August 7, 2014 by Managing The Real Estate Details

Authorities Uncover Growing Mortgage-Relief Scams

Federal and state officials have filed dozens of lawsuits against companies they say have been duping a growing number of home owners who are facing foreclosure with big promises to lower their mortgage payments or rescue them from foreclosure while collecting millions of dollars in illegal upfront fees from home owners, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Dubbed Operation Mis-Modification, federal and state officials are uncovering pockets of law firms and counseling services that they say are falsely offering assistance to modify mortgage terms or payments for struggling home owners.

Officials say it’s against federal law for companies to collect fees from home owners until the home owners have received a written modification offer from their lender or mortgage servicer.

Read the article…

June 11, 2014 by Managing The Real Estate Details

Did the Internet Kill the Real Estate Star?

These days, there’s a limitless amount of information available to the technology-savvy home shopper. It appears—at least on the surface—that the role of the real estate agent is diminishing, especially for the younger generations of buyers. In fact, as millennials embrace every emerging social platform and application from Vine to SnapChat, expanding their ability to access an incredible wealth of real estate information and opinions generated by their peers and friends, what will become of agents?

March 5, 2014 by Managing The Real Estate Details

Expired Tax Breaks for Homeowners Could be Restored

Though it’s not attracting much attention, the impending arrival of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., as head of the Senate Finance Committee could be good news for housing and real estate in the weeks ahead.

That’s especially true if you care about mortgage forgiveness relief and other tax code provisions that help homeowners, buyers and sellers.

Things are looking up. Read the article…

October 10, 2013 by Managing The Real Estate Details

Shutdown Will Stall Home Loans for Thousands

Beginning this week, thousands of home buyers will be unable to get approvals for their mortgages because of the government shutdown, potentially undercutting the nation’s resurgent housing market.

Without paperwork from the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and in many cases the Federal Housing Administration, banks and other mortgage lenders will be less willing to make loans, if they can make them at all. For instance, lenders rely on the IRS to confirm borrowers’ income and on Social Security to confirm their identity.

Every day that government offices remain shuttered will delay an ever-larger fraction of mortgage closings, industry leaders say, jeopardizing mortgage and interest-rate approvals and spooking sellers. About 15,000 new home mortgages and 18,000 refinancings on average are completed across the country each day.

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