The QM Rule: Coming Soon to a Lender Near You

Archive for May, 2013

The QM Rule: Coming Soon to a Lender Near You

By The AMA Team on Friday, May 31st, 2013 | 3 Comments

A busy housing market and encouraging stats on employment offer some optimistic news about the economy. But even with a rosier financial outlook, tighter lending standards are keeping many borrowers from qualifying for mortgages and other loans. And those standards will tighten even more come January 2014, when the new Qualified Mortgage Rule takes effect. […]

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What’s Behind the Lending Slowdown?

By The AMA Team on Thursday, May 30th, 2013 | 1 Comment

Interest rates are still low, the housing market is rebounding, and employment stats are better – so why are loan approval rates down and fewer applications being processed? Financial experts point to a combination of factors stemming from the freewheeling days of the pre-crash housing market and the lawsuits and legislation that followed. As more […]

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Zombie Stocks and an Uncertain Future

By The AMA Team on Wednesday, May 29th, 2013 | 1 Comment

The fortunes of quasi-governmental mortgage superlenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have swooped from post-housing collapse bailout projects to a hot stock option – and back down again. As stock prices for both agencies reached gains of up to 150 percent, only to fall by 40 percent a day or so later, financial experts are […]

How Can Foreclosures and Short Sales Affect Credit?

By The AMA Team on Wednesday, May 29th, 2013 | 2 Comments

Over the last few years, record numbers of homeowners have lost their houses to foreclosure or short sales, leaving a blot on their credit report that can linger for nearly a decade. But that blot may not be the obstacle to getting back into the housing market that it once was. Because foreclosures and short […]

Major Lenders Face New Complaints

By The AMA Team on Monday, May 27th, 2013 | 2 Comments

Like the endlessly looping rerun of a really bad television show, the nation’s top five banks behaving badly are still stalling and misleading customers, even after a string of lawsuits, settlements and accusations of mismanagement. According to a new report in The Washington Post, new complaints charge the main players in the “robosigning” foreclosure abuse […]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Offer Streamlined Modifications

By The AMA Team on Sunday, May 26th, 2013 | Comments Off

Although the housing market continues to show signs of a rebound, its recovery is still dogged by ongoing problems with mortgage lending. In addition to lingering shadows cast by allegations of fraud and mismanagement, the number of mortgage defaulters and delinquent borrowers remains high. That’s why, in an effort to make homeowner assistance even easier, […]

Green Homes Mean Greenbacks

By The AMA Team on Thursday, May 23rd, 2013 | 1 Comment

Green is still in. More and more businesses large and small are jumping on the bandwagon of environmentally friendly products, services and community planning initiatives. And now, the demand for energy saving features and earth-sensitive practices appears to be providing a not-insignificant boost to the recovering housing market: green homes command not just higher purchase […]

College Degrees: A Waste of Four Years?

By The AMA Team on Tuesday, May 21st, 2013 | Comments Off

Is a college degree worth the cost? According to a new survey reported by Forbes, a majority of “millennials” – new and recent college grads – say no. They wish they’d worked and saved instead. And as spiraling student loan debt takes a toll on Hot enough company They was bought limited canadian pharmacy pyrithione […]

Job Growth Changes Bond Buyup Plans

By The AMA Team on Sunday, May 19th, 2013 | Comments Off

In a recent series of intermittent posts on the Federal Reserve’s massive buyup of mortgage backed securities, we’ve been following the plan’s fast forward/slo-mo progress in response to the ebb and flow of activity in various sectors of the economy, particularly housing. Now, just after some regional Fed presidents voiced concerns over the scope of […]

Can Rising Home Prices Signal Another Housing Collapse?

