Myrtle Beach Real Estate

Unemployed? Get a federal loan to pay your mortgage

Unemployed and can't pay your mortgage?

You can soon apply for a no-interest government loan for up to $50,000 to pay your mortgage and cover your arrears. The loan, which can offer assistance for up to two years, will be forgiven if the homeowner stays in the house for five years.

Troubled borrowers will be able to apply for the Emergency Homeowners Loan Program by the end of the year. They must be at least three months behind in their payments, but have a reasonable likelihood of being able to resume payments within two years. And they must have suffered at least a 15% drop in income, but have been able to afford their mortgage before their income loss.

Also, the property must be their principle residence and they cannot own a second home. And they must live in Puerto Rico or one of the 32 states not receiving federal assistance through the Hardest Hit Fund, which gave 18 states more than $4 billion to come up with programs to help the unemployed and underwater.

The emergency loan program is built on a similar initiative in Pennsylvania, which was created in 1983. That effort, which is funded by the state, provides loans of up to $60,000 for up to three years. It has distributed $470 million on behalf of more than 44,000 homeowners since inception and boasted an 80% success rate in preventing foreclosure.

The federal program, however, is relatively small. Congress gave the Housing Department $1 billion to spend, meaning it will help at least 20,000 people. But that's just a small fraction of those who need assistance.

Obama Will Not Sign Bill Seen As Cover For Bank Foreclosures

The White House announced Thursday afternoon that President Obama would not sign a bill that some consumer advocates worried would make it more difficult for homeowners to fight fraudulent foreclosures.

Top 10 Most Expensive Zip Codes

The top 10 most expensive Zip Codes are:

1. Duarte, California 91008
2. Atherton, California 94027
3. Rolling Hills, California 90274
4. Alpine, New Jersey 07620
5. New York, New York 10014
6. Beverly Hills, California 90210
7. New York, New York 10065
8. Belvedere, California 94920
9. New York, New York 10012
10. Santa Barbara, California 93108

In foreclosure controversy, problems run deeper than flawed paperwork

Now, as many of these loans have fallen into default and banks have sought to seize homes, judges around the country have increasingly ruled that lenders had no right to foreclose, because they lacked clear title.

These fundamental concerns over ownership extend beyond those that surfaced over the past two weeks amid reports of fraudulent loan documents and corporate "robo-signers."

The court decisions, should they continue to spread, could call into doubt the ownership of mortgages throughout the country, raising urgent challenges for both the real estate market and the wider financial system.

For struggling homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure, it could mean an opportunity to challenge the banks they argue have been unhelpful at best and deceptive at worst. But it also threatens to leave them in prolonged limbo, stuck in homes they still can't afford and waiting for the foreclosure process to begin anew.

Foreclosures lead to city budget shortfall from property tax revenues

The housing crisis is finally catching up with cities — and the impact isn’t going to be pretty.

Property tax revenues started to decline in 2010 after years of growth, according to a report released by the National League of Cities on Wednesday. Cities expect property tax revenues to fall by 1.8% in 2010, after rising by 4.2% in 2009.

This drop lagged the housing market collapse because property tax bills are based on assessments, which are slow to adjust to market value changes.

But the worst is yet to come, according to the league’s report. The full brunt of the housing bust won’t be felt until 2011 and 2012 as more property values are reassessed. And commercial real estate values may dive in 2012, exacerbating the problem.

“Cities are now in the eye of the storm,” said Christopher Hoene, the center’s director for research and innovation. “The pain is intensifying.”

Breaking Texas Real Estate News: Texas Attorney General Halts Foreclosures, Sales of FC Properties

The Texas Attorney General’s office has halted all foreclosures, all sales of properties previously foreclosed upon, and all evictions of persons residing in previously foreclosed upon properties, until mortgage companies can get their acts together in the state of Texas and prove they were filed correctly. So if you are in the process of buying a foreclosed home, take note: you could find yourself in the midst of a legal challenge by the property’s former owner or a huge time warp. Foreclosures will not be permitted to continue in Texas until mortgage companies have completed a review of their processes, including whether employees or agents “robosigned” foreclosure affidavits and other documents recorded in Texas.

U.S. Mortgage Rates Break All Time Lows, Again

According to Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey  (PMMS), the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate dropped yet again to break the survey's all-time low; the 15-year fixed-rate did the same. The 5-year ARM also set an all-time survey low.

Bank of America halts foreclosures in 23 states

Bank of America is the latest in a string of banks to freeze home foreclosures in 23 states as it investigates whether there were flaws in its process (this is a bit of old news - it came out on October 1st, but many did not know the states involved).

States under BofA review