Canadians snapping up ‘sun and sand’ bargains
U.S. housing prices are starting to creep up from the rock-bottom levels of recent years, prompting foreign buyers to invest now before the bargains disappear. Canadians – accounting for nearly a quarter of home sales to foreign buyers in the 12 months ended in March, according to the National Association of Realtors- will likely continue […]14 years ago
Bank of America to extinguish 150,000 second mortgages
Borrowers with second liens owned and serviced by Bank of America may qualify to get their subordinate debt extinguished entirely, Housing Wire reported.14 years ago
What’s in a name? ‘Boulevard’ scores best cash value
The street name of a neighborhood can affect the asking price on a home, at least according to a new survey by Trulia. Trulia analyzed the median asking price per square foot among various types of address suffixes, like “Lane” and “Park.” Street addresses with the words “Boulevard,” “Place,” and “Road” were found to have […]14 years ago
Supersize it: Prices, rates leading to bigger homes
With housing prices at their cheapest levels in decades, some buyers are finding it a great time to trade up to a larger home.14 years ago
Too tight lending: Percentage of first-timers dips
Approximately 31 percent of residential sales reported in August by members of the National Association of Realtors were made by first-time homebuyers, down from the normal percentage of 40, according to NAR's Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.14 years ago
Real estate claims lead malpractice actions
The American Bar Association names real estate malpractice claims as the leading cause of malpractice actions in its Profile of Legal Malpractice Claims: 2008-2011 report. The report covers 57,000 claims filed with 28 U.S. and Canadian malpractice insurance carriers. More than 20 percent of the claims involved real estate malpractice, which some legal experts attribute […]14 years ago
Wait-and-see: Election has homebuyers on hold
A quarter of Americans say they want to put off purchasing a home until they know who the next president will be, according to a poll conducted on behalf of MortgageMarvel.com of more than 2,500 adults.14 years ago
Tom Kelly: Reverse mortgage safeguards overwhelming
I've always been one of those calloused individuals who subscribed to the theory that environmental hazards simply rotated every year on a secret list held by home inspectors.
14 years ago
Magazine ranks Redmond No. 5 in nation’s small cities
Money Magazine ranked Redmond as No. 5 on its list of top small cities in the country to live. Money says Redmond’s great schools, and low crime rate are some of the reasons the town is rated so high. Bellevue came in at No. 40. Those were the only two cities in Washington to make […]14 years ago
State’s mortgage fees among lowest in the nation
Homebuyers in Washington pay an average of $3,418 in closing costs on a $200,000 mortgage, placing it eighth on the list of states with the lowest costs, NWReporter noted. The national average cost to close on a $200,000 mortgage is $3,754, according to Bankrate’s annual survey, which is based on a comparison of Good Faith […]14 years ago
Lenders making a dent in massive shadow inventory
Banks trimmed 1.2 million troubled mortgages or foreclosed homes out of the massive shadow inventory hanging over the housing market in the first half of 2012, according to JPMorgan Chase research. The progress could double by the end of the year, though more than four million loans and properties would remain. Still, that would be […]14 years ago
Double-digit appreciation? Economists predict by 2015
A quarterly survey of more than 100 economists shows growing optimism for the real estate market when it comes to housing prices.14 years ago
Tackling Your Tough Loan
Do you have a loan no lender wants to touch? Is there a foreclosure on your record but you still want to buy a home down the road?14 years ago
Experts favor eliminating mortgage interest deduction
A majority of the nation’s leading economists, real estate experts and investment strategists say eliminating or drastically changing the mortgage interest deduction would benefit the country’s economic outlook. The deduction, once felt to be “in stone,” is now used by fewer than 30 percent of all taxpayers. The quarterly survey, conducted between August 30-September 14, […]14 years ago
More manageable mortgages bring fewer defaults
More homeowners are finding their mortgages more manageable as fewer borrowers default on their mortgage, according to Standard & Poor’s and Experian credit data. The report marks the eighth consecutive month that the number of people defaulting on their mortgage has dropped. According to Standard & Poor’s and Experian, default rates are now meeting post-recession […]14 years ago
At least one-third of all signed deals hit major delay
A high number of homebuyers are still walking away from their purchase and sale agreements to buy a home, even as the housing market picks up and sales are on a rise, new data from Capital Economics shows. Nearly 18 percent of signed contracts on existing home sales were canceled from May through July. What’s […]14 years ago
New tenant-screening tool for small landlords
CoreLogic, an analytics provider known for its tracking of foreclosures, has rolled out MyRental.com, a comprehensive tenant screening system for independent landlords. The new service provides applicant rental histories, eviction data, and criminal reports to small landlords who rent properties independently as those large apartment complexes and property management companies use to mitigate renter-applicant risk. […]14 years ago
Buy vs. rent? Buy wins in seven-year time frame
A new Trulia study shows that owning a home is more affordable than renting over a seven-year time frame in America's 100 biggest cities.14 years ago
Tom Kelly: Financing your off-campus rental
Foreclosures and short-sales still make up a significant portion of the housing market. In fact, in some areas, distressed properties make up more than one-third of all recorded sales.14 years ago
Realtor group blames slow recovery on tight credit
High lending standards are preventing a full economic recovery, according to new survey findings and an analysis of historic credit scores and loan performance by the National Association of Realtors.14 years ago
Mortgage cops target borrowers who ‘walked’ on loans
The Office of the Inspector General at the Federal Housing Finance Agency is trying to find strategic defaulters and collect on what they still owe. Strategic defaulters are often underwater homeowners who walk away from their mortgages even though they still have the means to pay. Experian has estimated that 20 percent of all foreclosures […]14 years ago
Four errors home shoppers should avoid
Real estate salespersons say buyers continue to make the same mistakes when purchasing a home. Here are the four most common errors.14 years ago
Surprise new leader in state foreclosures
llinois has become the state with the highest foreclosure rate in the country - the first time it's held that non-sought-after spot since January 2005, according to RealtyTrac in its latest foreclosure market report.14 years ago
