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Federal Housing Administration

Mortgages & Lending

New Federal Restriction on Prepayment Penalties Won’t Apply to FHA Interest Charge

by Christina Inman | November 7, 2009

On October 1, new federal lending rules took effect under HOEPA–the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act.  One that will benefit consumers most is a restriction on prepayment penalties for higher-priced loans (those with an interest rate 1.5% above prime).  No longer will borrowers need to worry about an excessive penalty for paying off their [...]

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Economy

Déjà vu All Over Again In The Mortgage World

by Richard Warren | October 12, 2009

FHA Logo3Where have we seen this before? A major backer of home mortgages may need a bailout. Oh yeah, that was right here. Wasn’t it only a year ago that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needed a bailout to save them from themselves? They had so many bad loans on the books because of lax rules and loose oversight.

Now it seems that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is in trouble. According to an article in the New York Times (article) 20% of loans insured last year and another 24% of those from 2007, are in serious trouble.

Didn’t They Learn?

Banks all across the country have tightened lending standards requiring that the borrowers actually have the ability to repay. Imagine that! It seems that just throwing money at anyone who can fog a mirror is not good business. While people complain about how tough it is to get a loan now, they are better off in the long term.

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Economy

Mortgage Interest Rates: Where Are They Heading?

by Peter Giardini | September 22, 2009

I was listening to a financial talk show on the radio the other day; the host was going nuts over an upcoming Treasury auction where over $140 Billion in 2, 5, and 7 year notes were going to be auctioned. This would represent the most auctioned at one time ever, and would be on top of $60+ Billion in notes auctioned the week before.

This got me to thinking about how much debt was out there and ultimately where current mortgage rates were and what direction they were headed in.  Here is what I found… 

The State of Debt

In my search I ran across this very sobering set of statistics about who holds the most US debt… take a look at the data, and if you’re not concerned about where interest rates and inflation are heading, then you must be asleep.

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Real Estate

A Government Program That Works?

by Richard Warren | July 20, 2009

 
We are so used to seeing our Government concoct various schemes to do this that or the other thing only to have them do something totally different. It seems that unintended consequences are the order of the day and unexpected results are the norm. That’s why it’s so surprising when something does what it’s supposed [...]

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Commentary

Obama’s FHA Commissioner Nominee, David H. Stevens Has Ugly Past

by Rob K. Blake | May 3, 2009

The Obama administration is continuing the appointment method of “crown the clowns” used at the Treasury Department to fill the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This week it was announced the President’s nomination for FHA commissioner, David H. Stevens, would be held up due to a lawsuit alleging violations of anti-kickback RESPA law by his former [...]

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