Effective for FHA loans for which the case number is assigned on or after April 5, 2010, FHA will collect an upfront mortgage insurance premium of 2.25 percent. This policy change will increase premiums for purchase money and refinance transactions.

Announcement 09-33 introduces Deed-for-Lease™, a new option for qualified borrowers facing foreclosure (or their tenants) to remain in their home by signing a lease in connection with the voluntary transfer of the property to the lender through a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transaction.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea? Does this not put more bad debt on the banks, thus making it harder for qualified borrowers to get a loan, encourage defaulting, and more importantly, lead to the… Continue

This afternoon, the House voted 403-12 in favor of extending the first-time homebuyer tax credit through April 30, 2010. Today’s vote was following Wednesday’s 98 to 0 approval of the bill in the Senate.

The bill is now en route to President Obama’s desk, where it may be signed as early as tomorrow (Friday). The Dodd-Lieberman-Isakson amendment inclu… Continue

That's a trickier question than you might assume, according to new research from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

The study found that 26% of the record numbers of home mortgage defaults across the country are "strategic" -- that is, calculated economic decisions to bail out of loans by owners who actually have the money to make the payments but can't handle the negative equity they're carrying caused by local prope… Continue

In an article issued by the Nevada Supreme Court website:

"The first two mediations under the landmark Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program (FMP) have been scheduled for September 14.

One of the program’s newly appointed mediators has scheduled the mediations to kick off the program that was created by the Nevada Legislature to help keep financially struggling Nevada residents in their homes. Both mediations involve homes in Las Vegas.

Under the FMP rules, mediators who are assigned… Continue