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Week in the life between closings

By Alison Rogers, Monday, March 3, 2008.

Friday: I make plans for a renter to come in. He is relocating from, dig this, Iceland. This to me is so exotic that I could just die, because I grew up in Arkansas, and Iceland to me is as far away and exotic as the moon. I have a client who's a moon man; I will be excited just to meet him.  more...

Mortgage industry struggles to manage default risk

By Jack Guttentag, Monday, March 3, 2008.

An enormous amount of ink has been spilled on the mortgage market crisis, and I have contributed my share. Yet I am now convinced that the most important factor underlying the crisis, which has been in plain view all along, has been overlooked. It is the way in which the mortgage industry manages default risk.

There are, in fact, two systems for managing default risk. In both, the borrower pays a premium scaled to estimates of the risk of the transaction. But, while one system has worked well, the other has been a disaster.  more...

Borrower fights lender's late charge

By Benny Kass, Monday, March 3, 2008.

DEAR BENNY: My loan, with a failed institution, was sold by the FDIC. After two years of servicing my loan, the new lender demanded payment for an alleged late-charge balance transferred with my loan. However, it also stated that there were no history records. I was never late, and this year the new lender admitted the late charges were not verified and made a partial refund. The FDIC has been in the loop. Who's at fault in this scenario and what are my legal options? --Carl  more...

It pays to sell home before buying another

By Dian Hymer, Monday, March 3, 2008.

An Oakland, Calif., couple had wanted to change their lifestyle for years. Like many people who want to make a move from the home they own to another they hope to own, this couple put the cart before the horse. They started by researching what it would cost to buy the next home before investigating how much cash they would net from the sale of their current home.  more...