Category Archives: Finance

Deteriorating Mortgage Delinquencies onimous sign for housing

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Lake Chelan's Number One (1) Real Estate Agent

After months of improvement, mortgage delinquencies climbed in May.  Loans that were 30, 60 and 90 days past due all increased.  The volume of loans that  moved from delinquency to current status declined to a six-month low in May and … Continue reading →

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Home Buyer Tax Credit pays out millions in fraudulent claims!

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Lake Chelan's Number One (1) Real Estate Agent

The ease of cheating the home buyer’s tax credit, and other stimulus plans, was incredibly easy.  So, it should be no big surprise that the cheats came out and the credit is rife with fraud: According to a report by … Continue reading →

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A federal housing bureaucrat who is really here to help!

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Lake Chelan's Number One (1) Real Estate Agent

I was pleased to read about Patrick Lawler, Chief Economist of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and his recent comments about how to improve the housing market. Mr. Lawler launched a frontal assault on the most sacred element in U.S. … Continue reading →

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Look at Canada’s Mortgage Market!

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Al

It looks like we could learn a bunch from Canada on how to regulate a mortgage market: One of the biggest rounds of applause at a housing-policy conference sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland this week was for … Continue reading →

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Jumbo Loan rates are coming down

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Al

Jumbo loans, mortgages in amounts over $417,000 in our area, are getting closer in cost to less than jumbo amount (conforming) loans. With the government being pretty much the only game in town for mortgages the last couple of years, … Continue reading →

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Another Big bank failure in Washington!

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Al

Frontier Bank was closed by the FDIC on Friday.  The branches are now part of Union Bank. The largest of the mainland U.S. banks to fail was Frontier Bank, which will close its 51 branches, reopening as Union Bank branches … Continue reading →

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Big News: Mortgage Delinquencies Decline in March

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Al

Mortgage delinquencies declined in March for the second month in a row. According to LPS Applied Analytics, that tracks loan performance data, the number of mortgages that were at least 30 days delinquent declines 8.6% in March.  The biggest decline … Continue reading →

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The Goldman Scandal and Real Estate Mortgages

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Al

On Friday, the government announced a civil suit against Goldman Sachs for fraud regarding their real estate securities that were issued prior to the housing melt down.  The stock market reacted negatively and it has added uncertainty to the investment … Continue reading →

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Breaking News: Mortgage Rates Rising Quickly!

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Al

As the Fed tries to pull out of funding the mortgage market, bond rates are free-falling and mortgage rates are pushing up quickly!  You can see a mortgage rate chart here.

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Don’t wait for Bank of America to call to cut your principal…

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Al

It’s all over the news today that Bank of America has announced a new program that will reduce the principal on certain mortgages.  But before you start trying to sort through their automated phone system, keep in mind: The loan … Continue reading →

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