Archive for Finance/Mortgage
Paying Off the House in 15 Years
Posted by: | CommentsFrom onlinewsj.com
By Amy Hoak
A growing number of homeowners are choosing to pay down their mortgages at a faster rate–even if it means a substantial jump in their monthly payments.
Between January and June, 26% of homeowners who refinanced chose a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, according to data from CoreLogic, a provider of financial, property and consumer information. During all of 2009, 18.5% of borrowers who refinanced opted for a 15-year term.
What’s prompting the shift to shorter loans? Historically low interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages.
Homeowners are doing the math and realizing that rates have fallen enough so the increase in payment between a new 15-year mortgage and their current loan is no longer unbearable for their budgets, says Bob Walters, chief economist at online lender Quicken Loans.
The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.86% for the week ending Aug. 26, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey of conforming mortgage rates.
A Change in Thinking
The financial situation of those capable of refinancing today is a factor in the shift, Mr. Walters says. These people typically are homeowners with the best credit and the most equity — and, therefore, most suited for a shorter-term loan.
But there might be some other psychology at work. “We’re seeing a different view on debt than maybe we’ve seen in the past,” he says. Today, homeowners are saying, “I really want to pay this off. I’m going to bite the bullet and take the payment and work toward paying this down.”
A 15-year mortgage also acts as somewhat of a forced savings account for homeowners, says Leif Thomsen, chief executive of Mortgage Master, a privately owned lender, given that the higher payments help a borrower pay down the principal at a quicker clip.
This is a huge shift in borrower thinking. “There was a drive a couple of years ago to take out the biggest mortgage that you could and use all of the money you would have otherwise had in the house and put it into stocks and bonds–to think of your house and mortgage as part of your entire investment portfolio,” says Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist for Freddie Mac.
“That worked for people who do investment finance for a living and are good at managing accounts,” she says. “But for the average person, debt is a drag on their psyche as well as their overall budget.” Many Americans have reverted to the goal of paying off their house and getting rid of their mortgage, Ms. Cutts adds.
Doing the Math
Refinancing into a shorter-term mortgage isn’t a strategy for everyone, however.
Choosing a shorter term usually means you’ll get a better rate–and you’ll pay much less interest over the life of the loan–but a shorter time frame ramps up monthly mortgage payments.
For example, with a 4.5% interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of $200,000, you would have a monthly payment of $1,015, including principal and interest, Ms. Cutts says. The monthly payment jumps to about $1,480 with a 4% interest rate on a 15-year fixed-rate loan.
Of course, if the refinancing borrower’s current 30-year loan has a higher rate, the difference between the monthly payments could be lower. Still, you should count on some increase in monthly payments.
In general, Mr. Walters says, those who choose 15-year fixed-rate mortgages are older and have more equity and less debt than other folks. They also earn higher incomes and don’t have some of the added expenses that younger homeowners typically do.
“People who are taking these loans are financially stable and can afford the payments, but at the same time are planning on staying in their home for an extended period of time,” Mr. Thomsen says.
Mr. Walters says you shouldn’t take on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage unless you have substantial savings, including at least a year’s worth of living expenses in liquid accounts.
Also, he recommends having a debt-to-income ratio below 35%. So if you have a gross salary of $5,700 per month, for instance, your monthly debt–including any mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, homeowners-association dues as well as auto and student loans and credit-card debt–would have to be a max of $1,995 to get a 35% ratio.
Read the complete article here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703669004575458203846437616.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews
July Existing-Home Sales Fall as Expected but Prices Rise
Posted by: | CommentsFrom the National Association of Realtors:
Existing-home sales were sharply lower in July following expiration of the home buyer tax credit but home prices continued to gain, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, dropped 27.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million units in July from a downwardly revised 5.26 million in June, and are 25.5 percent below the 5.14 million-unit level in July 2009.
