No Bull Agent

Homeowner in Distress? The HAMP and HAFA Programs May Be for You.

Homeowners in distress continue to dominate the headlines.  The recent article “Home Prices in San Diego County Take a Breather” posted on SignOnSanDiego.com states, “The proportion of the resale market made up of homes foreclosed on in the prior 12 months slid last month, down to 28.4 percent, compared to 38.6 percent a year earlier, making it the lowest since November of 2007, according to DataQuick.”  Though this statistic shows the number decreasing, 28.4% is still a large percentage and varies from market to market.  Homeowners are looking for options and as of April 5, another became available.

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program (HAFA) provides an option for homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes through foreclosure under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).  For reference, HAMP is a loan modification program put in place to reduce monthly mortgage payments for delinquent or at-risk homeowners.  This original program was put in place for loans originated on or before January 1, 2009 and for borrowers who are at least 31 days delinquent.  The program is scheduled to end December 31, 2012.  So, HAFA is for homeowners who have taken advantage of HAMP and are still at risk of foreclosure.

According to Realtor.org, HAFA provides incentives through a short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to avoid foreclosure on a loan eligible for modification under HAMP. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: borrower, california, distressed, HAFA, HAMP, home owner, kaplan, nobullagent, san diego

Mortgage Rate Update for the Week of July 11, 2010

Information in this post is provided by Greg Wickstrand, Home Loan Consultant for HomeServices Lending.  He is a guest blogger who provides us information from a lender’s perspective.  For additional posts by Greg, please visit his BLOG.

What’s Ahead for Mortgage Rates this Week:  July 11, 2010
By:  Greg Wickstrand

Mortgage markets improved again last week — if only barely — throughout a holiday-shortened week devoid of “major” data and market conviction.

Up-and-down trading characterized the week which ended with mortgage rates slightly lower versus the week prior.

Mortgage rates have fallen in 4 consecutive weeks and are on an extended rally that dates back to mid-April.

This week, however, data returns and rates could reverse. Especially with inflation numbers are in play.

Inflation is the enemy of mortgage rates.

Inflation is bad for mortgage rates because mortgage rates based on the price of mortgage-backed bonds.  When inflation pressures mount, the demand for mortgage-backed bonds wanes and that pushes bond prices down which, in turn, pushed bond yields (i.e. rates) up.

There’s three pieces of inflation-related news this week.

The first inflation-related story is the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday release of the minutes from its last meeting. Now, when the Fed adjourned June 23, it said “underlying inflation has trended lower“. However, there was more to the conversation that what the FOMC released in its post-meeting statement.

Markets will be looking for clues.

Then, Thursday, the Producer Price Index is released. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: greg wickstrand, july 11, kaplan, Lending, market, mortgage, nobullagent, rate, update

Mortgage Rate Update for the Week of July 6, 2010

Information in this post is provided by Greg Wickstrand, Home Loan Consultant for HomeServices Lending.  He is a guest blogger who provides us information from a lender’s perspective.  For additional posts by Greg, please visit his BLOG.

What’s Ahead for Mortgage Rates this Week:  July 6, 2010
By:  Greg Wickstrand

Mortgage markets improved last week as economic data revealed a slowing U.S. economy.

Major stock indices fell to 2010 lows in response to a weak jobs report among other data points, forcing worldwide investors into the relative safety of U.S. government-backed bonds.  This category includes mortgage-backed bonds and the extra demand helped to drop rates.

Once again, mortgage rates improved and Freddie Mac is reporting new all-time lows on three popular, conforming loan products:

• The 30-year fixed rate mortgage
• The 15-year fixed rate mortgage
• The 5-year adjustable rate mortgage

Low rates mean low payments and you can’t know your options until you ask.

This week, mortgage rates may move slowly. There’s very little data set for release because markets were closed Monday in observance of Independence Day, and because the second calendar week of a month is traditionally data-slow. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: california, home buyer, interest rate, july 6, kaplan, Lending, market, mortgage, nobullagent, san diego, update