Mortgage Investors May Be Owed Three Times More in BofA Deal

(Bloomberg)- Investors in Countrywide Financial Corp. mortgage bonds may be owed three times or more of what they’re being offered in an $8.5 billion settlement with Bank of America Corp. (BAC), a group of Federal Home Loan Banks said.

The home loan banks, which invested more than $8.8 billion in the mortgage-backed securities, are trying to get access to more information about the deal by joining the case and said a reasonable settlement could range from $22 billion to $27.5 billion or more. Read more here…

Deadline is today for emergency home loans

(Fort Worth Star Telegram)- Texas homeowners at risk of foreclosure have until today to see whether they qualify for the federal Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program. For Texas, HUD has set aside $135.4 million.

The program helps "homeowners who have experienced a reduction in income and risk foreclosure because of involuntary unemployment, underemployment due to economic conditions or a medical condition," according to HUD. Read more here…

Mortgage Miseducation

(Las Vegas Review-Journal)- Many borrowers, plain and simple, don't understand how mortgages work. here's what they should know before they go shop for a loan. 

According to the results of a recent Zillow Mortgage Marketplace survey, 44 percent of prospective homebuyer respondents admitted they are not confident in their knowledge of mortgages or the mortgage process, overall. The 1,005 adult surveyed incorrectly answered basic questions about mortgage information nearly half of the time. The poll also revealed that 37 percent of respondents believe pre-qualifying for a loan means they have secured financing, and 57 percent don't know how adjustable rate mortgages work. Read more here…

Six reasons why your home loan can be REJECTED

(Rediff)- Buying a dream house is one of significant goals in everyone's life. If you are planning to buy a house in the near future, make sure you start exploring pre-conditions you will need to satisfy to apply for home loan and be prepared about the same. 

1. A good credit score is of course one of significant deciding factors. Make sure you have a good credit score in place so as to brighten the prospects to get a loan. How can you achieve that? Make sure you pay your credit card dues in full and on time. Read more here…

Make your home loan work for you

(Neesa Moodley-Isaacs)- Taking out a mortgage bond to buy a home is considered “good debt” as you are buying an asset that will appreciate in value.

There are several things you can do to make sure you make your money work for you and get the most benefit out of your home loan.

Nico Louis-Minnie, the head of investments at Liberty, says if you are in your early twenties you should think about saving as much as possible from your first pay cheque until you purchase your first home so that you have a significant deposit. “Don’t use the deposit to buy a more expensive home, but rather to reduce your monthly repayments,” he says. Read more here… 

Do the math before you switch your home loan lender

(Moneycontrol.com)- Two aspects associated with BT are prepayment penalty and processing fee. Lending is the business of the bank and the interest on the loan, one of its major sources of income. This is one of the major reasons why a bank would charge a customer if he desires to switch lenders. This charge is known as 'prepayment penalty', the definition varying from bank to bank. Normally, a bank will charge up to 2 per cent of the total loan outstanding as a prepayment penalty.  Read more here…

How drop in home loan limit could affect you

(OCRegister)- Primarily the impact is the result of equity requirements.  The biggest advantage of the higher loan limits is the ability to obtain a mortgage with less than twenty percent equity.  For FHA you can purchase or refinance an existing mortgage to $729,750 with only 3.5% equity in your property (85% equity if you are getting a cash out refinance).  With a conventional mortgage you are able to finance up to 90% for a purchase or refinance and existing mortgage. Read more here…

Wrapping the cost of energy improvements into a mortgage

(Contra Costa Times)- Stuck with soaring utility bills in a home that's a glutton for energy? Buying a home that has a lot to be desired in terms of energy-efficient features?

There's hope. An under-the-radar program that has been around since 1995 can help buyers save on their utility bills by letting them fold the cost of energy improvements into their mortgage.

The program, dubbed Energy Efficient Mortgage, can be used by homeowners with both Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration loans. Read more here…