DesperateHouseWise.com

While keeping your home certainly trumps living on the street with a higher credit score, a loan modification can knock as much as 105 more points off your credit score than a foreclsoure.
According to a published article in the Detroit Free Press, a “loan modification to get a lower mortgage payment and stay in your [...]

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Tags: credit report, credit report score, credit score, foreclosure, loan modification, modification, mortgage, mortgage modification

The report from RealtyTrac brought some good news for the the housing market. However, this morning’s disappointing unemployment figures might dampen the celebration.
DHW asks: Are foreclosures down in your area?
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Tags: foreclosure, Housing, unemployment

Home price inched up in September, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index of major cities, released on Tuesday, inched up 0.3 percent. The seasonally adjusted reading in September was 144.96. But the index looked weaker than in months past, with prices increasing month-over-month in only 11 metro areas (the [...]

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Tags: case-shiller, case-shiller home price index, foreclosure, home prices, home sales, home values, Housing, housing prices, standard and poor's, unemployment

The Mortgage Bankers Association released a sobering report showing the housing recovery has a long road ahead. Here are some highlights (or low-lights) of their report.

1-in-4 of every Florida mortgage is behind in payments or in foreclosure
Nationally, 14 percent of mortgages are behind in payments or in foreclosure
Lost jobs are the main cause of homeowners [...]

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Tags: FHA, foreclosure, homeowners, mortgage bankers association, prime loans, subprime, unemployment

During a speech to the National Association of Realtors in San Diego, FHA Commissioner David Stevens said his agency is not headed for the same fate as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the subprime sector. Concerns about the FHA’s financial well being were raised last week when it was revealed in an independent audit that [...]

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Zero percent kitchen: n. a kitchen remodeled at the height of the real estate and credit bubble, between 2001 and 2006, featuring high-end details such as granite or Corian countertops; designer cabinets; stainless steel appliances and upgraded flooring (e.g. hardwood or travertine tile). Improvements were paid for with zero percent financing programs originated at home improvement [...]

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From The Washington Post : ‘FHA’s cash reserves have dropped well below amount required by law, audit shows’
DHW asks: Do you think the FHA’s reserves will hit zero?
FHA loan limits in your area
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U.S. foreclosures sank for a third consecutive month in October, down 3% from the previous month. However, many feel this trend will not continue. Foreclosure notices were curtailed in many states due to temporary, legislative intervention. CNBC reported Nevada foreclosures “dropped 26 percent from the previous month because of new legislation requiring mediation before initiating [...]

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In a CNBC interview this morning, Realogy CEO, Richard Smith, called on FHA to increase its minimum required down payment of 3.5%. Mr Smith suggested the ‘risk profile’ will have to change to stave off foreclosures. This argument only perpetuates the myth that those who put less money down are somehow less attached to their [...]

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Critics of the Housing Tax Credit were quieted, if only briefly, when the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released data for third quarter home sales. According to the trade group, home sales increased by nearly 6% over this same time last year. Despite the spike in sales, prices have fallen more than 11% during the [...]

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