Fergie's Growing Business Empire
May 7, 2012, 3:14 PM EST
Entertainment Tonight.
Fergie is known for her musical success and sexy on-stage performances, but she's also a shrewd businesswoman with an impressive investment portfolio.
The May issue of ForbesLife magazine, on newsstands now, examines how the Grammy winning Black Eyed Peas singer is wisely investing her fortune in everything from beauty products to vodka to a professional football team.
COFI-11th District - How to calculate your ARM Rat
The day will come where you will hear the dreaded news that rate's are going up sharply. If you have a COFI loanwhere the rates are calculated using this index, then this article will help you calculate what your rate will be.
Index + Margin (find this on your promissory note = Rate
Find the 11th District COFI index here.
What is the defintion of the 11th District Cost of Funds Index?
Bank of America hopes underwater homeowners become
By Kenneth R. Harney, Published: March 23 If you’re seriously underwater and headed to foreclosure, what would you say if the lender suddenly offered you the chance to remain in your home as a tenant for an extended period plus have your mortgage debt wiped away? Would you say yes? Or would you instead conclude: Hey, why pay rent? It’s going to take the bank more than a year to complete the foreclosure and evict us, so why not just stay put and save some money?
What is a Commercial Mortgage Modification? Lender
Benefits to the Lender
The Lender can benefit from a modification in a number of ways. First, since it is a non-judicial process the Lender does not incur the huge fees associated with a foreclosure. There is no need for discovery, depositions, court reporters, filing fees, and the all important billable hour. Since it is a relatively simple process the Lender can bring counsel in at the end of the process saving time and money.
LPS's Herb Blecher addresses January Mortgage Mark
Foreclosure starts are up sharply for January at an annual rate 28% at levels not seen since 2010.. This should add to the inventory for REO's. Differences in judical vs. non judcial states are 2 years vs. 8 months of total delinquency in the foreclosure process.
Market Commentary Week of March 5, 2012
Mortgage bond prices fell last week, which pushed mortgage interest rates higher. Rates were positive the beginning of the week following reports that European leaders must do more to stabilize their economies. Concerns emerged that the UK has “run out of money” according to Chancellor George Osborne. Higher than expected Q4 gross domestic product data, lower than expected weekly jobless claims, and strong stocks pressured rates considerably higher Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Weaker than expected personal income and outlays data helped stem some of the losses but not enough. Unfortunately, mortgage bonds ended the week worse by 1/4 to 3/8 of a discount point.
State's AG'S Agree to $26 Billion Mortgage Settlem
After months of wrangling, the long-awaited foreclosure settlement between the government and the banks appears to be at hand.
A $26 billion settlement was announced Thursday morning between the federal government, state attorneys general and the five biggest banks in the mortgage market: Ally Financial (the old GMAC), Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan and Citigroup. (Editor's note: An earlier version incorrectly identified Ally Financial as being the old GE Capital.)
California Ponders Joining Mortgage Settlement
February 6, 2012, 11:03 a.m.
With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.
The potential settlement would call for banks to provide financial assistance for homeowners who experienced foreclosure or are in danger of losing their homes. It also would require banks to overhaul their mortgage servicing
Sellers Brace for New Mortgage Caps
by Nick Timiraos and Alan Zibel
October Change Is Meant to Reduce the Government Footprint in Housing, but Industry Fears It Could Lead to Lower Prices.
The federal government is readying its first retreat from the mortgage market, with the size of loans eligible for government backing set to decline in October.
As an emergency measure three years ago, Congress raised to as high as $729,750 the maximum loan amount that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and federal agencies could guarantee.
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Losing Big - $65,000 Big - On Our First Home
Let me preface this by saying that I never wanted to buy a home. I knew the financial risks, the fact that in most cases you have to stay in a home a long time to even have a chance of making it a profitable investment, and that a home can take a lot of effort and money to maintain. My wife, on the other hand, just couldn't fathom the idea of not purchasing a house once our son was born even though we had lived together happily in various apartments for almost 10 years. While I tried in vein to explain the many downsides to home ownership, I just couldn't break through to her, and therefore gave in as any good husband should. Big mistake!
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SEC moves toward charging Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
The Securities and Exchange Commission is moving toward charging former and current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives with violations related to the financial crisis, setting up a clash with the housing regulator that oversees the companies, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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Actions to Take Before Buying a Home Today
As the housing downturn has shown, homeownership is about more than buying a home – you have to make sure you can keep the home over the long term. If you’re thinking about buying a home, these five steps can help ensure you get the right house for you and the affordable financing that helps make homeownership a long-term success:
6 mortgage rip-offs to avoid
By Liz Puliam Westim
Given how easy it is to get skinned on a mortgage deal, it's amazing anyone ever buys a home.
But buy we do -- and then refinance, and refinance again. Our ignorance of how the mortgage process works and the many ways mortgage pros rig the system in their favor lead many of us to pay far more than we should.
