Photo credit: Joe Wolf Are Inventory Increases Around the Corner? The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index reports that builder confidence in the market hit a major milestone in July, rising four points to a reading of 53 and showing favorable sales conditions. “This is the first time that builder confidence […]

Photo credit: Jack Mallon A Big Part of the Shadow Inventory The CFPB is starting to look at the increasing numbers of zombie foreclosures and abandoned properties that bank and mortgage servicers have walked away from to avoid maintaining. “There is direct borrower harm if a borrower believes a foreclosure on their property has been conducted […]

Photo credit: Rupert Ganzer Low Inventory Continue to Hamper Affordable Home Sales The housing market, as measured by the number of new homes coming onto the market, seems to be on a see-saw. From 2012’s and most of 2013’s plunge to the market’s surge in May, Zillow’s latest data shows inventory for all for sale […]

Jennifer Riner, Zillow Good real estate investments require meticulous research. With large sums of money on the line, investors need to mentally prepare themselves for every potential negative outcome. Jumping into a purchase with no prior experience and lack of property knowledge can cause financial and mental strain. Before settling on a property and financing […]

Photo credit: Ellé Joteva Ability to Repay Rule Won’t Apply Here Inheriting a property when a loved one passes can be complicated enough, but getting added to the mortgage can be a harrowing experience. The main benefits of being added to the mortgage are access to account information, paying off the loan and seeking a loan modification. […]

Photo credit: TaxRebate.org.uk Housing Sputters in a Mixed Labor Market Consumers are not as concerned with losing their jobs and housing inventory continues to be scarce. The increase in job confidence reflects Fannie Mae’s June National Housing Survey. The survey shows that the number of employed consumers who expressed concerns about losing their job dropped […]

Photo credit: Lendingmemo The housing market has evolved from high foreclosures and falling prices during the Great Recession to increasing prices and erratic market performance. Every other day, we are bombarded with news about home sale figures, mortgage rate information, renting versus buying debates and new home construction starts data. While housing experts have their […]

Photo credit: Rusty Clark cc On June 19, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter 2014-10 which outlines guidance which prohibits misleading or deceptive advertising and marketing for lenders that participate in its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program. The intention of this Mortgage Letter guidance is to protect HECM borrowers from misleading advertising […]

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture cc 7.2 million Homes have been lost to foreclosure and short sales since the beginning of the housing crisis according to data from Black Knight Financial Services. Most of these former homeowners became renters; some desired to get back into homeownership. Last August the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) launched […]

For over half a decade, housing industry experts have noted concerns over “shadow inventory” and how this could pose challenges to any housing recovery. Shadow inventory is defined as the number of homes that have seriously delinquent mortgages or have been foreclosed on but have been kept off the market. Lenders and servicers are still […]