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Too late to close by Nov. 30?

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

With the Nov. 30 deadline for closing a home purchase in time to claim the first-time homebuyer tax credit fast approaching, the $8,000 question has become: what's the last possible date to find a home, make an offer, and begin the closing process?  more...

Lenders more generous with loan mods Premium Content

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

More than three out of four loan modifications made by lenders during the second quarter reduced borrowers' montlhy payments, up from 54 percent in the first three months of the year, according to a report released today by federal bank regulators.

That's welcome news, because loan modifications that reduce borrowers' monthly payments are less likely to redefault, the report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision said.  more...

Nations REO using TrackPoint

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

DepotPoint Inc. has customized its TrackPoint foreclosure management software to handle Nations REO Inc.'s workflow and property management operations, the companies said.

Nations REO, a division of FMC (Foreclosure Management Company), manages thousands of bank-owned properties, or REOs. The company’s customers include large mortgage lenders and banks, loan servicers and private equity firms.  more...

Freddie doing loan mods door-to-door

By Inman News, Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

The Hope Now alliance of mortgage servicers and investors is holding workshops around the country to allow distressed homeowners face-to-face with their mortgage lenders and HUD-approved housing counselors.  more...

Hiring bonus: we'll buy your house

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

Homebuyers who are worried they will lose their job after taking on a hefty mortgage can take out insurance policies that will cover their payments for a time if they become unemployed.

But what's an executive who lands a high-paying job that forces him to relocate to do if he can't sell his house for what he bought it for?  more...

New rules for higher-cost loans

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

New rules targeted primarily at mortgage lenders making higher-cost loans take effect Thursday, more than a year after they were finalized by the Federal Reserve.

Many lenders have already adopted some of the changes as in their own best interest, such as verifying borrowers' income and assets and assessing their ability to repay a loan after it resets to a higher interest rate.  more...

Real estate influence and its followers Premium Content

By Liz Frantz, Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

Twitter posts were flowing last week about TechFest 2009 the seventh annual "gathering of the most forward-thinking and innovative minds from independently built and maintained real estate multiple listing services."

Jasmine Ruthdotter (@bubbleessence), a project manager for Oregon's Regional Multiple Listing Service, told Garron Selliken (@garrons), founder of M Realty and Homequest, "Your new way of defining neighborhoods was mentioned in #mlsfest this morning. Sounds exciting."

Ruthdotter also tweeted, "Interesting discussions on indexing. Looking at an INCREDIBLY fast MLS system right now! 8 (milliseconds), who knew?"  more...

Case-Shiller: third month of price gains

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

Home prices rose for a third month consecutive month in July, and the rate of annual decline continued to shrink for the sixth month in a row, according to the S&P/Case Shiller home price indices published by Standard & Poor's.

An index tracking prices in 20 metro areas showed prices increased in 18, by an average of 1.6 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. Looking back a year, the 20-city composite was down 13.3 percent -- a smaller drop than the 15.4 percent decline seen in June.  more...

Loan mod bandits Premium Content

By Marcie Geffner, Tuesday, September 29, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattimattila/2660481273/">Matti Mattila</a>.

"DONT LET YOUR LENDER TAKE YOUR MONEY! MODIFY YOUR HOME LOAN TODAY!"

That was the slogan--in large capital letters and sans the necessary apostrophe in the first word -- that loomed on a billboard over Century City, a tony neighborhood near my home in Los Angeles.

The billboard showed a masked bandit dressed in black-and-white prison stripes and a knit cap. On his back was a banker-style moneybag, complete with a big dollar sign on it.  more...

Realogy debt plan moves forward

By Inman News, Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

Real estate franchise and brokerage company Realogy Corp. said Monday it took out $515 million in loans in a debt restructuring that will reduce the company's debt by $70 million.

Realogy was acquired by an affiliate of Apollo in April 2007 in a leveraged deal that left the company burdened with debt.  more...

Study: Detroit less costly than Hanoi

By Inman News, Monday, September 28, 2009.

If the cheap cost of living used to be one of the perks of working overseas, today's corporate middle-manager may find a better deal on a home if she's transferred to Detroit than Hanoi. 

That's according to Coldwell Banker Real Estate's annual Home Price Comparison Index, which compares similar 2,200-square-foot homes in 310 U.S. housing markets, and in 57 markets in 29 countries outside the U.S.

Comparing like homes sets the report apart from others that simply compare median home prices, Coldwell Banker said.  more...

California home sales cool in August

By Inman News, Monday, September 28, 2009.

Sales of existing homes in California fell 5.1 percent from July to August, but the statewide median home price notched a sixth consecutive month of gains and inventories remained below their historic average, the California Association of Realtors reported.

At $292,960, the median price for a single-family home was up 2.6 percent from July, but down 16.9 percent from a year ago.  more...

Realogy juggling debt to meet deadline

By Inman News, Friday, September 25, 2009.

In a regulatory filing Thursday, real estate franchise and brokerage company Realogy Corp. said it expects to post a third-quarter net loss of $20 million to $25 million on $1.14 billion to $1.17 billion in revenue, and also reported efforts to stay within contractual debt ratios before a Sept. 30 deadline. 

Realogy, whose franchise group includes the CENTURY 21, Coldwell Banker and ERA brands, was acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Management LP in April 2007, in a highly leveraged deal that left the company with considerable debt.  more...

New-home sales eke out gain for August

By Inman News, Friday, September 25, 2009.

Sales of newly built single-family homes inched up by 0.7 percent from July to August, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 429,000 -- a 3.4 percent slowdown from a year ago, the Census Bureau said.

The month-over-month gain was less than expected by some analysts, but the boost in sales -- along with the slower pace of construction of new homes -- helped builders trim inventories.  more...

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