NorCalSavant

I am back to the blog after spending months being extremely busy looking to buy a house.  We finally bought the house, and of course, soon after Congress passed the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which includes a $6,500 credit for repeat homebuyers but only for those who buy their houses after [...]

On June 24, 2009, President Obama signed the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Act of 2009.  It was actually included as Title XIII in HR 2346, the Supplemental Appropriations Bill for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Pandemic Flu.  The full text of HR 2346 including Title XIII is available at this website. The CARS [...]

There was an interesting article in the New York Times detailing the plight of Eileen Ulery, a homeowner in Mesa, Arizona caught up in the delinquency/foreclosure crisis. She basically owes $143,000 on a house worth only $122,000, a loan to value of about 117%. She lost her job at Arizona State University with an income [...]

The moratoria banks had on foreclosures have expired, and a steady stream of foreclosures is expected to hit the market throughout the remaining year. As these foreclosed properties add to the supply of houses on the market, home prices are expected to continue to decline or stay declined. More on this topic (What's this?) Gayest [...]

Last week Treasury announced the Second Lien Program to work in tandem with the primary mortgage modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.  Treasury also announced new lender incentives under the beleaguered Hope for Homeowners Program for underwater homeowners.  Are these new programs going to make a difference in continuing [...]

Interest rates are low, and house prices are down, but all you eager mortgage buyers out there, beware.  Mortgage fees and private mortgage insurance (PMI) have gone up, sometimes based on the credit score, and underwriting and appraisal rules have changed for the worse. More on this topic (What's this?) The Boldest Prediction I’ve Heard [...]

In my earlier post here, I had discussed the details of President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program.  The program has two components — Home Affordable Refinance program for solvent homeowners with a loan-to-value as high as 105%, and Home Affordable Modification program for delinquent or nearly-so homeowners unable to pay their mortgages. More on this [...]

In his address at the 2009 Credit Markets Symposium in Charlotte, North Carolina, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Friday, April 3 that the Federal Reserve has been pursuing a strategy of credit easing to address the current crisis involving a severe disruption of credit markets and declines in asset prices. He said, “As [...]

Treasury Secretary Geithner unveiled the new Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets (PPIP) on Monday to a huge applause by the Wall Street and many questions from the skeptics.  PPIP is the Obama Administration’s plan to purchase the toxic assets off the banks’ balance sheets.  What is involved in the Public-Private Investment Program?  Will it [...]

The Treasury Department has finally come out with detailed guidelines for the Making Home Affordable Program.  This housing rescue plan is estimated to cost $75 billion and help seven to nine million homeowners. Is the plan going to reduce foreclosures?  Is it going to help delinquent and solvent homeowners?  And, is it going to be [...]