Sales are at the lowest level since the total existing-home sales series launched in 1999, and single family sales – accounting for the bulk of transactions – are at the lowest level since May of 1995.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a soft sales pace likely will continue for a few additional months. “Consumers rationally jumped into the market before the deadline for the home buyer tax credit expired. Since May, after the deadline, contract signings have been notably lower and a pause period for home sales is likely to last through September,” he said. “However, given the rock-bottom mortgage interest rates and historically high housing affordability conditions, the pace of a sales recovery could pick up quickly, provided the economy consistently adds jobs.
“Even with sales pausing for a few months, annual sales are expected to reach 5 million in 2010 because of healthy activity in the first half of the year. To place in perspective, annual sales averaged 4.9 million in the past 20 years, and 4.4 million over the past 30 years,” Yun said.
According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.56 percent in July from 4.74 percent in June; the rate was 5.22 percent in July 2009. Last week, Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed was down to 4.42 percent.
The national median existing-home price2 for all housing types was $182,600 in July, up 0.7 percent from a year ago. Distressed home sales are unchanged from June, accounting for 32 percent of transactions in July; they were 31 percent in July 2009.3
“Thanks to the home buyer tax credit, home values have been stable for the past 18 months despite heavy job losses,” Yun said. “Over the short term, high supply in relation to demand clearly favors buyers. However, given that home values are back in line relative to income, and from very low new-home construction, there is not likely to be any measurable change in home prices going forward.”
Total housing inventory at the end of July increased 2.5 percent to 3.98 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 12.5-month supply4 at the current sales pace, up from an 8.9-month supply in June. Raw unsold inventory is still 12.9 percent below the record of 4.58 million in July 2008.
NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said there are great opportunities now for buyers who weren’t able to take advantage of the tax credit. “Mortgage interest rates are at record lows, home prices have firmed and there is good selection of property in most areas, so buyers with good jobs and favorable credit ratings find themselves in a fortunate position,” she said.
Read the complete report: http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2010/08/ehs_fall
Mortgage Rates Amazingly Low, Continue to Fall
Posted by: | CommentsFrom RealtyTimes.com
By: Ed Ferrara
30-year fixed mortgage rates are now at 4% for well-qualified borrowers who pay .07 to 1 point origination shows FreeRateUpdate.com research of wholesale lenders’ interest rate sheets. 15-year fixed mortgage rates are at 3.5%. Both fixed mortgage rates, which continue to decline, are at all time record low levels.
FHA mortgage rates remain at similar levels to conforming rates. FHA 30-year fixed loan rates are at 4%; however, APR on an FHA loan at 4% is quite higher than that of a conforming mortgage at the same note rate. Why? MI at 2.25% of the amount financed and other FHA fees drive up closing costs.
Jumbo mortgage rates, which have declined significantly in recent weeks, are also at all time record lows. Today’s 30-year fixed jumbo loan rate is 5.125%.
Mortgage-backed securities prices, which drive mortgage rates in the opposite direction, continue to do well amid ongoing uncertainty in the economy. MBS prices rose again to begin this week, stabilizing rates at their current levels.
View complete article here: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100825_rateupdate.htm
Quest for the perfect credit score
Posted by: | CommentsFrom MONEY Magazine
A major league pitcher dreams of throwing a perfect game. High schoolers eyeing the Ivy League study furiously in hopes of earning 2400 on the SAT. Meanwhile, Chris Peplinski is pursuing his own brand of flawlessness: an 850 credit score.
The 37-year-old stay-at-home dad from Rogers, Ark., has already nabbed 813 on the FICO scale, the credit scoring system most lenders use in sizing up potential borrowers.
That ranks him above more than 82% of Americans and comes with a big payoff: It entitles him to ultralow rates on loans, saving him tens of thousands of bucks over a lifetime.
Nevertheless, Peplinski won’t be satisfied until he hits the maximum: 850. Why? “Your credit score tells a lot about you,” Peplinski explains. “A high score means you’re responsible and in control of your life. You’re trustworthy.”
