Monday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives defeated the $700 billion “Bailout Bill”, surprising Wall Street and the world.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average responded by falling 777.68 points — its largest one-day loss in history and, this morning, Every Newspaper in America...

Thursday, federal regulators seized mortgage lender Washington Mutual.   The Seattle-based thrift became the third “big name” lender to close its doors since July, joining IndyMac and Lehman Brothers. In 2007, these 3 lenders represented about 10 percent of the mortgage market and their...

Late Thursday 9/25/08 the West Coast King WaMu fell victim to the plague better known as the Credit Crisis. The fall of WaMu marks the Largest Bank Failure in U.S. History. WaMu’s assets, deposits and some liabilities were acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase.  If you held accounts at WaMu individual...

As discussed in my April post on Zillow “

Home Supply Aug. The August Existing Home Sales report was released Wednesday, showing a decline in the number of homes sold nationwide, and a reduction in the median sales price.  Not surprisingly, the media singled these two statistics out, playing them as a big negative.  They’re not. The...

Earlier this year — and for the first time in its history — the FHA changed its funding fees and mortgage insurance structure. Effective October 1, 2008, it’s repealing those changes. Partly to keep FHA home loans affordable, and partly to comply with new laws, the FHA is rolling back...

(Image courtesy: GasBuddy.com) Crude oil prices jumped $25 at one point Monday, ending the day up by 16 percent. This is an unwelcome development for home buyers because the same market forces that pushed up oil prices had a similar impact on mortgage rates. It all comes down to the U.S. dollar. Because...

(Image courtesy: Wall Street Journal)     In a historic week for American Finance, mortgage rates rose considerably, reversing a 3-week trend through which rates had fallen.  The U.S. Treasury is the biggest reason why most conforming mortgage rates increased by a half-percent. Hank Paulson’s...

The FDIC launched a new website this last week to help put the Nations worries about their bank deposits to rest. My FDIC http://myfdicinsurance.gov/

Getting a great, low mortgage rate is often a combination of luck and preparation.  Consider what happened in conforming mortgages this week: Monday, mortgage rates plunged to their lowest levels of the year Tuesday, they bounced back in full Wednesday, they clicked higher by a eighth-percent Thursday,...