New Law Curbs Closing Cost Surprises for Homebuyer
By Sandra Block, USA TODAY
Buying a home should be a joyful experience, but all too often, the mortgage settlement process leaves consumers confused, angry and paying more than they anticipated.
The reason? Closing costs and fees that are significantly higher than the lender's original estimates. Borrowers find themselves faced with two unappealing choices: Pony up or walk away and start searching for another house.
FHA Alert: New Upfront & Annual MIPs Go Live in Se
FHA Commissioner David Stevens wrote to the industry yesterday to provide a timeline on the implementation of new annual and upfront mortgage insurance premiums. Below are his comments. I called attention to specific points of interest...
BACKGROUND CONTENT: FHA Increases Upfront MIP Fee; Raises Credit Score Requirement; Reduces Seller Concessions
BACKGROUND CONTENT: FHA Gets OK to Raise Annual Mortgage Insurance Premium
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Over the past week, Congress has taken quick action and passed H.R. 5981. The bill gives FHA the authority to adjust its annual mortgage insurance premium, yielding approximately $300 million per month in value to the FHA Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund at a time when its reserves are perilously low.
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Glut of Houses Holds Back Housing Market, Economy
Tuesday’s pending home sales report is the latest indicator that the U.S. housing market is bogged down by an inventory problem:
Too many houses, not enough buyers.
Pending sales, signed contracts on the purchase of new homes tracked by the National Association of Realtors, were down 3% in June compared to May. That month saw a 30% drop in the index, after the April 30 expiration of the home buyer’s tax credit.
The pending sales numbers point to more alarming home sales figures, wrote Credit Suisse analyst Dan Oppenheim in a note Tuesday. Mr. Oppenheim said that given the sales pace, we’re on track to sell 3.7 million homes total this year–-the lowest seasonally adjusted level of single-family existing home sales since the fall of 1996.
Meanwhile, the home builders are still building homes, setting the stage for a serious inventory dilemma.
“When inventory increases, it only postpones the recovery as a whole. We already have too many homes,” said Teunis Brosen, an economist with
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Mortgage Applications Slump Again For Third Straig
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Home loan demand slid for the third straight week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday, with purchase applications the weakest since mid-May and refinancing requests at a two-month low.
The downturn comes as the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit faces extinction unless Congress soon agrees on an extension.
Stocks surge on plan for mortgage giants
By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer 32 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Stocks surged Monday as investors rushed to lay bets on a broad economic recovery following the weekend announcement that the U.S. government will bail out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The major indexes jumped, with the Dow Jones industrials gaining more than 250 points.
Officials announce takeover of mortgage giants
Officials announce takeover of mortgage giants
Sunday September 7, 12:34 pm ET
By Alan Zibel and Martin Crutsinger, AP Business Writers
Government assumes control over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration, acting to avert the potential for major fi
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What If You Owe More Than Your Home is Worth?
Many homeowners are currently “under water” or “upside down” on their mortgages, actually owing more than their homes are worth. Right now, during this mortgage crisis, this is a common situation.
If you are a homeowner behind on your payments and upside down, or under water, on your mortgage, you may feel there is no possible way you can remedy the situation and either salvage your home loan or get out from under it without foreclosure.
You may, in fact, be considering walking away from your mortgage and letting t
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Mortgage Industry Using Technology to Get Back on
In the throes of distressed credit markets, lenders have had to take deep losses in their mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and asset-backed securities (ABS) portfolios. Lenders and investors alike have had to come to market for additional operating capital. According to Bloomberg News, banks raised $120 billion in capital from August 2007 to July 2008 to offset billions of dollars of write-downs and diminished earnings capacity.
GMAC Exits Retail Mortgage Business
WATERLOO (KWWL) -- GMAC Mortgage announced they are getting out of the retail mortgage business. According to a corporate release the initiative is a result of the downturn in the credit and mortgage markets persist.
The company says they are streamlining their operation in an attempt to reduce cost and refocus their lending resources.
The company will close all 200 of its GMAC Mortgage retail offices.
Approximately 3,000 employees will receive notification this month. The majority of the remaining 2,000 reductions will get notice by the end of the year.
What Does the Mortgage Meltdown Mean for Appraisal
A Brief Summary of the 2007-2008 Mortgage Crisis
You’re no doubt aware that the U.S. real estate market suffered, in popular slang, a “meltdown” in 2007 and 2008, and it’s not over yet. Still, it’s always good to quickly review the facts of the situation before discussing ramifications and implications.
In a nutshell, the mortgage crisis is largely a result of people watching their mortgage payments rise as interest rates rose. Many of these homeowners had unconventional loans, such as interest-only loans or adjustable rate mortgages (ARM). Far too many of them had borrowed more than they could really afford, and when things got tight, they found themselves unable to make their house payment. Because of the sheer numbers of distressed homeowners, banks and other financial institutions took a major hit (witness the sale of Bear
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What is Mortgage Forebearance Agreement?