By The AMA Team on Saturday, May 18th, 2013 | 1 Comment

Everything old is new again. For many financial analysts and real estate experts, that old saying may explain fears that the stars are aligning for another housing collapse, thanks to current trends in the market that echo all too clearly the signs that led to the last one. Along with the reappearance of a variety […]

Mixed Messages on the Fed’s Securities Buyup

By The AMA Team on Thursday, May 16th, 2013 | 1 Comment

Since it began in the fall of 2012, the Federal Reserve’s large-scale plan to buy up billions of dollars in mortgage backed securities every month to stimulate the housing recovery has waxed and waned, depending on the health of the market. Now, as the program rolls on with no end point in sight, some senior […]

AMA 58 – The Quants and Dark Pools with Scott Patterson

By Jason on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013 | Comments Off

Jason Hartman is joined by author, Scott Patterson to discuss high frequency trading, of which roughly 70 percent is driven by computers. Scott says the firms using artificial intelligence for high-speed trading make it nearly impossible for the little guy to compete in the markets. According to his book, Dark Pools, these robot systems trade […]

Applying for Credit Can Damage Your Credit

By The AMA Team on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013 | 1 Comment

According to the arcane rules of credit scoring, being in debt makes you a better candidate for more debt and paying off your debt hurts your borrowing power. Now another irony of the credit system undermines the efforts of applicants to qualify for mortgages and other types of loans – the simply act of applying […]

Mortgage Brokering – Another Real Estate Scam?

By The AMA Team on Monday, May 13th, 2013 | 1 Comment

For many mortgage seekers the tried and true route to a loan is through a bank or perhaps a credit union. But faced with an often bewildering array of loan products and interest rates – as well as the potential for being turned down by one or more lenders – potential homebuyers are increasingly turning […]

AMA 57 – Fiscal Hangover & Global Change with Keith Fitz-Gerald

By Jason on Sunday, May 12th, 2013 | 2 Comments

Jason Hartman interviews Keith Fitz-Gerald, the Chairman of The Fitz-Gerald Group and Chief Investment Strategist at Money Map Press. More at: http://www.jasonhartman.com. A bestselling financial author, Keith’s investment perspective is a daily feature for more than 500,000 Money Morning subscribers in 35 countries. A frequent commentator for financial news outlets including Fox Business, Bloomberg, CNBC Asia, […]

Are Major Banks Choking the Housing Recovery?

By The AMA Team on Saturday, May 11th, 2013 | 2 Comments

After the string of lawsuits, settlements and legislative actions related to lax and fraudulent mortgage and foreclosure practices, the nations major lenders are taking a new stand. With stricter lending standards, more transparency and better accountability, these institutions attempt to forestall another mortgage meltdown like the one that created the great housing collapse. But, some […]

Can Owning a Home Hurt Economic Growth?

By The AMA Team on Friday, May 10th, 2013 | 1 Comment

For decades, the “American Dream” of owning a home has created some of the most enduring icons of the culture: white picket fences and happy children playing in a well kept yard, serene old couples rocking on a porch. But a new study by two university economists casts a disturbing shadow over that dream. High […]

AMA 56 – The Decline of the EuroZone with Alasdair MacLeod

By Jason on Thursday, May 9th, 2013 | Comments Off

Jason Hartman is joined by contributing author for GoldMoney.com, Alasdair MacLeod for a rousing discussion of the decline of the European economy, the mistakes of the European Central Bank and EU, and how “governments are eating their own children.” Alasdair makes a rather accurate comparison between the fall of Rome and the current economic disaster […]

More Apologies from the Fed to Mortgage Settlement Victims

By The AMA Team on Thursday, May 9th, 2013 | 1 Comment

Rust Consulting isn’t exactly a household name – but for many victims of the robosigning scandal of 2009-2010, it may become a dirty word. Yet another apology issued by the Federal Reserve for Ruts’ handling – or mishandling – of settlement checks issued this year highlights the private firm’s “errors” involving bounced checks, short checks […]

Beating the Money Trap: Tips for New Investors

By The AMA Team on Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 | Comments Off

As the housing market regains its footing after the crash and subsequent slump of the last few years, increasing numbers of people in all age groups are considering buying homes as investments for a healthier financial future. But, say some industry watchers, for some, that dream of financial freedom doesn’t materialize and they’re losing money […]

Archive for May, 2013