HUD says FHA is doing ok. Is it true?

When people are financing homes with less than 20% down, they must have mortgage insurance. It comes in the form of government-backed FHA mortgage insurance or private mortgage insurance which is controlled by a few large companies. Those companies have had a rough road during the housing bust. Here’s the latest good news and bad [...]

As debt ceiling legislation passes the House and heads to the Senate, the market’s attention turns to the fact that our economy is languishing, and thus rates are moving down. Yesterday the ISM manufacturing index, which is closely monitored for a gauge of manufacturing activity, plunged to 50.9 in July from 55.3 in June – [...]

-S&P, Moody’s Downgraded to Irrelevant (SmartMoney) -U.S. Moving Away From Reliance On Ratings (Dealbreaker) -Loans With Mortgage Insurance Less Likely To Default (NatlMortgagePro) -Is CFPB Already Helping Banks, Not Borrowers? (HSH) -The Cult That’s Destroying America (Krugman) -10 Google+ Tips & Tricks (Mashable)

Jumbo mortgage volume is very dependent on location. So what are borrowers in high cost areas thinking when it comes to obtaining a jumbo loan? Linda Stern of Reuters reminds us that conforming loan limit caps for high cost areas will be reduced from $729,750 to $625,500 effective October 1, and says that some borrowers [...]

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, mortgage industry jobs are down 50% in the past five years. The industry hit a peak in early 2006 at 505,000 but is now at 248,000. Granted, many who shouldn’t have been in the business have left and there was excess manpower 5 years ago, but the stat [...]

Late start today after being overserved at the sake bar last night. Enjoy (what’s left of) your Friday, and here are some links for afternoon perusing…. -Top Marginal Tax Rates 1916-2010 (VisualizingEconomics) -This Month In Real Estate History (TheRealDeal) -Fed Officials Present Diverging Views of Inflation (RealTimeEconomics) -Does Private Mortgage Insurance Have Place In New [...]

Yesterday I mentioned FHA mortgage insurance increases coming this Monday, and had the following explanation of private mortgage insurance, which was then clarified (also below) by an account rep from a big mortgage insurance provider. “Usually MI covers mortgage payments for periods of between 12 months and 5 years, though terms between three and five [...]

Monday April 18 is the day mortgage insurance (MI) increases for FHA loans, a move that may drive more home loan borrowers with less than 20% equity into private mortgage insurance products which may end up being cheaper. Consumers need to talk to their mortgage advisors to explore which option—FHA or private mortgage insurance—is most [...]

Why Banks Fail Why is a man like a zero coupon bond? They pay little interest, and have no maturity! And roughly 85% of bank deposits have a maturity of 3 months or less. Given that, banks must carefully watch the amount of fixed rate loans and fixed rate securities going onto the books to [...]