The FHA is tightening its belt when it comes to mortgage loans, on the heels of an investigation into 15 FHA lenders whose FHA mortgage insurance claims were markedly high.

Myriad notices and comments about the impending qualification changes have been announced, but will take effect this spring, including raising mortgage insurance fees that borrowers must pay, capping the amount of cash that sellers can contribute for closing costs and requiring higher down payments for borrowers with poor credit scores.

With foreclosure rates tapering off in February compared to January, there is hope on the horizon, albeit rates are still higher than that of the previous year. The FHA is insuring as many as 50% of all purchase loans, as compared to 3% before the collapse of the subprime market.

With the tighter restrictions on FHA loans, the options for seeking other financing simply don't exist, making some wonder if this will add fuel to the fire to the weakened housing market.

Read more at Realty Times.

Posted in Education And Training, MBI News, Buyer Resources, Seller Resources

According to a report from RealtyTrac, national foreclosure rates dropped 2% in February compared to the previous month. In addition, one in every 418 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing.

"This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are in effect capping monthly foreclosure activity -- albeit at a historically high level," said RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio.

Six states accounted for 60% of all foreclosure filings: California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona and Texas. Nevada, Arizona and Florida are posting the highest numbers of foreclosures.

Read more about the report's finding and statistics on CNNMoney and RISMedia, as well as from the press release issued by RealtyTrac.

Posted in Education And Training

Do you know how much your real estate is worth in this market? How do you know it's worth what you think it is?

There are many free opportunities to get a real handle on how much your real estate is worth, as many brokers and agents will do a free evaluation. Other tactics to figure out worth include:

• Solds. Use information about the solds that surround your property and those similar to yours to find your value.
• Expireds. These are listings that have not sold within the usual 30- to 90-day period, sometimes due to overpricing. They can also give you insight about what works and what doesn't work for marketing your property.
• Currents. How does your property compare to those currently on the market?
• Value Boosters. Renovations, recent repairs and other improvements to a property can boost its value.

Read more at Realty Times.

photo credit: TheTruthAbout...

Posted in Education And Training, Seller Resources

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) sees a light at the end of the tunnel, citing an ease in foreclosure rates with the fourth quarter of 2009 seeing a smaller percentage of delinquent mortgages and a drop in those entering foreclosure.

In a written statement, their chief economist, Jay Brinkmann, stated: "We are likely seeing the beginning of the end of the unprecedented wave of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures that started with the subprime defaults in early 2007."

The MBA survey took a look at 44.4 million loans on one- to four-unit residential properties, or about 85% of all first-lien residential mortgage loans that are outstanding in the country. The good news is fewer problem loans are entering delinquency.

Read more about the survey and its findings on RISMedia.

Posted in Education And Training