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Holyfield Takes it on the Chin Financially and Ed McMahon Speaks for Forecl
2008-06-06 18:23:00
Evander Holyfield is getting hit again, this time in the pocketbook. The former Heavyweight champ is broke and his $10 million mansion is slated to go to sale July 1.A legal notice that appeared in a local newspaper shows his Fayette County estate is under foreclosure. The 104-room, 54,000-square-foot home worth an estimated $10 million is set to be auctioned by a bank on July 1.And it's not just the mortgage for Holyfield. One of his baby's mamas is filing contempt charges for failing to pay $6,000 in child support. The 45 year old former champ hasn't fought since last October and is trying to secure another shot at the title.In boxing terms, Holyfield is to sports as Ed McMahon is to Hollywood. Both are far past their prime and financially shouldn't be exposed to these kind of monthly expenses.McMahon was on the Larry King Show and offered the following bold statement:Well, I figured I wanted to, in a sense, speak for the million people you mentioned [facing foreclosure]. ...

Latest Foreclosure Numbers Show 97.5% of Homeowners Pay on Time...
2008-06-06 00:00:00
That could be an alternate title to the news story claiming Homes in foreclosure top 1 million, but it probably wouldn't gain that much attention. As they say in the media, "if it bleeds, it leads."The news on Wall Street today was wildly positive. Stocks closed up sharply, unemployment was down for the week and even retail sales were up last month. The American consumer is alive and well.I'm not trying to downplay the foreclosure situation, because the numbers are truly staggering. If we take into account the fraud and speculation over the past few years, many of the homes being "lost" were never occupied to begin with. Consider some of the fraud stories covered here: Casey Serin had 8 empty houses lost to foreclosure; Zareh Tahmassebian several dozen; Brad Kitchen also had dozens. Workouts for those loans were simply not possible.Consumers are taking advantage of the deals in real estate owned (REO) properties. Sentiment has turned.The revival will probably begin in the ...
More About: Time , Show , Foreclosure , Numbers , Homeowners

Cry Me a River - Financial Distress of the Wealthy
2008-06-04 16:11:00
Another reminder about excessive spending came out in the news today. Ed McMahon, former sidekick to Johnny Carson and presenter of giant sweepstakes checks is about to lose his home to foreclosure.According to news reports, McMahon is behind on his mortgage in excess of $600,000.ReconTrust, a unit of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial , on Feb. 28 filed a notice of default on a $4.8 million Countrywide loan backed by Mr. McMahon's home. The notice was filed with the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office but hasn't previously come to light. According to the filing, Mr. McMahon was then about $644,000 in arrears on the loan.The home is currently listed for sale at $5.75 million. It's been on the market for two years. McMahon joins the list of celebrities who have lost their homes or come close to it like Whitney Houston, Jose Canseco and Michael Jackson.In New York, the uber-rich are struggling to come to terms with just being rich. A tough spot to be in I'm sure. Mike She...
More About: River , Wealthy , Cry Me A River

Unfinished Business - Real Estate Slowdown Hits Utah
2008-06-03 00:52:00
What goes up, must come down. It's a cliche we've heard for some time about the housing market, with Utah finally beginning the coming down process. What about things that were supposed to go up, but never did? How about things that came down when nothing will replace them? Welcome to the ugly side of the downturn.The City Weekly had a pretty in depth cover story a couple weeks ago about the ugly side of development including infrastructure requirements for our continuing residential growth. It reminded me that during the booms, developers will do just about anything to get a project built, but if market conditions change, they back out and leave everybody holding the bag.Kennecott Land is literally the biggest example of this. Their Oquirrh Mountain project would have changed the face of Salt Lake City by building on 41,000 acres of land on the Western side of the city. With deteriorating market conditions, particularly on the overbuilt west side, this project has been mot...
More About: Business , Estate , Real Estate , Real

Short Sales Aren't Short
2008-05-28 21:16:00
They aren't actually happening much either. One of the posts in yesterday's Carnival of Real Estate pointed out that in high foreclosure area Sacramento, less than 5% of sales are successful short sales.Two key reasons are behind that number. First of all, lenders are simply overwhelmed. Secondly, and this is the most important, lenders are letting homes be foreclosed to collect on the mortgage insurance that pays 20% of the loan amount. This provides income and cash flow to the lenders.I'm witnessing this play out in real life with my clients purchasing distressed homes in California and Florida. Now lenders are much more responsive to bank owned properties or REOs and the Sacramento numbers bear that out. Over 60% of sales in Sacramento are bank owned. This trend bears out in what I'm observing in Las Vegas and Phoenix.An article today on CNN confirms this trend on a wider scale. Our friend Duane LeGate said -Lenders are taking much longer than necessary to approve short sales...
More About: Sales , Short

