Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: refinanced mortgages

refinanced mortgages stories: 16 news summaries
mortgage meltdown

 Sleazy Middlemen 
 Stiff Homeowners 
 Trying to Refi 

Foot-dragging 'mortgage servicers' step into role of fox in henhouse

Oct 4, 09 3:31 PM CDT
(Newser) - The federal mortgage modification program is mired in trouble, with just 12% of the 3 million eligible loans in the process of modification, the "servicers" that helped create the problem tasked with helping to untangle it, and the Treasury Department falling down on the oversight job. In one... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iowa • North Carolina • mortgage • Treasury Department • GAO • Government Accountability Office • refinanced mortgages • TARP • mortgage modification • CitiFinancial • Home Affordable Modification Program

Burgeoning Interest Rates Threaten to Stifle Recovery

Demand for refinancing shrivels as 30-year rates hit 5.75%

Jun 11, 09 7:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - The steady rise in interest rates over recent weeks is threatening to trample the green shoots of recovery in the housing market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rates on 30-year mortgages hit 5.79% yesterday, more than a point above the 4.75% "trigger" level analysts say spurred the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
inflation • mortgage • US economy • mortgage rates • interest rate • refinanced mortgages

'F@$%! I Wish I'd Refinanced My House'

With mortgage rates rising, homeowners regret not acting sooner

May 31, 09 2:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Many homeowners are kicking themselves for not refinancing sooner now that mortgage rates are climbing, ABC News reports. “I was going to save $325 a month, and that covers all kind of things, from gas to groceries,” lamented one. “$325 is a lot of money.” And... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • Federal Reserve • economist • mortgage rates • homeowners • refinanced mortgages

 Foreclosures Rose 
 24% in First Quarter 

Rate expected to rise through the summer

Apr 16, 09 8:31 AM CDT
(AP) - The number of American households threatened with losing their homes grew 24% in the first 3 months of this year and is poised to rise further as major lenders restart foreclosures after a temporary moratorium, figures out today show. Though the Obama administration has invested $75 billion to help up... More »

MORE ABOUT:
foreclosure • refinanced mortgages • housing crisis • mortgage delinquency • Obama administration • financial crisis • refinancing

(Newser) - The country’s top lenders are slowly implementing the Obama administration’s plan to help otherwise ineligible borrowers to refinance their mortgages at the current bargain-basement rates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The program is open to those with mortgages owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae who are... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • mortgage • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage rates • refinanced mortgages • Obama administration

 Scammers Set Sights on 
 Desperate Homeowners 

Calif. AG: Be 'deeply skeptical' of offers to help refinance

Mar 16, 09 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - A record 5.4 million homeowners across the country are behind on their mortgages, and scam artists are looking to cash in, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Ads offering help lowering mortgage payments are everywhere. But these "loan negotiators" usually provide services that homeowners can handle on their own,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • foreclosure • scam • mortgage rates • refinanced mortgages • economic stimulus package • mortgage delinquency

Mortgage Refinancing Rush Continues Into New Year

30-year fixed mortgage rate is lowest on record

Jan 14, 09 3:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Homeowners continue to scramble for refinancing in order to lock in currently low interest rates, MarketWatch reports, with applications jumping 25.6% last week, to the highest level since June 2003. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 0.10% for the week ending Jan. 9, to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mortgage • mortgage rates • interest rate • refinanced mortgages • refinancing

Senate Homeowner Aid
Moves Big Step Closer

Citi drops opposition to Senate proposal

Jan 9, 09 9:02 AM CST
(Newser) - A Senate plan to help struggling homeowners keep their houses moved closer to fruition yesterday as Citigroup ended its opposition to the bill, the Wall Street Journal reports. The measure would allow so-called “cramdowns,” in which judges in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases could set lower principal and interest... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Senate • foreclosure • mortgage • mortgage rates • mortgage debt • Dick Durbin • refinanced mortgages

At-Risk Owners Pay Big Bucks to Mortgage Modifiers

Some take advantage of patchwork laws, charge for services non-profits offer for free

