011 levels
The average interest rate on 30-year fixed rate mortgages (FRMs) 4.08 percent, with an average 0.8 point, for the week ending March 22, up from 3.92 percent
Pew’s ‘Transaction Infraction’ demonstrates how banks reorder transactions to extract unnecessary overdraft fees
The Pew Charitable Trusts offers an interactive "Transaction Infraction" graphic to reveal how lenders reorder debits and withdrawals in a non-chronological order, in order to maximize over draft
National Mortgage Settlement generates controversy, scams, consumer guides
Along with the relief it's supposed to bring to millions of Americans, last week's official court filing of the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement came with controversy, scams
Mortgage rates rise with bond yields
The average interest rate on 30-year fixed rate mortgages (FRMs) averaged 3.92 percent, with an average 0.8 point, for the week ending March 15, up from
American Express: Tweet instead of singing for your supper
AMERICAN EXPRESS - A new American Express experience for U.S. card members using Twitter turns customized Twitter hash tags (#) into $aving$. American Express card holders who sync their
Strategic defaults on the rise, unfortunately
Apparently, homeowners aren't getting the message that strategic defaults are anything but strategic. A growing number of homeowners say, even if they can afford to make mortgage payments, they
If it walks like a pig, wallows like a pig, oinks like a pig…
Proceed at your own risk. When Ned Buratovich’s political illustrations appear on DeadlineNews.Com you won’t get a content warning, thumbnail preview or other precursor of what’s to
Fixed mortgage rates at, near all-time lows
The 15-year fixed mortgage rate (FRM), a popular choice among refinance borrowers, averaged a new all-time record low of 3.13 percent, the week ending March 8, according