92nd Carnival of Real Estate - All About Efficiency
2008-05-27 15:30:00
Welcome to the 92nd Carnival of Real Estate . I was asked to host on short notice and given this was a holiday weekend known for kicking off the summer driving season, I thought the theme should revolve around efficiency in real estate blog posts.With gas at all time highs and with no sign of dropping, efficiency is going to become important for all of us.Given the theme, I thought I would assign a vehicle ranking to the selected posts. There were a lot of great posts but choosing "winners" based on efficiency of making the point instead of content or grammar or even the subject removed any singular victor.Please congratulate the top group - the Tesla Roadsters that made their points clearly and concisely. John Lockwood presents Are Short Sales Fake Listings? posted at Sacramento Real Estate Blog. This post effectively points out only 5% of short sales actually sell. Interesting news considering this market. What's selling the most? Read on for more.Cliff Jacobson presents How We Ch...
More About: Efficiency

Utah's Home Sales Down, Prices Still Up
2008-05-23 01:16:00
Two recent real estate reports show Utah's real estate market is considerably weaker than a year ago, but home prices continue to appreciate. A report out yesterday on April's home sales in Salt Lake show a volume decline of 33%, but a price increase of 2%. This is reflective of other areas of the country that showed a decline ahead of us.The Salt Lake Board of Realtors is optimistic about these numbers:But Realtor officials said Tuesday they believe that any downturn here will be comparably shallow and short-lived.Board president Jillinda Bowers said April was the third consecutive month in which home sales increased in the county. Last year, sales started to slip in the summer, with January's total of 634 an eight-year low for monthly sales. April's total of 972 units sold is up from 934 in March and 746 in February."It appears to be a trend" of increasing sales, Bowers said.I disagree. Utah's housing market is having a downturn and will continue to do so for probably a ye...
More About: Sales , Home , Prices

Orangeman...Disgusting
2008-05-21 21:49:00
In an email inadvertently sent as a reply, instead of a forward, Countrywide (CFC) CEO Angelo Mozilo passed the following message on to a borrower seeking a payment workout:Angelo_Mozilo@countrywide.com wrote: This is unbelievable. Most of these letters now have the same wording. Obviously they are being counseled by some other person or by the internet. Disgusting.The response was publicized by the LA Times and is now all over the news. Different interpretations are being assessed as to what is "disgusting"...the borrowers hardship letter, or the fact the borrower could find a sample hardship letter online.I think the disgusting factor is that Mozilo could even make this mistake. Further, his response is that of the old guard, unfamiliar, or in denial, that freedom of information online is reducing the mystery factor of real estate, whether it be loan rates, homes for sale or in this instance how to craft a hardship letter.Mozilo is not alone. The real estate industry has been painf...

FHA Turns to Risk Based Pricing for Mortgage Insurance
2008-05-16 20:09:00
Beginning July 14th, FHA will now utilize risk based pricing for mortgage insurance, giving borrowers with better credit lower closing costs for the upfront premium. The monthly premium will increase by 1 basis point.The current upfront premium of 1.5% will be dropped to 1.25% for borrowers with the middle FICO score above 600. For borrowers below 559, the premium will increase to 1.75%. Borrowers in between the two markers will remain the same. For loan to values above 97% which is most common, the premiums increase further...up to 2.25% for the worst credit with the highest LTV. The monthly premium for high LTV goes up to .55% which is considerably lower than conforming mortgage insurance.This change in policy will reduce costs for borrowers with decent credit, but raise them for the least qualified borrowers. Other key changes in the FHA MI policy are lowering the upfront MIP to 1% on streamline refinances and not considering gift funds in determining risk for the LTV.
More About: Insurance , Mortgage , Risk , Mortgage Insurance

