Mortgages Archives

Pity the poor three-year adjustable rate mortgage consumers, who must feel like they woke up on the wrong side of the balance sheet this morning. Read more»

The mortgage market sure didn’t take its cue from last week’s mostly positive economic news, as mortgage rates ratcheted downward and bond prices advanced, according to the BankingMyWay Weekly Mortgage Rate Tracker. Read more»

Hold the phone. Could last week’s decline in mortgage rates may be more mirage than (downward) momentum? It could be – at least in the longer term. Read more»

Just because you’ve fallen into bankruptcy doesn’t mean that you’ll lose your home. Even if you are in bankruptcy, you’re hardly alone. A new report from Automated Access to Court Electronic Records (AACER) says that total U.S. bankruptcies may hit 1.5 million this year. Read more»

The Labor Day weekend was kind to home mortgage borrowers, with interest rates sliding back in key fixed-rate and at least one variable-rate categories, as measured by the BankingMyWay Mortgage Rate Tracker. Read more»

You know the old saying, the one that says "no moss grows under a rolling stone?" It’s an adage that really applies to the government-approved $8,000 first-time homebuyer’s tax credit. If you do your research, act fast and get your plan in motion, you actually get a free $8,000 gift – courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer – for a new home. Read more»

With mortgage rates low and stocks on a roll, current and prospective homeowners should consider whether it’s best to put more money into their mortgages or to invest in stocks or other holdings instead. There’s a case to be made for either approach, depending on how much risk you can stomach and how dependable your income is. The mortgage-versus-investment issue generally comes up in two ways. Read more»

By Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate WriterWASHINGTON (AP) — Rates for 30-year home loans edged up this week, but remain close to record lows reached over the spring.The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.14%, up from 5.12% a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday. Rates, while above the record low of 4.78% hit in the spring, are still at attractive levels for people looking to buy a home or refinance. Read more»

Lots of parties shared blame for the mortgage crisis that sparked the recession: lenders with loose standards, buyers with appetites bigger than their wallets, regulators and credit-rating agencies that didn’t see the storm rising.And then there were some unscrupulous mortgage brokers, widely blamed for steering borrowers to loans that would blow up in their faces. Read more»