Travis Jackson walks through his modest ranch house, admiring the kitchen’s built-in spice rack and the red-oak floors. He draws back the curtains, and sunlight illuminates the pride on his face.

The young banker just bought Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s childhood home at a foreclosure sale.

“This is where it all happened,” marvels Mr. Jackson, a 27-year-old loan officer at First Citizens Bancorp, which is down the street from the old Bernanke place. “Kind of a surreal feeling, isn’t it?”

Mr. Bernanke’s family sold the property more than a decade ago. It ended up on the block late last year after its former owners fell behind on their mortgage payments.

The small town that gave the Fed its chairman is suffering more than most from the financial and economic crisis he’s struggling to fix. Already hit by the long decline of the local tobacco and textile industries, Dillon County is facing a fresh assault of plant closings and layoffs that have pushed its unemployment rate to 14.2% — almost double the national average.

[ online.wsj.com ]

Tags: foreclosure

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Travis Jackson walks through his modest ranch house, admiring the kitchen’s built-in spice rack and the red-oak floors. He draws back the curtains, and sunlight illuminates the pride on his face.

The young banker just bought Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s childhood home at a foreclosure sale.

“This is where it all happened,” marvels Mr. Jackson, a 27-year-old loan officer at First Citizens Bancorp, which is down the street from the old Bernanke place. “Kind of a surreal feeling, isn’t it?”

Mr. Bernanke’s family sold the property more than a decade ago. It ended up on the block late last year after its former owners fell behind on their mortgage payments.

The small town that gave the Fed its chairman is suffering more than most from the financial and economic crisis he’s struggling to fix. Already hit by the long decline of the local tobacco and textile industries, Dillon County is facing a fresh assault of plant closings and layoffs that have pushed its unemployment rate to 14.2% — almost double the national average.

[ online.wsj.com ]

Tags: foreclosure

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You’ve heard plenty of stories about foreclosures, but the latest victims of this brutal recession are about to lose their cave.

That’s right. For nearly five years, Curt Sleeper and his family have lived in a cave. His mortgage is about to come due and, like millions of other Americans, he can’t refinance.

So now, the 17,000-square-foot, subterranean home is being auctioned off on eBay. Sleeper and his wife Deborah bought the cave outside St. Louis in May 2004 for $160,000. To pay for it, they sold their old home, TV and even the DVD collection. They made a 50 percent down payment and borrowed the other $80,000 from the seller. It was a five-year loan with a single balloon payment at the end. The Sleepers now have until May 1 to pay off the remaining $83,000 or sell the property. It’s not a foreclosure sale yet, but if they can’t come up with the money, they risk losing the house.

Besides the initial $80,000 payment, Sleeper said he spent another $150,000 on renovations to the cave and the surrounding 2.8 acres he owns.

The original plan was to refinance. But Sleeper, a self-employed computer consultant, said banks struggle to appraise the cave since there aren’t any comparable properties nearby or, well any comparable properties at all. So while he might have received a loan two or three years ago, today he is in a bind.

“Right now, banks are not interested in anything odd,” Sleeper said.

[ abcnews.go.com ]

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You’ve heard plenty of stories about foreclosures, but the latest victims of this brutal recession are about to lose their cave.

That’s right. For nearly five years, Curt Sleeper and his family have lived in a cave. His mortgage is about to come due and, like millions of other Americans, he can’t refinance.

So now, the 17,000-square-foot, subterranean home is being auctioned off on eBay. Sleeper and his wife Deborah bought the cave outside St. Louis in May 2004 for $160,000. To pay for it, they sold their old home, TV and even the DVD collection. They made a 50 percent down payment and borrowed the other $80,000 from the seller. It was a five-year loan with a single balloon payment at the end. The Sleepers now have until May 1 to pay off the remaining $83,000 or sell the property. It’s not a foreclosure sale yet, but if they can’t come up with the money, they risk losing the house.

Besides the initial $80,000 payment, Sleeper said he spent another $150,000 on renovations to the cave and the surrounding 2.8 acres he owns.