Fannie Mae Reverses Decision on Declining Markets
2008-05-16 18:08:00
In surprise move, Fannie Mae has reversed its policy on down payments in declining markets. The earlier policy move forced home buyers to put extra money down, 10%, to buy a home.The new policy puts the down payments at 3%-5%, though mortgage insurers won't do 97% loans any more.Washington-based Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) says the move is part of its effort to help resuscitate the flagging mortgage market.This actually makes a little bit of sense as declining markets become a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially if loans are harder to get. This is the first sign of credit loosening in the mortgage markets.On a related note, I'm getting feedback from buyers and real estate agents in Las Vegas that there is a buying frenzy on bank owned homes. One client I'm working with is facing multiple offer situations on every home he's bid on. His agent claims this is common in the area. Buying sentiment has shifted positive as prices have come down.I'm hearing the opposite in Salt Lake...
More About: Markets , Decision

Builders Use Gift Money Loophole to Provide 100% Financing
2008-05-15 22:15:00
If you're looking for a no money down loan for financing a mortgage, the gift money loophole still exists. An article by Forbes discusses the practice when it comes to FHA loans -You probably thought nothing-down mortgage loans disappeared in the wake of the American subprime lending crisis, which has ensnarled much of the world in a credit crunch.They didn't. Even more surprising, many Americans can still buy homes with nothing down thanks in large part to the federal government and a legal loophole that lets builders and bankers ensure a steady stream of asset-challenged borrowers for taxpayer-insured loans.FHA allows gift funds from certain sources to be used by borrowers to cover the down payment. The upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) is automatically added to the loan. Closing costs can be rolled into the loan as well through seller paid concessions. This is a strategy builders in Colorado used for some time and now it's being utilized all over the country.Gift fu...
More About: Money , Financing , Builders

You Can't Just Walk Away
2008-05-14 01:19:00
MSN ran a Slate story on the rising anecdotes, yet statistically unproven trend of people who can afford their mortgage payments, but choose to turn in their keys because of home depreciation. These are called "ruthless" walk aways in that this is a strategy that is chosen by the borrower instead of forced on them by the lender. There is a bit of a difference.I got a call yesterday from a woman in an economically hard hit part of the Rust Belt. Here's her situation:She's retired on a fixed income and bought a home two years ago. She put 50k down. The home has cost her more than she expected because of property taxes and utilities. She's now looking at a short sale, not because she can't afford the payments, but because she couldn't afford the maintenance.Her strategy besides the short sale is to buy a condo that is cheaper for both utilities and taxes. Her problem is the existing house. Tendering a short sale will harm her credit and she would have to buy before the sal...
More About: Walk

Press Mischaracterizes Mortgage Brokers
2008-05-08 19:24:00
It's interesting how different a story can sound based on the use of one word. "Commission" sounds like payment for expertise, but "kickback" sounds dirty.Consider a recent article by CNN about the changes mortgage brokers are having to make because of the industry downturn. The article claims -Instead, brokers pocketed kickbacks from banks in return for selling borrowers unnecessarily costly loans.I'm not here to defend the practices of some unscrupulous mortgage brokers over the past few years. As a profession it is going away. I think it is unfair for the media to paint the entire industry as using kickbacks. It's not true. It is a commission, a fee for service. If the media is going to call yield spread a kickback, they should also call service release premium a kickback. Indeed, they should call any commission a kickback including those paid to their own ad salespeople, because after all, newspaper advertising can be "unnecessarily costly."For your information, servi...
More About: Press , Brokers , Mortgage , Mortgage Brokers

Utah Housing Market Meets Its Match
2008-05-07 05:36:00
Ever notice any super human creature have some weakness that with the proper knowledge applied can defeat it? Superman had kryptonite, Dracula has the wooden spike, werewolves a silver bullet.It appears 100% financing is the kryptonite of Utah 's housing market as well as the other remaining strong markets like those in the Pacific Northwest and North Carolina.Utah's average home price fell 1.2 percent in the first quarter to $272,503 from the same period last year, a new report shows.The Utah Association of Realtors on Friday released home-sale data for the first quarter.While some counties showed big gains, others showed losses. Salt Lake County showed minuscule appreciation after a sales slowdown of almost 50%.The slowdown began last summer when the credit markets began to show weakness."Our market started to slow down around August and September of last year," said David Mansell, president of the Utah Association of Realtors. Prices are still up in many areas, but if sale...
More About: Market , Housing , Match

We're not in a Recession, Technically
2008-04-30 20:23:00
First quarter numbers show the country is not technically in a recession, though parts of the country sure feel like it.The bruised economy limped through the first quarter, growing at just a 0.6 percent pace as housing and credit problems forced people and businesses alike to hunker down.The country's economic growth during January through March was the same as in the final three months of last year, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. The statistic did not meet what economists consider the definition of a recession, which is a contraction of the economy. This means that although the economy is stuck in a rut, it is still managing to grow, even if slightly.The Fed just announced its rate decision affecting short term rates and took the key overnight lending metric down .25% to 2% even. The accompanying statement suggests the Fed is now more concerned with inflation and this rate loosening campaign is facing the end. The FOMC next meets at the end of June.The cut took the...
More About: Recession

