Here are the top 10 rental markets for real estate investors: Texas dominates

While the inventory of foreclosed homes is quickly shrinking, there are still plenty of opportunities to invest in real estate. “For the last few years, investors have been able to find real estate bargains they could turn into rental properties. That period is pretty much over - the inventory of foreclosed homes has been picked … Continue reading Here are the top 10 rental markets for real estate investors: Texas dominates

January existing home sales come in flat compared to December

2015 sales expected to pick up where 2014 left off By: Trey Garrison, Housingwire.com Auction.com projects that existing home sales for January will fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates 4.9-5.21 million annual sales, with a targeted number of 5.06 million. This suggests that January sales will be up from one year ago and essentially flat … Continue reading January existing home sales come in flat compared to December

Foreclosures Falling, But Delinquency Rate Climbing

The nation's foreclosure inventory fell to its lowest level in almost seven years in November, but the percentage of delinquent mortgage loans is on the rise, according to Black Knight Financial Services' November 2014 "First Look" at Mortgage Data. Delinquent mortgages, which are those more than 30 days overdue but not in foreclosure, jumped by … Continue reading Foreclosures Falling, But Delinquency Rate Climbing

Freddie Mac’s Mortgage Portfolio Expands For Third Straight Month

November marked another month of expansion for Freddie Mac's mortgage portfolio, which grew again as new business ticked up. According to Freddie Mac's monthly volume summary, released Monday, the company's total portfolio ended November at an estimated $1.9 trillion, up an annualized 0.4 percent. Year-to-date, the portfolio's growth rate is an average -0.7 percent, the … Continue reading Freddie Mac’s Mortgage Portfolio Expands For Third Straight Month

Bank Foreclosures Listed Far Below Regional Selling Prices

RealtyStore, a provider of a broad variety of real estate listings, recently released a report outlining average selling prices for bank foreclosures. The company found the median price of bank foreclosures for sale in six select states list at an average of nearly 50 percent below recent median existing-home sale prices. The states—Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, … Continue reading Bank Foreclosures Listed Far Below Regional Selling Prices

What Sellers should know about the Mortgage Foregiveness Debt Relief Act not being extended

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act applies to homeowners who are NOT insolvent on the date of the sale. The internal revenue code has an existing exclusion of forgiven debt from income when the borrower is insolvent on the date of the sale (IRS Publication 4681). this has been an existing part of the tax … Continue reading What Sellers should know about the Mortgage Foregiveness Debt Relief Act not being extended

Foreclosure and Shadow Inventory Both Decline in February

CoreLogic released its National Foreclosure Report for February, 2014, reporting 43,000 completed foreclosures for the month, a 13.1 percent decrease from January, 2014. Yearly, foreclosures declined 15 percent from February, 2013. Comparatively, foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month before the housing crisis from 2000 to 2006. Since September, 2008, 4.9 million foreclosures have been completed. As … Continue reading Foreclosure and Shadow Inventory Both Decline in February

Existing Home Sales Languishing in 2014 Apr 22 2014, 11:04AM by Jann Swanson

Sales of existing homes were essentially unchanged in March compared to February the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said today.  Home prices continued to increase in March but the growth has now slowed from previous double-digit levels.NAR said total existing home sales in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.59 million homes, … Continue reading Existing Home Sales Languishing in 2014 Apr 22 2014, 11:04AM by Jann Swanson

Five questions: Attorney finds niche in negotiating short sales by Jim Gallagher

Suppose you can’t pay your mortgage, and you can’t sell your house because you owe more than it’s worth. You’re in quite a pickle.You can stay until the sheriff shows up with the move-out order. Or, as more people are doing these days, you can try to escape your debt with a short sale.Put the … Continue reading Five questions: Attorney finds niche in negotiating short sales by Jim Gallagher

Lenders: Beware of the ‘Forced’ Short-Sale in Bankruptcy Posted By Colin Robins On March 5, 2014

Historically, Chapter 7 Trustees rarely seek authorization to sell over-encumbered real property of the estate free and clear of liens because such a sale is authorized only under very limited circumstances. Based upon the rarity of motions to sell over-encumbered property and the assumption that a Court would never grant such a motion, creditors have … Continue reading Lenders: Beware of the ‘Forced’ Short-Sale in Bankruptcy Posted By Colin Robins On March 5, 2014