How Important Is Price When Selling Your Home?
March 2, 2010 – 7:26 pm | No Comment

Recently, I discussed the importance of staging your home, decluttering and depersonalizing. We call this the 5 P’s. PROPER PREPARATION PREVENTS POOR PRESENTATION.  However, no matter how wonderful your home looks, if you are not …

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New GFE and HUD-1 Settlement Statement to Create More Transparent Lending Process
March 6, 2010 – 6:56 am | No Comment

RISMEDIA, March 6, 2010—Not only did we turn over a new year on January 1, 2010, but the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ushered in monumental and mandatory changes to the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and HUD-1 settlement statement (HUD-1).

The intent behind these changes is to make the lending process more transparent by providing settlement and loan information in a way that will allow borrowers to more easily shop loans and compare charges. To that end, the format of both the GFE and HUD-1 has been substantially altered. And while the goal is transparency for the borrower, most in our industry are still struggling to find clarity as to how to prepare these new forms.

Previously a one page document, the new GFE is now three pages in length.

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Federal Reserve Report Paints Brighter Picture of U.S. Economy
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

According to the Federal Reserve’s well-recognized Beige Book, U.S. economic conditions have shown signs of improvement through the first part of this year. Data from nine of the 12 Federal Reserve districts indicated that economic …

Frank Commentary Raises Questions about GSE Investments
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

One of the nation’s most visible and vocal lawmakers has cast some doubt on the safety of doing business with the nation’s two largest mortgage financiers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), …

Gil Borok Promoted to CFO at CB Richard Ellis
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., a commercial real estate services firm headquartered in Los Angeles, announced Friday that is has promoted Gil Borok to CFO. He takes over the CFO responsibilities from Bob Sulentic, who …

CalHFA Plans to Put $700 Million in Funding to Good Use
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) announced Friday that it will develop innovative initiatives to use nearly $700 million in new federal funding to help the state’s most troubled homeowners stay in their homes. The …

The StoneHill Group Hires in Down Market, Relocates to Larger Quarters
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

The StoneHill Group, a national provider of quality control, due diligence, mortgage processing, and post-closing services for mortgage originators, moved into its new corporate headquarters Friday to accommodate the company’s anticipated growth and 2010 expansion …

Genworth Financial Joins Lincoln Appraisal & Settlement Services
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

Genworth Financial, a publicly-traded global financial security company headquartered in Rancho Cordova, California, is the newest client of Providence, Rhode Island-based Lincoln Appraisal & Settlment Services, a national appraisal management and settlement services company.
This article …

Elevated Mortgage Risks are Rapidly Returning to Normal: UFA
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

University Financial Associates, LLC (UFA), headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently released its quarterly Default Risk Index, showing that although mortgage risks are still elevated, they are quickly returning to normal levels.
This article originally appeared …

Unemployment Rate Unchanged at 9.7%
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

For months, industry experts have lamented the nation’s poor job market as a stranglehold on the housing market’s recovery and a dead weight dragging down occupancy rates and new development in the commercial real estate …

HUD Addresses Root Causes of Foreclosure Crisis
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

As mandated by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the secretary of HUD recently released a report to Congress addressing the root causes of the foreclosure crisis and made recommendations on actions that …

Bair Defends HAMP, Voices Support for Principal Write-Downs
March 6, 2010 – 6:54 am | No Comment

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair – a recognized champion of homeownership preservation whose loan modification model has set the standard for the industry – is throwing her support behind the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). …