http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com Helping American Homeowners Obtain Mortgage Relief Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:58:26 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This big question on a lot of minds is how much should we expect mortgage interest rates to increase when the Fed discontinues its purchasing of mortgage backed securities at the end of this month. The reality is that nobody knows. If the markets step up the impact ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/how-much-will-mortgage-rates-increase-at-the-end-of-march/ There is an innovative new government-backed program on deck that is designed to standardize the short-selling process for homes. "Selling short" is when a home is sold for less than the amount owed. The value to the seller is that the banks forgive the debt in full and ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/new-program-might-pay-homeowners-to-sell-short/ There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal recently lamenting the fact that so many Americans are missing out on the record low interest rate of the last year by not refinancing. With the Fed set to stop buying mortgage backed securities at the end of this ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/failing-to-refi-leading-to-billions-in-missed-savings/ President Obama's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has been extended for another year. The announcement came out earlier today. Here is an excerpt from the Washington Post article on the topic: The Home Affordable Refinance Program was set to expire in June, but so far it has reached fewer ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/obamas-harp-program-extended-through-june-of-2011/ There was an interesting opinion piece over in the Wall Street Journal about when walking away from a home is a good idea. Here is the short version: The author recommends that anyone who is more than 25% underwater on their property should consider walking away. You ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/on-walking-away-from-a-mortgage/ According to new reports we should expect US home prices to continue to fall into 2011. For folks who still have some equity and would like to refinance into a fixed rate loan or just a better rate that means that the time to refinance is now rather than ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/home-prices-reportedly-not-finished-falling/ Some encouraging news was released earlier this week. We get this from the Washington Post story on the subject: Borrowers fell behind on mortgages at a slightly slower rate late last year, but the overall number of homeowners in financial distress remained at record levels, according to industry data released ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/the-rate-of-mortgage-deliquencies-finally-slows/ Among the companies hit hardest by the housing downturn are the mortgage insurance firms. These companies insure conventional mortgages for banks so that if the home forecloses the bank can collect to trim its losses. The problem is that a lot more homes are foreclosing now than anyone ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/mortgage-insurance-companies-posting-big-losses/ Mortgage rates usually mirror to some degree the yields on the 10 year treasury note. With Ben Bernanke announcing the Fed's plans to pull back on its programs of economic stimulus the price of yields on the 10-year treasury bounced up. With it mortgage rates bounced up nearly ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/mortgage-rates-increase-today-after-fed-meeting/ With more than 9% of FHA loans now seriously delinquent the fears that the Federal Housing Administration will need to be be bailed out are not going away. Of course that does not mean the FHA will cease lending but it could mean tighter standards and higher fees down ... http://www.governmentrefinanceassistance.com/government-financing-assistance/fears-of-fha-needing-a-bailout-persist/