Ask the Experts: Do your homework on reverse mortgages

Our three new "Ask the Experts" writers have been busily answering financial questions this month from online readers.

Here’s a sample of their advice on personal finance, wills/estates and investing.

To see more questions or to get advice from our other financial experts on taxes, banking and investment clubs, go to: www.sacbee.com/ask.


Pamela Christensen, Certified financial planner

I expect to retire in about four years and will have a small Sacramento County retirement. We also h... Read more

Troubled homeowners wrestle with loan holders

By Kevin G. Hall

http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/2111186.html?storylink=pd

WASHINGTON – Nearly three years into the deepest U.S. housing slump in generations, lenders are modifying only a small number of problem mortgages, and rising foreclosures are restraining the economy’s recovery.

The Obama administration has stepped up pressure on lenders and their mortgage servicers, who act as bill collectors on behalf of investors who own mortgage bonds. The administration on Aug. 4 unveiled the first of what... Read more

California foreclosure deals are bittersweet for novice investors

Buzz up!By Nicole Williams
nwilliams@sacbee.com

http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2038862.html


Many Californians saw their dreams go up in smoke when the housing market burned up as a result of heavy job losses, bankruptcies and balloon mortgage payments, but others are rising from the ashes and forging new investment endeavors.

All the bathroom mirrors are missing, there’s dog urine in the air-conditioning unit and holes in the walls, but the foreclosed house Sacramento r... Read more

Small banks start feeling financial stress

By Charles Piller
cpiller@sacbee.com


http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2000836.html

At first, the Sacramento region’s small, business-oriented community banks appeared to have sidestepped the plight of banking titans that staggered under the burden of home mortgage defaults. Now some are showing signs of stress.

Gold Country Bank in Marysville has become the weakest bank of its size in California – below 98 percent of similar banks nationwide, according to Bankrate.com, a leading independent ev... Read more

"We’re in a slow, but definite recovery mode"

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/real_estate/archives/2009/06/were-in-a-slow.html?mi_atom=Home%20Front


So says Alexis McGee, president of Fair Oaks-based Foreclosures.com, which tracks the nation’s foreclosure markets for real estate investors. Here’s McGee’s new national roundup:


SACRAMENTO, Calif. -While President Obama, Congress, and the American people debate financial regulatory reform, foreclosures continue to mount as embattled housing markets bump along the bottom. ... Read more

Sacramento area misses move-up homebuyers -- they’re staying put

By Jim Wasserman
jwasserman@sacbee.com


http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1959684.html

Almost four years into the real estate crash, a once-thriving sector of the Sacramento-area housing market – the move-up buyer – has become a virtual dead zone that must revive itself for a true recovery to take hold, analysts say.

Even as real estate rocks with enthusiastic first-time buyers and investors – accounting for up to two-thirds of area sales – one expert warns against being f... Read more

Information on the Home Loan Program

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IN THE NEWS:

Effective immediately, Certificates of Eligibility will no longer display a veteran’s date of birth. This change was made to limit the amount of personal data being displayed on Certificates of Eligibility. Please note, however, that veterans will still need to provide their date of birth when submitting an application for a determination of eligibility in order to process their request.
<... Read more

The other morning a GreatWest GMAC Real Estate professional was brainstorming with another Realtor. Both agreed that in addition to helping buyers purchase property, and sellers to sell their homes, they had voluntarily taken up the shield, for helping past clients, friends and family, to stay in their economically challenged homes during these difficult times.

Currently, they were averaging one or two calls a day, running the gamut consisting of the following:

(1) A friend, who bought a house in the 1990s, built up equity, then put on a second mortgage to finance an improve... Read more

From FreddieMac website how towork with lender to avoid/stop foreclosure:

Working With Your Lender to Stop Foreclosure
Have These Documents Ready
Have these on hand for the conversation with your lender:

Last two pay stubs and most recent tax return
For a self-employed borrower, complete signed federal income tax return for the previous year or year-to-date profit and loss statement.
Bank statements
Proof of other income like alimony or Social Security
Information about any second mortgage on the property
Completed Form 4506-T [PDF], Request... Read more

Increasingly, Real Estate Professionals are hearing of a trend - which could remind folks of the movie, "War of the Roses."

Current real estate market conditions have some divorcing couples looking to separate their lives, but realizing they can’t afford to live apart until their home is sold.

Unlike a few years ago, when many homeowners had loads of equity to share, and really good credit, current times are providing many glimpses of reversal of fortune.

If you are one of those couples, and need to continue co-habiting until you get the house sold, and shore ... Read more

What to Do If You Are Divorcing and A Chilly Housing Market is Forcing You to Stay Under the Same Roof

Increasingly, GreatWest GMAC Real Estate Professionals are hearing of a trend - which could remind folks of a tamer version of the movie, “War of the Roses.”

Current real estate market conditions have some divorcing couples looking to separate their lives, but realizing they can’t afford to live apart until their home is sold.

Unlike a few years ago, when many homeowners had loads of equity to share, and really good credit, current times are providing many glimpses ... Read more

Everybody’s Business
Chicken Little’s Brethren, on the Trading Floor

By BEN STEIN
Published: August 12, 2007
THE job of an economist, among many other duties, is to put things into perspective. So, because I am an economist, among other duties, here is a little perspective on the recent turmoil in the stock and bond markets.
Here is the first instance in which proportion tells us that something is out of whack:
The total mortgage market in the United States is roughly $10.4 trillion. Of that, a little over 13 percent, or about $1.35 trillion, is subprime —... Read more