To reach his goal, Peplinski voraciously reads up on every element that goes into a FICO score, checks his number every three months, and tweaks his behavior to eke out every possible additional point.
Two years ago, he took out a car loan even though he and his wife, Chrissy, had the cash to buy their wheels outright. He figured that adding to his mix of credit might boost his score.
In spite of Chris’s best efforts, landing an 850 may be a quixotic goal — only about 0.5% of Americans manage it, FICO reports. “The 850 score is kind of like a unicorn,” says John Ulzheimer, a credit scoring expert with Credit.com who used to work for FICO. “Everybody talks about it, but nobody’s seen it.”
The reality is that you don’t need to catch the unicorn to catch the best rates. But adopting some of the habits of Peplinski and other members of the 800 club can help you improve your own score.
And that can translate into real money: On a $300,000 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the most credit-worthy borrowers will pay $14,200 less than those one tier below, $25,600 less than those two tiers below.
Secrets of score strivers
FICO, the Minneapolis company that produces the scoring model, divulges the five factors that determine your magic number — your payment history, the amount you owe on credit lines and loans, the length of your credit history, how much new credit you’ve applied for, and the types of accounts you’ve had — plus what percentage of your score each factor represents.
But as for exactly how many points you’ll gain or lose for, say, taking on a mortgage, being late on a bill, or charging credit cards up to the max? That’s proprietary information: “It’s a black box,” says FICO spokesman Craig Watts.
Mystery feeds obsession. Much the way fans of TV’s Lost met up online to postulate theories on the show’s ending, some credit score aficionados passionately debate their hypotheses on message boards like the FICO Forums at myfico.com. Others use themselves as guinea pigs to discover which moves will nudge a score up or down.
While most people could tell you their number only from the last time they got a loan — if at all — true FICO fiends know their score as well as they know their spouse.
Of the score strivers MONEY interviewed, most check their score obsessively, at least every few months — at a cost of $50 or more a year. They also fixate on their credit reports, upon which the scores are based.
Leland Lim, a 41-year-old doctor from the Bay Area, is vigilant about scanning these for errors that might drag down his number. “It took me three years to get a derogatory entry on one of them corrected,” says Lim, who now earns an 806.
As for what makes an 800-plus score, these self-made experts basically say the same thing FICO does: Payment history is the single most important factor.
Read the complete article here: http://money.cnn.com/2010/08/24/pf/perfect_credit_score.moneymag/index.htm
Real Estate Outlook: Federal Reserve Weighs In
Posted by: | CommentsFrom RealtyTimes.com
By: Kenneth R. Harney
The U.S. Congress asked Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke a key question last week: Where do you and your colleagues believe we’re headed in terms of the national economy?
Bernanke’s reply: There are bumps and potholes on the road to recovery, but the Fed “expects continued moderate (economic) growth, a gradual decline in the unemployment rate (to about 7 percent) and subdued inflation” over the next couple of years.
No sooner had Bernanke delivered his testimony than some of those “bumps” in the road popped up: The Commerce Department reported new housing starts dropped by 5 percent in the latest month, and the National Association of Realtors reported existing home sales down by a similar percentage.
But keep in mind the central point Bernanke was making in his forecast: Troubled though it may look with any single statistical report, the fact is the national economy continues to grow – by about two and a half percent on an annual basis – and many elements of the economy are better off this year than the were the year before.
Take the Commerce Department’s housing starts number: That five percent decline was mainly the result of a big drop in starts of new rental apartment units – not a drop in starts of new single family houses, which were stable.
In fact, the Commerce Department survey found that permits pulled by builders for future construction on single family homes were actually up in three out four of the major regions of the country.
Analyzing the government’s data, Bernard Markstein, senior economist for the National Association of Home Builders, was encouraged – and predicted increases in both starts and sales over the coming several months.
The latest sales report for existing homes from the National Association of Realtors also had some bright spots: Sales in June were 10 percent higher than they were in the same month the year before.
