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How to Get a Mortgage
Start talking to lenders before you start looking.
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How to Open a HELOC
A Home-Equity Line of Credit may have little to no set up fee and no annual fee to keep.
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How to Afford a Second Home
With some planning, budgeting and perspective, a second home is more than attainable.
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How to Refinance a Home Mortgage
When looking to refinance your mortgage, make sure to take into account your new interest rate, how long you’ll stay in the house, and the length and type of loan.
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How to Buy a Home
In both up and down markets, it pays to be disciplined.
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How to Save on Homeowner's Insurance
You don't have to sacrifice coverage to save.
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Wells Hit on Pace of Mortgage Relief; New York Attorney General Says Banks Lags Behind Peers in Carrying Out Foreclosure Settlement
WSJ.comNew York's top prosecutor is raising concerns about the pace of relief provided to the state's mortgage borrowers by Wells Fargo & Co. under a landmark $25 billion settlement, in the latest sign of dissatisfaction with the ...
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Flaws Cited in Foreclosure Review; GAO in Report Faults Regulators for Poor Oversight, Procedural Inconsistencies in Probe of Banks
WSJ.comWASHINGTON—A federal watchdog is faulting U.S. bank regulators for a flawed review of foreclosure documents, saying the agencies didn't establish consistent procedures or adequately monitor the consulting firms performing the work.
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Foreclosure Processor Prommis Solutions Files For Bankruptcy
WSJ.comPrommis Solutions LLC, a Georgia firm hired to process foreclosures for some of the country's biggest mortgage servicers and real-estate law firms, has filed for bankruptcy, blaming slowed business once federal regulators and state ...
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Help for Underwater Homes; Short Sales Forestall Foreclosures, Buoying Property Prices as Recovery Plays Out
WSJ.comThe number of American homes that end up in foreclosure has started to decline, a welcome development that partly reflects an improving housing market.
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Banks court international home buyers; Lenders have figured out how to provide mortgages to affluent foreigners
MarketWatchFor wealthy buyers finding the ideal property in the U.S. may be easier than getting a mortgage to pay for it.Financing a luxury home has been challenging for affluent international buyers—despite their ample assets and income. Most don’t ...
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Regulators Feel Heat on Foreclosure Pact
WSJ.comThe revelation that big U.S. banks made more foreclosure mistakes than regulators disclosed is leading to fresh scrutiny of the government's handling of investigations into banks' mortgage practices.
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Is It Safe to Sell Your House Now?
WSJ.comIt might finally be time to come out of the basement.Seven years after the housing market began to collapse, rising prices and thinner inventories are presenting new opportunities for home sellers. Some hot markets are even seeing multiple ...
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The return of interest-only mortgages; These loans promise low monthly payments, but plenty of risks
MarketWatchAffluent borrowers are signing up for the same type of mortgage that pushed many homeowners into foreclosure just a few years ago.Interest-only mortgages, in which borrowers pay interest but no principal during the first few years of the ...
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Banks Provide $19 Billion in Debt Write-Downs Under Foreclosure Settlement
WSJ.comFive of the largest U.S. banks have provided $19 billion in mortgage debt write-downs to some 240,000 borrowers under the terms of a federal and state settlement of foreclosure-processing violations reached one year ago, according to a ...
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HSBC to Pay $249 Million in Foreclosure Settlement
WSJ.comWASHINGTON—HSBC Holdings PLC reached a $249 million settlement with U.S. regulators over alleged abuses in foreclosure practices.The agreement, disclosed Friday by the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, ...
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Home-Equity Loans Heat Up
WSJ.comAfter years of declines, home-equity lending is starting to make a comeback.That is presenting new opportunities for homeowners seeking to finance a major purchase, consolidate debt or refinance a mortgage with a small balance.
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BofA Takes a Mortgage Mulligan
WSJ.comLess than two years after embarking on a painful retreat from home lending, Bank of America Corp. is girding for a new run at the U.S. mortgage business. Whether that gamble pays off will depend in large measure on how long the mortgage ...
