Among the most hotly contested ideas bank regulators have proposed to reduce the risk of another financial crisis is rule making a 20 percent down payment mandatory on some new home loans. Consumer advocates, civil rights groups and lending industry groups alike have said the proposed rule would deter many families from ever buying a home. [...]
Wilmington has a great program that can help would-be homeowners pay for a renovated house.
Existing-home sales nationally slipped 0.8 percent in April from March, even as the market in many areas remained glutted with heavily discounted foreclosures and fixed interest rates fell. “Another disappointing housing report,” said IHS Global Insight housing economist Patrick Newport. Sales were 12.9 percent below April 2010, when the federal tax credit expired, the National [...]
Mortgage rates have hit lows for the year and could soon near the decades-low levels of last year. Those rates are providing an incentive for buyers, along with falling home prices. They’re tempting for refinancers, too. Still, analysts say the combination isn’t likely to lift the depressed housing industry or contribute much to the overall [...]
National Assistance Corporation of America Representative Darren Duarte tells you how to save your house from foreclosure and explains the Save the Dream Tour taking place at the Pa. Convention Center from April 7 to 11.
Federal banking regulators have not officially imposed their new rules for the top mortgage servicers, but criticism is already being heard. A wide coalition of consumer and housing groups is denouncing the legal agreements, which are likely to be published within a few days. The new rules require the servicers to improve their processing systems, to [...]
Seven months after the government announced a $1 billion plan to help jobless homeowners stave off foreclosure, Pennsylvania is finally getting the $105.8 million it had been promised. In fact, Pennsylvania will be the first of the 27 states participating in the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program to begin processing applications, starting this month. The U.S. [...]
New Jersey is holding their open house weekend this weekend and Allan Dechert, President of New Jersey Association of Realtors, provides the viewers with some house shopping tips.
The House passed a bill Tuesday to kill a signature Obama administration program that helps homeowners stay in their homes but has faced criticism as ineffective. The House voted 252 to 170 to stop any new funding for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Eleven Democrats joined Republicans to defund the program. The program taps [...]
If you want to buy a $300,000 house, you’ll need $60,000 as a down payment to get the best interest rate on your home loan, according to a proposal released Tuesday by federal regulators. A group of federal agencies announced a high standard for home buyers to get the best mortgage rates: Only those who [...]
Spending money wisely, from home repair to shopping
