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Archive for February 21, 2012

Will Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act Be Extended?

lisasheppard | February 21, 2012
Many of our readers have asked whether we believe the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 will be extended past its current expiration scheduled for the end of the year. As a reminder, the legislation ensures that homeowners who receiv...

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Mortgage Settlement to Drive Increase in Foreclosures

lisasheppard | February 20, 2012
Last week, we explained that the National Mortgage Settlement gave banks a roadmap showing them how to proceed with the backlog of foreclosures (known as shadow inventory) that has been hanging over the housing market for more than a year. We b...

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Two Things You May Have Missed

lisasheppard | February 16, 2012
Before the end of the year, Congress and the President agreed to extend the payroll tax cut. In that bill, there were two items of interest for those involved in real estate. 1.) The hike in the Guarantee Fees charged by the GSEs Fannie Mae an...

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Finding a Nugget of Gold Buried in the Sand

lisasheppard | February 16, 2012
When the current foreclosure crisis first began, many tried to explain it away by pointing out that the majority of distressed properties were limited to what was then termed the four ‘sand states’ (Arizona, California, Nevada and Florida)....

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Foreclosure Roadmap Included in Mortgage Settlement

lisasheppard | February 14, 2012
There has been much written on the recently negotiated National Mortgage Settlement. Most of the reporting has revolved around the $25 billion that will be issued to consumers and states that have been impacted by the robo-signing scandal of 20...

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National Mortgage Settlement: What You Need To Know

lisasheppard | February 13, 2012
Last week, the Federal government and 49 state governments (Oklahoma being the exception) agreed to a $25 billion settlement regarding robo-signing and the challenges it created in the foreclosure process. We want to give a synopsis of the sett...

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Do Appraisers Use Distressed Properties as Comparables?

lisasheppard | February 7, 2012
Many of our readers ask us if appraisers use distressed properties (short sales and foreclosures) as comparables when doing an appraisal on non-distressed properties. We have posted on this issue on several occasions (examples: here and here). ...

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