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Mar

20
2009

Killing those bonuses might make you feel better ...

By Matt Carter, Friday, March 20, 2009.

...but it won't bring back the economy. 

The "national rage" at bonuses paid to AIG executives (and other companies that have received billions in government TARP funding) "reflects our dangerous mood, and also says we have no idea what is important," says mortgage broker and syndicated columnist Lou Barnes.  more...

BofA out to make jumbo loans

By Matt Carter, Friday, March 20, 2009.

Bank of America has cut interest rates on jumbo mortgage loans in the hopes of expanding its share of what the bank sees as an underserved market for loans too big for purchase or guarantee by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Not everybody will qualify for the 30-year, fixed-rate loans of up to $3 million that Bank of America has been offering at reduced rates since January, with interest rates currently in the high 5 percent range.  more...

Economy demands full attention

By Lou Barnes, Friday, March 20, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/duchamp/4589838/" target=blank>Duchamp</a>.

The Fed's announcement of extraordinary intervention triggered ordinary responses in the markets: stocks had a nice moment; inflation mono-maniacs blew up gold and oil, and ran from the dollar; the 10-year Treasury note dropped from 2.95 percent to 2.52 percent in seconds; and briefly mortgages made it to 4.75 percent without fee.

All are reversing. The net mortgage gain: The plague of origination fees since December may give way, but rates are where they were, just under 5 percent, propped by unlimited demand.  more...

Insulation tips for 1920s home

By Paul Bianchina, Friday, March 20, 2009.

Q: I recently bought a house built in 1927. It's a two-story with a finished attic (total of three floors of living space). It appears to have no insulation whatsoever. The third floor has access to the tops of the exterior walls, all of the roof rafters, and the tops of the second-floor ceilings. What would you recommend for insulation? Should I blow cellulose insulation down the exterior walls from the attic space?  more...

Short sale hits home for broker Premium Content

By Maureen Wilkey, Friday, March 20, 2009.
Broker David Field is pictured with his Naperville, Ill., home. (Photo by Maureen Wilkey)

Greenwich Court is a short lane of cozy but luxurious homes in the western suburbs of Chicago. You would never know from the well-manicured lawns and brick facades that one of the eight homes on the block was bought as a pre-foreclosure and a second foreclosed last month.

For at least one homeowner here, the story of a pre-foreclosure ended happily. David Field, business owner and managing broker for Home Field Realtors in Naperville, went through a lot of headaches to finally own the 2,800-square-foot, four-bedroom home on Greenwich Court, where he now he lives with his wife and three children.  more...

Feds launch 'Home Affordable' site

By Inman News, Friday, March 20, 2009.

A new government Web site includes online tools that can help troubled borrowers determine whether they are eligible to participate in the "Making Home Affordable" loan modification and refinancing program.

The site, MakingHomeAffordable.gov, is intended to help communicate how the program works and who is eligible -- elements "critical to the program's success," Housing Secretary Sean Donovan said in a press release.  more...