By David Schott, on June 13th, 2011 
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) was established as a result of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008. It’s purpose is to allow state and local governments to purchase and redevelop abandoned or foreclosed properties in areas in the greatest need of help.
The NSP program is designed to help low, moderate, and middle income families purchase REHABBED foreclosed homes and stimulate the economy. This is a middle income housing program that has an income limit for buyers at 120% of the Area Median Income. It is important to note that NSP is not just for first-time-home buyers- you can be a homeowner looking to move up or to downsize—but NSP does require that this be your primary residence (sorry, no investors). Continue reading “Down-payment funds available to qualified home-buyers under NSP Program“
By Robert Fishel, on June 8th, 2011 
First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs.
Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) provides a competitive interest rate on a safe 30-year fixed rate 1st mortgage. Your 3% advance loan is treated as a 2nd mortgage completely forgivable after five years of continuous occupancy. New, Constant Funding means MHDC will have the monies available for the borrowers regardless of bond issuance. For further information go to http://www.box.net/shared/v0piidunf7 or www.mhdc.com. Continue reading “New Limits for First Time Home Buyers Down-payment Assistance Program; St. Louis Interest Rates Update“
By Dennis Norman, on June 7th, 2011 
A report released today by CoreLogic shows that 17.10 percent (97,772) of all St. Louis homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position in the first quarter of 2011, up slightly from 17.0 percent the prior quarter. Negative equity is also referred to as being “underwater” or “upside down” and refers to homeowners that owe more on their mortgages than the current value of their home. Continue reading “St Louis Homeowners with Negative Equity Increases Slightly in First Quarter of 2011“
By Dennis Norman, on June 6th, 2011  Dennis Norman The St. Louis foreclosure rate in March was 1.73 percent, down slightly from 1.78 percent the prior month, but up over 21 percent from a year ago, according to a report published by CoreLogic. The report shows that the St. Louis Mortgage Delinquency rate (Serious delinquency, 90+ days delinquent) decreased to 4.83 percent in March, down from 5.1 percent the month before and down 14 percent from a year ago. This is the first month the St Louis Mortgage Delinquency rate was below 5 percent since August 2009.
By Robert Fishel, on June 2nd, 2011
Thinking of purchasing a home or refinancing a mortgage? Here are some tips to help make the process smooth:
Know your current situation. Be aware of your credit history; your credit report may contain out of date, or inaccurate items. Carefully review your credit report and make a note of items that should be fixed. It takes time, but you can correct mistakes successfully with a written request to the individual credit bureaus. It is also a good idea to examine your monthly housing expenses to determine how comfortable you are with your budget without sacrificing important necessities. Continue reading “Advice for consumers looking to purchase a home or refinance their mortgage; St. Louis mortgage interest rate update“
By News Desk, on May 25th, 2011
Should you talk to you mortgage professional before house hunting?
Absolutely!
Even if you haven’t so much as selected a Realtor®, it’s important to talk with your mortgage professional first. Why? Continue reading “Should you get pre-qualified for a mortgage before buying a home?“
By Dennis Norman, on May 25th, 2011
A “first-look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows mortgage delinquencies increased 2.4 percent in April, changing the downward trend we have seen in the prior few months. The good news in this report is that the U.S. foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate declined 1.6 percent from the month before. Continue reading “Mortgage Delinquencies Increase in April“
By Dennis Norman, on May 20th, 2011  UGH…
According to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive® on behalf of Trulia and RealtyTrac, 54 percent of American adults believe that recovery in the housing market will not happen until 2014 or later. In a previous survey, six months ago, 42 percent of American adults said they thought the market would turn around by 2012 or had already turned around, but now only 23 percent think this will happen. Continue reading “Survey shows over half American adults think housing recovery is years away“
By Robert Fishel, on May 19th, 2011
“Ballparking” mortgage rates just is not the same anymore. Home buyers who obtain online quotes from popular websites are receiving nothing more than a starting point for what their final mortgage rate will be. This is due to a government-led pricing scheme called loan-level pricing adjustments or LLPAs.” Continue reading “Loan-level price adjustments and how they affect home-buyers; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update“
By Dennis Norman, on May 18th, 2011
Negative equity is the dominant factor driving the real estate market according to CoreLogic in it’s “U.S. Housing and Market Trends” report that was released today. According to the report, as of the 4th quarter of 2010, over 11 million (23 percent) of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage were in a negative equity position, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than the current value of their home. Continue reading “Report Shows Little Improvement in Underwater Homeowners“
By Dennis Norman, on May 16th, 2011 The national mortgage delinquency rate for homeowners that are 60 or more days past due decreased in the first quarter of 2011 marking the fifth consecutive quarterly decline according to a report released today by TransUnion. The report shows mortgage delinquencies for the first quarter of 2011 were down 3.4 percent from the prior quarter and down 8.6 from a year ago. Continue reading “Mortgage Loan Delinquency Rate Decreased for 5th Consecutive Quarter; Mortgage Loan Demand down as well“
By Dennis Norman, on May 13th, 2011 Speaking yesterday at a forum at a meeting of the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), several industry “experts” had reasonably optimistic opinions of the housing market and expect home sales to continue on an uptrend through 2012.
