While 23 states have already initiated foreclosure moratoria and launched probes into the foreclosure process in the cases of all lenders in those states, 17 more have expressed interest in joining the probe thanks to the coordinated efforts of state attorneys general across the country. In Indiana, for example, AG Greg Zoeller, chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee of the Read full article »
17 Non-Judicial Foreclosure States “Interested” in Joining Foreclosure Probe
category: Mortgage News, Real Estate News
Could the Foreclosure Freeze Mean Good News for Loan Mods, or No News at All?
As 23 states already hang in limbo with state-wide foreclosure moratoria in place on the parts of at least two of the country’s top three banks and legislators strive to implement more sweeping moratoria throughout the country, lenders and investors are wondering where to turn next. Just last week, a piece of legislation designed to expedite the eviction process on Read full article »
category: Mortgage News, Real Estate News
President Ponders “Wisdom” of a Nationwide Foreclosure Freeze While Short Sales Stall Out
Short sale negotiations and transactions lurched to a screeching halt last week as one major lender after another announced temporary, indefinite moratoria on foreclosures while they investigate the foreclosure processes and the extent of the damage that “robo-signers” have caused. In fact, unless you are doing short sales with Wells Fargo, which announced, point-blank, that it had “no plans” to Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
New York City Housing Market Appears to be Regaining Vitality
Once counted among the most “in demand” areas of the country in which to live, the New York City residential real estate market is once again regaining health, “and then some,” according to the latest report from ResidentialNYC.com, which indicated that the number of sales in the five boroughs of the city rose 18 percent over the same period of Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
California Tries to Sell Off Government Buildings to Relieve Debt Pressure, Costs Itself Millions
California is doing exactly what Dave Ramsey and many other financial gurus out there are advising individuals who are deep in debt to do: the state is selling off its “toys,” 11 buildings owned by California, to an out-of-state investor. The decision to sell was reached due to a desperate need for cash, but the temporary injection of $1.2 billion Read full article »
category: Real Estate News
The Politics of Real Estate
Few industries are as profoundly impacted by the political machinations in Washington as the real estate industry. Whether it's old legislation like Jimmy Carter's Community Reinvestment Act or Barack Obama's massive mortgage bailouts, the U.S. political machine has a huge impact (usually bad) on the business of real estate.
Ideally, we could ignore politics. But here at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter, we insist on seeing the world with clarity - including the reality of Washington's aggressive involvement in every facet of our business, from mortgage lending to real estate sales license; from loan modification regulations to appraisal requirements... every piece of our business is profoundly impacted by politics. So rather than stick our heads in the sand and ignore reality, readers of the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter choose to be informed and prepared.
Mortgage Industry News
Few things change more rapidly than the mortgage market, and with the increasing dominance of GSE's Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the mortgage business, it's more important than ever to keep up. Here are a few recent mortgage news updates:
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Mortgage News
- HAMP Success Tally Slowly Growing
- Western States Working Through Foreclosure Backlog Quicker than Eastern
- Biggest Down Payments in the Country Found in New Jersey
- President Bypasses Congress, Appoints Director of the Consumer Protection Bureau
- Federal Reserve Recommends Expanding GSEs to Turn Housing Market Around
- Mortgage Rates Likely to Remain Low for a While Longer
- Top Former FDIC, Wells Fargo Execs Say Fannie and Freddie Must Go
- FHA Continues to Extend Anti-Flipping Waiver
- More Homeowners Using Delaying Tactics to Slow Down Foreclosures
- Now that It’s Passed: The True Cost of the Payroll Tax Cut
About Bryan Ellis
Bryan Ellis is an Atlanta-based real estate analyst and publisher of the widely read newsletter "The Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter". With over 200,000 subscribers - including real estate investors, agents, brokers, appraisers and other real estate professionals - the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter is among America's largest sources of unbiased coverage of politics and public policy for the real estate industry.
Bryan Ellis serves as editor in chief for the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter and is assisted by an extraordinary staff of writers, researchers and editors who are each real estate experts in their own right and who assure that the news we report is well researched, factual, and highly relevant to today's real estate industry.
Bryan is very happily married and has two wonderful daughters. He makes his home in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. You can contact the team at the Bryan Ellis Real Estate Letter here.