Mortgage Forebearance Agreement
An agreement made between a mortgage lender and delinquent borrower in which the lender agrees not to exercise its legal right to foreclose on a mortgage and the borrower agrees to a mortgage plan that will, over a certain time period, bring the borrower current on his or her payments. A forbearance agreement is not a long-term solution for delinquent borrowers; it is designed for borrowers who have temporary financial problems caused by unforeseen problems such as temporary unemployment or health problems.
FAQ's Regarding Chase Platinum Visa Heloc
Mortgage deals fall 76% as crunch tightens grip
By Tristan Stewart-Robertson
MORE than 38,000 different mortgage deals offered by lenders have disappeared in the past year, according to new figures exposing the growing credit crunch.
Mortgage Monitor, a group of independent analysts, said the number of deals on offer had dropped by 76 per cent in a year – 56 per cent in the past six months alone – making it harder for Britons to re-finance their homes.
Teeing Up the Next Mortgage Bust
In responding to the subprime mortgage crisis, most Congressional Republicans and many Bush administration officials apparently believe they have time on their side. They are wrong.
The housing bust is feeding on itself: price declines provoke foreclosures, which provoke more price declines. And the problem is not limited to subprime mortgages. There is an entirely different category of risky loans whose impact has yet to be felt — loans made to creditworthy borrowers but with tricky terms and interest rates that will start climbing next year.
'The Worst Is Behind Us': Paulson Says
Posted May 07, 2008 11:28am EDT by Aaron Task in Newsmakers, Recession, Banking
Related: UBS, FNM, LM, LAZ, MER, CFC, BSC
With Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Merrill's John Thain chiming in, there's now near unanimity of opinion on Wall Street: The worst of the credit crisis is over.
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The Housing Crisis Is Over
By CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX
May 6, 2008
The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now.
How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won't happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor.
Most people forget that the current housing bust is nearly three years old.
Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies DORA
Em
DIVISION OF REAL ESTATE
MORTGAGE BROKERS
EMERGENCY RULE
4CCR 725 -3
1-4-1 MORTGAGE BROKER LICENSING EDUCATION
Section 1. Authority
Section 2. Scope and Purpose
Section 3. Applicability
Section 4. Mortgage Broker Licensing Education Rules
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New regulation we need to stop
The reason for this memo, a regulatory call to action, deals with a nearly silently adopted regulation which could very well be the most dangerous restriction ever placed on the mortgage industry. It literally threatens to eliminate mortgage brokers almost overnight. We have to act now to stop it, because the commentary period on the proposed regulation ends this Wednesday.
What is a mortgage?
A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is evidence of a debt. It is a transfer of an interest in land, from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed. In other words, the mortgage is a security
Mortgage Shopping:
You’re the Boss
Many first time home buyers don’t realize the power they have when shopping around for a mortgage. Mortgage lending is a highly competitive industry, even in times of realty market downturns. Hey, if a lender doesn’t get you the mortgage, the company doesn’t get that big, fat interest payment every month.
Believe it or not, you’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to mortgage loan shopping. You’re the individual or family lenders are looking for. So you have choices.
Your Loans- Are You Paying More Than You Should?
Probably. Most of us don’t even know what our credit card rate is. We just pay it, and chances are, we’re paying more than we think. One late payment can send your credit card rate soaring from 10.99% to 29.99%. Have you checked your rate lately? Chances are, you can find a better rate and better terms – fast.
Mortgage System in United States
The mortgage system followed in United States is a bit different from other countries. There are two types of mortgage instruments used in United States. Those are Mortgage deed and Deed of trust.
How Important is the interest rate?
When applying for a home equity loan, the person looking for the loan is usually looking to get the most he can, or in other words - getting a good interest rate. The “good” interest rate is the first thing on people’s minds and is generally the primary concern. Although it is true that most homeowners are placing a lot of emphasis on getting the best deals out there, and the lowest home equity loan interest rates, this may not necessarily be the most important factor in the whole financial perspective of home equity. .
Is a 125% home equity loan the answer?
If you are a homeowner in need of a home equity loan but you have not yet built up any equity in your home, don't worry, you have options. A 125 percent equity home loan may be the answer.
A 125 percent equity home loan is a second mortgage loan that allows you to borrow up to 25% more than the value of your home. For example, if your home is worth $100,000 and you owe $100,000 on the mortgage, this loan program would allow you to still borrow up to $25,000.
30 Year fixed Mortgage Q & A
Q: We currently have a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.75%. We built our home about 2 years ago and plan on staying there forever. We owe $198,500 on the mortgage and our monthly payment of principal and interest is $1,194. We also pay an extra 100.00 per month towards the principal in order to pay off the mortgage early.
My husband and I are 40 and 37 years old, respectively and are wondering if an interest-only loan is something that would benefit us. What would the advantages and disadvantages be for our financial situation?