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Loan mods tracking Treasury target Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

More than 85 percent of mortgage loans are now covered by the Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program, meaning loan servicers must determine whether foreclosing on a home might prove more costly than offering a loan modification to a troubled borrower.

A total of 47 loan servicers were participating in the HAMP program at the end of August, up from 38 in July, and the program is on track to meet a goal of 500,000 loan modifications by November, the Treasury Department said in releasing its latest report on the performance of participating loan servicers.  more...

Lender cleared in foreclosure lawsuit

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

In the case Warren v. Countrywide Home Loans, homeowner Reginald Warren defaulted on his mortgage, and lender Countrywide Home Loans foreclosed on the property. Prior to the foreclosure, the homeowner requested that Countrywide verify the mortgage debt. Countrywide, however, failed to respond to the homeowner's debt verification request and proceeded with the foreclosure sale.

The homeowner filed suit, claiming that Countrywide's failure to verify his mortgage debt prior to the foreclosure sale violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 15 USC ยง1692g(b) [FDCPA, the "Act"].  more...

Leaving the gaslight era behind

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

Q: I have an old house in Berkeley, Calif. It used to have gaslights. The pipes are still visible in the rooms, sticking out 2 1/2 inches from the walls and capped.

I know that there is no gas in these lines, so I would like to remove them and patch the holes. I tried a pipe wrench, but wasn't able to budge them. I could cut them flush with a Sawzall, but I'd like to get them deeper in order to do a better patch. Any suggestions?

A: Kevin ran into the same thing when he refurbished his 1879 Second Empire Victorian in nearby Alameda.  more...

Short sales with strings attached Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, September 9, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bredgur/2458165114/">bredgur</a>.

My costs of doing business are significant, particularly when I am representing the seller in a transaction. Staging, photographs, brochures and all those printer cartridges, not to mention my time, can be a drain on the old bottom line. That is why I am toying with the idea of tweaking my business model.

I am considering adding some language to our multiple listing service write-ups: "We are experienced listing agents; over 99.76 percent of our listings successfully close."  more...

Sharp increase in demand for mortgages

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

Applications for mortgages surged 17 percent last week as lower interest rates spurred demand for both refinance and purchase loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in releasing the results of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

Applications for refinancings were up 22.5 percent for the week ending Sept. 4, the largest increase since March, while an index measuring applications for purchase loans was up 9.5 percent from a week earliers. Both indexes are seasonally adjusted.  more...

Boarders: real estate's perfect strangers

By Mary Umberger, Wednesday, September 9, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/icco/3076826986/">Nat W</a>.

Boarders -- once the stuff of Depression-era cartoons and 1950s TV sitcoms -- are back.

It's a sign of our economic times that more homeowners, looking to relieve financial stress, appear to be looking for someone to occupy a spare bedroom in exchange for monthly rent. And although having "roommates" is nothing new, recession-era realities are redefining the players and the living arrangements.

"Ever since last August or September, when the (stock market) crash really hit, people who had never thought of it before started ..."  more...

4 reasons to keep on blogging

By Gahlord Dewald, Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

It doesn't seem like so long ago that blogging was some crazy new technology that was really going to disrupt the status quo of content distribution. Now, in an age of Twitter gurus and Facebook experts, blogging seems almost as old and outdated as licking stamps. But I'd like to offer some advice on why you shouldn't neglect your blog.

This is not a "blogging vs. social media" column (though maybe I should've written one like that as comment bait). It's a simple reminder of the things that make blogging a useful piece of your marketing and business efforts.  more...

California eyes REO escrow selection

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

A bill aimed at preventing banks from dictating the escrow service to be used in transactions involving real estate-owned (REO) properties is expected to reach California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk following its approval by the state Senate.

Assembly Bill 957, which passed the Assembly in a unanimous 77-0 vote in May, was approved by the Senate on Sept. 1 in a 29-to-4 vote. Because the bill was amended, it must now go back to the Assembly for concurrence before going to the governor's desk. As an urgency measure, the bill can take effect immediately if the governor signs it into law.  more...