The large amount of housing foreclosures has been a huge drain on the U.S. economy. People can’t avoid the black hole when they are losing their jobs, and seeing their sub-prime mortgages skyrocket.
According to a recent L.A. Times article dated July 4, 2009, mortgage defaults have surged to record levels amid rising unemployment and falling home prices. Lenders are expected to move quickly to clear up backlogs as moratoriums on foreclosures expire.
Government and company reports both show that the number of completed foreclosures nationwide slowed sharply late last year and into early this year, largely because of various moratoriums in effect during much of the first quarter.
[click to continue…]
Times are still very tough. If you are currently struggling to pay your mortgage, even given the current low mortgage rates, you may be wondering how foreclosure will affect your life?
But more importantly, what alternatives are out there? Foreclosures have a serious and long-term effect on your credit history that you should understand before it happens.
Foreclosure is one of the most damaging items you can have on your credit score, other than a bankruptcy, and it will stay on your score for at least seven years. This means that the effects of foreclosure are going to haunt you for a long time, perhaps even after you get your feet back on the ground after your financial difficulties.
[click to continue…]
by admin on April 13, 2009
It is true. The economic environment just doesn’t look good at the moment. The economic pinch is reverberating not only across the United States but around the world.
From the everyday Joe on main street to auto workers in Detroit to traders on Wall Street, money seems like it much harder to come by, but there is money to be borrowed.
I see business owners everyday who are surviving the economic climate the best way they know how. Hard work. Its an American heritage that will never die More often than not, however, growing a business takes more than just working harder than the guy down the street. It takes getting more money to grow your enterprise through business financing.
[click to continue…]
by admin on March 30, 2009
If you own an IRA or have another retirement account, the words that follow may ring a bell, especially if you’ve been contributing to a retirement account for a period of time.
Think back to when you first started investing in the account. Remember what you were told? See if this sounds familiar:
1) Put money away today in a retirement account and you’ll be able to use your contribution as a tax deduction against your other income.
2) Invest the contribution that you made to the retirement account whenever you want and the growth on that contribution will grow tax deferred
3) When you retire, and begin to take withdrawals from your retirement account, you’ll be able to put money away on a tax deductible basis when you’re in a higher tax bracket and take money out during retirement when you’re in a lower tax bracket.
[click to continue…]
by admin on March 30, 2009
Mortgage rates are still very low and will fuel the eventual rebound of the depressed, real estate market.
But everyone would like to know where mortgage interest rates are headed in 2009. Particularly in these erratic times. Everyone knows that forecasts are not one hundred percent reliable, but fairly educated guesses based on the recent economic events, can be made.
Low interest rates are promoted by lenders all over the country. But this fact is only applicable for individuals that have credit scores higher than 700. If you desire getting a five percent interest or below, you not only need a credit score above seven hundred, but also need to make a considerable down payment.
[click to continue…]
by admin on March 16, 2009
Recently an appraiser wrote on a blog that he had paired the online foreclosure databases (found at either Realtytrac.com or ForeclosureRadar.com ) against the statistics found in the local Realtor MLS (multiple listing system) inventory and noticed something rather sinister: the datasets didn’t reconcile.
He discovered that the number of foreclosures posted in Online sites far exceeds the sum of listings and sales found in the realtor multiple listing system by about 70%.
Does this really mean that 70% of foreclosures posted in online databases ARE NOT listed or sold? If so, what might be happening to these homes? Are Lenders holding the foreclosures back from being sold because these Zombie banks are insolvent and can’t afford to take the losses?
[click to continue…]
by admin on March 9, 2009
If you are saving money, that is great. Keep up the good work. If you are keeping all your savings in a high interest savings account, that is good too, but you could probably do better.
You should keep your emergency fund and immediate needs savings liquid, but all other savings that aren’t needed in the near future should you earning you more money through investing.
When you are ready to invest, you need to first choose an investment. There are so many different ways to invest, but the most common are stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate.
[click to continue…]
by admin on March 4, 2009
The saving grace of making a poor stock or mutual fund investment is that you at least get a capital loss when you sell.
The loss can then offset gains from your more successful investments, unless the dreaded wash sale rules disallow your write-off. Here’s the scoop on this nasty little piece of the income tax code.
The Skinny on Wash Sales:
Your anticipated tax loss is disallowed if, within the period beginning 30 days before the date of the loss sale and ending 30 days after that date, you acquire “substantially identical” stocks or securities. For purposes of this article, let’s call them replacement securities.
[click to continue…]
by admin on March 2, 2009
It’s no secret that we are in a global recession right now, and many people are looking for tips to save a few extra dollars.
There are always tips that you may have overlooked, even if you are already quite frugal. These 10 money saving tips may just give you a few ideas you had not previously considered:
1. Share a room. For most Americans, the number one expense is the cost of housing. If you are single and have a two bedroom apartment, you can bring in a roommate to split the rent. If you have extra rooms in the home you own, you could also rent that out to assist with making your mortgage payment. Sharing rooms will also have the added benefit of allowing you to share the cost of utilities.
[click to continue…]
by admin on February 27, 2009
Ask most Americans whether they’re in favor of spending taxpayer dollars to help delinquent mortgage borrowers and you’re likely to get an emphatic “No!”
But the government didn’t ask its citizens before it committed hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars to guarantee loans through various foreclosure prevention initiatives such as FHASecure and Hope for Homeowners, which let troubled borrowers refinance expensive mortgages into more affordable loans.
Nor did it take a vote before it agreed to fund the new streamlined mortgage modification programs for loans backed by Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500).
[click to continue…]