Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Mortgage Rates Continue to Increase

Although the 30-year fixed-rate average is down year to date from 4.28 percent to 3.73 percent, mortgage rates moved higher again this week. One week ago the fixed rate average was 3.69 percent, up .04 percent. Earlier in February, the rate hit a 21-month low of 3.59 percent.  The 15-year fixed-rate average also increased from 2.99 percent to 3.05 percent in the past week. The one-year ARM average moved higher to 2.45 percent, up .03 percent from last week.

With mortgage rates rising for the second consecutive week, housing starts declined 2 percent according to Len Kiefer, Freddie Mac deputy chief economist. However, Kiefer said home builders are remaining confident in new home sales. In addition to housing starts, home loan applications were also down approximately 13 percent last week. The refinance index decreased 16 percent while the purchase index dropped 7 percent. Economists say it is no coincidence that mortgage rates hit the highest number of 2015 and home loan applications dropped sharply, particularly for refinances.

Click here to read more on the rise in mortgage rates this week.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

117,088 Foreclosures Prevented in Second Quarter by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s quarterly report, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed approximately 117,000 foreclosure-prevention actions in the second quarter of 2013. The modifications, repayment and forbearance plans helped 75 percent of struggling homeowners manage their mortgage payments and keep their homes. The short sales and deeds-in-lieu allowed 25 percent of the borrowers to avoid foreclosure.

Additional findings from the second-quarter report included:

• One-third of the permanent loan modifications in the quarter included principal forbearance.
• More than half of the homeowners who received a permanent loan modification in the quarter had their monthly payment reduced by more than 30 percent.
• The number of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac delinquent loans dropped nationally during the quarter. This was attributed to a drop in seriously delinquent loans.
• Borrowers who were more than 60 days delinquent on a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan dropped 7 percent during the quarter.
• As of June 30, about 11 percent of the borrowers whose loan was modified in the third quarter of 2012 had missed two or more payments.

Click here to read more on the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s quarterly report.

Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified Miami foreclosure defense attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Miami foreclosure defense attorney Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Suspend Foreclosures in Sandy Affected Areas

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently announced that both will temporarily suspend foreclosure proceedings in federally declared disaster areas due to Superstorm Sandy. Borrowers in these areas will receive a 90-day mandatory suspension on foreclosure sales and evictions. Freddie Mac announced that by issuing the suspension, the communities and neighborhoods could focus on a faster recovery from the storm.
Freddie and Fannie are also offering storm victims the option to postpone mortgage payments by phone for up to 12 months. The lenders did so in order to introduce a quicker and easier forbearance method to borrowers. Additionally, they have ordered their insurers to expedite payments on insurance claims to help borrowers with destroyed properties and daily living expenses such as hotel rooms. Fannie and Freddie will also alleviate restrictions on payments to contractors so that repairs can be done faster.
To read more on this story visit: http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/09/real_estate/foreclosure-storm-relief/index.html?iid=HP_River
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Foreclosure defense attorney, Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

Bank of America Sued for $1 Billion by Federal Government over Mortgage Losses

Last Wednesday, the federal government filed a civil lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. The lawsuit alleged that Bank of America misrepresented the quality of loans it sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, costing the federal government $1 billion in losses. The government is suing Bank of America under the Federal False Claims Act, which has become a popular tool for prosecutors seeking to hold banks accountable for alleged mortgage misdeeds and calls for triple damages when the government can show taxpayers were ripped off.
The government alleges Countrywide, which Bank of America acquired in 2008, dismembered quality control and checks on loan quality from 2007 to 2009, in a process called “the Hustle” that aimed to boost the speed at which it originated and sold loans to the companies. This procedure was created to speed up the selling process of mortgage loans. Wednesday’s suit was also brought under a federal statute known as the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, which was enacted in 1989 following a wave of bank failures triggered by the savings-and-loan crisis. This action isn’t Bank of America’s first False Claims Act suit. In February, Bank of America agreed to a $1 billion settlement of False Claims Act fraud allegations tied to Federal Housing Administration-backed loans brought by the Eastern District of New York. The bank settled without admitting wrongdoing.
To read more on this story visit: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-s–sues-bofa-for–1-billion-over-mortgage-losses-24401588.html
Choosing the right attorney can make the difference between whether or not you can keep your home. A well-qualified attorney will not only help you keep your home, but they will be able to negotiate a loan that has payments you can afford. Foreclosure defense attorney, Timothy Kingcade has helped many facing foreclosure alleviate their stress by letting them stay in their homes for at least another year, allowing them to re-organize their lives. If you have any questions on the topic of foreclosure please feel free to contact me at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Bankruptcy Law, Credit, Foreclosures, Timothy Kingcade Posts

