Ilyce's Blog

Government officials announced Monday that the nation's five biggest mortgage lenders have agreed to overhaul the industry, after robo-signing and deceptive foreclosure practices caused many consumers to lose their homes. The proposed settlement could reach $25 billion.

Even so, those who lost their homes to foreclosure are unlikely to get them back. Only about half the households who might be eligible for assistance will likely receive checks, and those checks will only be $1,800 each. That's a good amount of money, but nowhere near the cost of a home.

It's unlikely a settlement will be reached this week, according to a spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who has led the 50-state negotiations. President Obama is expected to discuss the settlement in his State of the Union address tonight.

Some states have disagreed over what terms to offer banks, and the proposed settlement does not protect banks from future criminal lawsuits by individual states.

To find out how the $25 billion would be spent, and for more details on the propsed settlement, visit my CBS MoneyWatch blog. 

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors. 

On Friday, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced it would toughen standards for lenders authorized to insure mortgages on its behalf, without first submitting documents to the agency. This news comes after it was revealed the 30-day delinquency rate on FHA mortgages neared 18 percent in December.

Some experts warn that FHA could soon require a bailout, something Main Street Americans certainly don't need. FHA Commissioner Carol Galante hopes the rule changes will loosen credit for borrowers and help speed up the housing recovery.

Some of the key changes include:

• A stronger approval process
• Stricter monitoring of FHA-approved lenders
• Compensation to FHA for insurance claims

For more details on the rule changes, and to learn how this effects consumers, visit my CBS MoneyWatch blog.

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors. 

This week was big for housing news, and the latest data suggests there's reason for cautious optimism about this year's real estate market. U.S. loan delinquency rates fell in year-over-year in December, down 7.7 percent from 2010. That rate is unchanged from November, but represents a significant drop from the previous year.

Some more good news? 

• Housing starts rose year-over-year in December, climbing 24.9 percent from 2010.
• Rates on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to yet another all time low, hitting 3.88 percent.

Of course it's not all good news. Even with the year-over-year drop in delinquencies, there are still 6.1 million loans that are delinquent or in foreclosure. But, given the enormous spike in foreclosures after the burst of the housing bubble, that number might not be that bad.

For the full story and a list of all the news - good and bad - visit my CBS MoneyWatch blog. 

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors. 

Moving is exciting, but it's also stressful. The packing, unpacking and cleaning can get to be too much for just about anyone, but these helpful moving tips should make your new house feel like a home in no time.

The full list is on my CBS MoneyWatch blog, but here are a few of my favorites:

Change the locks on the doors. This one is a must-do. There's no way to know for sure how many people have copies of keys, so err on the side of caution and change your locks. This is a surefire way to make you feel safer and more secure in your new home.

Swap the furnace filter. It needs to be done anyway, and you can't be sure when the previous owner/tenant changed the filter. Do this when you move in to make sure you're breathing in clean air, and take note of the date so you can get on your own schedule of furnace maintenance.

For the full list of moving tips, read the full article - Moving Tips: 5 Things To Do Before You Move

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.

The GOP presidential race is in full swing and, as always, the media is tracking the candidates' every move. From what they wear to where they live, Americans want to know everything they can about the Republicans running for office. 

The candidates' homes are nothing short of extraordinary. Democrat, Republican or neither, politicians have long tried to appeal to Main Street Americans while living lifestyles their constituents can only dream of. 

The candidates hope to trade these homes for the White House. Some of the nicest on the list?

• Mitt Romney's beachfront home in La Jolla, California - he purchased the home for $12 million back in 2008. Romney is the wealthiest of all the candidates, so it's no surprise his home is the most expensive. 
• Rick Santorum's four bedroom, five bathroom home in Great Falls, Virginia. Santorum reportedly purchased the home for $2 million.
• Jon Huntsman's home in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The 5,000 square-foot home is fully updated and was home to the seventh season cast of "Top Chef" before Huntsman moved in. It's the perfect place for him to relax after all that campaigning - it's reported he'll be dropping out of the race today.

To view photos of the candidates' homes, see my CBS MoneyWatch blog.

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.

