With the 10-year treasury crossing below .75% this morning, potential homebuyers and those on the fence about refinancing may hop off, and pursue a mortgage loan! In other words, with rates at current levels are banks and other lending institutions offering borrowers the opportunity to basically ‘pick money off of the proverbial money tree’? […]
With the US housing market having recouped most of its pre-financial crisis price levels (exceeded in some markets) in conjunction with the Federal Reserve having engaged in ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) for an extended period of time, is the market once again facing a moral hazard? First, how would one define moral hazard vis a vis the real […]
The Mortgage Interest Deduction! Of course the title of the article is a parody of the fan pleading for the masses to leave Britney Spears alone but, for anyone who owns real estate that is mortgaged or who may be thinking of buying residential property with financing, the title is actually quite significant. This […]
The best intentions of Washington can often result in negative, albeit unintended, consequences. A perfect case in point is the QRM provision in Dodd-Frank! The proposed Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act includes a provision that goes by the acronym QRM, or Qualified Residential Mortgage. I recently attended a meeting of the Empire […]
Does the controversy that’s surrounding MERS and the foreclosure process signal a death knell for the firm or is it much ado about nothing? In an article here last week a New York State Appellate Court decision was discussed which held that the foreclosing entity needs to be in possession of both the mortgage and […]
The foreclosure crisis and “Pooling and Servicing Agreement” (PSA) violations On March 31st The Hallmark Abstract Sentinel published an article that discussed the upcoming 60 Minutes story (airing tonight) on the foreclosure crisis, and the potential for it to have far reaching implications and ramifications. The following paragraph comes from the Sentinel article that can […]
