http://www.washfa.org/recent-news Helping Washington State Homeowners Stop Their Foreclosure Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:25:33 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Center for Responsible Lending is leading the pushback against the government's proposed $700 billion housing bailout: The government plan announced by Treasury Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke fails to deal with the root cause of the crisis---families in foreclosure----and instead is purely and simply a bailout of the lenders ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/09/22/critique-of-bailout-by-the-center-for-responsible-lending/ If you do short sales for a living, you have to be patient and have a never-give-up attitude. Also, you have to celebrate the steps along the way. Here is a highlight from our office today, involving Litton Loan Servicing and getting them to do a second BPO. On May 16th, ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/06/23/how-to-get-litton-to-do-a-second-bpo-on-a-short-sale/ The federal government's response to the foreclosure crisis has been to promote an organization made up of industry insiders, lenders, and investors called Hope Now. Hope Now is set to release a new set of guidelines to their member companies in the next couple of days. While a step in the ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/06/17/repayment-plans-are-a-recipe-for-failure/ Unfortunately, in Washington State, our homestead exemption does not apply to mortgages that are taken out on your home. The homestead exemption serves to protect the equity in your house when you file bankruptcy to deal with 'unsecured' debt like credit cards and medical bills. On the positive side, on May ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/06/17/is-there-a-homestead-act-that-will-save-my-house/ The federal government, for a large part, has stood by while millions of Americans fell into hard times with their mortgages. While a bailout was quickly arranged for one of the top financiers of the credit fiasco, the homeowners have been blamed by the administration for causing their own problems. ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/06/16/new-federal-hope-now-agreement-announced/ Practically everyone. Let's examine things: The term "Distressed Home Consultant" went into effect in Washington State on June 12, 2008. It is part of the new "Distressed Properties Law" created during the 2008 Washington State Legislative Session and signed into law by Governor Christine Gregoire on March 30, 2008. The purpose of ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/06/13/who-is-a-distressed-home-consultant/ Finally, the Federal Housing Authority is coming to their senses. They have suspended a rule established in 2003 that prevented people from buying foreclosed homes with government-backed mortgages within 90 days of a recent sale. "A glut of foreclosed and abandoned homes harms neighborhoods, frustrates homebuyers and delays a community's recovery," ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/06/13/fha-drops-property-flipping-rule-that-held-back-buyers/ According to the Census Bureau, about 10% of the homes built after 2000 are now vacant. This is a tragedy. We have excellent housing stock that should be housing families, not sitting empty. The only way to get them filled is make their price affordable, so that regular Americans can ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/06/06/10-of-homes-built-after-2000-now-vacant/ NEW YORK (Reuters) - Defaults on privately insured mortgages rose sharply in April, showing homeowners continue to struggle to keep up with loan payments. But a one-time change in some of the data may have painted a worse picture than reality, according to Mortgage Insurance Cos ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/05/30/april-numbers-defaults-up-loan-workouts-up/ According to a study prepared for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the home-mortgage industry takes advantage of lower income, lesser educated borrowers to charge higher fees. The following article is from the May 30, 2008 Wall Street Journal article by James R. Hagerty: The study by Susan Woodward, a former ... http://www.washfa.org/recent-news/2008/05/29/hello-world/