Even median prices of all homes sold were up slightly, and that’s despite the fact that one third of sales were “distressed” in some way – REOs, foreclosures or short sales.
And remember: virtually all economists – including those at the Fed – had forecast lower home sales for the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit programs.
Read complete article here: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100726_realestateoutlook.htm
Banks: We’re hiring so we can make more home loans
Posted by: | CommentsCNNMoney.com — Several banks are gearing up to do a whole lot more mortgage lending in the future.
Even though new homes sales were at a historical low in May and the housing market in general is in the doldrums, these banks are hiring hundreds of loan originators, getting ready for what they believe will be a significant pick-up in lending.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), one of the nation’s largest lenders, is in the midst of hiring 1,200 mortgage officers. “We may not be inundated with applications tomorrow, but we are confident the the need will be there,” said Christine Holevas, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan Chase.
Housing experts, however, warn that overall mortgage lending is expected to remain flat, largely due to a decline in refinancing.
Loans for home purchases should steadily increase over the next two years to $916 billion, up from an expected $725 billion this year, according to forecasts by the Mortgage Bankers Association. But refinancings should plummet to $474 billion in 2012, down from $717 billion this year.
“It’s pretty premature,” said Mark Dotzour, chief economist at Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center. “They are doing some long-range planning, with the emphasis on ‘long’.”
Chase expects to put its new mortgage lending army in the branches of the former Washington Mutual, which Chase acquired in 2008. It also plans to expand its mortgage lending operations to cities outside its footprint, including Boston, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.
The bank is also shifting to a branch-based lending strategy because it found that these mortgages are much less likely to default. And the bank sees a need in these markets.
“We wouldn’t be out there hiring if we thought these people would be sitting around,” said Holevas. “We don’t think they’ll be idle.”
Citizens Bank, meanwhile, is also growing its mortgage operations. The Providence, R.I.-based bank, which operates in a dozen states, increased its lending by 167% in 2009, compared to the year before.
Owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, Citizens ranked as the 24th largest lender in the first quarter of this year, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, a trade publication.
Full article by Tami Luhby here: http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/24/news/economy/mortgage_lending/index.htm?section=money_realestate&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_realestate+%28Real+Estate%29
Today’s Mortgage Rates at an All Time Low
Posted by: | CommentsFrom RealtyTimes.com – Complete article by Ed Ferrara is here: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100525_rateupate.htm
Wary of a volatile stock market and concerned about by European debt woes investors moved to bonds last week pushing bond prices up and mortgage rates down. Mortgage rates, which move the opposite direction of mortgage-backed securities prices, had wavered just below 5% for much of the year until last weeks big decline. Mortgage rates today are even lower than levels December of last year, what’s now the previous all time low.
Today’s official FreeRateUpdate.com conventional 30 year fixed mortgage rate, available to well-qualified borrowers paying about a point origination, is 4.5%. Today’s conventional 15 year fixed rate is 4%, with some lenders reported “squeezing” out 3.875%.FreeRateUpdate.com researches over 2 dozen wholesale lenders’ rate sheets for brokers on a daily basis to determine the most accurate mortgage rates for well-qualified borrowers paying a standard origination fee of about 1 point.Today’s Mortgage Rates – currently available to well-qualified consumers at a standard .07 to 1 point origination.
- 30-yr fixed-rate – 4.500%
- 15-yr fixed-rate – 4.000%
- 5/1 ARM rate – 3.500%
- FHA 30-yr fixed-rate – 4.375%
- FHA 15-yr fixed-rate – 4.00%
- FHA 5/1 ARM rate – 3.500%
- VA 30-yr fixed-rate – 4.625%
- Jumbo 30-yr fixed-rate – 5.500%
- Jumbo Conforming 30-yr fixed-rate – 4.750%
Mortgage Rates at Lowest Level of the Year
Posted by: | CommentsFrom Realty Times (www.RealtyTimes.com)
Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.93 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 13, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 5.00 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.86 percent. The 30-year FRM has not been lower since the week ending December 10, 2009, when it averaged 4.81 percent.