The original plan was to refinance. But Sleeper, a self-employed computer consultant, said banks struggle to appraise the cave since there aren’t any comparable properties nearby or, well any comparable properties at all. So while he might have received a loan two or three years ago, today he is in a bind.

“Right now, banks are not interested in anything odd,” Sleeper said.

[ abcnews.go.com ]

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Whether you need to finance a multi-unit apartment project, an office building, a retail plaza, a healthcare complex or a manufacturing facility, Commercial Mortgages can assist you in finding the right loan at the right price for any type of commercial property anywhere in the USA. Commercial mortgage loans can be closed in as little as 5 to 15 days at loan amounts up to the $100,000,000 range. Commercial mortgages are available in all 50 states. To start your query for commercial property mortgage financing, click here.

At Mortgage Match, we field so many questions about the many intricacies of the mortgage process everyday, that we decided to offer a free MortgagePrimer to prospective borrowers. The primer provides valuable information for obtaining a mortgage loan, and should be helpful to anyone… regardless of their borrowing experience or savvy.

The entire primer can be emailed for future and easy reference. And, will be useful no matter where you live, or where you’re buying or refinancing.

This information is usually only provided to borrowers who have started the preapproval process. So, at times, it’s written assuming you have started preapproval, but it’s very helpful, even if you haven’t yet arrived at the point where you are seeking preapproval.

The first installment is titled, “Ensuring a smooth loan transaction”. It provides a few tips, plus some do’s and don’ts about the mortgage process… all of which, may help you prevent the loss of your loan after you’ve been preapproved.

Next, we’ve loosely broken the mortgage process down, from start-to-finish, into seven steps. They are:

- Step 1, The Simple Exchange of Information.
- Step 2, Getting PreApproved.
- Step 3, After PreApproval.
- Step 4, The Appraisal.
- Step 5, Satisfying Conditions.
- Step 6, Underwriting Your Loan.
- Step 7, Closing and Funding Your Loan.

Prospective borrowers can be hesitant to start the mortgage process for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, it’s simply “fear of the unknown”… for others, it might be a reluctance to start something they’re not sure they’ll be able to finish. Whatever the reason, Mortgage Match’s Mortgage Primer will provide tips and insights, designed to enlighten and inform anyone who’s about to start one of life’s most important financial journeys. Or, anyone who’d just like more information about getting started in buying or refinancing their homes, and what they can expect along the way. It can make everything a lot easier.

To receive the primer, all you need to do is send an email with “Send Info” in the subject line to: info@imortgagematch.com. Now, Mortgage Match is a spam-free zone. So, your email address will remain completely private, and it will never be sold or shared with third parties or affiliates. You’ll receive only the information you requested, and nothing more.

Like interest only mortgages, the 40-Year Mortgage is ideal for borrowers who face affordability issues and think homeownership is beyond their reach. First-time home buyers, looking forward to a time when their incomes may increase, or those living in high-cost areas (California, Arizona, Nevada, etc.) seeking more manageable monthly payments may find this longer amortization schedule more suitable to their needs. In addition, the fixed-rate option which most interest only mortgages don’t offer, may appeal to financially conservative borrowers who prefer, or must have, lower monthly payments along with the stability of a fixed-rate, fully amortizing mortgage.

For a borrower who has not been able to qualify for an interest only mortgage, the 40-Year Mortgage may be a very viable alternative. Like an interest only borrower who desires lower monthly payments, a 40-Year Mortgage borrower, by amortizing payments over 40-years rather than the standard 30-year term, will also enjoy lower monthly payments. 40-year mortgage borrowers, also like interest only borrowers, will find this mortgage helps address affordability concerns, and may make it easier to qualify for a mortgage.

For buyers who wish to increase their purchasing power, the lower payments of the 40-year term will help borrowers qualify for a larger loan amount than the 30-year fixed rate would allow.

And, for borrowers who have other financial obligations which bear higher interest rates, or who would like to optimize an investment strategy, the 40-year Mortgage, like an interest only loan, offers borrowers a way to use their mortgage as part of an overall financial management strategy. The borrower can utilize monthly payment savings to pay off higher cost debt, or invest the savings elsewhere.

