From the category archives:

Credit

Credit

Borrowers Should Be Aware of the Effects Foreclosures, Bankruptcies and Shorts Sales Will Have on Their Credit

by Christina Inman | October 19, 2009

fannie maeFor homeowners facing foreclosure or bankruptcy–or considering a short sale of their property to avoid one or both–the effect the action will have on their credit is undoubtedly a huge concern. Though keeping their homes might not be an option at this point, there could very well be another one in the not-too-distant future, so knowing when they’ll be eligible to qualify for another mortgage is important.

Be Aware of the Rules of the Road

Earlier this year, Fannie Mae updated its credit guidelines for borrowers who experience one of these circumstances. And, in general, the wait time will now range from two to five years.

Homeowners who lose their properties to foreclosure or file multiple bankruptcies within a seven-year period will have the longest wait–five years.

In the case of foreclosure, additional requirements and restrictions will apply after five years and up to seven years as well, which include making a minimum 10% down-payment, having a credit score of at least 680, and having limited cash-out refinance options. Also, the purchase of second homes or investment properties is not permitted.

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Commercial Real Estate

Apartment Building Foreclosures Create a Buyers Market for Apartment Buildings

by Ted Karsch | May 19, 2009

Many apartment buildings are now facing foreclosure because of falling prices, stricter underwriting guidelines and 5 year mortgages becoming due. For the astute buyer of apartment buildings these apartment building foreclosures could represent an investment windfall.

Image via Wikipedia

As a glaring symbol of the burst bubble in national residential real estate prices, the National Association of [...]

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Blogs

Another Financial Crisis Looming?

by Richard Warren | March 2, 2009

Could anything be worse than the foreclosure crisis? People who purchased more expensive homes than they could afford or used risky mortgages to obtain them are losing their homes in record numbers. Banks who aggressively pushed loans on poorly qualified borrowers are suffering the consequences. The economy has been dragged down by the crisis. Will [...]

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Commentary

Questions & Risk for Lenders In The New Credit Environment

by Tom Koziol | February 20, 2009

Risk management rules are being revised as a result of the credit crisis we are currently experiencing. One of the categories under review is Customer Behavior. The proponents of the “strategic adjustments” have come up with supposedly new questions in this category.
This makes sense if the questions were truly new questions engineered for the [...]

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Commentary

A Look At 2009 From The Inside: Real Estate, Credit, and Debt

by Tom Koziol | January 2, 2009

About two months ago I wrote a post that included information from a monthly magazine,

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Blogs

When The Bill Collector Calls

by Richard Warren | November 17, 2008

A couple of weeks ago I received a very unusual phone call. The caller stated that she was calling in reference to my XYZ Bank credit card and asked if I was Richard Warren. I have a credit card from XYZ Bank and assumed that the caller was soliciting me for some service even though [...]

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Commentary

A Solution That Works

by Joshua Dorkin | October 8, 2008

Today, we’ve got an important guest post to share, written by Dan Gilbert, Chairman of Quicken Loans.
Last week, President Bush signed into law the hotly debated financial rescue package called the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. While this legislation helps stabilize Wall Street and the banking system, it does nothing to address the root [...]

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Commentary

Global Economy Melts & Takes Focus Away From Foreclosure Debacle

by Charles Feldman | October 8, 2008

It’s soooooo old news, isn’t it? I mean, all that stuff about people not being able to pay their mortgages and the rising population of those facing foreclosure, is so old hat now.
What is really important, after all, is the survival of big banks! At least, it would seem that way from the news [...]

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Commercial Real Estate

Are Municipal Bonds the Next Big Unknown Unknown?

by Ted Karsch | October 7, 2008

In the financial crisis of today, to use a popular maxim of Donald Rumsfeld’s invention, “there are known unknowns and unknown unknowns.” Some major unknowns have surfaced to become economic hurricanes reeking havoc on financial markets worldwide, such as the failure of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. But what unknown unknowns are still lurking under [...]

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Blogs

Skating On A Frozen (Credit) Pond

by Richard Warren | October 6, 2008

The credit markets have been so frozen that the Government felt that they had to step in with the recently enacted $700 Billion bailout. The freeze that started with subprime mortgage loans had spread to prime mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other consumer loans. The entire economy was teetering on the brink of collapse. [...]

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Credit

Wells Fargo, Wachovia Set to Merge?

by Joshua Dorkin | October 3, 2008

Talk about a banking coup! Just last week we thought that Citi would wind up as the winner of the Wachovia banking sweepstakes . . . fast forward to this morning, and it looks like Wells Fargo’s bid, which is over 7 times that of Citi – a whopping $15.1 billion, is going to [...]

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Credit

BREAKING: Fed Rescues AIG with $85 Billion Loan (bailout) for 80% Ownership Stake

by Joshua Dorkin | September 16, 2008

The snowball that is the US and Global Financial Crisis continued to get larger Tuesday as American International Group (AIG), the nation’s largest insurer came close to collapse. Over the weekend, the Fed failed to provide a $40 Billion bridge loan that the company’s leadership had been pressing for, but late Monday night, the [...]

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Credit

Who Needs Regulators: Banks Establish $70 Billion Loan Program to Protect Liquidity

by Joshua Dorkin | September 15, 2008

Update: The Dow ended up closing down 504 points for the day
The past 24 hours have been about as chaotic a time as Wall Street has seen since Black Monday or possibly the Great Depression. Here are a few highlights:

We’ve seen one of the top investment banks fail to secure a bidder and file [...]

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Commentary

An Analysis of the Fed’s Plan to "Curb Shady Mortgage Practices"

by Tom Koziol | July 18, 2008

In a July 14, 2008 AP article titled: Fed adopts plan to curb shady mortgage practices , Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is quoted as saying:

“Although the high rate of delinquency has a number of causes, it seems clear that unfair or deceptive acts and practices by lenders resulted in the extension of many loans, particularly [...]

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Credit

BREAKING: IndyMac Bank is Shut Down and Taken Over by Feds

by Joshua Dorkin | July 11, 2008

INDYMAC IS OFFICALLY CLOSED!!!
In the past minutes newswires around the country and world are now reporting that the Federal Government has shut down IndyMac Bank and has handed it to the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) as conservator.
Couple the shut down with the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac troubles, and we’re in for some really rocky waters [...]

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