The number of Harris County residents and businesses protesting their property appraisals has risen to its highest level in 25 years despite the largest decrease in home values since the oil bust of the 1980s.

Jim Robinson, chief appraiser for the Harris County Appraisal District, said the explanation was simple: People do not like paying taxes.

As of mid-June, nearly 353,000 protests had been filed, about 26,000 more than the year before and three times as many as a decade earlier.

The growing number of protests comes in a year in which twice as many homes fell in value rather than rose.

* Full story available on The Chron

A former Dallas resident recently pleaded guilty to federal charges in an alleged $895,000 mortgage fraud scheme that took place in the Metroplex, according to prosecutors and court records.

Reginald Davis, 41, of West Palm Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty July 9 to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Sentencing has not been set, prosecutors say.

Davis faces a maximum of five years in prison, according to a news release by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Texas, where the case was tried.

* Full story available on The Bizjournals

Less than three months after new rules for home appraisers kicked in, the real estate industry is in uproar.

Realtors, homebuilders, mortgage brokers and the appraisal industry itself all agree the rules are causing problems. Some are backing a bill in Congress to kill them.

The new guidelines bar mortgage brokers from ordering appraisals themselves, forcing them to do so through a mortgage lender. Lenders may order appraisals through in-house staff or appraisers hired by outside firms known as appraisal-management companies. But neither may talk to the appraisers about the value of the property they’re evaluating.

* Full story available on The USA Today

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard filed a complaint in Arizona Superior Court that alleges a home loan modification company violated the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act and Credit Services Act.

The case filed Monday in Maricopa Superior Court alleges that Santoya Financial Co. LLC and its two executives, Thomas J. Montoya and Robert Sanchez, advertised and promoted the firm as having an affiliation with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which it does not, according to the filing.

* Full story available on The Bizjournals

Sales of Rockland County houses in the second quarter fell 16.8 percent year over year, but an increase in houses under contract indicates that the market may have stabilized, according to the Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing Service.

The median price of a house in Rockland reached $420,000 last quarter, down 7.39 percent from a year earlier. It was the lowest second-quarter level in six years. The median price is the point at which half of all sales are higher and half are lower.

* Full story available on The LO HUD

Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) is dusting off one of the housing boom’s popular sales strategies: This weekend, the luxury home builder rolled out its twist on adjustable-rate mortgages, tempting buyers with 3.75% for seven years on conforming loans.

While the company is one of the first to revive the product since the sector’s implosion, it’s a move likely to be copied, despite the history of this type of loan.

“Anytime the buyer sees the word ‘ARM’ they’re afraid,” said Stephen Melman, the National Association of Home Builders’ director of economic services.

* Full story available on The CNN Money

With home prices sliding to 2003 levels, crowds are storming foreclosure auctions to purchase property at even steeper discounts. America’s leading real estate auction firm, Hudson & Marshall will auction over 100 bank-owned homes in cities throughout Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin July 15th- 18th.

Lenders are eager to quickly sell these properties and move them off their books. All homes come with guaranteed title insurance paid for by the sellers. Prospective buyers will be required to make a cash or certified check deposit of $2,500 for each property which they are the winning bidder.

* Full story available on The Fox Business

The loans available to funds run under Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s Public-Private Investment Program will have little effect on “non-agency” mortgage-bond values, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts said.

Under the PPIP, whose nine managers were announced last week along with additional program details, the Treasury will match as much as $10 billion in equity from private investors with taxpayer money, and then offer as much as $20 billion in loans from the department to the vehicles.

Unlike the initial expectations of some analysts and investors, the funds’ leverage will mainly consist of the “one turn” available from the Treasury, and be paid down with more of the proceeds from investments after three years, according to a July 10 report from the JPMorgan mortgage-bond analysts led by John Sim. This will limit the value of the implicit “put option” of the non-recourse financing, they said.

* Full story available on The Bloomberg

For awhile now homeowners have been putting on refinancing their mortgage because they have been told that it is just not the right time. As mortgage rates continue to drop; however, you may find that the time has finally come to refinance your mortgage.

Before you jump at the record low mortgage rates, consider your personal situation. Now is definitely an excellent time to refinance under certain circumstances. Consider how long you plan to stay in the home. In general, if you are planning to remain in the home for at least three to five years then you are a good candidate to refinance right now. That is because you should have ample time to make up the closing costs and then begin cashing in on the savings. The other critical factor that you need to consider is the loan value. If you have a loan amount that is more than $300,000 then refinancing now could be a good option if your current mortgage rate is above 6.25%. You could still benefit from refinancing if your loan value is between $200,000 and $300,000 and your interest rate is 6.5% or higher. Even if your loan value is between $150,000 and $200,000 you could benefit from refinancing now if your interest rate is 6.75% or higher. If your loan value is $150,000 or less, you would generally need to have an interest rate of 7% or higher in order to benefit from refinancing now.

You do need to be prepared for the costs associated with refinancing. Those costs can vary widely depending on a variety of factors such as the loan value as well as the amount of the discount points related to the loan. Before you proceed with refinancing, you always need to make sure that you are aware of the closing costs that you will need to pay.

When you are ready to refinance, you should get the ball rolling by providing all of the necessary paperwork to the lender. This includes tax returns, paycheck stubs, W2s, bank statements and verification for all other income and assets.

Keep in mind that rates can and will fluctuate. Make sure that you do not delay in getting your paperwork to your lender so that you can be pre-approved. This will provide you the best opportunity for locking in the lowest rate.

On top of that, you will most likely need to have the value of your home appraised. One of the best ways to handle this is to cultivate a relationship with a real estate agent in your neighborhood. He or she will be able to compare your home to others that have recently sold in the area. This can give you an approximate value of your home. If you have not yet decided whether you are going to refinance, it is really not a good idea to go to the trouble and expense of paying for a formal appraisal. You should only pay for an appraisal once you have firmly decided to refinance and have entered the actual process. Paying for an appraisal prior to refinancing could place you in a position where you may be forced to actually pay for two different appraisals. The reason for this is that there are strict regulations regarding the appraisal process and if you pay for an appraisal prior to refinancing, the chances are not good that the lender will be able to use the same appraisal.

A frequently asked question is whether it is prudent to refinance now if you live in a condo. There is no doubt that the market for condos can be challenging at the current time. If you do decide to refinance a condo you should know that there are typically additional costs associated with the process. Furthermore, there are many mortgage insurance companies that simply will not insure condos any longer. If you are still thinking of refinancing your condo, on average you would need to have a minimum of 20% equity in your property. This is definitely more than is the case with single family residences, but it is the reality. Also, if you are refinancing a condo, you may find it beneficial to add in some discount points.

Refinancing right now can definitely be a good idea; provided you understand the current refinancing market and are prepared to make sure it is the right time for your situation. Continue to read “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Home Refinancing” here!

As Fort Washington resident Pauline Brown took in the warm evening air from her porch Thursday, an eyesore marred her view: Tall weeds, three feet high in some places, covered the lawn across the street, and overgrown vines blocked the front door. Around back, a rotting deck was separating from the vacant house.

“It’s like a jungle right now,” said Brown, 71. If someone were to buy the house and fix it up, “it’d be nice. It’d be a relief.”

* Full story available on The Washington Post