Summarily speaking, the 40-year Mortgage compares favorably to the increasingly popular interest only mortgage, with some borrowers finding it easier to obtain. Mortgage Match is arguably the Net’s “Number One” destination for borrower’s seeking interest only mortgages, but its richly experienced Loan Consultants are equally adept at successfully assisting borrowers to obtain 40-year Mortgages as well.

A fast and free preapproval will allow you to evaluate and compare what mortgage is best for you. To get preapproved, simply click here.

Mortgage Match is known for doing very diffcult mortgage loans. But sometimes, borrowers come along who have the types of credit issues which will prevent them from obtaining a mortgage loan from anyone, anywhere.

There are also those borrowers who can get approved for a mortgage, but again, because of credit issues, they can’t get approved on terms which they either like or feel comfortable with payment-wise. And further still, there are those borrowers who really need a zero down mortgage (with or without an interest only option) to be able to buy their own home. But once again, these disappointed buyers are prevented from obtaining this type of loan because of credit issues.

When prospective borrowers are in this predicament they can enlist the very legitimate option of “repairing” their credit. Credit repair is entirely real and completely possible. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is federal law and governs the conduct and practices of the three major credit bureaus, provides every consumer with the explicit right to dispute the information being reported on their credit bureau files. And, disputing what’s on your credit report is every bit as legal as declaring “not guilty” in a court of law. It’s up to the credit bureaus to prove what they’re reporting. And herein, is where the average person can make the credit laws work in their favor, instead of against them.

For those who are just “sick and tired” of living with bad credit, and who want to do something about their credit issues, the Federal Trade Commission advises that do-it-yourself credit repair is perhaps the best way to go. There’s absolutely no need, or any advantage whatsoever in employing the services of a credit repair clinic or credit law firm… both of which can be very expensive… and very often no faster, or more effective than a do-it-yourselfer.

Acquiring the knowledge of the credit repair process, the “in’s and out’s” of dealing with the credit bureaus, and picking up and benefitting from the “inside” tips of those who “have been there and done it”, isn’t that hard. And, it shouldn’t ever be expensive.

PDQ Credit Repair offers an inexpensive (only $9.95), but thoroughly complete online guide to both repairing and improving one’s own credit. It covers everything you need to know to successfully raise your credit scores in a very simple, straightforward, step-by-step approach. It’s been helping borrowers all over the country turn their credit profiles around in the fastest time possible, and then qualify for the mortgage loan they really want and need. To learn more, and then get started in minutes if you choose, simply click here.

The 103% mortgage is available at Mortgage Match, and this particular version has some features that few other 103% mortgage programs offer.

For borrowers who have little cash and need some extra help to cover costs, it’s offered as a 103% stand-alone or an 80/23 combo. It permits up to 3% seller-paid closing costs, including pre-paids. And, an interest only option on the 80%, or first loan, is available to borrowers with a 680 or better midscore FICO.

This is for purchase mortgages. And, borrowers who can fully document (paycheck stubs, W-2s or tax returns for self-employed) their incomes only need a midscore FICO of 620 or better to qualify. For more information, just click here.

With our 5 Year Fixed Choice Option ARM, a borrower’s monthly minimum payment option is fixed for up to 5 years based on an introductory rate as low as 2.99%*.

Option ARMs were created to give borrowers flexibility by:

–Managing their monthly cash flow.
–Providing multiple payment options, up to 3 options per month.
–Offering the same minimum payments for the first several years of the loan.
–Providing a low monthly payment that will result in less potential deferred interest on the mortgage loan.

All three other monthly payment options are available as long as they are greater than the minimum payment (Interest Only, 15-year amortized, and 30 or 40-year amortized depending on the loan term selected).

Available with the MTA index, the 5 Year Fixed Choice Option ARM is an option that includes all the other great features of our standard Choice Option ARM including:

–Up to 100% CLTV for owner occupied and 2nd homes (Full Doc & Stated Income).
–Purchase, Rate & Term and Cash Out (80/20 combo).
–40-year loan option available.
–Interest Only and HELOC 2nds available.

The 5-Year Fixed Choice Option ARM is available now through Mortgage Match.

* Rate may vary after introductory discount rate.