Utilizing Seller Concessions in a Buyers Market.
2008-04-29 17:00:00
One of the most confusing part of the home buying process for new homeowners is the concept of seller paid closing costs or seller concessions. Seller paid closing costs allow for less out of pocket expense for the home buyer, but are rarely truly seller paid. Seller paid costs are actually buyer borrowed. Regardless, there is still a great benefit to having them.Let's examine real quickly how they work. Assuming an asking price of $100,000 with the buyer using an FHA loan that has a maximum of 6% in seller paid closing costs, a buyer could offer $106,000 with $6,000 towards closing costs. The seller is going to net out at the same amount, so they usually don't care and it helps the buyer close easier. The buyer could also offer the asking $100k with $6,000 going towards closing costs netting the seller $94,000. Considering the way the real estate market is, that could easily be accepted or there may be further negotiation.What can closing costs go towards? Title fees, pro...
More About: Market , Buyers

Has the Housing Market Bottomed?
2008-04-25 18:23:00
In desperate economic times, everyone wants to know when it's going to end. I've said before we won't know bottom until long after it's passed. Several national articles this week have suggested we're bottoming now, but many in the real estate business have been calling bottom for quite some time.While there is still quite some individual pain ahead, perhaps we've approached or reached bottom now? The experts write:Oil hit another record high but has since pulled back. The dollar has finally started to show some signs of life. And for the most part, corporate earnings were - as Larry David would say - pretty pretty good.Long term interest rates have risen sharply in the last two weeks with the 10 year bond gaining over 40 bps in that time frame. Stocks have followed suit. Overall economic problems like fuel and food costs still exist, but it seems for the moment the markets have found a comfort level with those conditions. Another test will take place this coming week wh...
More About: Market , Housing

Utah Real Estate - 1st Quarter Flat
2008-04-24 16:41:00
The numbers are in for Northern Utah real estate and they're not pretty. Though prices have remained essentially flat, the number of transactions has decreased significantly. Much of that has to do with the tightening of mortgage loan standards.In Salt Lake County home prices rose less than 1%, but sales activity dropped 42.2%. Davis County also saw flat prices while activity dropped 26.6%. Tooele County saw prices drop 6.3% with a sizable drop in activity. Utah County saw declines on both fronts.The Salt Lake Real tor Board President said -Jillinda Bowers, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, said she remains bullish about the market despite the drop in sales and softening of prices."People shouldn't be fearful. You have motivated sellers, and interest rates are low. It's a great time to buy."I am not so bullish right now. I've personally seen several instances of mortgage fraud evident in Draper and West Jordan that are wiping out entire developments. These home...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Quarter

Observations of the Mortgage Market
2008-04-22 23:19:00
Over the past two weeks I've had the opportunity to speak with dozens of potential home buyers around the country. Here are some of the key trends/takeaways I've noticed.1. People in formerly bubble markets - California & Florida specifically - are excited at the prospect of more affordable housing. The question of prices dropping further is not a consideration, affordable monthly payments are.2. Most people are unaware of the changes in the credit markets. Some are still looking for stated income, pick-a-payment and subprime loans.3. It's no longer a matter of how much a borrower can qualify for, it's if they can qualify at all. I'm having to turn down loans that could have been approved as little as three months ago because of low credit scores. As far as minimum thresholds go, 620 is the new minimum for a decent rate and 580 is the new minimum to get any type of loan.4. In general, borrowers are woefully underfunded for reserves and emergencies.5. The borrowers I'm seei...
More About: Market , Mortgage , Observations

Inflation Affects Everyone
2008-04-18 21:41:00
I'm just getting back into my regular routine and was checking around the web on all the stories I missed this week while on an Internet free blogcation. One of the stories that hit me was titled Inflation Is Everybody's Problem.It's true because inflation impacts consumption. Whether you're rich or poor, you have to eat, get shelter and transport yourself. With inflation hitting all three of these aspects of life, everybody feels the pain. The housing bubble was partially a form of housing inflation and increases in food a fuel prices over the past several years is hurting a lot of people, particularly those on fixed incomes.While I was in New York this week, I stepped into the tail end of a panhandling transaction. I was lining up to buy a Nathan's hot dog in Coney Island when the gentleman in front of me handed a dollar to an older, homeless man. After the homeless man left, the gentleman declared in a thick New York accent to his companion and the man behind him that ...

