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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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Hedge Funds Bet on Freddie, Fannie Rise
WSJ.comSome of the hedge funds that made fortunes in the housing-market crash are now betting on the recovery of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage giants.
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Some Banks Halt Foreclosures, Citing Regulator's Bulletin
WSJ.comSome of the nation's largest banks, including Wells Fargo & Co., suspended foreclosure sales in a number of states following guidance issued last month by federal banking regulators.
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Banks still have trouble getting paperwork right; Commentary: Foreclosures, loan modifications remain chaotic
MarketWatchDENVER (MarketWatch) — America’s mortgage foreclosure crisis is at least five years old, and two of the nation’s largest banks apparently still can’t handle all the paperwork.
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When to Buy After a Foreclosure; Be cautious, even if your financial storm has passed
WSJ.comQ. Our credit was once good, but was wrecked when our house was foreclosed on years ago. Since then, we have been renting and paying our bills on time. We expect that our good payment habits will put us into a position to buy a home soon. ...
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A Helping Hand for Jumbo-Loan Borrowers; More Banks and Employers Are Offering Financial Help to Borrowers of Jumbo Mortgages
WSJ.comA number of government agencies and private organizations provide housing assistance to low-income families. Now, more banks and employers are offering financial help to jumbo-mortgage borrowers.
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Foreclosure Error Cited
WSJ.comNearly 100,000 home loan borrowers whose mortgages were handled by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley got checks for incorrect amounts to compensate them for potential foreclosure errors, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
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Nationstar Foreclosure Processes Are Probed
WSJ.comNationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. halted foreclosure proceedings against home-loan borrowers in 23 states at the request of four state attorneys general, but then resumed the procedures after an internal review of its practices, according ...
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Senate Democrats Blast Regulators on Foreclosure Reviews
WSJ.comWASHINGTON—Senate Democrats blasted federal banking regulators for not revealing more details about what consulting firms found during a review of mortgage-foreclosure abuses and how those firms performed.
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Scant Relief in Foreclosure Payouts; Most Borrowers to Get $1,000 or Less as Part of a $9.3 Billion Settlement Between U.S. and Banks
WSJ.comWASHINGTON—The vast majority of borrowers being compensated for mortgage-related abuses will get $1,000 or less apiece, a sobering coda to a protracted attempt to help those who may have been placed into foreclosure as a result of banks' ...
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U.S. Rethinks Use of Consultants In Reviews of Foreclosure Abuses
WSJ.comWASHINGTON—A top federal banking official will tell lawmakers Thursday that his agency's use of consultants hampered a broad review of foreclosure abuses and "did not serve the agency's objectives," according to written testimony reviewed ...
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Vital Signs | Another Good Omen for the Housing Market
WSJ.comThe number of homes that were lost to foreclosure in the first quarter fell by a greater amount in the Bay Area than in any other California region, according to real-estate research firm DataQuick.
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THE MONEY GAME; Warning: Property Foreclosures Ahead; Small companies face balloon payments on their mortgages—and no way to raise the money
WSJ.comMany small firms that own commercial property are facing big trouble.The problem is simple: Banks typically re-evaluate commercial mortgages every five to 10 years. At that point, they can renew the loans, or ask business owners to pay them ...
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Banks to start making foreclosure payments
MarketWatchWASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Banks this week will start making payments to millions of borrowers who were foreclosed on at the height of an era where wrongful actions were taken, federal regulators announced Tuesday.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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