Mortgage Foreclosure & Refinance Resource

Even as housing prices drop across the country, fewer people appear close to buying a home.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that the volume of mortgage applications fell last week to the lowest level in nearly eight years. Additionally, the group says applications are down 61 percent from this year’s peak in February.

The decline in new home construction is a major factor in the drop in activity, the association says. On top of that, fewer people are refinancing existing mortgages.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce said construction of new homes and apartments in July fell to the lowest level in more than 17 years. A the sametime, the FDIC today announced plans to help thousands of IndyMac borrowers modify mortgage loans, in some cases at remarkably generous terms. ” [Read more →]

Source: Slate

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The two biggest sources of mortgages for American home buyers plan to raise their base fees to counter what they see as continuing “adverse conditions” in the real estate marketplace.

At the same time, however, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — which currently fund more than three-quarters of all new home loans — also plan to selectively reduce fees for certain applicants whose likelihood of default and foreclosure appear to be lower than the companies’ previous estimates.

The changes are being driven by what’s known as risk-based pricing. Factors such as your credit scores, the size of your down payment and the type of loan you seek can push your expenses on a new mortgage up or down significantly — costing or saving you tens of thousands of dollars over the term of the loan.

Here’s what’s happening. As of Oct. 1 for new mortgages delivered to Fannie Mae, and Nov. 7 for loans delivered to Freddie Mac, baseline “adverse market” fees will be doubled from one-quarter of a percentage point to one-half a percentage point — from $250 per $100,000 borrowed to $500 per $100,000 borrowed. That applies to all home purchasers and refinancers, regardless of their individual risk characteristics. [Read more →]