Mortgages Blog

Today’s live chat about mortgages begins at 2 p.m. eastern time. The chat is titled “Trying to buy or refi.”  Mortgage reporter Polyana da Costa and I will answer questions. Janet Stauble will moderate questions and comments. We’re prepared to answer questions about mortgages, refinances, break-even times, documentation, and basic stuff like that. We’re not

We will have a live chat about mortgages on Monday, and you are invited. The chat, titled “Trying to buy or refi,” begins at 2 p.m. eastern time Monday. Mortgage reporter Polyana da Costa and I will answer questions. Loan officers and brokers are welcome to listen in and comment and help answer tough questions.

If you’re one of the many homeowners who have gone through the frustrating experience of trying to work with your lender to get a loan modification, this may serve as a bit of consolation. The U.S. Treasury says it is withholding incentive payments owed to the three of largest servicers participating in the Home Affordable

If you happen to see a contractor walking around your house, taking pictures, don’t panic. It’s just your lender “inspecting” your property. According to new rules announced by Fannie Mae this week, mortgage servicers will be required to “order” a “property inspection” no later than 45 days after a homeowner misses a mortgage payment. “The

Mortgage rates have been amazingly low lately. Whenever they linger below 5 percent, you’re seeing historically low mortgage rates. They’ve been ratcheting up a little today. If your lender hasn’t raised rates an eighth of a percentage point, you’re getting less bang for the buck with your discount points today. Still, mortgage rates remain very

How dare Warren and Maureen Nyerges foreclose on their bank branch? You’ve probably read or seen the story by now: The Nyergeses paid cash in 2009 for a foreclosed house in Naples, Fla. They owned it free and clear. Four months after they bought the house, they received a foreclosure notice. Just a mistake by

Put yourself in their combat boots: You bought a home during the housing boom only to be forced to sell it during the housing bust due to a base transfer or deployment to a combat zone. It wasn’t your call but you’ll be saddled for years with the financial loss, and possibly the collateral damage

Who says you can’t have a baby and get a mortgage at the same time? Some lenders and mortgage insurance companies do. Federal law prohibits housing discrimination in sales, rental, and lending based on a person’s sex or familial status. According to HUD, that includes pregnancy. But some companies don’t seem to understand that. Stories

Borrowers who are facing a foreclosure lawsuit and can’t afford an attorney to fight their mortgage lenders in court have limited options — unless their lawyers get creative. Late last year, Florida foreclosure defense attorney Peter Ticktin thought he was being creative when he explained to a reporter from The New York Times the method

We want to tell some post-crash real-estate success stories. Need some help. Have you noticed that the real-estate crash is almost always written about as a bad thing? House prices have been falling for the past five or six years, and everyone acts like it’s a calamity. People wouldn’t freak out so much if the