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Zimonet.com posted two articles over the past two days on how more homeowners are switching to a 15-year mortgage as a way to pay off their house and get out of debt more quickly. The articles also point out that, although it is an attractive option, it isn’t for everyone. According to information from CoreLogic, a … Continue reading 15-Year Mortgage Becoming Attractive to More Homeowners With mortgage rates at record lows, some homeowners are still not taking advantage of them, but through no fault of their own. Today’s CNNMoney article reports how the new lending requirements are turning away borrowers who, under the old lending rules, would have been eligible for a loan. Last week, mortgage rates fell for the eighth … Continue reading Some Homeowners Unable to Take Advantage of Record-Low Interest Rates In order to cover their losses on the bad loans they took in the past quarter, Freddie Mac is asking for $1.8 billion in additional federal aid, the Associated Press reported today. Between April and June, Freddie Mac lost $6 billion which could be attributed to the $1.3 billion in dividends paid to the Treasury … Continue reading Freddie Mac Asks for $1.8 Billion More To Cover Losses Remember the old commercials urging people to turn their home equity into cash for new cars, vacations and other luxuries? Well, people are still cashing out, but for a different reason: to decrease the size of their home loan. MarketWatch reported today that “cash-in refinancing” is the new trend in which borrowers tap their home equity … Continue reading Homeowners Use Cash-in Refinancing to Pay Down Mortgages This blog has previously reported on those who have strategically defaulted on their mortgages — that is, they have stopped paying their mortgages altogether, knowing they can no longer afford to pay them. Now, it’s not just middle-class and lower-middle-class folks throwing in the towel in their struggle to make payments; it seems the rich … Continue reading Who’s Defaulting Now? The Rich The Associated Press reported today that there was an increase in the number of applications for home loans last week as people sought to take advantage of the ever-decreasing interest rates. But the people jumping on the low-interest rate bandwagon aren’t those looking to buy a home; it’s those who already own a home. Data from … Continue reading Mortgage Applications Rise, But — Still — No Buyers The Washington Post reported today that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.69% this week, down from 4.75% last week. According to Freddie Mac, this is the lowest rate since the government-owned lender tracked such data in 1971. This news should encourage more people to buy a home, but, in reality, the opposite is happening. Citing the … Continue reading Can Record-Low Mortgage Rates Propel Home Sales? Bloomberg BusinessWeek reported today that it could cost U.S. taxpayers between $160 billion and $1 trillion to fix government-owned mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — even after receiving $145 billion in bailout money from the government. That amount, according to the article, is greater than the bailouts granted to American International Group Inc., … Continue reading Fixing Fannie and Freddie Could Have $1 Trillion Price Tag While the 30-year mortgage rate increased, the rate for the 15-year mortgage went down to a record low. The Wall Street Journal reported that the 30-year rose slightly from 4.78% last week to 4.79% for the week ending June 3. Meanwhile, the 15-year rate dropped from 4.21% last week to 4.2% this week — the … Continue reading Affordable Financial Services Weekly Finance Review Despite already receiving $145 billion in taxpayer monies from the Treasury, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are asking for more money in order to provide funding for the U.S. mortgage market and to keep the market stable. MarketWatch reports that another bailout would ensure there is adequate capital available to banks and other lenders. Of the … Continue reading Freddie and Fannie Say They Need More Money |
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