On April 5, another new initiative will launch, and it’s already making inroads into the foreclosure madness here in Merced County.

The new Department of Treasury initiative HAFA stands for Housing Assistance Foreclosure Alternative.

Full story is available on Merced Sun Star

While many California homeowners are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments on homes that are worth less than their mortgage balances, they still want to stay in their home.

“Homeowners are not interested in permitting their bank to foreclose on their home, seek a short sale or exchange their deed in lieu of foreclosure. This is especially true where the homeowners are hoping their financial situation will eventually improve. For these homeowners, a loan modification may be an excellent option,” states David Gerlt Partner with the Law Offices of Edwards & Gerlt.

Full story is available on PR – Inside

The economic slowdown has not only affected many business even individual home owners are facing the brunt. As the earnings dwindle monthly payments which were quite cheap have now become more difficult. Home loan modification services are like beacon in this gloomy personal financial scenario. Obama Loan Modification works on the principle of making loan modification affordable.

Core Facts

1. Avoiding foreclosure would certainly be the top priority for anyone who is facing financial stress. Our company has experts working out home loan modification for individuals who need assistance. It is very important to choose the right company if you are looking for Obama loan modification. You could get help for this plan at www.obama-loanmodification.com.
2. It is very easy for an individual to get caught only with the application process of home loan modification program since this needs proper documentation and representation of each individual case. For example in the federal loan modification program one has to get a hardship letter to qualify or become eligible for modification.

More available on Pressitt

Could you answer a quick question about the housing bubble and the elderly? In your Nov. 28 column — “Retirees wonder about home purchase: pay cash or get loan” you say: “It became conventional wisdom during the great credit boom of the 2000s that carrying a mortgage into retirement was just fine, maybe even smart. The tactic badly backfired on far too many elderly homeowners when the bubble burst.”

My question: Why would just the bubble bursting on home prices by itself backfire, if their assets let them pay their mortgage as usual? Or maybe they had refinanced to cover new expenses, and now couldn’t pay back the loan? What am I missing?

Full story is available on Star Tribune

Mortgage Fit announced that, “In a recent development, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and members including Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), has proposed a new forbearance plan for the jobless homeowners. Some of the other companies which helped MBA in developing this proposal are Citigroup Inc’s (C.N) CitiMortgage, American Home Mortgage, SunTrust, etc. The proposal has been placed in front of the top U.S. officials. The Treasury has also been contacted for credit to support the plan.

Proposals for forbearance on investment properties made news headlines several months ago,

“Investment property borrowers who have been ineligible for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) have another alternative thanks to Fannie Mae, according to a recent Housing Wire report. FNMA announced that their Payment Reduction Plan (PRP) will provide forbearance for struggling borrowers with non-owner-occupied properties.”, according to Short Sale Daily News.

Full story is available on Quincy Cove

Paul Smalera asks what’s going to happen to mortgage rates after March 31, when the Fed has said that it will stop buying mortgage-backed securities. The answer, predictably, is that they’re going up:

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), says 30-year fixed rates are “rock bottom” and simply cannot stay at 5 percent. That much, economists, analysts, and the Fed all agree on. But just how high they’ll get is another question.

Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn told a conference last month that any increase in rates is likely to be “modest” but added “that judgment is subject to considerable uncertainty.” Yun believes 30-year fixed rates will probably end up jumping to about 5.7 percent by year’s end. Freddie Mac, which issues many of the MBS being bought by the Fed, said in late December that rates would hit 6 percent by the end of 2010, sending a shock through the market… Bill Gross, head of Pimco, one of the largest and earliest private investors in mortgage-backed securities, believes that due to a rising interest rate environment in general, mortgage rates could settle anywhere between 6 to 6.5 percent, but admits at this point he’s simply making an educated guess.

Full story is available on Seeking Alpha

To begin with when buying home foreclosures you should expect weeks and in many cases a few months of thorough investigation. The opportunities in foreclosed properties generally fall under that old proverb, “If something sounds too great to be true, it usually is.” What is a fact is that some foreclosed properties may go at 30% to 40% below current market. However the publisher of a real-estate magazine once said: Most homes in foreclosure will sell at 5% below current market.

1. Is The Location Desirable?

In case you want to go about purchasing foreclosure as an investment option, you would be smart to assess about five years of property sales in the area. Have the residences appreciated adequately by an professional in order to make the investment risk you are taking worth it. The house does not have to be in an very rich town, but it must be in an economically stable location.

More avaialble on dudegeek.com

The home builders and Realtors are jazzed for the home buyer tax credit’s remaining weeks. It’s tempting for home buyers to get caught up in the hype. But perhaps you’re better off waiting?

In case you missed the news, the federal government will give you money if you buy a house–$8,000 for first-time buyers and up to $6,500 for current homeowners within certain price and income limits. The benefit covers buyers who enter into contracts before April 30 and close by June 30.

Over at Zillow’s Blog, they’re debating a Denver reader’s question: “It it better to buy now or wait until the credit expires?” He explains that competition is heated in his price range of below $150,000 in Denver and wonders if that will ebb after April.

Full story is available on Wall Street Journal

The Orlando market continued to see the number of home sales jump while values declined in January, said a report by the Florida Realtors.

Florida Realtors sold 1,745 existing single-family homes last month, up nearly 55 percent from 1,127 sold in January 2009. But the median home value in January fell nearly 18 percent, from $150,500 in 2009 to $123,500 this year.

Orlando-area condo resales were nearly three times higher year-over-year, from 171 in January 2009 to 538 last month. The median condo value dropped to $49,700, a 20 percent decline from January 2009’s $62,200.

Full story is available Orlando Business Journal

Home prices in southern New Jersey continued to decline somewhat faster in the fourth quarter than those nationwide, the Federal Housing Finance Administration said Thursday.

In Atlantic County, prices for homes purchased or refinanced fell 1.6 percent in the quarter, leaving them down 9.6 percent for 2009, the FHFA survey said. Cape May County prices were down 0.8 percent for an annual decline of 5.2 percent.

Nationwide, prices for houses purchased or refinanced were 0.7 percent lower in the quarter and down 4.7 percent for the year.

Full story is available on pressofAtlantic