International Business News - Mortgage http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif Mortgage rates fell for the second day in a row Wednesday, and could be heading toward levels home buyers and owners haven't seen this year. That drop is what the Federal Reserve was aiming for when it announced a plan Tuesday to buy $600 billion in mortgage-related securities in an effort to slow falling home prices and rising foreclosures, while kick starting demand among fearful homebuyers. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081126/mortgage-rates-fall-for-2nd-day-wont-help-all.htm Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:08:26 EST Rates on 30-year mortgages sank for a fourth straight week, falling below 6 percent for the first time since early October, and are heading lower due to the government's massive new effort to aid the U.S. housing market. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081126/mortgage-rates-dip-for-fourth-straight-week.htm Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:31:34 EST Share of real estate investment trusts that invest in mortgage-backed securities got a hefty boost Tuesday after the Federal Reserve said it would buy up billions of dollars worth of securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081125/sector-wrap-fed-plan-boosts-mortgage-reits.htm Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:07:05 EST The Federal Reserve said Tuesday it will buy up to $600 billion in mortgage-backed assets in another attempt to deal with the financial crisis. The Fed said it will purchase up to $100 billion in direct obligations from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the Federal Home Loan Banks. It also will purchase another $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities, pools of mortgages that are bundled together and sold to investors. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/181554-obama-cabinet.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081125/fed-says-it-will-buy-mortgage-related-assets.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081125/fed-says-it-will-buy-mortgage-related-assets.htm Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:49:36 EST Mortgage lending in Britain has more than halved over the past year, according to the British Banker's Association--further evidence that the economic downturn is dramatically hurting the country's property market. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081125/uk-mortgage-approvals-halved-from-year-ago.htm Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:35:38 EST Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending foreclosures for about 16,000 households during the holiday season. The two companies said Thursday that they will halt foreclosure sales between Nov. 26 and Jan. 9, while they evaluate whether borrowers qualify for a new loan modification program announced last week. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081120/fannie-mae-freddie-mac-halting-foreclosures.htm Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:24:22 EST Regulators in Virginia are the first nationwide to actively discourage real estate appraisers from using online systems that could allow unscrupulous agents and lenders to remove critical information from the appraisal report. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081120/va-regulators-block-appraisers-from-online-systems.htm Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:34:52 EST Mortgage rates dropped for a third straight week, reflecting the impact the weakening economy is having on financial markets. Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giant, reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.04 percent this week, down from 6.14 percent last week. It marked a sharp decline since rates hit a recent high of 6.46 percent during the week of Oct. 16. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081120/mortgage-rates-drop-for-third-week.htm Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:52:17 EST Mortgage lending in Britain was down 44 percent in October compared to a year ago, further evidence the economic downturn is hurting an already weak property market, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said Thursday. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081120/uk-mortgage-lending-down-44-pct-from-a-year-ago.htm Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:51:15 EST Sixteen people--including drug smugglers, real estate appraisers and a bank employee--hatched two multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud schemes involving overvalued suburban homes that were sometimes used as stash houses, authorities said. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081119/nyc-authorities-charge-16-in-mortgage-fraud-scheme.htm Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:06:20 EST Two government programs designed to help hundreds of thousands of delinquent borrowers avoid foreclosure are having negligible effects, a top Bush administration official acknowledged Wednesday. One program will be revamped immediately, and the other possibly in the near future. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081119/govt-expanding-rules-for-mortgage-help-program.htm Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:17:43 EST Mortgage application volume fell 6.2 percent during the week ended Nov. 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081119/mortgage-application-volume-falls-6-2-pct.htm Wed, 19 Nov 2008 09:59:27 EST Thornburg Mortgage Inc. said Wednesday it will delay paying interest on certain senior notes because it does not currently have the funds to make the payments. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081119/thornburg-delays-interest-payment-on-senior-notes.htm Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:47:25 EST Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is warning struggling homeowners about mortgage rescue companies. Madigan on Tuesday announced that she's filed seven new lawsuits against businesses she says offered false hope to homeowners trying to keep their homes. She's now filed 22 lawsuits against such companies. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081118/illinois-ag-madigan-sues-mortgage-rescue-firms.htm Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:12:31 EST The FBI is investigating several companies that allegedly bilked Native Hawaiian homeowners out of more than $300,000 by offering bogus foreclosure rescue bonds. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081117/fbi-probes-foreclosure-scam-targeting-hawaiians.htm Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:55:42 EST Federal housing finance agencies hold or guarantee $6.8 trillion in debt--the equivalent to more than half of the government's total debt. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12-member Federal Home Loan Bank system control $6.8 trillion in debt, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Monday in a report. The entire national debt is $10.6 trillion. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081117/fannie-freddie-home-loan-banks-control-6-8t.htm Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:16:33 EST A northern Virginia businessman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme. In U.S. District Court Thursday, 47-year-old Vijay K. Taneja of Fairfax admitted that through his company, Financial Mortgage Inc., he defrauded banks of at least $33 million by creating fake mortgage loans and selling the same loans to several investors. Authorities say Taneja then pocketed the proceeds generated from refinancing loans. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081114/virginia-man-pleads-guilty-to-mortgage-fraud.htm Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:10:56 EST Publicly breaking with the Bush administration's official stance, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposed Friday to use $24 billion in government funding to help 1.5 million American households avoid foreclosure. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081114/fdic-says-plan-could-help-1-5-million-keep-homes.htm Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:23:47 EST The owners of a foreclosure rescue company that promised to save struggling homeowners but swindled them out of their houses were convicted Thursday of bank fraud conspiracy charges. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081114/new-york-jury-convicts-foreclosure-swindling-pair.htm Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:23:20 EST Hundreds of lenders told federal housing officials Thursday that a $300 billion mortgage aid program requires too many losses for consumers and lenders to realistically help 400,000 Americans avoid foreclosure. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081113/lenders-criticize-govt-mortgage-aid-program.htm Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:08:26 EST