The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.30 percent with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.36 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.52 percent. The 15-year FRM has not been lower since the week ending December 3, 2009 when it averaged 4.27 percent.
The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 3.95 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.97 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 4.82 percent. The 5-year ARM has not been lower since Freddie Mac started tracking the 5-year ARM in January of 2005.
The 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 4.02 percent this week with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.07 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 4.71 percent. The 1-year ARM has not been lower since the week ending November 4, 2004, when it averaged 4.00 percent.
“Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgage declined for the 5th straight week,” said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “The National Association of Realtors® reported that median house prices are recovering in more local areas in the latest quarter. On a year-over-year basis for the 152 areas the association reports on, 91 metropolitan areas had positive growth in the first quarter of this year. This compares to 67 areas showing positive annual growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 and only 30 cities in the third quarter of last year.”
View the complete article here: http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20100514_rates.htm
Are property tax appeals a fast sale in slow market?
Posted by: | CommentsA lot of homeowners have been seeing, for the first time, a reduction in the assessed values of their properties as county assessors take into account the housing market’s extraordinary downturn. Is it still worth it to appeal the property tax assessment?
New research by two University of Illinois professors suggests that if there’s ever a good time to do it, it’s during a sluggish market.
Using data on Chicago property assessment appeals from 2000 and 2003, Rachel Weber, an associate professor at University of Illinois at Chicago, and David McMillen, a professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, sought to identify who was most often filing appeals and who was getting the “right” answers back. The study followed the path of property tax appeals made within the city on single-family homes and buildings of up to six units.
Their findings yielded more than a few surprises but really boil down to this: The homeowners most likely to file appeals weren’t the ones who won them.
In 2000, 9 percent of Chicago property owners filed appeals and almost 33 percent of those applicants were successful. Three years later, 14 percent of property owners appealed their assessments and 31 percent of them won.
The study found that most appeals were sought in census tracts with high median home values and larger or newer homes, the homeowners were more likely to be white and educated, and they decided to file an appeal because their neighbors were doing the same. And possibly one of the reasons they sought an appeal was because their incomes were proportionately lower than the run-up in neighborhood property values and assessments.
“Property taxes can be very visible and painful,” Weber said. “It’s a lump sum that comes twice a year. Other kinds of taxes are more hidden so you don’t feel the pain. People appeal their taxes because getting that letter in the mail takes their breath away.”
The study also found that homeowners in African-American and Hispanic areas were less likely to appeal. Homeowners who bought the property in active markets and within the past three years weren’t particularly motivated to appeal, either.
But it wasn’t the homeowners doing the most appeals that won them.
The best success rates were of appeals by owners of smaller, older properties in areas where there hadn’t been a dramatic run-up in property appreciation, possibly because it’s harder to place a value on the replacement costs of older construction. The study’s authors found that applications from Chicago neighborhoods like Jefferson Park and Rogers Park, part of the city’s Bungalow belt, fared well in the appeals process.
Also, the study found that having a lawyer pursue an appeal for a property owner didn’t make much difference in the outcome. That surprised Weber, who said the finding could be interpreted several ways.
According to Weber, one way to look at it is that attorneys “go fishing and take on a lot of people’s cases that just don’t have [credible] cases. They’re taking on people’s cases who don’t have a case, people that just feel beleaguered.”
The other possibility is that attorneys actually are taking on the harder cases that may be turned down more frequently, particularly during the first two stops in the appeals process — the assessor’s office and the board of review. The study didn’t follow appeals made to the state Property Tax Appeal Board; few homeowners pursue an appeal that far.
The study also found that in a sluggish market where there haven’t been many sales in a neighborhood, assessors may increase the sample size by including sales that aren’t really comparable, previous research found. The more questionable the sample, the more prone the assessment may be to error.