U.S. is set to Sue Big Banks over Mortgages

The Federal agency that oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is scheduled to file suit against more than a dozen big banks. The suit is accusing Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and other banks of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and are seeking billions of dollars in compensation.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits are expected to be filed in the coming days and stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. The suits will argue the banks, which assembled the mortgages and marketed them as securities to investors, failed to perform the due diligence required under securities law and missed evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified. When many borrowers were unable to pay their mortgages, the securities backed by the mortgages quickly lost value. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost more than $30 billion, in part as a result of the deals. These losses were borne mostly to tax payers.
The suits are being filed now because regulators are concerned that it will be much harder to make claims after a three-year statute of limitations expires this Wednesday, the third anniversary of the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

To read more on the story visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/business/us-is-set-to-sue-dozen-big-banks-over-mortgages.html?_r=3&ref=nelsondschwartz

If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy and foreclosure defense attorneys at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.

Timothy Kingcade Posts

8 Keys to 2011’s Mortgage Market

The U.S. housing market has been hit hard by what’s been referred to as the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Mortgage rates dipped to lows that hadn’t been seen in decades. Now, the housing market is still struggling and mortgage rates are on the rise.

Here are 8 predictions for 2011’s Mortgage Market:

1.) The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will start operating. Confusing, unclear and seemingly conflicting documentation has been implicated in the mortgage-market mess, and a push for more explicit yet simpler forms for consumers to review and sign are thought to be the bureau’s top priority.

2.) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will change . . . maybe. Reforming the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) has been an on-again, off-again, crusade for the last couple of administrations. There has been some talk of perhaps a five-year wind-down plan for the GSEs, some discussions of separating their “public” function of securitizing mortgages from their “private” investment portfolios, and both have proved useful to politicians at various times.

3.) The economy improves. If you want to know what will happen to mortgage rates in 2011, watch what happens to the economy. The labor market recovery is expected to gain momentum as the year progresses, but unemployment will remain stubbornly high for perhaps years to come. With that being said, continual but gradual improvement seems likely. As the economy finds firmer footing, so will mortgage rates.

4.) Homebuyers return in greater numbers. Without a competitive private market, the restrictive standards put in place by the GSEs over the last couple of years will continue to be the only game in town and will continue to limit access to the cheapest mortgage credit.

5.) The “distressed” real estate market improves. Recently, there was a slight improvement in the number of “underwater” homes that occurred not because of any gains in home prices, but rather because a rise in foreclosures produced a final “cure” that loan modifications did not.

6.) A “soft demise” for the Home Affordable Modification Program. By now, it should be fairly clear that the Obama administration’s goal of saving 3 million to 4 million homeowners from foreclosure by 2012 was wildly optimistic. By the program’s end, we may not even make half that number, but the administration is claiming some success in shaping and focusing the loan servicing industry to deal with borrowers in crisis, fostering more private and lasting modifications.

7.) Mortgage rates remain favorable. Borrowers will again have to become accustomed to rates in the low- and mid-5% range for 30-year fixed loans. Still, much of the year should continue to feature rates that rank among the best seen in a generation or more, even if they don’t test record lows. The low mortgage rates of 2010 came as a result of multiple financial panics and investor fears of more losses, and to wish for their return is to hope for renewed economic catastrophe.

8.) The Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing 2 (QE2) program ends. Initiated in November 2010, the Fed’s program of purchasing Treasury securities in hopes of fostering lower interest rates has had the exact opposite effect, and interest rates have risen off their panic-level bottoms. This is partly due to an improving economy and partly due to the expectation that the Fed’s moves will further spur economic growth in 2011. We’ve come to believe that the Fed is using the program to buffer the market, keeping market interest rates from rising more quickly than it would like.

To read more on this story visit:
http://money.msn.com/home-loans/8-keys-to-2011s-mortgage-market-hsh.aspx

If you have any questions on this topic or are in need of a financial fresh start, please contact our experienced team of bankruptcy and foreclosure defense attorneys at (305) 285-9100. You can also find useful consumer information on the Kingcade & Garcia, P.A. website at www.miamibankruptcy.com.