The government’s newest housing rescue effort, which was announced Friday, includes these key tenets: · As much as $14 billion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) will be made available to pay for writing down second liens for loans whose... (Continue reading)
Bank of America said on Wednesday that it would begin forgiving some mortgage debt in an effort to keep distressed borrowers from losing their homes. The program, while limited in scope and available by invitation only, signals a significant... (Continue reading)
Sales of existing homes have thus fallen three consecutive months, a reversal after having risen steadily through the fall in response to a federal subsidy for first-time home buyers. The tax credit has been restored and expanded to repeat buyers,... (Continue reading)
In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave. This latest program, which will allow owners... (Continue reading)
San Diegans who have lost their homes through foreclosure or short-sales thought they had emerged from the dark times and could start rebuilding their lives. Then the state tax man came calling. With less than six weeks before taxes are... (Continue reading)
The pressure is increasing on Congress to renew the homebuyer tax credits for a third time. The first $7,500 tax credit was passed in 2008 and required first-time buyers to repay the credit over 15 years. A few months later in... (Continue reading)
San Diego County’s housing affordability has again dipped below the 50 percent level, the National Association of Home Builders said yesterday. The 48.1 score in the Housing Opportunity Index represents the percentage of homes sold in the fourth quarter that a... (Continue reading)
U.S. home values declined another 5 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to the previous year. This was the 12th straight quarter of year-over-year declines, reported Zillow.com. More than 29 percent of homes sold in 2009 in the... (Continue reading)
Will paying underwater borrowers to keep meeting their mortgage obligations prevent them from walking away? Loan Value Group LLC says it is working with a major mortgage lender to test this theory. Here’s the plan. The mortgage investor offers a cash reward... (Continue reading)
Pending home sales have leveled from a market swing driven by response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, increased 1... (Continue reading)