Posts with tag lending

So there you are, packing for your European backpacking trip when you realize that you pretty much have everything you need except the backpack. Most would have to go to their nearest sporting goods store and drop two hundred dollars for two weeks of use, then stick it in the back of a closet where moths will eat it until... Continue Reading »

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, while a low mortgage rate ... keeps recession at bay? That's the thinking at Morgan Stanley, where economists have published research arguing, among others things, that rock-bottom mortgage rates are helping the US economy avoid a double-dip recession. In the report, Richard Berner... Continue Reading »

Maybe you've considered refinancing your mortgage with a loan from a smaller bank. Well the next time you go to visit, the sign on the bank window may say "closed." That's because many small and regional banks are under serious pressure from the growing troubles in commercial real estate. Three more banks failed this week... Continue Reading »

The Federal Housing Administration has become a lifeline for the flagging housing market. Nearly half of all first-time buyers looked to the agency for home loans in the second quarter of last year. With that kind of demand, is the FHA becoming a risk for the U.S. taxpayers who back it? And what's the best way to address... Continue Reading »

During the boom years, when credit flowed like cheap wine, many homeowners used their homes as personal ATMs, borrowing against the inflating value of their homes. Not anymore. Today, fewer people have equity to tap as home values sunk in many parts of the country, and banks are using stricter lending standards for loan... Continue Reading »