Passed in early August, this housing bill promises to impact the real estate market in several different ways. First, it will allow about 400,000 homeowners who owe more than their homes are currently worth to refinance into federally back...
In a short sale, a homeowner sells their home for less than they owe, and the mortgage holders agree to forgive some or all of the debt secured by the property. Until 2007, a homeowner who liquidated her home through a short sale was charg...
From my point of view, there are three recent real estate laws every home buyer, home seller and homeowner should be aware of and the first is:
1. The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. Why do you care about this one? Because it temporarily in...
Late last year, the federal government started responding legislatively to the upheaval in the housing market. Some argue that the resulting laws have been too little; others feel they are too late. My guess is that with the upcoming electi...
The federal government has now intervened to provide support for the economy and restore investor confidence by potentially risking hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars. While allocating taxpayer money to support illiquid mortgage asse...
The recent decline in property values has created many challenges for real estate agents and homeowners alike, but a “Short Sale” could be the key to a happy ending. One of the biggest misconceptions about short sales is that they are d...
In some areas, foreclosures are increasing, housing inventories are higher than normal, and even well-qualified borrowers cannot receive mortgage loans. Many homeowners and home buyers also are becoming increasingly concerned about when the...
So on Friday it was leaked that the government is taking over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. On Sunday it was official. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have now been taken over by the federal government. But what does it mean for the real estate ma...
A slew of positive reports on the housing and economic fronts helped the markets regain some confidence in the past week. Preliminary Growth Domestic Product estimates showed the U.S. economy growing at a surprisingly healthy pace while th...
After the gloom in the media and on Wall Street about housing values, someone forgot to check the stats!
Recently there have been a lot of stories about isolated areas that have seen 20% reductions in home values. Most agree that these areas...