On Blogcation Until April 18th
2008-04-13 00:18:00
I love New York City. I wouldn't want to live there unless I was rich, but I love it nonetheless. When I found out Yankee Stadium will be demolished after this season, I decided the time was right to see a Major League game...at Yankee Stadium.I'll be gone this week and won't be blogging. I'm not even taking my laptop, but I will be taking my cell phone, so it will be almost a technology free vacation.This blog has gone "dark" before, usually unannounced, due to lack of time in my real life. Please take this time to review some of the over 300 articles written over the past year and a half. If you haven't read it before, it will be new to you.I'll follow up with all emails and non-cellphone calls when I return to SLC on Thursday.
More About: April

Preserve Your Credit
2008-04-11 18:05:00
I'm not sure if potential home buyers truly understand the changes in lending standards that have taken place. In the news we keep hearing about people walking away from homes and tarnishing their credit in the process. Some people see no other option, while others are doing it because of drops in home values. Other than not liking making the mortgage on a currently depreciating home, they can otherwise afford the payment. The price? A credit rating.As the economy has modernized, those three numbers that comprise your credit score have become instrumental in not only determining whether you'll be extended credit, but they impact your insurance rates and even if you'll be extended a job or a promotion. Voluntarily tanking your credit score is simply foolish.In the past eight or ten years, lenders loosened lending standards to the point that just about anyone could qualify for a loan. That borrower may have had to pay a higher interest rate and put money down, but they could...
More About: Credit

The Importance of an Oh Crap! Fund
2008-04-08 15:48:00
Putting a human face on an otherwise abstract concept like financial responsibility is something that tends to create interest. CNNMoney and numerous volunteers have created a personal profile to the "credit crunch."Mass media has only two modes: great success or great failure. If it bleeds, it leads. During the boom, it was the success stories. Now, we're watching the blood in the streets. Whether it's roses or thorns, the nation's attention is captured. Media dictates the mood. The average are ignored.When it comes to finances, sometimes it's good to be average. It's good to be consistent and it's good to avoid extreme downs. One way to do that is to plan in advance for the inevitable bad times. The best way to do that is to establish an "oh crap" fund. This isn't an emergency fund, it's for small crises that can wind up being big drains if borrowed funds have to be used.It kind of mirrors Dave Ramsey's baby steps of a $1000 emergency fund, but it's a little d...
More About: Crap , Fund

0 Down Mortgages Headed for Extinction
2008-04-08 02:11:00
I received word in my email this afternoon that zero down mortgages were gone. Fannie and Freddie have several high loan to value programs available, but mortgage insurers are simply not writing the policies any more. Even risk based policies are gone.This means that while the program may exist, no investor will buy them. I checked a few other lenders before writing this post and saw they still had them for now, but I expect the die-off to complete itself before week's end.A clue of this outcome came last week when Congress made a compromise in the housing bill to raise FHA loan down payments instead of lowering them. This is a pretty big indicator of the fear associated with high LTV loans.Senate Democrats also yielded ground on a provision to change the down payment requirements for FHA loans. Democrats have been pushing to reduce them, but the bipartisan agreement actually increases them by half a percentage point. That may not fly in the House, when it considers the package...
More About: Mortgages , Extinction

Mortgage Fees Fluctuate
2008-04-04 04:56:00
When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, there was a saying that ended up proving true. "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes. It will change." I remember times I was blinded by the sun while rain was pouring down on my windshield. The current mortgage market is kind of the same way. A few weeks ago I reported the higher costs associated with increased loan limits for FHA loans as well as FHA credit tightening. I confirmed similar tightening with other lenders.Since then these "new" "standards" have fluctuated on nearly a daily basis. It appears the investors are still working out all the kinks. For marginal borrowers this means one should be prepared to act, apply and lock loans in order to prevent exclusion. Since I last reported the FHA rates, they've changed quite a bit. For instance, the credit hits have been reduced. I initially reported a 3% hit to price for credit scores less than 600. That has been reduced to 1.5% for some lenders.For "jumbo" FHA lim...
More About: Fees , Mortgage