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Mortgage Rules Aid Homeowners
WSJ.comWASHINGTON—U.S. banks will have to do more to help struggling mortgage borrowers keep their homes under final rules to be released Thursday by a U.S. regulator.
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The Foreclosure Shakedowns; Politicians keep looting the banks to pay people who weren't harmed.
WSJ.comAnother search party has returned from the foreclosure litigation swamp. And once again, our brave regulatory first responders found few actual victims. But there is a virtue in Monday's $8.5 billion settlement between federal regulators ...
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City Boosts Repair Push; Suit Over Harlem Building in Foreclosure Action Results in $170,000 Settlement
WSJ.comNew York City in recent years has gone to court to force some property lenders to perform repairs on apartment buildings in foreclosure. Now, it has stepped up those efforts, reaching a settlement against a bank in a case involving one of ...
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Big Banks Settle Mortgage Hangover
WSJ.comMajor banks agreed to pay $20 billion to settle mortgage-related legal disputes, in Wall Street's latest bid to put alleged abuses of the home-lending process in the rearview mirror.
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Woman battles bank giants over faulty foreclosure; Commentary: $8.5 billion bad-mortgage settlement doesn’t cover her
MarketWatchDENVER (MarketWatch) — Caylin Crawford found herself out of work after a snowboarding accident and went to U.S. Bank for some help with her mortgage.
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Stricter rules for adjustable-rate mortgages; New rules could make ARMs safer for borrowers -- but also harder to get
MarketWatchNew mortgage rules the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Thursday will change how lenders decide if borrowers qualify for adjustable-rate mortgages. The “ability to repay” rule, which goes into effect in January 2014, requires ...
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J.P. Morgan Lays Off 839 Mortgage Review Workers After Settlement
WSJ.comJ.P. Morgan Chase & Co. laid off more than 800 contract workers who were retained to review mortgage foreclosures in the wake of the bank's new agreement with regulators to settle the investigation and end the review process, according ...
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All in the Family
Barrons.comThe past two years could hardly be more divergent -- in both market terms and in the results of the Barron's/Lipper Fund Family Ranking.Last year marked a significant -- and much-needed -- change in the markets. Stocks surged (the S&P ...
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The death of the mortgage broker? New rules about how mortgage brokers are paid will start next year
MarketWatchThe mortgage broker’s days may be numbered.Starting next year, mortgage brokers, who serve as middlemen between homebuyers and lenders, will be subject to new rules that experts say could push many to leave the business. Issued by the ...
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Banks in Foreclosure Deal; Goldman, Morgan Stanley Reach $560 Million Settlement With Federal Reserve
WSJ.comWASHINGTON—Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley agreed to pay a combined $560 million to settle allegations of foreclosures abuses, the latest setback in the two banks' costly foray into subprime mortgages.
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A Rally Built Atop Surprises, Mostly Bad
WSJ.comIn banking, numbers don't lie. They are just not consistent.Last week, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. turned in year-end financial reports. The results, like so many before them, were full of surprises.
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Mortgage Deals Came Just in Time
WSJ.comMajor banks pushed to complete an $8.5 billion legal settlement with federal regulators this past weekend so they could book the deal's costs in their fourth-quarter results and present a cleaner slate to investors in 2013, according to ...
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New Rules to Aid Struggling Home Owners
WSJ.comU.S. banks will have to do more to help struggling mortgage borrowers keep their homes, under final rules released last Thursday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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Banks Fight Fannie Over Insurance; Mortgage Firm Wants to Cut Cost of Policies Forced on Homeowners, Lowering Lenders' Fee Income
WSJ.comBanks are fighting an effort by Fannie Mae to cut costs on backup insurance policies often imposed on cash-strapped homeowners, a step that would crimp the lucrative fees the lenders collect on the coverage.
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Charges Weigh on Bank of America's Profit
WSJ.comBank of America Corp.'s fourth-quarter profit plunged 63% as the banking giant was weighed down by billions in charges related to a dispute with Fannie Mae and a foreclosure settlement.
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Eight Common Filing Blunders
WSJ.comSome filers could see their refunds held up if they're not careful. We consulted tax pros and the Internal Revenue Service to find outwhich flubs are most likely to cause problems, and what taxpayers can do to avoid them.
