More Seller Financing — & More Flexible Terms Sellers Terms: Cash, Contract for Deed, Contract/Deed w/Assumption, Conventional, DVA, FHA –MLS listing I’m seeing lots more listings like the one above. If you don’t speak “Realtor,” here’s a quick glossary: Contract for deed: Buyer makes monthly payments to the Seller, who retains title; title transfers when...Read More
“Hands Off My Mortga . . . Oops! Never Mind!” As best I can tell, the tea party movement is angry about out-of-control government intrusion into people’s lives. Apparently, they’re not aware of the following factoid: There were $390 billion in new mortgage origination’s in the last quarter of 2009. Excluding home equity lines, Fannie...Read More
Fed Rate Bump Today’s leading financial stories are: a) the Federal Reserve’s apparently surprise decision to raise interest rates on short-term bank borrowing; and b) the market’s reaction to same (playing out now). My take? The action itself is relatively trivial: hiking rates on some arcane, overnight interest rate from .5% to .75% (yes, that’s...Read More
Revisiting “Capped Upside, Unlimited Downside” [Note to Readers: this post originally ran Christmas Week, when it was read by . . . no one. In the wake of Barney Frank’s announced plan to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, I’m “popping” it to the top of the list.] If you lend someone 97 cents to...Read More
“Surge” or “Stay the Course?” Depleted and demoralized by the huge sums it has already spent (and arguably squandered) trying to stabilize a still-hostile environment, the U.S. must decide its next move. The three choices are to: 1) double down (“surge”); 2) “stay the course”; or 3) declare victory and get out. U.S. forces in...Read More
Hemorrhaging at FHA FHA runs low on cash, fueling bailout concerns. –Headline, The Boston Globe (11/13/09) Here we go again. First come the rumors of funny accounting and huge, buried losses. Then come the vehement denials from company executives. Finally, the truth comes out: the critics are vindicated, the losses are toted up, the discredited...Read More
