Sign In
Free Newsletter
Retiring? If you need a home loan, get one first
Retired engineers Kelly and Derek Barkey assumed they would be approved when they applied for a $50,000 home equity line of credit two years ago to fix up their new house. The Barkeys, now 56 and 59, had just sold their longtime home in Southern California and paid cash for a house worth about $850,000 […]
Realities of Real Estate: Types of home loans
When someone buys a home, they can either pay cash or finance the purchase. Increasingly, people are paying cash.
Robert Nusgart: Private mortgage insurance is back in a big way
There are only a few more weeks before changes in Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance go into effect — changes that will cost millions of borrowers who need a government-insured loan to get into a home more money.
Average 30-year mortgage rate a record 3.91 pct.
WASHINGTON — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to a record 3.91 percent this week, the third time this year that rates have hit new lows. Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average on the 30-year home loan fell from 3.94 percent the previous week. The 3.91 percent rate is the lowest […]
Bank of America reaches $335M settlement over Countrywide loans
Bank of America agreed to pay $335 million to resolve allegations that its Countrywide unit engaged in a widespread pattern of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers on home loans. The settlement with the U.S. Justice Department was filed Wednesday with the Central District court of California and is subject to court approval. The […]
Rate on 30-year mortgage falls to record 4.01 pct.
WASHINGTON — Fixed mortgage rates have fallen to historic new lows for a fourth straight week and are likely to fall further. The average on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.01 percent this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s the lowest rate since the mortgage buyer began keeping records in 1971. The last time […]
Fed to shift $400B in holdings to boost economy
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve will use more than $400 billion to try to drive down long-term interest rates, make home and business loans cheaper and invigorate the economy. Analysts said the moves would provide only a slight economic benefit. The action the Fed announced Wednesday is modest compared with previous steps it’s taken. The […]
30-year mortgage falls to 4.12 pct., record low
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fixed mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest levels in six decades. But few Americans can take advantage of the rates to refinance or buy a home. The average rate for the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.12 percent, down from 4.22 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday. It’s the lowest level […]
Robert Nusgart: Compensation change could hurt consumers
A major change is coming to the loan officer’s world beginning April 1, and it’s no April Fool’s Day joke. On that date, the method of how loan officers in the mortgage industry get paid will change drastically, and it will be interesting to see how it will affect consumers. Mortgage bankers and brokers have […]
Opinions – Maryland Court of Special Appeals:1/24/11
MARYLAND COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS Criminal Law Deposits on New Homes subtitle BOTTOM LINE: The evidence was insufficient to support the defendant’s conviction for failing to deposit money into escrow in violation of the Deposits on New Homes subtitle, because that subtitle does not include construction loan transactions where the land and the new residential […]
Bank of America reports loss of $1.6 billion in 4Q
NEW YORK — Bank of America on Friday reported a loss of $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter after its costs related to soured home loans increased. The quarter’s results were a clean-up effort by the bank — the largest in Maryland — in an endeavor to start 2011 with a clean slate. The deep […]
Legislating limits on Mortgage Electronic Registration System
The lending industry launched the Mortgage Electronic Registration System in 1997 to be a centralized database to streamline the transfer of home loans among investors while making it easier for borrowers to keep track of who owns their loans. But the system’s critics, including an influential Maryland state senator, say the industry got it only […]