“Thin markets — areas with few sales — will compromise assessors’ ability to set market values, while more active markets provide assessors with more information,” the report said. “As such, we expect that error terms would be greater in thin markets and property owners in such locations would have a greater incentive to appeal their bills.”
by Mary Ellen Podmolik, Chicago Tribune
Published: April 2, 2010
Bank of America to cut some mortgage balances
Posted by: | CommentsBank of America announced Wednesday that it will first look at reducing the loan balances of certain distressed homeowners with subprime or adjustable rate mortgages to make their payments more affordable.
The move makes Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) one of the first major loan servicers to systematically incorporate the controversial loan modification technique into its home retention program. Financial institutions, as well as the Obama administration, have come under increasing pressure in recent months to add principal reduction to their foreclosure prevention efforts.
Housing experts argue that borrowers are more likely to walk away if their mortgages are underwater, meaning they owe more than the home is worth. Nearly 25% of borrowers are underwater, according to First American CoreLogic.
Bank of America is launching the program to entice more borrowers to participate in its foreclosure prevention efforts and to reduce the chance of redefault, said Barbara Desoer, president of Bank of America Home Loans.
When modifying mortgages, Bank of America will initially consider reducing the balances of borrowers with qualifying subprime, Pay-Option ARMs and prime 2-year hybrid ARM loans to bring down the monthly payments to 31% of pre-tax income. Currently, banks first look to reduce interest rates or lengthen the term.
Homeowners who are at least 60 days late and whose mortgages total more than 120% of their home’s value can have their balances reduced over five years by a maximum of 30%. Borrowers must also meet the criteria for the president’s loan modification program.
“Bank of America has found that many homeowners who owe considerably more on their mortgages than their homes are worth are reluctant to accept a solution that addresses only the amount of the payment without an accompanying reduction in the balance due on the loan,” said Desoer.
Borrowers also must qualify for the servicer’s National Homeownership Retention Program to be considered. The initiative was developed as part of Bank of America’s 2008 settlement with state attorneys general to assist Countrywide Financial Corp. borrowers with subprime and Pay-Option ARMs.
The settlement called for Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide in July 2008, to modify troubled mortgages with up to $8.4 billion in interest rate and principal reductions for nearly 400,000 Countrywide customers.
The bank expects that 45,000 borrowers will qualify to have their loan balances reduced by a total of $3 billion under the program announced Wednesday. It is set to begin in May.
Pay-Option ARMs allow borrowers to make tiny monthly payments, but the unpaid interest is tacked onto the mortgage balance, a practice called negative amortization. Two-year hybrid ARMs have a fixed interest rate for the first two years, but adjust after that.
Under the “earned principal forgiveness program,” borrowers will receive an interest-free forbearance of principal that can be turned into forgiveness if the homeowner makes timely payments over five years.
The ultimate amount forgiven depends on an updated appraisal of the property. Bank of America will not reduce balances below 100% of the home’s value.
These conditions will also make the program more attractive to investors because it should reduce the probability of redefault and adjust the amount forgiven if home values rise, Desoer said.
The servicer is also making changes to its National Home Retention Program. It will reduce the negative amortization on Pay-Option ARMs through principal forgiveness and will convert the loans to ones that don’t build up the balance.
It will also expand the program to cover Countrywide loans originated on or before Jan. 1, 2009, and will extend the program by six months to the end of 2012.
Many housing experts, lawmakers and even some mortgage investors have been pushing servicers to reduce loan principal. But Treasury officials and bank executives have said they are concerned about the “moral hazard” of helping those who don’t truly deserve or need it.
Still, experts say that principal reduction is a must, especially in areas hit hard by falling home values.
“Principal reduction is an important tool in making loans sustainable for many borrowers,” said John Taylor, head of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, who praised BofA’s effort. “The rest of the industry should follow suit. And federal policy should reflect the growing consensus that principal reductions are required to stem the foreclosure crisis…”
By: Tami Luhby (CNNMoney.com)
Published March 24, 2010