Archive for July, 2008
Thursday, July 31st, 2008
I recently had the opportunity to attend Real Estate Connect, a conference that gives real estate, technology and other professionals a place to come together and talk about issues in our industry. During the conference, I had the chance to talk with realtors from around the U.S. and Canada, and ...
Posted in Housing Options, Real Estate | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
Fannie and Freddie. You've probably heard their names so often lately that some might think that they're the newest celebrity twins and are expecting to see their pictures on the cover of US Magazine. Too bad that's not the case.
A recent Reuters article gave a great explanation about Fannie and ...
Posted in Housing Options, Mortgage Laws, Real Estate | 2 Comments »
Thursday, July 24th, 2008
"You looked hard to find the right house. You negotiated the right price and shopped around for the best mortgage rate. But you're not done shopping yet."
So begins the article by Washington Post reporter Renae Merle, recently republished in the Chicago Tribune. Noting that a study conducted by HUD early ...
Posted in HUD, Housing Options, Mortgage Costs, RateWindow, Transparency | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
After all these years in the mortgage industry, you'd think that I'd get tired of reading stories about our business and all of the changes in it. But I have to admit that the advent of the internet and all of its easily-accessible information made my mortgage news addiction even ...
Posted in Housing Options, Mortgage Costs, RateWindow, Transparency | 5 Comments »
Friday, July 18th, 2008
There are some times when I just have to shake my head. One of those days was last Friday, when the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) issued its press release regarding the closure of IndyMac Bank and its transfer to the FDIC.
In that release, OTS Director John Reich was quoted ...
Posted in Foreclosure, Mortgage Costs, Real Estate | 2 Comments »
Thursday, July 17th, 2008
On Monday, Fed Chairman "Big Ben" Bernanke announced that the Board had approved a final rule to amend Regulation Z (Truth in Lending). In a prepared statement, Bernanke announced that the changes are "intended to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts and practices in mortgage lending, while keeping credit ...
Posted in Housing Options, Mortgage Laws, Regulation Z, Transparency | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Do high gas prices have a silver lining for folks selling their homes?
They certainly can, according to a recent AP article in MSNBC's online real estate section. Homes in urban centers and those located near commuter options such as subways and light rail systems are seeing more traffic (pardon the ...
Posted in Housing Options, Real Estate | 1 Comment »
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
Some studies are showing that as many as 80 percent of potential homebuyers begin their search for a new property online. In one recent survey, 500 men and women were interviewed in order to see what role gender played in the process.
I was interested to learn that almost half of the ...
Posted in Housing Options, Real Estate | No Comments »
