There’s good news for mortgage applicants who don’t fit into the precise mold demanded by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: After pulling back at the start of the pandemic in March, other lenders are returning to the market.
Most professions restrict the payment of referral fees. But they run rampant, and are somewhat controversial, in real estate.
Sellers who need to bring their kitchens up to date, repair foundation cracks or make other fixes before putting their places on the market might not have to reach into their own pockets to do so.
Add a former get-rich-quick-with-real-estate pitchman on the A&E cable network to the laundry list of realty gurus who have found themselves in the crosshairs of the country’s top consumer watchdog agency.
Private contractors operate 202,000 units on 80 bases across the country, often with little or no oversight and not-infrequently unhealthy housing.
The number of homeowners seeking mortgage forbearance fell for at least eight straight weeks this summer. But that decline masks a couple of other important trends.
Buying sight-unseen doesn’t mean you have to go into the transaction blindfolded. There are several ways you can protect yourself against the possibility the house you’re after isn’t what you thought it was.
With mortgage rates falling below 3 percent for the first time in five decades, would-be homebuyers are chomping at the bit to get out there and find new places. But when they finally do jump off the sidelines, they’re likely to find slim pickings.
Would-be buyers who venture forth over the next several months are likely to find the number of houses for sale so sparse that they’ll end up bidding against each other for the best properties.
Investors in private mortgages are licking their chops over what some see as a pending tidal wave of note sales in the coming months.
There’s lots of good information on real estate websites, but ratings of individual agents probably aren’t worth much.
Buyers these days go online to discover what’s available. And with the pandemic still very much a concern, they tend to visit the houses they find appealing by taking a virtual tour rather than an in-person look-see.
Community groups like the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, the California Reinvestment Coalition and legal oversight group Democracy Forward say the Trump administration has been keen on gutting the CRA.
No one knows exactly how many borrowers will find themselves in deep trouble when their government-mandated forbearance plans end Aug. 31.
An opportunity for first-time buyers to find houses priced below market value is presenting itself in a number of places across the country – so long as they’re not looking in much of Greater Boston.
According to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders, the pandemic all but shut down remodeling. But with inventory low due to the pandemic, could stuck homeowners start eyeing projects?
It may be too early to forecast exactly what lies ahead for the housing market once COVID-19 passes into the history books. But at this point, the sector seems poised to retake its place in leading the economy back from the coronavirus-inspired recession.
Much has been written about government abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it seems some homeowners are scamming the system, as well.
Whether you want to buy now, while the pandemic rages on, or wait until the all-clear is finally sounded by medical professionals, it’s smart to line up your financing as soon as possible.
Just as quickly as the COVID-19 pandemic bolted across the country, that’s how fast the financing situation has changed for homebuyers. And whether the mortgage market will return to “normal” once the scourge subsides is anybody’s guess.
