Mortgage Delinquencies Show First Quarterly Drop Since 2006: TransUnion

Click here for HuffPost article.

According to a sampling of consumer credit reports by TransUnion, mortgage defaults decreased in the first quarter of 2010. This was the first quarterly decrease in mortgage rate default since 2006. While this may be welcome news, the current rate of default 6.77% is still high compared to historicle rate of 1.5 to 2%. Still, the fact that it is trending down is a welcome sign that the housing market may be turning around.

Signs of Economic Recovery, but Unemployment Still a Big Issue

In April the U.S. saw its biggest monthly jobs gain in 4 years, but the unemployment rate actually rose from 9.7% to 9.9%. How is this possible? Well, apparently the increasing number of job seekers caused the increased unemployment numbers. In other words, because an additional 805,000 job seekers - perhaps feeling better about their job prospects - resumed their search for work, this caused the unemployment numbers to climb.

Click here for Huffington Post article.

Does this data give mixed signals about the economicy recovery? Perhaps. But there is no doubt that the additional 290,000 jobs added last month is a strong sign that businesses are confident about their earnings prospects. And as history has shown, confidence can go a long way in helping the economic recovery.

Is judicial modification of mortgages still on the table?

Last year, the U.S. House of Representative passed a measure that would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce the principle amount on mortgage loans for homes that were "underwater" - e.g., the house is worth less than what is owed. Unfortunately, the measure was defeated in the Senate so it never became law. Well, this article from the Huffington Post indicates that a similar measure is still being considered by lawmakers. The measure under consideration would have the same effect as the measure that failed last year but would be modified slightly. It would still allow qualified homeowner's to "cramdown" their mortgages in bankruptcy so that the principle mortgage is equal to the value of the house. Similar provisions exist in bankruptcy for car loans, but not for home loans. The new "cramdown" measure is being considered as an addition to the financial reform bill being debated in Congress.

Click here for article.

Disorganization at Banks Causing Mistaken Foreclosures

This article is a must read for any homeowner in foreclosure. It's extremely important that people in foreclosure communicate with their loan servicer and the trustee for the loan servicer. And as this article points out, qualifying for a special forbearance that temporarily reduces mortgage payments does not necessarily prevent a foreclosure sale.