Foreclosure is hitting well-off families, too

Who is falling into foreclosure? The Florida Association of Realtors wanted to find out, so it commissioned an analysis that cross-referenced three years of foreclosure filings with demographic data. The study focused only on primary residences; the idea was to ignore investors and speculators, looking instead at people who'd bought homes to live in themselves.

Some of the findings about foreclosed homeowners were pretty interesting:

20% of the filings went to households with more than $100,000 in annual income. 15% of homeowners had ..read more

Homeowners abandoning houses en masse

A pair of studies released Thursday found that more homeowners are choosing to let an underwater home go into foreclosure, despite their ability to continue to make payments. Researchers at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University found that 31% of foreclosures appeared to be strategic, up from 22% in last year.

As the number of borrowers who walk away from their mortgages increases, the social stigma associated with foreclosure has started to wane, experts say. "It can be a very ..read more

Mortgage delinquencies at historic highs

The state of the housing market has long reached a point where it's good news to hear, "It's not getting worse." Unfortunately, according to a firm that tracks borrowers behind on their mortgages, you can conclude at best, "It's getting worse, but less quickly."

Rising sales, largely spurred by first-time buyer credits, have given people hope that the beleaguered housing market has finally hit bottom and is even showing signs of life. It's been impossible, however, for me to get excited ..read more

More Money Thursday roundup: What a bad credit score can cost you & the best (and worst) cities for car repair

Personal finance from around the Web:

Think your credit score doesn't mean much? Think again. Over your lifetime, a poor one could cost you $200,000. [It's Your Money] If you live in Chicago and need your car fixed, good luck. You'll need it. AutoMD.com sent mystery shoppers to car repair shops in 50 markets to rank which ones had the fairest quotes. The cities with the lowest rankings — based affordability, price variation and shop integrity — were Chicago, Honolulu and ..read more

More Money Thursday roundup: What a bad credit score can cost you & the best (and worst) cities for car repair

Personal finance from around the Web:

Think your credit score doesn't mean much? Think again. Over your lifetime, a poor one could cost you $200,000. [It's Your Money] If you live in Chicago and need your car fixed, good luck. You'll need it. AutoMD.com sent mystery shoppers to car repair shops in 50 markets to rank which ones had the fairest quotes. The cities with the lowest rankings — based affordability, price variation and shop integrity — were Chicago, Honolulu and ..read more

More Money Friday roundup: ETF hazards & when not to tip

Personal finance from around the Web:

Exchange-traded funds are all the rage these days, but are they right for you? Here's a primer on perks and pitfalls of ETFs. [USA Today] If your teenager is more worried about the latest Twilight movie than her latest bank statement, she might need some credit guidance. Here are some tips to help your teen become credit savvy before the balances accumulate. [Wise Bread] Tipping at least 15% may be customary, but one blogger doesn't think it's ..read more

More Money Tuesday roundup: Financial aid mistakes & a stinky foreclosure

Personal finance from around the web:

Visualizing how much of your work time goes towards earning the money to repay your debts — think your car loan or your home mortgage — can be depressing. Nonetheless, here is a quick and entertaining way to do it (until you get to the depressing part). [Steadfast Finances] In a reversal of fortune over the past few decades, married men are now better off than their single peers. Who's to thank? Their wives, ..read more

Loan Modification

The loan modification program introduced by Obama has helped many homeowners who have qualified for the program. Recently, 6 lenders have signed up for Obama’s loan modification program; Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and CitiGroup to name a few. Each will receive approximately USD$3.6 billion as incentive and subsidies for carrying out loan modification.

Are you eligible for loan modification?

Loan modification can be availed by you only under the following circumstances-

The house you are residing in should be your principal ..read more

Homebuyers getting FHA loans too easily

You'd think the subprime bust would mean no more mortgages for borrowers with little skin in the game. Well, it doesn't.

While most lenders have tightened standards for down payments — usually requiring at least 10% down and 20% for the best rates — the Federal Housing Administration has continued to offer loans to borrowers putting down as little as 3.5%. On Thursday the House Financial Services Committee is considering whether to boost the minimum down payment requirement to 5%.

I think ..read more