Anyone who has ever been house-hunting knows that after you see enough houses, everything begins to run togther. When you've visited tons of open houses, it's hard to remember which home was a ranch and which a split-level. But there's always a place that's unforgettable, and it's likely these oddly shaped houses are in that category.

From circle to square to parallelogram, these homes are certain to stick out from the rest. If you're interested, make sure you have a large price range: the houses on this list go from $185,000 to $14.5 million.

In Sarasota, Florida, this five bedroom, five bathroom rectangular home features over 7,500 square feet of living space and offers nice views and high-end finishes. At more than $14 million dollars, it should have all the bells and whistles.

To view the other homes on this list, head to my CBS MoneyWatch blog.

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.

According to a report released by RealtyTrac today, foreclosure filings fell 34 percent in 2011. That seems like good news, but it's deceiving. The reason behind the decline is not more people paying their mortgage, but the robosigning controversey that spurred lenders to perform a massive review of foreclosure proceedings.

The review meant lenders stopped processing new foreclosures while they cleaned up their existing inventory. This created a huge backlog in the foreclosure pipeline. So, while it ultimately decreased the number of filings in 2011, it also means lenders will be playing catch-up this year.

According to Brandon Moore, CEO of RealtyTrac, lenders are beginning to push through their bottleneck of foreclosures in select markets, and Moore believes this trend will take hold in other parts of the country. Foreclosures are expected to increase through 2012, but remain below the peak of 2012.

For more information, and a link to the full press release, visit my CBS MoneyWatch blog.

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.

Last Friday, Freddie Mac announced unemployed homeowners will be allowed to reduce to suspend mortgage payments for up to a year under a new policy announced by the mortgage finance firm. The new rules will take effect on February 1, 2012.

According to the news release, Freddie Mac will give mortgage lenders the authority to extend forbearance without prior approval for six months, and the agency can extend approval for up to an additional six months after that.

Homeowners are still responsible for paying off their full mortgage plus interest after the forbearance period ends.

Previously, Freddie allowed lenders to grant up to three months of forbearance with no payment, or six months at a reduced payment, without the firm's prior approval.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) called for the extension, hoping it would keep more families in their homes.

Tracy Mooney, Senior Vice President of Single-Family Servicing and REO at Freddie Mac, said "These expanded forbearance periods will provide families facing prolonged periods of unemployment with a greater measure of security by giving them more time to find new employment and resolve their delinquencies."

To read the full story and find out what to do if you're unemployed and need financial help, read my CBS MoneyWatch blog.

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.

It's only January, but for many families that means college planning is in full swing. Whether your child is headed to college next fall or a junior in high school deciding on which college to attend, it's time to start planning for the future. Considering the cost of tution and housing, some parents are looking into purchasing college town real estate.

One of the biggest expenses associated with college is housing. According to scholarships.com, the average cost of room and board fees at a four-year college or university runs nearly $10,000 per year. That number could be even higher, depending on the school and location. Given the comparatively low cost of buying a home, more "parent investors" are purchasing second homes for their students to live in while in school.

Some parents require their children to pay rent in order to cover the mortgage, others consider it an investment for themselves. Some investors even purchase the homes long before their own children go to college, renting them out to other students in the interim and letting the rent cover the expenses.

Whatever the case may be, if you have the means, buying some college town real estate might be the right move for you.

Find out where buying college town real estate makes sense - and where it doesn't pay - on my CBS MoneyWatch blog.

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.

There was big news from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) yesterday: The FHA anti-flipping waiver, which was set to expire at the end of this month, has been extended through 2012. The hope is this extension will encourage the sale of foreclosed homes, stimulating those areas which have been decimated by the foreclosure crisis.

Carol Galante, acting FHA commissioner, had this to say yesterday regarding the move: "The extension is intended to accelerate the resale of foreclosed properties in neighborhoods struggling to overcome the possible effects of abandonment and blight. FHA remains a critical source of mortgage financing and stability and we must make every effort to promote recovery in every responsible way we can."

To protect consumers, the waiver contains strict guidelines and conditions to prevent what FHA calls "the predatory practice of property flipping." For specifics on the conditions that apply to the FHA anti-flipping waiver, visit my CBS MoneyWatch blog.

Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blogand CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.