Dec 26, 08 10:44 AM CST
(Newser) - A growing mortgage-modification industry has cropped up amid the housing bust, the Washington Post reports, charging homeowners thousands to help them negotiate better loans. The problem? Non-profit groups already offer those services gratis. “It is very frustrating to find a homeowner who has paid a for-profit company $3,000... More »

MORE ABOUT:
foreclosure • mortgage • nonprofit • Housing and Urban Development • refinanced mortgages • mortgage delinquency • financial crisis

FDIC Plan Tests Strategies for
Keeping People in Homes

Systematic reworking faces typical hurdles

Nov 1, 08 6:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - The first large-scale experiment in how to keep struggling borrowers in their homes is being run by the FDIC at seized mortgage lender IndyMac, the Wall Street Journal reports, and the results are mixed. Of some 65,000 borrowers with “seriously delinquent” mortgages, about 47,000 qualify for aid... More »

MORE ABOUT:
IndyMac • FDIC • mortgage lender • refinanced mortgages • subprime crisis • mortgage delinquency

JPMorgan Plans Relief for $110B in Mortgages

WaMu customers included in measure to avoid foreclosures

Oct 31, 08 2:22 PM CDT
(Newser) - JPMorgan Chase will help distressed homeowners by reducing interest rates or principal balances for $110 billion in mortgages, Bloomberg reports. The restructuring applies to clients of Washington Mutual, which JPMorgan agreed to buy last month. Foreclosures will be suspended on all loans for the next 90 days while the relief... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mortgage • Washington Mutual • WaMu • refinanced mortgages • subprime crisis • mortgage defaults • JPMorgan Chase • financial crisis

 Rescue Plan  
 Rankles Prudent 
 Homeowners 

Those who can pay mortgages feel cheated as neighbors get aid

Oct 31, 08 7:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - As the feds move ahead with a plan to help homeowners on the brink of foreclosure, others are questioning the scheme's fairness and wondering if it's ripe for abuse, the New York Times reports. “I am beginning to think I would have rocks in my head if I keep... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • abuse • refinanced mortgages • subprime crisis • bailout • mortgage defaults • financial crisis

Mortgage Deal Close in Senate

Bipartisan bill would expand insurance for refinanced loans, boost feds' oversight

May 15, 08 1:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Senate committee is close to agreeing on expansion of a government insurance program for refinanced mortgages, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though ridden with partisan conflict as recently as a week ago, staff for Democrat Chris Dodd and Republican Richard Shelby said today the sides were nearing a compromise,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
mortgage • Chris Dodd • Richard Shelby • refinanced mortgages • Senate Banking Committee • bailout • mortgage insurance

Bernanke: Homeowners Need More Help

Fed chief calls for writing down problem mortgages' principal

Mar 4, 08 9:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says homeowners need more help, and that help might include writing down the principal on some problem loans, reports the Wall Street Journal.  "Efforts by both government and private-sector entities to reduce unnecessary foreclosures are helping, but more can, and should, be done," ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Ben Bernanke • foreclosure • mortgage • home loans • homeowners • refinanced mortgages • negative equity • upside-down mortgages

Americans Falling Behind on Credit Cards

Amount overdue on
US accounts surged
26% in October

Dec 23, 07 10:35 PM CST
(Newser) - It’s already looking like an iffy New Year for many credit-card holders: the number of Americans falling behind on their payments spiked sharply this year and analysts don’t expect 2008 to be much brighter. The value of credit card accounts at least 30 days late surged 26% in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bank of America • Federal Reserve • subprime mortgages • debt • credit card • Capital One • job market • default • Discover • home equity loans • refinanced mortgages • JPMorgan Chase

Senate Votes
to Aid At-Risk Homeowners

Bill, approved 93-1, would allow feds to back refinanced loans

Dec 14, 07 4:44 PM CST
(Newser) - In an attempt to quell the ongoing housing crisis, the Senate approved a bill today that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to back refinanced loans for the thousands in danger of defaulting on mortgages. The bill, which passed 93-1, also repositions the FHA as an attractive alternative to subprime... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Charles Schumer • Senate • Harry Reid • subprime mortgages • Federal Housing Administration • refinanced mortgages • housing crisis

16 Stories


from our news partners