Brad Kitchen Arrested Again
2008-04-03 03:27:00
One would think that if you were facing trial on Federal charges, you would try and keep your nose clean until after the sentencing phase. Wouldn't you?I reported on this blog two months ago that Brad Kitchen was still scamming. Two days ago he got busted for yet another scam...passing bad checks. Again, he was released. After 8 hours in the Utah County jail, Kitchen was released on $300 bail.Surely there are a lot of bad people out there that need to be locked up. Financial crimes are often overlooked because they don't typically cause physical harm. Brad Kitchen defies that logic. He simply doesn't care about other people. He was willing to put his 80 year old father-in-law in financial jeopardy to save a foreclosed home. Brad Kitchen won't stop scamming. He needs to be stopped and arrested now until he can face trial for those Federal charges.Please send your disapproval of Kitchen's continued freedom to the U.S. Attorney's office that is prosecuting him. Kitchen...
More About: Arrested

The Prodigal Homeowner
2008-03-30 23:34:00
CNNMoney has been running a series on American's facing financial ruin because of the ongoing problems in the economy. Honestly, some of the stories make it hard to feel sorry for people involved. Comments from readers reflect that.Consider the story of Patricia Guerrero who had to go to the food bank on Good Friday to get food for her family. Her husband left her and she lost her job as a mortgage loan processor. Now we don't know the full story, but one fact immediately leaped out at me - she was on the brink of financial disaster after only two months. One of those months was covered by their tax refund, the other's obligations were met from savings. Guerrero has a $2500 a month mortgage payment and admitted she had to take off her Tiffany bracelet and leave her Coach purse in the car when she entered the food bank. This doesn't help her pity case one bit and commenters lambasted her.However, it is clear by this story that she, like many other Americans, lives way bey...
More About: Homeowner

Mortgage Brokers Adapting - How to Thrive in a Down Market
2008-03-30 01:10:00
The real estate downturn has hit employees of the industry very hard. During the boom years everybody wanted to be a real estate agent and the numbers in those ranks soared. Now that the easy money is gone, so are the new agents. It's probably good for everyone involved.Mortgage brokers are facing a similar dilemma. Not only has demand decreased, but so have offerings. I used to receive half a dozen rate sheets in my email each day. Now I receive one. Many wholesale lenders have gone out of business, while others have eliminated their wholesale broker divisions entirely.Regardless, the housing crisis has triggered a huge shift in the industry's dynamics. Big banks, such as Bank of America Corp. and National City Corp., have stopped making loans through brokers entirely, relying instead on their loan officers. National City said it was forced to do so by a continuing downturn in loan demand, while Bank of America said it saw better "long-term opportunity" in working thr...
More About: Market , Brokers , Mortgage Brokers

What is the Best Way to Buy a Foreclosed Property?
2008-03-28 21:35:00
This burning question comes from reader Susan -I was wondering if you could explain the best way to buy a foreclosed property. How to I find them? Is it usually best to purchase it from a bank? Or a pre-foreclosure? Do the homes go to auction? Maybe you could do a post on this topic. Do you suggest buying foreclosed properties?Thanks for the question Susan. Given the state of the real estate and mortgage markets in the U.S. and the increased rate of foreclosures, this is quite the timely question.Let's recap real briefly what the stages of foreclosure are and then examine where the opportunities for investment lie in each stage. While every state has different laws and time periods associated with foreclosures, there are in general three main steps:1. Notice of Default - When a homeowner fails to make a mortgage payment. Typically this takes place after 90 days of non-payment.2. Notice of Sale - Whether it's a foreclosure sale or a trustee's sale does have some nuances. Es...
More About: Property , Foreclosed

FHA Lenders Tighten Credit Requirements
2008-03-26 00:08:00
One thing's for sure, FHA won't become the new subprime. While the information you're about to receive isn't FHA policy, it will impact FHA loans in Utah and throughout the nation.I obtained an update from an FHA lender yesterday citing new credit requirements for underwriting and new costs.Middle FICO scores:601-619 = .5% hit to price.Less than 600 = 3% hit to price.No credit score = 1% hit to price.Additionally, manual underwriting requires a score of 580. However, automated approvals can be any score. Technically, there is no minimum.It's important to remember this is the policy of one lender, so if you're on the cusp and you need a loan, be sure to check with other lenders. Unfortunately, most lenders are headed in this direction.With home prices stagnant or declining, it's now more important to get your personal financial house in order before buying a home. If you can't pay your regular bills on time and don't have savings, you have no business buying a house rig...
More About: Credit , Lenders