RefiTracker.com

Mortgages: New Good Faith Estimates

Irfan M. Jafery — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 06:45:32 +0000

After years of debate, federal regulators have decided to revise a key disclosure form required by lenders.

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Checking In: A Hotel Chain Turns Upscale in China

Irfan M. Jafery — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:15:12 +0000

Like hotels built in China by other U.S. chains, Days Inns are almost unrecognizable to those familiar with their American counterparts.

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Federal regulators shut 2 California thrifts (AP)

Irfan M. Jafery — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:08:28 +0000

AP - Federal regulators on Friday shut down two big thrifts based in Southern California, saying they fell victim to the acute distress in the housing market in that state.

Development | Hempstead: Hotel to Be Razed to Build Apartments

Irfan M. Jafery — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 13:07:40 +0000

Reverting to a 19th-century model, the town intends to develop housing for young 21st-century commuters along the route of the Long Island Rail Road.

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Should You Stop Making Your Mortgage Payments?

Irfan M. Jafery — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:55:04 +0000

A debate has sprung up in the San Francisco Chronicle and on other blogs about whether it’s right for homeowners to deliberately stop making payments in order to qualify for programs that reduce their mortgage payments. There’s discussion also about whether journalists should even report that as an option.

nI called Evan Wagner, press spokesperson for IndyMac, the big California bank that was seized by the FDIC in July. FDIC chairman Shelia Bair has been using IndyMac as laboratory to test efforts to renegotiate loans en masse. Since she launched her program big banks such as Bark of America and quasi governmental mortgage players Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been introducing similar programs. But do you need to stop making payments to get attention?

No, says Wagner. It is true that companies that collect payments on mortgages that were sold on Wall Street are only allowed to modify loans that are in default or at serious risk of default. To qualify for the FDIC program you need to be at least 60 days past due. But Wagner says the bank is working out deals with other borrowers, so it makes much more sense to go that route first.

The simple fact is that to even begin to qualify your house payments have to be greater than 38% of your gross income. Not working a second job or overtime, as some people have suggested, would be crazy in this economy. And deliberately stopping payments could backfire if the FDIC loan officers say you don’t quality, you may actually end up losing your home.

FYI, IndyMac is having an open house at the Van Nuys, Calif. convention centers on Saturday Nov. 22. from 10 AM to 3 PM. They’ll have twenty loan officers out there considering homeowners’ loan problems.
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Habitats: Home, Hangout, Departure Lounge

Irfan M. Jafery — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:47:11 +0000

Daniel Vosovic, who was a finalist on the second season of “Project Runway,” shares an apartment on the Lower East Side that seems ready-made for television.

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Our Summer of Stairs

Irfan M. Jafery — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 06:25:33 +0000

When life hands you a ninth-floor walk-up, what happens when you come home from shopping and find you forgot the lemons?

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Streetscapes | West End Avenue: Homage to the Humdrum

Irfan M. Jafery — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:50:29 +0000

The West End Preservation Society has proposed the designation of the entire stretch of West End Avenue from 70th to 107th Street as a historic district.

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Living In | Southbury, Conn.: A Town That Feels Like the Country

Irfan M. Jafery — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:50:07 +0000

A mix of rural and suburban appeals to residents of Southbury, Conn.

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Tighter credit limits hamper mortgage chances

Irfan M. Jafery — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:38:44 +0000

Credit-card companies are reducing credit limits on some borrowers. For some people, that may cause a drag on their credit score, making it harder to get a mortgage.