May 13th 2011 3:30PM
From the perspective of lenders, come this fall, writing jumbo mortgages without the federal government backing them is akin to walking a tightrope without a safety net. And the widespread prediction is that they just won't do it. Some analysts predict that if the government no longer covers the risk of default, private... Continue Reading »
Oct 13th 2010 2:01PM
Times have been tough for would-be homebuyers, despite record-low mortgage rates and plummeting home prices. Primarily that's because lenders have raised down-payment and credit score requirements. In the following piece, SmartMoney.com explains why it soon may become a lot easier for borrowers to qualify and to obtain the... Continue Reading »
Sep 23rd 2010 11:01AM
Jumbo mortgages likely will be taking a bath by the end of the year, when government support for many high-amount loans is scheduled to expire. After two years during which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized by Congress to back loans up to $729,750, the limit in some areas will fall back to the normal $417,000... Continue Reading »
Jun 4th 2010 2:00PM
If you ever needed evidence that the rich are different from you and me, here's something to know: When they pay cash for luxury homes they don't even need to have the cash to do it. Let me explain: Known in the financial world as securities based lending, margin lending -- or any other number of ways brokers and lenders... Continue Reading »
May 5th 2010 11:00AM
JUMBOS are back! I thought I'd use all caps for JUMBO to sort of, you know, emphasize the bigness of the news and, frankly, to get your attention. Now, since this is a real estate/housing-oriented site, JUMBOS obviously refers to jumbo mortgages. CitiMortgage, the mortgage finance arm of Citigroup has announced that... Continue Reading »
