The U.S. Treasury Department has approved five states' plans to aid homeowners in the hope of thwarting foreclosures in communities hit hard by the recession.   State housing agencies in Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada will receive a total of $1.5 billion from the Obama administration's "Hardest Hit Fund."  The fund—dubbed the Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets—was established in February. It aims to provide assistance to states with the highest shares of their populations living in counties in which the unemployment rate exceeded 12% in 2009. According to Treasury, the states approved to r ...
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Fannie Mae has announced that it will deny new mortgage loans for seven years to some homeowners who walked away from their mortgages although they were able to pay or if they did not seek a workout in good faith with their lender. If a borrower had extenuating circumstances, he/she may be eligible for a new loan within 2 years.  The mortgage giant also plans to sue borrowers who strategically defaulted on their loans in order to recoup the outstanding mortgage debt in jurisdictions that allow for deficiency judgments.  The move comes as strategic defaults are becoming more common and lenders fear borrowers who "walk away" will greatly increase the industry's foreclos ...
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In a case closely watched by the real estate industry, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that developers are responsible for paying property taxes on land where they intend to build condominiums.  The case revolves around a nationwide phenomenon linked to the recession: the crush of partially completed condominium projects. At issue was who should cover the property tax bill for the unfinished parts of such projects, or whether there should even be one at all. The court's 7-0 ruling that developers are responsible for taxes on condos that are legally approved but not built means the tax burden won't be shifted to other residents who live in those developments. It also m ...
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©Bloomberg News 2010  New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney, the state’s highest-ranking Democratic lawmaker, plans to introduce legislation today to cap increases in the nation’s highest property taxes at 2.9 percent a year. The plan challenges Republican Governor Chris Christie’s proposed 2.5 percent limit. Sweeney’s cap would be instituted by statute, rather than through a constitutional amendment as Christie has proposed. Any changes to the state constitution need voter approval. Read more. ...
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©AP 2010   The Obama administration's flagship effort to help people in danger of losing their homes is falling flat.   More than a third of the 1.24 million borrowers who have enrolled in the $75 billion mortgage modification program have dropped out. That's more than the 27 percent who have managed to have their loan payments reduced to help them keep their homes.   Last month alone, 150,000 borrowers left the program — bringing the total to 436,000 who have exited since it began in March 2009.   Administration officials say borrowers will get help in other ways. But analysts fear the majority will still wind up ...
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©2010 RealEstateRamaByline:  Mark Brian  Private transfer taxes are a new and troubling development in real property law. Private transfer taxes allow for private parties to impose real estate transfer taxes or fees on the sale of real property. Private transfer taxes are similar to the real estate transfer tax, except that it is a private party that collects the fee upon every single sale of a particular home, rather than a governmental entity.  As bad as this sounds, the good news is that the South Carolina REALTORS® are seeking to proactively protect consu ...
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©New York Times 2010A As the housing market continues to sputter, the real estate industry is increasingly split on the responsibilities of overextended and foreclosed homeowners.   On one side are the bankers, who say borrowers should be liable for what they owe. On the other side are real estate agents, who say those who lost their houses should not be so burdened by debt that they cannot move on.   The differences have real financial consequences: bankers want to collect on billions of dollars in outstanding loans; real estate ...
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©USA TODAY 2010 Opinion: Vicki Cox Golder There's a reason homeownership is called the American Dream. U.S. history is replete with instances of government support of homeownership, from the Homestead Act during the Civil War to the G.I. Bill after World War II. OUR VIEW: Misguided housing subsidies promote unfairness, bailouts Today our country faces economic challenges not seen since the Great Depression. Questionable lending practi ...
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© The New York Times 2010 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took over a foreclosed home roughly every 90 seconds during the first three months of the year. They owned 163,828 houses at the end of March, a virtual city with more houses than Seattle. The mortgage finance companies, created by Congress to help Americans buy homes, have become two of the nation’s largest landlords. Read more. ...
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©Reuters 2010  U.S. health insurers are raising prices by an average of 20 percent for adults age 64 and younger who buy their own policies, according to a survey released by a nonprofit healthcare group on Monday. Read more. ...
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