Before the housing market took such a tumble and before millions of homeowners saw equity in their homes vanish in a blink of an eye, the idea of walking away from their mortgage was inconceivable to most borrowers. Yet as ...

Tagged with: Bankruptcy fannie mae federal housing authority fha foreclosure freddie mac housing market Real Estate Robert Nusgart

Thank you Greece. Thank you Spain. Thank you Portugal. Thank you for fueling the European debt debacle that continues to make the American bond market a haven for skittish investors looking for a “flight to safety” for their money. And ...

Tagged with: america bonds crisis debt Economy europe fha fixed mortgage interest rates loan Robert Nusgart treasury

Did you notice that mortgage rates once again are moving lower? Rates for a 30-year fixed is now easily below 4 percent, and adjustable rates for a five-year ARM are close to 3 percent. So even if you refinanced a ...

Tagged with: bank borrow Economy federal housing authority fha finance mortgage rate Real Estate Robert Nusgart

The real estate spring market is underway and you are finally thinking of purchasing a new home. The fun part is going out and looking at homes and envisioning your family settling into a beautiful new house with a rolling ...

Tagged with: borrow home loan mortgage Real Estate Robert Nusgart spring

When I first meet with a borrower, I typically tell them two things: First, I am not so much your loan officer anymore, but your advocate and tour guide through the loan process. Second, if I do my job correctly, ...

Tagged with: credit fannie mae finance freddie mac lender loan mortgage Real Estate Robert Nusgart

They still don’t get it. A couple of weeks ago, with much fanfare, the Obama administration rolled out a new program that would allow FHA borrowers who settled on a home before June, 1, 2009, to refinance to current lower ...

Tagged with: federal housing authority fha loan mortgage refinancing Robert Nusgart

Changes are brewing again at Federal Housing Administration — one that is going to become a reality and another still in the idea stage by the Obama administration. The more concrete change is targeted at the amount of seller concession ...

Tagged with: Baltimore fannie mae fha freddie mac mortgage Robert Nusgart

So the question is: Rent or buy? That question would have been scoffed at back in the mid-2000s. Buy, of course. With 100 percent financing easily available, a menu of reduced documentation programs at hand and liberal credit score requirements ...

Tagged with: house market purchase Real Estate rental Robert Nusgart

A couple of programs designed to help borrowers and those seeking to refinance have finally gotten underway. Lenders started rolling out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (Part 2) on Dec. 1, while the FHA officially returned ...

Tagged with: fha Financing housing loans Real Estate Robert Nusgart

Since the mortgage meltdown four years ago, the Federal Housing Administration has been the last refuge for those home buyers who could only afford a small down payment to get into a home. It was the last refuge for home ...

Tagged with: bailout Congress federal housing administration fha mortgage premiums Robert Nusgart savings