RECENT NEWS

Help for homeowners who haven't missed a payment Borrowers who are up-to-date with their payments but have seen their home's value drop way below their loan amount could get help from a new government program. The Federal Housing Administration Tuesday debuted its FHA Short Refinance option, which allows non-FHA borrowers to get into an FHA-backed loan worth no more than 97.75% of the home's value. Read more

22% of private mortgage mods redefault Banks have been ramping up their mortgage modifications, helping out troubled borrowers who can't qualify for President Obama's foreclosure-prevention program. Too bad these homeowners redefault at more than twice the rate. Nearly 11% of mortgages modified under the government's Home Affordable Modification Program, have fallen two months behind in payments, according to a banking regulators' report issued Friday. Read more

Fannie Mae to make qualifying for interest-only loans tougher Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage giant, announced Friday that it will tighten lending requirements for the interest-only loans and adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) it backs. To get a Fannie Mae-backed interest-only mortgage, for example, homebuyers will have to make down payments of 30% of the sale price. Read more

Top 10 mortgage fraud states Mortgage fraud is still on the rise, according to a report released Monday, despite efforts by law enforcement and policy makers to rein it in. Incidents of mortgage fraud perpetrated by industry professionals increased 7% in 2009, after jumping 26% the year before, said the Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), a division of LexisNexis. Read more

Just when you thought it was safe: Foreclosures increase The housing market has seen some positive signs recently, such as stabilizing home prices and increased sales, but foreclosures continue to haunt the market. In the first three months of 2010 foreclosure filings rose 7%, to more than 930,000, compared with the previous quarter, according to the online foreclosure marketing firm RealtyTrac. That is a 16% jump over the first three months of 2009. Read more

10 foreclosures for every home saved The Obama administration's mortgage-modification program is not keeping pace with the deluge of foreclosures hitting the market, a government watchdog found.  Only 168,708 homeowners have received long-term mortgage modifications under the president's plan, as of February, a small fraction of the 6 million borrowers who are more than 60 days behind on their loans, according to the Congressional Oversight Panel's latest report, released Wednesday. Read more

Tim Geithner promises mortgage fix A long-awaited renovation of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could start to take shape this year, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told Congress Tuesday.  The Obama administration hopes to propose legislation to fix the nation's housing finance system within months, Geithner told the House Financial Services Committee. The government currently finances almost all home mortgages, thanks to its 2008 takeover of Fannie and Freddie. Read more

5 credit score killers As banks shy away from making risky consumer loans, a mediocre credit history just won't cut it anymore. To get the best rates on mortgages, credit cards and auto loans, you need a killer score.  Your FICO score is a numerical measure of your creditworthiness that ranges from 300 to 850. While there are a few different credit scoring systems available, it's the FICO score, created by the Fair Isaac Corporation, that most lenders look at when they check your credit. Read more

Lenders starting to run after 'walk away' homeowners Banks chasing walk away defaulters. It's a variation of "you can run, but you can't hide," in the case of underwater homeowners (those whose homes are now worth less than the remaining mortgage). In increasing numbers, according to reports, people are simply walking away from their homes. Now banks and other lending institutions are starting to run after them. Read more

November 2011: This program will offer assistance to as many as 7 to 9 million homeowners making a good-faith effort to make their mortgage payments, while attempting to prevent the destructive impact of the housing crisis on families and communities. The program allocates $75 billion to reducing mortgage payments for up to 4 Million homeowners. The program offers lenders a universal, clear and consistent guideline for loan modifications. To provide incentive to the lending community to follow these guidelines the U.S. government is paying the lenders: upfront incentive fees, performance success payments in addition to contributing funds towards the reduction of the borrower's monthly payments. The program also provides borrowers up to $1,000 per year of Pay-for-Performance reduction in their principal loan balance for up to 5 years.

See if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who can benefit from the Financial Stability Program Guidelines.