Homeowners are opening their favorite piggy bank again — their homes. As home values rise faster than expected, that increased homeowner wealth suddenly seems more enticing. It's showing up in big remodeling growth and higher profits for retailers like Home Depot and...
In the last downturn, there were a surprising amount of people who were underwater but hung on - and today with record-high prices, they are glad they did. We learned that whether you had equity or not, the chance of default was influenced by other factors. If...
It happened to us - hackers got into somebody's account. They posed as the escrow officer and tried to divert my buyers' down payment to the wrong bank account. Their timing was impeccable too. Six days before closing, an email was sent to the buyers that looked like...
The Gaylord-Hansen Team of Caliber Home Loans had a seminar yesterday to discuss the details of their mortgage of the future - and they have it now! The goal is to make the obtaining of a mortgage completely digital, and gather the documentation needed to fund a loan...
We've touched on the new disrupter OpenDoor, which is currently operating in Phoenix and Dallas (places where home values might be easier to determine): https://www.opendoor.com/homepage They are willing to pay cash for your house and close in three days, which sounds...
Changes this month by the California Housing Finance Authority will help more K-12 public school employees land their first home. The Extra Credit Teacher Home Purchase Program -- once restricted to teachers -- is now available to all administrators and support staff...
Dropping the required owner-occupied ratio from 50% to 35% should open up more opportunities for condo buyers and sellers, but yes, the mortgage guidelines are getting easier and easier. Owner occupied units are defined as principal residences, secondary residences,...
What could go wrong? http://www.housingwire.com/articles/38430-sofi-and-fannie-mae-announce-cash-out-refinance-student-loan-offering Capitalizing off of its start as a student lender, SoFi and government-sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae announced a new loan option on...
We've seen how bankers have been able to finagle fines instead of jail time for the harm done during the mortgage crisis. Where did that money go? Thanks to Art for sending:...
What could go wrong? From realtor.com: A Silicon Valley startup is hoping that homeowners seeking fast cash will forgo begging for loans from banks (and dear old Mom and Dad), skip refinancing their abodes, avoid traditional home equity loans and credit loans—and...
