Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan has announced the award of $73 million in housing counseling grants to more than 500 national, regional, and local organizations. The grants represent an increase of $13 million or 22 percent over last year's funding. According...
"Dear Santa, "Please send me a baby brother." Santa wrote back: "Send me your mother..." I sure could use Santa's help with my 401(k). I checked my retirement plan last night. My $20,000 in savings made me feel very... average. Apparently I am in good company. A survey recently completed by Wells Fargo...
If one can borrow against their homes, why not borrow against their children? SAD BUT TRUE COMIC Everyone in the mortgage industry knows people who are out of work. The latest reports show that mortgage industry employment fell in the third quarter of the year , the first downturn in nearly a year. Total...
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) have joined forces to produce a series of YouTube videos aimed at helping consumers understand and negotiate the home buying process. The videos, previewed before an audience at the NAR convention...
Opening today’s paper to more reports about the apparent processing problems involving foreclosures, I was struck by the near total absence of any discussion concerning ways to constructively address this dilemma. Instead of framing the discussions in the useful context of “root cause”...
One billion dollars in emergency funds will soon be available to help homeowners "bridge" their mortgage payments while they recover from the impact of a severe income loss. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will make the funds available to homeowners in Puerto Rico and the 32 states...
Much of life is a balancing act. For example, I eat my Captain Crunch with only low-fat milk because I wouldn't want unnecessary calories. Underwriting is also a balancing act, matching the risk of the borrower being able to make payments with the desire for the lender to earn a rate of return on the...
HUD is preparing to implement a few new policies that will no doubt affect your pipeline/loan application process. Last week, HUD and the FHA invited public comment on three of those policy changes, which are part of FHA's strategy to "strengthen their capital reserves". The proposed changes...
The latest iteration of the annual Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) American Housing Survey (AHS) found that homes in the U.S. are continuing to grow in size and complexity even since the start of the housing collapse. HUD released a brief summary of the survey results late last week...
Here is some late breaking news. In the early days of Kansas, buffalo bone hauling was the chief occupation and the principal source of revenue. Indeed, it was about the only thing the early settlers could do to make money. Once the crops were planted or harvested, the farmers had plenty of time on their...