Real Estate Investment Content Index - Page 6

NEW UPDATE 9/10/09: Today's update is an edited, condensed transcript of my conversation with BOA spokesperson Rick Simon. Cenlar is a legitimate loan servicing company and Roundpoint is NOT A SCAM. The situation is confusing, but not fake. 9/01/09 Yesterday, we reported that Bank of America taking over servicing rights for FHA loans and Ginnie Mae loans previously held by Taylor Bean and Whitaker Mortgage Company.Earlier this month, Taylor Bean and Whitaker Mortgage Company, which is owned by Colonial BancGroup shut its doors. Dozens of Taylor Bean and Whitaker Mortgage Company borrowers called the Clark Howard Show and Ilyce Glink Show to ask what they should do. Should they pay their old loans or new loans? How could they find out if their loans funded? The FDIC and Federal Reserve Bank have set up customer hotlines you can call to get information.

Ilyce Glink Show Note updates: We're talking about how the end of the recession may not make life on Main Street feel like life on Wall Street. There is a new $2 billion Ponzi scheme. Ben Stein, takes a job as pitchman for one of those yucky "free credit score" websites and gets fired from the New York Times. We open the ticket window for my new HOW TO PROFIT FROM FORECLOSURES event on October 24th. Get a very special 2 for 1 deal now off the EARLY BIRD SPECIAL. Limited time offer. Use the discount code: glink

Today on the Clark Howard show, we discussed the new unemployment numbers. Ilyce talked about her upcoming How to Profit From Foreclosures event, on October 24th, and mentioned that Clark Howard listeners would get a special 2 for 1 offer on the Early Bird Special. Details of the offer are below. We also have FREE BOOKS and EBOOKS we're giving away. Thanks for listening to Newstalk 750 WSB.

$8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Rules are quite specific and can be complicated. There are specific first time home buyer tax credit rules regarding who can receive the tax credit and what purchases qualify for the tax credit. The $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit rules are very clear in that any purchase made from a close relative cannot qualify for the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. There are other $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit rules for income restrictions and personal residences. However, the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit rule regarding purchasing from relatives is very specific and cannot be avoided.

The FHA 203k rehab loan (or 203(k)) Program offers government-backed loans to rehab and refinance a borrower's property. According to the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, this is an important program that can help stabilize the nation's struggling neighborhoods. Learn more about the FHA 203k loan and other types of rehab loans available below.

Scams from Nigeria are targeting apartment rentals in South Carolina, Illinois, Colorado and California. You need to be careful to avoid these Nigerian apartment rentals scams. Use common sense and do your due diligence before sending any information to third parties you do not know. Once you become a victim of a scam from Nigeria that target apartment rentals, you'll have to take action to protect your financial information.

How do you know if you're the victim of a real estate fraud, a housing scam or mortgage fraud? A reader listed his house for sale with an investor who was also a Realtor. The investor/Realtor transferred ownership of the homeowner's property to himself using a quit claim deed, but left the homeowner on the hook for the mortgage. Is he the victim of a housing scam or mortgage fraud?

Is there a way to solve the housing and credit crisis by renting foreclosed homes? A reader has several suggestions for making neighborhoods better by having ex-homeowners rent foreclosed homes. These homeowners are renting homes for $1,000 per month, money that could be used to stabilize neighborhoods that have a lot of foreclosed homes.

Congressman Barney Frank says that the HOPE NOW Alliance and the mortgage mortgage industry must continue to improve their efforts to provide mortgage modifications. Barney Frank said that if loan modification progress is not seen, more drastic legislative measures, like bankruptcy modification of mortgages, will be on the agenda. The HOPE NOW Alliance says they have seen a slight drop in mortgage modifications, but an overall increase in mortgage workouts since May.

Architecture design jobs are looked at as a good predictor of where the construction industry will be in the next year. While other segments of the economy might be showing signs of life, architecture billings are down, predicting a very slow next year in construction. However, some people are still getting jobs and working on construction projects. Economist Kermit Baker discusses what the architecture numbers mean, and what's happening in the construction and architecture industries.