States Diverting Mortgage Settlement Money to Other Uses - NYTimes.com

 

Needy States Use Housing Aid Cash to Plug Budgets = (Screw You)

Hundreds of millions of dollars meant to provide a little relief to the nation’s struggling homeowners is being diverted to plug state budget gaps.The money was part of a national settlement valued at $25 billion and negotiated with five big banks over abuses in their mortgage and foreclosure processes.

The settlement, reached in February after a year of talks and intervention by the Obama administration, was the second-largest in history involving the states, trailing the tobacco industry settlement, and represented the first large-scale commitment by banks to provide direct aid to borrowers.

In Texas, $125 million went straight to the general fund. Missouri will use its $40 million to soften cuts to higher education. Indiana is spending more than half its allotment to pay energy bills for low-income families, while Virginia will use most of its $67 million to help revenue-starved local governments.

 

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How Low Can They GO- Mortgage Rates That Is

The average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage reached 4.01% for the week ending Sept. 29, the lowest ever recorded on the Freddie Mac survey.

The 15-year FRM also averaged a record low 3.28% for the week. The new lows come after the Federal Reserve announced it would buy $400 billion of long-term Treasury bonds and reinvest in agency mortgage-backed securities in order to keep borrowing costs down.

Read On Provided by Housing Wire

Real Estate 2011: House Prices in Chicago and the Suburbs - Chicago magazine - October 2011

 

THE NEW NEW RULES OF REAL ESTATE: Eleven years ago, Chicago offered a guide to making the most of the sizzling-hot housing market. What a difference a decade makes. Now, confronting the realities of today’s pinched economy, local real-estate pros weigh in with the best strategies for buying or selling a home. PLUS: Our annual survey of housing prices in nearly 300 neighborhoods and towns

By Dennis Rodkin

RULE NO. 1   Yesterday is gone

RULE NO. 2 Don’t play the “let’s just see what happens” game.

 

Get the rest of the story from Chicago Magazine by Dennis Rodkin here

House Prices: Where They Will Be in the Spring

Here is what the “Experts” say  about Home prices in the Spring

As a Realtor working with buyers looking to grind down Home Sellers for the Best Deal and  working with Home Sellers looking to keep as much equity as they they can. You need to read this.

Contact me if you need some help sorting this all out.    Neal

Direct Phone  630-724-4729   email- neal.paskvan@bairdwarner.com

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Your Home May be Under Valued ..Are You a Victim of Fuzzy Math on the Net?

Gonsalves worked hard to turn his 6,500-square-foot stucco-and-stone home in the suburbs of Sacramento into the ultimate grown-up party pad, complete with game room, custom wine cellar and an infinity-edge pool overlooking Folsom Lake. When interest rates fell recently, Mr. Gonsalves, who runs a lobbying firm, looked into refinancing his $750,000 mortgage. That's when he got startling news—the home had dropped more than $200,000 in value while he was renovating.Or at least, that's what one real-estate website told him. Another valued the house at only $640,500. And these online estimates left him all the more confused

Click here to watch the WSJ video about this

For Sale By Owner can be GREAT. Yet NOT For EveryOne. Just Ask the Founder of "For Sale by Owner"

Selling your Home can be a stressful process. Going the For Sale by Owner route can be even more so as a Home Seller, You may not be getting the feedback you need to make an informed decision. Even the founder of the For Sale by Owner discovered this fact.  Contact me if You need some help on ways to

Protect your biggest investment.

'For Sale By Owner' founder sells his home... using a real estate broker

Neal Direct: 630-724-4729
Cell: 630-251-0486

Another Luxury Home SOLD by Neal Paskvan

This Home has it All and was SOLD at 95% of listing price...