1. Realtors® Applaud President’s Call for Strict Net Neutrality Rule
“NEW ORLEANS (November 10, 2014) – The following is a statement by National Association of Realtors® President Chris Polychron…”
2. FHA squeezing loans for condos despite surging demand
“Call it the condo conundrum: Demand for condominium units is rising in many urban areas nationwide, according to new real estate industry estimates, yet mortgage financing is getting squeezed for entry-level condo buyers by a key federal agency.”
3. Shopping for a loan? Credit unions can be consumer-friendly option
“Credit unions reached a pair of milestones recently, and that’s good news for home buyers.”
4. Q&A: HOA rejects late payments, opts to foreclose; is that legal?
“Question: I owe $1,600 in past due homeowner association assessments, but I made payments that haven’t been applied to my account. Through the management company and association attorney, the board placed a lien on my home to foreclose. The attorney says I owe $10,500 and returns my checks, saying he “will not accept a partial payment.” Despite repeated requests, management won’t provide my payment history and an accurate line-by-line accounting of what I owe. When the board ordered management to provide each owner’s payment history with monthly statements, the company owner threatened to sue. Their signed contract says management “owns” the right to provide titleholder “payment history statements and accountings for a fee.” The board signed that contract making owners hostage to management fees for crucial things like owner payment history. Meanwhile I’m facing foreclosure, and no one will talk to me or accept my payments. Do I have any rights?”
5. Rich people are splurging on million-dollar homes again. Here’s why.
“Want to get a good rate on a new mortgage? Two tips: Be wealthy, and borrow more.”
6. Alternative mortgages making a comeback
“Repairs to Edward and Caryn Maldonado’s second home in Northern California cost a lot more than they expected. They bought the three-bedroom fixer-upper to give their daughter a place to live while attending college, saving money on rent.”
7. JPMorgan Cuts More Mortgage, Card Jobs as Revenue Drops
“JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) expects to eliminate 8,000 more jobs this year in mortgage and community banking than it forecast 20 months ago as profit and revenue from the businesses drop.”
8. Hedge-Fund Guys Have Foreclosure Fatigue
“One of the most important ways to strengthen the U.S. housing recovery is to get distressed properties into financially stronger hands. Shortly after the financial crisis began, institutional investors started snapping up foreclosed homes. These buyers, according to RealtyTrac, are entities that buy more than 10 properties in a calendar year. Blackstone Group has been among the most active, acquiring more than $20 billion of foreclosed properties, then making necessary repairs and renting them out.”
9. Homebuilders: Just one in six housing markets back to normal
“Markets in 59 of the roughly 350 metro areas nationwide returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity in the third quarter of 2014, according to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Leading Markets Index.”
10. State Marijuana Laws Don’t Protect Your Property
“Here’s the thing about marijuana laws: Federal trumps state. So even though 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medicinal pot use — and four states have OK’d recreational use — the federal government still says marijuana is illegal. That means landlords and property managers in legal-pot states shouldn’t feel completely safe allowing tenants to smoke on the premises, NAR Senior Policy Representative Megan Booth said during the “Medical Marijuana and R.E.” session at the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in New Orleans.”
11. Monday Morning Cup of Coffee: What GOP control means for housing
“Monday Morning Cup of Coffee takes a look at news crossing HousingWire’s weekend desk, with more coverage to come on bigger issues.”
12. Freddie Mac CEO: We’re studying alternatives to FICO
“The chief executive officer of the government-sponsored enterprise, Freddie Mac, is known as a turn-around guy for good reason. While previously CEO of E*TRADE Financial, Donald Layton recapitalized the firm and left it in good standing.”
13. Fannie Mae: Consumer confidence in housing hits “all-time high”
“Americans’ view of the future of housing and their financial prospects continues to improve, according to the October 2014 National Housing Survey from Fannie Mae.”
14. Realtors forecast more home sales but higher mortgage costs in 2015
“NEW ORLEANS — The prospect of higher mortgage rates in 2015 won’t put the brakes on home sales, Realtors hope, provided that lenders loosen their purse strings.”
15. Bank of America Said to Make New Pitch to SEC for Relief
“Bank of America Corp. is making new efforts to resolve a stalemate at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that is holding up a final piece of the lender’s record $16.7 billion toxic-mortgage settlement, two people familiar with the matter said.”
16. REAL ESTATE: Study unveils consumers’ dream house
“Homebuyers might argue that some of their best chances to snag a dream home in the new millennium are still with us.”
17. The steady decline of all cash buyers: Investors pulling back but all cash sales still remain elevated. Fewer distressed sales means less opportunities for good deals.
“Never in the history of U.S. home sales have we had institutional investors so involved in the single family home market. In many areas once the bubble popped, we had big and small investors swallowing up over half of all sales for many years. The deals are now harder to find and investors are pulling back in a big way. We also have fewer distressed properties on the market so the properties that do make it to the “for sale” section tend to have more wiggle room in terms of sellers being resistant to lowering prices. For example, back in 2009 nearly 50 percent of all sales were of the distressed variety nationwide. Today, it is slightly below 10 percent. It is a good thing to have fewer distressed properties out in the market. But what happened over the last decade is many of the 7,000,000 foreclosures shifted from individual families into the hands of large and small investors. This is how we have a very large swing to renting households. It might be useful to take a deep look at all cash sales today.”
18. Are Car Loans The Next Lending Boondoggle?
“Car loans are easy to get but mortgages are tight, at least according to a lot of chatter and complaint. But how can that be when money is money, home values are generally rising and unless you own a rare model collectible cars are a depreciating asset?”