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Reverse-Mortgage Redo
WSJ.comIn an effort to shore up the federally backed reverse-mortgage program, federal housing officials are scrapping the most popular type of reverse mortgage on the market today, a move that will reduce the amount homeowners can borrow with a ...
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Mortgage REITs: Not Just Yet
WSJ.comThe housing market is in recovery mode, but one type of mortgage investment has gotten hammered lately. Experts say investors should wait awhile longer before wading back in.
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Banks Near Foreclosure Settlement; Lenders and Regulators Working Toward $10 Billion Pact After Concerns Raised Over Review Process
WSJ.comBanks are hashing out a $10 billion settlement with federal regulators to halt a lengthy process of reviewing thousands of foreclosure cases for errors, after both sides concluded it was too expensive and not delivering enough assistance, ...
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Big home buyer with bad credit? Banks still want you
MarketWatchEven rich people have trouble getting home loans.Some wealthy home-buyers who could pay cash for million-dollar properties but opt for loans are finding they don’t meet typical lending requirements. Now a growing number of lenders are ...
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Courts Tie Up Foreclosures; U.S. Rate Falls, but States With Judicial Oversight Lag Behind, Slowing Comeback
WSJ.comEven as the nation's foreclosure rate continues to fall, states with court oversight of the foreclosure process are lagging behind, potentially delaying their housing recoveries.
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Mortgage-Fee Plan Faces Pushback
WSJ.comThe federal regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is running into opposition from lawmakers, state attorneys general and consumer advocates over a proposal to raise fees on loans in five states where foreclosures take the longest.
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Tax Hit Looms on Mortgage Relief
WSJ.comTroubled homeowners who get a break from their mortgage lenders might not be so lucky with Uncle Sam, and could face hefty tax bills unless Congress acts to extend a key provision.
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Wealthy home buyers return to risky ARMs
MarketWatchAdjustable-rate mortgages can offer big savings over fixed-rate loans — at least for a period.Luxury-home buyers are returning to adjustable-rate mortgages, despite pitfalls that pushed many homeowners into foreclosure during the housing ...
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Mortgage Break for Some Victims of Sandy
WSJ.comHomeowners dealing with the devastation of Hurricane Sandy may be eligible for atemporary break on their mortgagepayments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Banks Offer Relief To Storm Victims
WSJ.comPeople living in areas battered by Sandy are getting some welcome relief from their banks.The superstorm that swept across the Northeast this past week forced the temporary closure of several thousand bank branches and left scores of ...
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Guilty Plea Comes in 'Robo-Signing' Scandal
WSJ.comThe former executive of a company that provided documentation used by banks in the foreclosure process pleaded guilty to participating in a six-year mortgage-forgery scheme.
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Fannie makes deal with insurers to help homeowners
MarketWatchWASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Government-seized housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Wednesday that they have reached deals with nine mortgage insurers that could help distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure.
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Buyers Back After Foreclosure; 'Boomerang' Home Seekers Become Eligible for Mortgages and Hit Market Again
WSJ.comMillions of families lost their homes to foreclosure after the housing crash hit six years ago. Now, some of those families are back in the housing market. Call them the "boomerang" buyers.
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Senators for Housing Busts; How dare Fannie and Freddie try to charge for their risks.
WSJ.comFor proof that politicians have learned nothing from the Federal Housing Administration's insolvency, look no further than a November 19 Senate letter to Edward DeMarco of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which oversees Fannie Mae ...
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New real-estate fad: the all-cash head fake; More wealthy home buyers are closing before financing
MarketWatchPay cash for your next home or get a mortgage? Some wealthy home buyers are choosing both.It’s called delayed financing, in which buyers pay cash for a home and then take out a mortgage soon after closing. Rarely used even two years ago, ...
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The Next Move for Mortgages
Barrons.comPHH began life in 1946 as a car-leasing company in Baltimore, its name consisting of the first letter of the last names of its founders—Peterson, Howell, and Heather. By the 1980s, PHH (ticker: PHH) had expanded into mortgage banking, and ...
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