Among the experts at the forum was, of course, Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for NAR, who said he felt existing home sales would improve gradually, but unevenly. “If we just hold at the first-quarter sales pace of 5.1 million (home sales), sales this year would rise 4 percent, but the remainder of the year looks better,” Yun said. “We expect 5.3 million existing-home sales this year, up from 4.9 million in 2010, with additional gains in 2012 to about 5.6 million — that’s a sustainable level given the size of our population.” Continue reading “Housing and Economic Forecasts Point to Rising Activity and Flat Home Prices“
By Robert Fishel, on May 12th, 2011
What a great time to be a First Time Home buyer! Historically low interest rates and great home prices! However, the home buying “process” can be a difficult if the borrower is not prepared and have not done their homework.
Before making offers and writing contracts, talk to your mortgage lender and get Pre-Qualified for a loan. Pre-Qualify means you can confidently begin house shopping in the appropriate price range. Continue reading “What First-Time Home Buyers Need to Know; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update“
By Dennis Norman, on May 5th, 2011 Dennis Norman The St. Louis foreclosure rate in February was 1.78 percent, an increase of over 26 percent from a year ago, and just a slight decrease from January’s rate of 1.79 percent, according to a report published by CoreLogic. On a positive note, the report shows that the St. Louis Mortgage Delinquency rate (Serious delinquency, 90+ days delinquent) decreased slightly to 5.09 percent in February from 5.16 percent the month before and down over 13 percent from a year ago.
Continue reading “St. Louis Foreclosure Rates Decrease Slightly in February; still up 26 percent from year ago“
By Robert Fishel, on May 4th, 2011
The USDA Rural Development loan program helps rural communities and individuals by providing guaranteed home loans. Funding is available for single family, owner occupied homes with favorable rates, 30-year fixed terms, and no down payment.
Loan amounts are limited only by the applicant’s ability to repay and the property’s appraised value. No minimum credit score is required, but compensating factors are utilized with scores under 620. Now deserving families have an unprecedented opportunity to become homeowners. Continue reading “No Money Down Home Loans for Rural Areas; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update“
By Dennis Norman, on May 3rd, 2011
A report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data, shows that while mortgage delinquencies continue to decline, an enormous backlog of foreclosures still exists and is expected to continue for some time. As of the end of March, foreclosure inventory levels stand at 8 times historical “norms”. Continue reading “Report shows foreclosure inventories on the rise; 8 times higher than normal levels“
By Dennis Norman, on April 28th, 2011
- Dennis Norman
The National Association of REALTORS Pending Home Sales Index for March shows an increase of 5.1 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and a 11.4 percent decrease from a year ago. This is the third-consecutive month over month increase for the pending home sales index. Continue reading “Pending home sales increase in March; prediction is for an increase in existing home sales this year“
By Robert Fishel, on April 27th, 2011 Most mortgage financing plans provide only permanent financing. That is, the lender will not usually close the loan and release the mortgage proceeds unless the condition of value of the property provides adequate loan security, When rehabilitation is involved , this means the lender requires improvements to be finished before a long-term mortgage is concerned. Continue reading “FHA 203(k) financing helps buyers take advantage of as is bargains; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update“
By Dennis Norman, on April 26th, 2011 Dennis Norman Today the S&P/Case-Shiller Index report for February was released showing home prices continue to fall and that the housing housing market continues to head toward a double dip in home prices. The report shows their 20-city composite home price index declined by 1.1 percent from the month before and declined by 3.3 percent from a year ago. Continue reading “Home prices continue to fall and continue to point to double dip in housing market“
By Dennis Norman, on April 21st, 2011
RPX Composite Home Price Fell to Lowest Level since March 2003 – St. Louis ranks 6th of 25 metros on one year rate of change of home prices.
Radar Logic published it’s Housing Market Report for February showing that it’s “RPX Composite Price”, for the 25 metro areas covered by the index, including St. Louis, fell 0.7 percent from January and 4.3 percent from the year before. St. Louis home prices fell 2.4 percent from January and 4.4 percent from a year ago. Continue reading “February home price index hits eight year low; St Louis is sixth best of the 25 metros“
By Robert Fishel, on April 21st, 2011
First-time home buyers receive a forgivable 3% cash assistance loan for down payment and closing costs.
Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) provides a competitive interest rate on a safe 30-year fixed rate 1st mortgage. Your 3% advance loan is treated as a 2nd mortgage completely forgivable after five years of continuous occupancy. New, Constant Funding means MHDC will have the monies available for the borrowers regardless of bond issuance. Continue reading “First Time Home Buyers Down-payment Assistance Available; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update“
By Dennis Norman, on April 20th, 2011 Today’s existing home sales report from the National Association of REALTORS® shows existing home sales in March were at at a seasonally adjusted-annual rate of 5.1 million units which is an increase of 3.7 percent from the month before and is a decrease of 6.3 percent from a year ago. Continue reading “St. Louis home sales and prices both down Over 20 Percent from a year ago“
By News Desk, on April 19th, 2011 Lee Bentley Farkas, the former chairman of a private mortgage lending company, Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW), was convicted today for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failures of Colonial Bank, one of the 25 largest banks in the United States in 2009, and TBW, one of the largest privately held mortgage lending companies in the United States in 2009. Continue reading “Former Chairman of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Convicted for $2.9 Billion Fraud Scheme That Contributed to the Failure of Colonial Bank“
By Dennis Norman, on April 17th, 2011 Over the past year or so there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of stories questioning the manner in which lenders were handling the servicing of their loans, particularly those of underwater borrowers, as well as the foreclosure practices of many including “robo-signing” of foreclosure affidavits. Next came the lawsuits and now, this week, the Federal Reserve Board announced formal enforcement actions requiring 10 banking organizations to address “a pattern of misconduct and negligence related to deficient practices in residential mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing.” Continue reading “Feds Take Action Against Banks for Misconduct and Negligence Related to Mortgage Loan Servicing and Foreclosure Practices“
By Robert Fishel, on April 13th, 2011
The VA loan program was designed to make home ownership more obtainable for eligible veterans. Home purchases with VA loans must be the veteran’s primary residence. There is no down payment required; no mortgage insurance requirement and VA loans do not incur a pre-payment penalty. Continue reading “VA Loan Programs make home ownership more affordable for Veterans; St Louis Mortgage Interest Rate Update“
By Dennis Norman, on April 12th, 2011  Fannie Mae announced today that people purchasing a Fannie Mae-owned HomePath property will receive up to 3.5 percent in closing cost assistance. The initial offer must be submitted on or after April 11, 2011; and the sale must close on or before June 30, 2011 to be eligible for the incentive. Additionally, buyers must reside in the home as their primary residence (sorry, nothing for investors). Continue reading “Fannie Mae Offering 3.5 percent Buyer Assistance on HomePath Properties“
By Dennis Norman, on April 11th, 2011 Forty three years ago today, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1968 which included Title VIII, the Fair Housing Act which, as described on HUD’s website, “prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status (including children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women, and people securing custody of children under the age of 18), and handicap (disability).” Continue reading “Undercover Investigation Reveals Possible Discriminatory Treatment of REO’s by Lenders“
By Dennis Norman, on April 8th, 2011
UPDATE Jan, 2013 – Congress approved extending the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 through the end of 2013.
I first wrote an article on this topic a little over two years ago as the foreclosure rate was rising and borrowers were concerned about where they stood with the IRS with regard to “mortgage forgiveness”. Well, here we are today with the same issues looming over many people, so I thought I would do an update. Continue reading “The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 – Update“
By Dennis Norman, on April 7th, 2011 Yesterday, four fair housing organizations released their findings of a year-long undercover investigation of 80 loan modification companies, which reveal an industry rife with corrupt practices. The National Fair Housing Alliance, the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, Inc., and the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center issued a report entitled, “Have I Got a Deal for You! An Undercover Investigation of Mortgage Loan Modification Scams,” which documents the tactics mortgage modification scammers use to take money from vulnerable homeowners. Continue reading “Undercover Investigation Finds Fraud Common Among Mortgage Loan Modification Companies“
By Dennis Norman, on April 6th, 2011 My guess is you read the headline, chuckled and said to yourself “no way”. After all, the idea of sending people that could not pay their debts to prison went away over a century ago in the U.S., right? Yes and no….In 1833 the United States abolished Federal imprisonment for unpaid debts and most states did as well around the same time. However, Missouri Representative Gary L. Cross, representing the Kansas City area, has introduced legislation that would subject tenants that do not pay their rent to a criminal charge, a Class A Misdemeanor to be exact. Continue reading “Can you go to prison for not paying your rent?“
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