News

2007

June

30

• Traditional mortgage solutions still exist. What kind of financing is possible for home buyers and sellers worried about rising mortgage rates, Wall Street bond-market jitters and soft home prices? Plenty. Although certain aspects of today's post-boom marketplace may look scary…

25

• Your aging parents and you. A series in USA Today explores the financial and emotional costs of helping aging parents. First you get phone calls that seem kind of strange. Mom is quitting her bridge club because "they think I'm…

23

• Mortgage forms sow confusion. With mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures soaring, federal researchers have identified a key contributing factor: Many borrowers simply do not understand their mortgages - especially subprime loans that come with complex features and costly penalties. As…

20

• FTC, Fed criticized over credit reports. Lawmakers accused federal regulators yesterday of moving too slowly to implement rules to help consumers fix errors on their credit reports. The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve were targeted in a House hearing…

19

• Subprime storm winds will keep blowing. Home foreclosures in Minneapolis doubled in 2006 and are on pace to double again this year. The number of vacant buildings is rising in working-class neighborhoods with high levels of subprime loans. Some families are…

17

• Credit query may be asking for trouble. As a former mortgage broker, Adryenn Ashley thought she knew what to expect when she refinanced her house in March. Yet Ashley was unprepared for one twist she encountered: A barrage of telephone calls and…

• Stopping the credit score 'piggyback' ruse. The days may be numbered for dozens of Internet-based companies that promise to quickly boost FICO credit scores by 200 to 300 points. Fair Isaac, the developer of the widely used FICO score, plans to…

• Mortgage rates take upward path. The price of money has gone up. Or more technically, long-term interest rates have jumped in recent weeks, rattling the already slumping housing market. When potential home buyers call for mortgage rate quotes these days,…

15

• Fed urged to alter subprime practices. Consumer advocates pressed the Federal Reserve Thursday to ban or dramatically restrict common subprime lending practices, including penalties for early repayment of loans, and mortgages based on stated, not documented, income. "Reckless and virtually unregulated…

• Subprime borrowers help set foreclosure record. A record number of Americans with subpar credit and adjustable-rate mortgages have fallen behind on their payments, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. The figure is expected to worsen through the end of the year…

14

• Home ownership isn't paradise for everyone. Anyone who has given the headlines even a passing glance recently knows the subprime mortgage industry is in deep trouble. Since 2006 more than 20 subprime lenders have quit the business or gone bankrupt. Many…

13

• Subprime loan repayment penalties debated. A key lawmaker is pressing Wall Street bond firms and loan servicers to ease financial penalties imposed on homeowners who pay off their subprime mortgages early, to give stressed borrowers a shot to refinance and…

09

• Return of the full real estate commission. The tough market for home sales may be spurring a surprise side effect on real estate commissions: For the first time in years, the average commission rate on closed sales nationwide rose slightly last year.…

04

• Credit card 'piggybacking' roils credit industry. Only a low credit score stood between Alipio Estruch and a mortgage to buy a $449,000 Spanish-style house in Weston, Fla., a few miles west of Fort Lauderdale. Instead of spending several years repairing his…

03

• Option ARM rife with pitfalls for borrowers. For Los Angeles newlyweds Joseph and Jamie Horton, the deal looked too good to pass up: a mortgage with an initial 1.75 percent interest rate and payments that wouldn't change for five years. The Hortons…

02

• Reprisals on property appraisals. A federal class-action lawsuit is focusing attention on an issue that's important to homeowners nationwide: Who - or what - tells you how much your property is worth? Is it a person? A digitized substitute?…

May

30

• How insurance scores affect premiums. How is the credit score that insurance companies use when setting premiums different from the one that lenders use when determining your rates on a loan? The version insurers use is slightly different from the…

27

• Don't let movers take you for a ride. Few things in life match the stress and expense of a big move -- just ask anyone who has recently changed addresses. "Moving is a major decision that can really impact your financial status," said…

26

• Can FHA bill save the day?. With more credit-stressed mortgage borrowers falling behind on their payments, will Congress step in and throw them a lifeline? Will legislators transform the most consumer-friendly home mortgage program for moderate-income buyers into a serious alternative…

23

• Mortgage banker blames brokers for loan woes. The heads of trade groups representing mortgage bankers and brokers traded barbs Tuesday over who's to blame for the housing market's woes. The head of the mortgage banking industry's trade group said brokers profited from…